Grave Robbing

Night fell.

After Third Uncle's house had gone dark, Chen Luo changed into a different set of clothes and headed out for the second time.

Things were inconvenient to do during the day. Night was perfect for digging graves!

Ever since awakening his Golden Finger yesterday, he had not forgotten about it. He had spent the daytime testing poison and preparing supplies; only at night could he take action.

By now, the sky was completely dark, and the neighboring households had all put out their lights and gone to sleep. Even the dogs were lying down. It was the perfect time to get things done. Taking advantage of this gap, Chen Luo planned to dig up the batch of people he had buried yesterday and try again. With so many Jianghu Wanderers, if he read every one of them, perhaps he might encounter someone whose mind held Peerless Martial Arts!

To prevent poisoning, Chen Luo had specially prepared some equipment.

Leather gloves and a face covering, plus a bag of antidote pills and several poison-testing bugs in his hands. These few items had cost him all the wages he had earned last time burying bodies with Third Uncle. If Third Uncle found out, he would definitely get a beating.

In a small place like the County Town, there was no one keeping watch at night. Since it lay deep inland, even the city walls had crumbled beyond recognition. Chen Luo easily found a gap and Crawled Out through it.

Relying on his memory, Chen Luo hurried along with his pack on his back.

The surroundings gradually grew desolate. Chen Luo lit his lantern and continued deeper along the narrow path.

A valley in the night, alive with insect chirping and birdcalls.

Night Crows cried eerily from the tops of dead trees, their scarlet eyes watching Chen Luo walk through the Mountains.

"Here!"

Chen Luo let out a sigh of relief.

Having buried people with Third Uncle for so long, he had gained some experience. Even on mountain paths at night, he had the confidence to walk them. A Corpse Burier's dangerous trade naturally came with its own inherited, exclusive skills.

Chen Luo Ignited the Horn Lantern in his hand and hung it from a crooked-necked tree nearby.

He took the shovel from his back, spat twice into his palms, and began digging.

Since he had filled in the dirt himself, Chen Luo remembered it very clearly. Soon After, he dug down to a straw mat.

He carefully brushed away the dirt above it and indeed found the Jianghu Wanderer's corpse buried beneath.

"Whether it's an illusion or not, one try will tell."

Suppressing the corpse's foul stench, Chen Luo lifted the straw mat. The pungent odor hit him full in the face, and he nearly vomited up last night's dinner. Fortunately, he had prepared himself mentally and endured the smell.

He took a Bamboo Tube from his waist and released the poison-testing bug inside. It was a Little Bug shaped like a scorpion, black from head to toe. When Chen Luo took it out, it was curled into a ball. Only after smelling the corpse did it stretch itself out. The little thing extended its pincers and poked at the corpse twice, then Crawled Out in two circles around it.

Only after quite a while did it curl up again and turn into a little ball.

No poison!

Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he put on the Deerskin Gloves he had prepared during the day and carefully pressed a hand onto the corpse.

"Residual Brainwaves detected. Damage Degree: 97%. Read?"

"Read!"

Chen Luo shouted it outright. There was no one around at this hour anyway.

Widow Wang is really big. Shame I won't get another chance to develop her.

The familiar Brainwaves entered his mind, and the corpse's obsession before death swiftly appeared in Chen Luo's head. But the result made his expression freeze. Looking again at this already rotting Jianghu Wanderer, he felt terrible all over.

He had gone through all this effort in the middle of the night to dig one up, only to read an obsession like that!

Still unwilling to give up, Chen Luo swung his shovel again and began the second round of digging.

"Read!"

This Time, Chen Luo spoke before the system could even prompt him.

Cui Hua, wait for me to come back!

I hid three taels of silver beneath the crooked-necked tree next door.

He searched corpse after corpse. By the end, Chen Luo was numb.

Not a single one of these dead Jianghu Wanderers had a reliable final obsession in their heads. It was either secret stashes of money or mistresses, while a few with a sense of responsibility were longing for their families. To Chen Luo, these obsessions were utterly meaningless.

Fortunately, the final corpse brought him a gain.

After Three Revolutions of Qi and Blood consumes Black Belly Grass, the chance of breaking through to Internal Training increases by thirty percent.

Internal Training?

What realm was that?

Chen Luo did not know, but he memorized it.

Sooner or Later, he would set foot on the path of Martial Dao. Even if Third Uncle failed tomorrow and could not find someone to guide him through the door, it did not matter. As long as he shouldered a shovel and took up a broken lamp, he could dig out a sky of his own in the graveyard.

After a night of toil, the sky was nearly bright by the time Chen Luo buried everyone again.

He dragged his exhausted body back toward the city.

By the time he reached the city gate, the soldiers above were already starting to yawn.

There were already several people by the dog hole Chen Luo had used. They appeared to be villagers from nearby, coming to the market and taking this shortcut because they did not want to pay the entry fee.

Those who knew this route were basically all local residents.

Like sneaking into a scenic area without buying a ticket, no one exposed anyone else.

Chen Luo had no time for that either. He crawled back into the city through the dog hole, then climbed over the back wall into his home. Third Uncle's snoring still sounded from the front room. It seemed he had not woken up yet.

