"Your luck was actually pretty good."
As Wei Ming's emotions settled, Du En merely said this.
It was a fact.
If not for his cultivation technique breaking through last night, making his body tougher and stronger while rendering his magic power purer and more substantial, he would never have been able to complete that entire set so quickly just now.
If this had happened yesterday, the best outcome Wei Ming could have hoped for would have been losing both legs!
"The boss really was too modest!"
"What do you know? That's the bearing of a true expert!"
"In any case, he really lives up to being our boss!"
"Du En's got real ability. Ahem, ahem, ahem..."
The last man had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he could not help coughing.
Among the people burying corpses, Ning Caize had the longest experience. He had been doing this for about a year, but after an accident, he contracted corpse plague. His nineteen-year-old self had been reduced to his current, sickly and withered appearance, looking forty or fifty years old. The illness had taken root and was difficult to cure, so he was always coughing.
As he coughed now and thought of what had happened to him, his emotions became complicated. Grief welled up inside him, and he could not help lamenting his terrible luck. He had not encountered Du En back then.
However, he was mature and experienced, and the matter had long since been settled. Thus, he quickly came back to himself, steadied his coughing, and said, "I brought extra shovels and clothes. I'll go get them now."
"Sorry for the trouble."
"No need to put it that way."
Hearing Du En's words, Ning Caize chuckled. His mood improved considerably, and even his steps became lighter.
"Since an accident happened, everyone might as well take the opportunity to rest."
All right!
The other three immediately cheered for their mighty boss, then hurried to make use of the time to rest.
"Are you all right?"
Du En asked Wei Ming. He wiped away his tears, shook his head to clear it, and nodded solemnly. "I'm fine. Thank you so much this time, Boss."
"No need to be so polite. If I can help, I'll help."
Du En said nothing more. Turning around, he picked up Wei Ming's shovel and carefully covered that mass of poisonous insects with soil, burying them in the shallow pit.
Looking at him, Wei Ming felt that he was tall and imposing. He silently made up his mind that he absolutely had to learn from him. Perhaps only then could he fulfill his wish!
So, he first needed to examine and reflect on himself, finding the most obvious problems that had surfaced!
Du En quickly filled in a thin layer of soil, then dusted off his hands and decided to take the opportunity to rest for a while too.
He glanced aside at Wei Ming, who was currently filled with self-reflection and determined to mend his ways. Du En silently shook his head, hoping only that the other man would not get himself stuck in some dead end.
During the break,
he first accepted the shovel Ning Caize brought over, leaning on it as he eased the fatigue in his body while secretly pondering the details related to the Earth Bullet Technique.
After a while,
[Earth Bullet Technique (Beginner's Practice 0/10)]
A new entry appeared.
At that moment, the brief rest period also ended.
At Du En's call, the others returned to their posts.
Then, as expected, Wei Ming successfully swung to another extreme.
During the afternoon's corpse-burying work, he became exceptionally cautious. He was clearly too tense; the slightest abnormality—or anything he merely thought was abnormal—would trigger a stress response.
It was even worse than his absent-minded, mechanical behavior that morning!
Considering his feelings, Du En did not say this aloud.
Not until all the corpses had been buried.
"Boss, I think I've found the trick!"
Upon hearing this, it was not only Du En whose gaze became somewhat peculiar. The others looked strange as well.
That overly nervous behavior of yours is the trick you found?
Although failing to remain alert and tense was inadvisable, being this excessive was clearly no suitable choice either.
If he exhausted all his mental energy on this, how would he cultivate at night?
Without cultivating, he could not improve his cultivation. Without improving his cultivation, he could only barely maintain his current state. In the end, nothing would have changed at all.
The corpse buriers said nothing, because once Wei Ming experienced it firsthand that night, he would naturally wake up and begin adjusting the proportions, finding the allocation ratio that suited him.
Everyone had gone through this. It was only a matter of being early or late.
Speaking of which, Boss Du, you really are born for this line of work. Back then, you only needed one day to adapt and adjust completely. Truly, it's admirable!
Facing those looks, Du En's heart remained unmoved. He simply led the way back.
On the road back, they once again had good luck and encountered a Strange Owl that was extremely self-aware. It had not eaten its fill that morning, had not found anything else to eat all day, and had finally delivered itself to their door. Now no one had to worry about going hungry anymore.
Clang~
Crack!
After smoothly obtaining free food once again, Du En weighed it. He had not intended to ask the others, but seeing something strange in Wei Ming's eyes, he spoke up. "You want a share?"
"Um, this... shall I try?"
Wei Ming looked conflicted, but he still forced himself to say it.
Little Wei has gone too far to the extreme!
The others cast pitying looks at him. They had originally wanted to offer some gentle persuasion without offending Du En, but then they suddenly thought that perhaps this might quickly stabilize his condition.
In the end, they hesitated and said nothing.
It really was not because they were afraid of offending Du En!
Du En said nothing more and merely nodded.
They continued along the road. After a while, they returned to their residence in the Shack District outside the city.
Cooking smoke curled into the air, while the stench of decay filled the surroundings.
In the little courtyard, Du En was once again boiling the Strange Owl.
Braving the intense stench, Wei Ming helped out here. His taut nerves had begun to relax. If not for the odor clogging his nostrils and keeping him extremely alert, he probably would have already become drowsy from mental exhaustion.
Once the boiled Strange Owl was thoroughly cooked, Du En gave him a small leg.
He took a bite.
"Ugh..."
How could it be this disgusting?!
Boss, how did you manage to eat more than half of one without changing expression?
Wei Ming's entire face had already crumpled into a ball. With one eye wide open and the other narrowed, he looked at the expressionless Du En eating the Strange Owl. Aside from pain, his eyes held only sincere admiration!
It really has to be you!
He did not dare bite down again. He only wanted to swallow it whole, but it lodged directly in the middle of his throat. His body's fierce instinctive rejection created a scene of being half-choked by his own will.
"Don't push yourself too hard, and don't cause trouble for Du En."
Ning Caize really could not stand watching any longer. He came over and slapped the top of Wei Ming's head, directly knocking that lump of meat down.
Then, because he had moved too close, he smelled the odor and triggered his old ailment. He began coughing violently.
Who exactly was the one causing trouble here without realizing it?
Looking at the prematurely aged Ning Caize, Du En secretly shook his head and signaled for the others to pull the two of them apart and support them farther away.
The others hurriedly moved, holding their breath and finishing the task in one go. Then they looked at the pot of boiled Strange Owl with lingering fear, clearly remembering their painful experience from the last time they had believed Du En's nonsense.
It's only boiled rotten meat!
Du En chewed. The taste was indeed awful, but the boiled Strange Owl was not so terrible that it was worth making a life-or-death fuss over. His heart was as steady as an old dog's, without the slightest ripple.
Just then, sudden clamorous shouting drifted in from outside the courtyard gate.
Before you continue