End of Shift Repair House

In the afternoon, the rain stopped, and the wind became gentle.

In the afternoon, the sun broke through the clouds, signaling that the typhoon had passed.

In the evening, after burying the bodies, the Corpse Buriers hurried home without delay.

It wasn't just them; most people who could finish work at this time were doing the same.

They needed to go back and repair their houses.

Of course, there were exceptions.

The Bully Gang was one of them.

Liu Qixiang, a member of the Green Robe Gang, had finished work and was making his way along the debris-strewn road to collect protection fees.

Talk about adding insult to injury!

Gangs like the Green Robe Gang were truly heartless. Because of the losses incurred from the typhoon, they were trying to recoup their expenses from below, even if it meant driving many people to their deaths.

However, due to previous events, Liu Qixiang, like many ordinary gang members, had considerable concerns.

"Damn it, they're hiding behind the scenes, just ordering us to collect debts. If we get targeted because of this, we'll be completely screwed!"

But with the Gang Leader having already given the order, he, a mere underling, had no choice but to comply and face it head-on.

Otherwise, without any Evil Cultivators needing to act, he'd be made an example of by the Gang Leader!

"The Hall Masters are also cunning. They plan to take this opportunity to build a large house and live together, looking out for each other, for a sense of security. Alas, we can't do that. We can only fend for ourselves, but..."

As he grumbled inwardly, he looked around at the scattered, displaced people with their dejected faces and had to admit that his situation was much better than theirs.

This was also why he had joined the Bully Gang – if you can't beat them, join them and reap the benefits!

Without realizing it, he had reached a relatively open stretch of road.

Just as he was about to gather his courage and start from here, he suddenly froze.

"Huh? Wait, this place looks like..."

The typhoon had not only toppled houses but also swept away all traces of daily life. The rotten barrier of the Corpse Burier's small courtyard was gone without a trace, so he hadn't recognized it immediately.

As he was about to turn and look, a sound came from the far end of the road.

Rumble~

The familiar sound of wheels made Liu Qixiang jump. He widened his eyes and looked over, indeed seeing Du En and his group, and on their flatbed cart, Ren Li.

"Misery!"

He wailed inwardly, quickly bowing and clasping his hands subserviently, retreating into the roadside debris.

Du En's group was already difficult to bully, and now with a Peak Qi Refining Foreman accompanying them, he had long since stopped daring to approach them.

It wasn't just him; the Hall Masters and Gang Leader above had specifically instructed them to be gentle and polite when collecting protection fees here, and to avoid being seen by anyone.

In short, if they angered Foreman Ren, they would be sacrificed to appease him!

This was, in a way, a benefit brought by Ren Li. Although he was currently following Du En's group, it was mainly to chat and relieve his boredom.

He often spent the whole day with no progress, feeling depressed. To maintain a good mindset for the next day, he needed some relaxation.

Du En, though somewhat eccentric, was someone he could talk to and, at times, even show off to, finding a sense of superiority.

Their group noticed Liu Qixiang but paid him no mind, hurrying past and heading straight for the small courtyard.

"Old Ning, go to the trading post and buy lumber. Don't be stingy with the Spirit Stones. Get two extra pieces and have them deliver it, to avoid any accidents along the way."

Du En handed over his day's earnings from digging up corpses to Ning Caize.

"No problem!"

With Spirit Stones, things were easy!

Rebuilding houses couldn't be done by simply chopping down wet wood and assembling it.

As Ning Caize left, he glanced at Liu Qixiang, but the underling was now keeping his head down and running away quickly, not daring to linger.

"Wei Ming, you and the others tidy up the courtyard and prepare the necessary tools."

"You got it!"

The other four responded and went off to clean up the courtyard and its surroundings that they hadn't had time to deal with that morning.

As for Du En, he was inspecting the main beam and the foundation.

Ren Li stood with his arms crossed, looking quite idle as he paced beside Du En, remarking, "Ordinary wooden houses have a lot of problems. Why not take this opportunity to change it? Oh, right, you're all working for free now, without any wages. You don't have any spare cash on hand."

Although he was a Foreman, he could still chat with Du En. However, he wouldn't help the Corpse Buriers without reason.

Moreover, the main party wasn't even in a hurry and was acting so nonchalant, so he had no reason to rush.

Of course, if Du En asked him for help, he might happily agree to help demand payment.

Du En wasn't too proud to ask, but doing so would likely incur the wrath of the Steward, He Bo, creating unnecessary trouble and disrupting the current stable situation.

"Something wrong?"

Hearing the idle voice behind him, Du En continued his work, asking without turning his head.

Seeing that he was so direct, Ren Li smacked his lips and nodded, "I currently need a spiritual item called Corpse Yin Grass. It's not overly precious, only First-tier Mid Grade, but it grows in a rather tricky location. I only know a general area."

"Since you already know the general area, you don't need to tell me this, do you?"

"Because it's inconvenient for me to leave. And aren't you in a predicament? How about it, if you can help me find it, I'll offer a reward."

The predicament Ren Li mentioned wasn't the Corpse Buriers' predicament, nor was it caused by last night's typhoon. It was something that had appeared even earlier.

His Cuisine Cooking proficiency had reached its current limit, just like Gather and Appraise, and had gotten stuck!

The outward sign of this was that although Du En could cook First-tier Mid Grade stewed owls and jackals with flowing, unparalleled skill, he couldn't improve further, completely stagnating at First-tier Mid Grade.

Logically speaking, with his current Cuisine Cooking proficiency, he should be able to attempt First-tier Perfect, and there was a high chance of succeeding on the first try.

But, even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice!

"Aside from the ingredients and seasonings themselves, which go without saying, there are two main points hindering your Spirit Cuisine cooking."

"What two points?"

Du En's display of asking without shame always made Ren Li unable to resist tilting his head up, feeling self-important and superior, and then offering his guidance: "Simply put, it's the utensils and the heat."

"The utensils are easy to understand. You should have already noticed it, especially since you broke a pot a while ago. That's right, ordinary containers can no longer keep up with your techniques and cannot withstand the high-frequency flow of Magic Power. You need to replace it."

"Then there's the heat. Normal mortal fire can only work on those ordinary medicinal ingredients and materials. Once you need to cook spiritual items or materials, it just doesn't burn hot enough."