After putting away his tools, Chen Luo did not even wash up. He pulled the blanket over himself and went to sleep.

He had been too exhausted that night and fell asleep shortly after lying down.

Chen Luo had a beautiful dream.

In the dream, he became a Great Hero capable of Summoning Wind and Rain, with formidable martial arts as he flew back and forth. No enemy could withstand a single exchange with the treasured sword in his hand; every time he raised his hand, an enemy fell. But as he fought, the whole scene changed. At some unknown point, the treasured sword in his hand became an iron shovel. His clothes turned ragged, and a crooked stick was stuck into his back, with a Four-Cornered Oil Lamp hanging from its tip.

The people he had slain also vanished, turning into dirt, while the scene before him became a graveyard.

An endless sea of tombs stretched before him.

"Why am I Grave Robbing again?"

Chen Luo stood there blankly. Just as he wanted to look closer, he suddenly heard someone calling him.

"You little bastard, get your ass up! I'm taking you to meet someone today."

Still groggy, Chen Luo opened his eyes and found that Third Uncle had entered the room at some unknown time. He held a bowl of tofu pudding and Two Fingers of fried dough sticks, calling him to get up.

He looked up and saw that it was already broad daylight outside.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warming the room.

"So early?"

Chen Luo shook his still muddled head and asked.

"Isn't it because you little bastard caused trouble for me? Move faster." Third Uncle impatiently set the tofu pudding down before him, splashing A Little of the tofu flower out.

From the sound of Chen Laosan's words, it seemed he had already gone out and made a round that morning.

Chen Luo did not dare delay. He picked up the bowl and finished the tofu pudding in a few bites. Then he grabbed a fried dough stick, kneaded it into a ball, and stuffed it into his mouth in one go. After chewing frantically, he nearly choked to death. Third Uncle only saved him by promptly handing over a ladle of water.

"Wash your face clean, and change into clean clothes too."

After giving those instructions, Chen Laosan went to wait for him in the front room.

Chen Luo did not dare delay either. He knew this opportunity was hard to come by, so he quickly got up and cleaned himself up.

A moment later, Chen Luo emerged in the front room dressed in a fresh outfit.

"Not bad. Now you look somewhat human."

Looking at his upright nephew, Chen Laosan nodded in satisfaction. He went to the wall, picked up the gift he had prepared long ago, and led Chen Luo out.

Third Uncle's connections were limited as well.

A Corpse Burier could not come into contact with any high-level Important Figures. The person he was taking Chen Luo to meet was neither some Earth-shattering big shot nor some hidden master. He merely had a bit of a reputation at their level. Within Chen Laosan's circle, he was the only person who knew real martial arts.

Without Chen Laosan building the bridge, Chen Luo would never have been able to get close to such a connection.

The world was simply that realistic.

"The person I'm taking you to meet is called Crippled Ma. He was already lame when I met him."

Along the way, Third Uncle began telling Chen Luo a few things to keep in mind.

"I never asked about his past, and he never spoke of it."

Chen Laosan walked ahead, taking Chen Luo specifically to the mouth of an alley to buy two jin of Pork Belly and three jin of loose White Wine.

"Seven years ago, when I was burying bodies, I found someone in a pile of corpses who hadn't stopped breathing. I was softhearted for a moment and saved him." Chen Laosan did not say the rest, but Chen Luo could roughly guess it.

Chen Laosan was an official Corpse Burier. Most of the people he buried were Jianghu Wanderers.

Almost every one of them had a murder case hanging over them. To ordinary people like them, they lived in an entirely different world; provoking any one of them meant trouble. When Chen Laosan saved Crippled Ma from that pile of corpses, he had absolutely taken an enormous risk.

"So he owes me his life. Under normal circumstances, Crippled Ma would never teach his martial arts to outsiders. The risk is too great."

Martial arts were taboo among ordinary commoners.

If word got out and the Authorities investigated, not a single person involved would escape.

"I've told you all this. Do you understand what it means?"

Chen Laosan, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned to glare at his nephew, who had not made a sound for a long time.

"I understand. Keep a low profile!"

Chen Luo immediately replied.

"You little bastard!"

Chen Laosan cursed under his breath, but the satisfaction in his Eyes could not be hidden.

His nephew was clever.

The Old Chen Family had been honest and submissive for generations. At last, one of them had produced someone quick-witted.

"Move aside! Move aside!!"

The Uncle and Nephew had just emerged from the alley and had not yet crossed the street when they saw a group of constables carrying Pu Daos running ahead. The entire street had been sealed off. A large crowd gathered nearby, apparently watching the excitement.

Faint voices could be heard from the crowd.

Something big happened. Squire Wang's entire family was wiped out.

I heard it involves the previous dynasty.

Neighborhood gossip was always the Fastest. Whether it was true or false did not matter, but it did not stop the Uncle and Nephew from picking out some crucial information.

"Let's go. It has nothing to do with us."

Chen Laosan withdrew his gaze and turned toward another road.

This road had been sealed off, so they could only take a detour.