Rumors

Barren Mountain Ridge.

A hill on the outskirts of Qingya County, its far end connected to a range of mountains. The mountains stretched on for miles, guarding Qingya County within like a wall. Old Pine Forest gave off the foul stench of rotting leaves, and the ground beneath one's feet was soft and yielding.

Above, sunlight filtered through the pine needles, scattering in dappled flecks. It was quite a beautiful sight.

Hardly anyone came here on ordinary days. Aside from ginseng diggers and blind bears, only squirrels and venomous snakes remained. Yet today, the place was exceptionally lively. Several groups had arrived one after another, and fighting had even broken out afterward. Only now had it finally quieted down.

"Have they all been dealt with?"

"If I make a move, naturally there won't be any survivors."

The cold wind whined, and the pine needles swayed.

Two voices rang out through the woods. Looking in their direction, one could see two men dressed in blue and red standing amid the forest, conversing from left and right. The man on the left wore the cap of a palace eunuch, white hair hanging down at both sides. His narrow eyes gave him a cold, mean-spirited air. The other man wore a bloodstained official's robe and sat cross-legged on a rock with disheveled hair. A bloodstained long sword lay between his legs, and he was slowly wiping the blood from its blade with white cloth.

Not far away, corpses lay strewn in every direction. The pungent stench of blood filled the entire area, spreading outward along with the mountain wind.

Some wild beasts caught the scent and slowly gathered nearby.

"It had better be so. This matter is far too important. If anything goes wrong—"

The white-haired eunuch frowned slightly when he heard the movement.

"That is your concern. I only take money and kill people."

The man finished wiping his sword, stood up, sheathed it, and turned to leave in the opposite direction.

"Remember to come find me if there is another job like this. Same old rules—one thousand taels per person! I only kill; I do not ask identities."

The wild beasts that had gathered in the distance instinctively backed away as the man approached.

The instincts of beasts told them that this man was dangerous.

"Do not ask identities? Heh!"

Only after the man's silhouette had completely vanished did the white-haired eunuch let out a low chuckle, though the disdain in his eyes could not be concealed.

In the distance, the beasts finally could no longer endure their hunger and began creeping closer.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot through the air and nailed the nearest beast dead on the spot.

Soon after, a group of people gathered. In less than the blink of an eye, the beasts outside that had hoped to pick up an easy meal were slaughtered clean.

"Eunuch Wei!"

The leader dropped to one knee and bowed to the white-haired eunuch.

The others behind him also knelt. Not a single one dared raise his head to look directly at the eunuch's face.

"Clean up the scene. And keep your mouths shut!" The white-haired eunuch's gaze swept across the three corpse buriers at the rear as he spoke in a chilly voice.

"This subordinate understands!"

The captain immediately responded.

Then the group quickly scattered and began burying the corpses.

Chen Laosan looked at the corpses all over the ground, a trace of bitterness appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Trouble had grown enormous!

Life went on.

The atmosphere in Qingya County grew increasingly tense. Apart from the streets that had initially been sealed off, two more streets had now been blocked. The day before yesterday, while Chen Luo was on his way to practice martial arts, he had heard some rumors. They said Old Master Bai, a major local figure in the county, had colluded with rebels in an attempt to revolt, and that the people above intended to exterminate his nine generations.

Several families within the county had been wiped out, by the Imperial Court's men.

No one knew whether the news was true or false, but the rumors had sent everyone into a panic. Many people connected to Old Master Bai were fleeing. In a small place like Qingya County, the tentacles of wealthy households reached into nearly every aspect of life. Throughout Qingya County, there was no part of "firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea" that Great Master Bai did not have a hand in. Even the pig farmers in Qingya County bought pig feed produced by Bai Mansion. If Old Master Bai truly had his nine generations exterminated, half of Qingya County's population could be cut away.

Chen Luo merely listened to those rumors. Third Uncle and he ate the Guan Family's rice.

Corpse buriers might not be glamorous, but their posts belonged to the authorities, and their silver came from the authorities as well. Even if the Bai Family truly suffered extermination of nine generations, it would not reach their uncle and nephew.

"Still not back."

Chen Luo entered the room and took a look, the worry in his eyes growing heavier.

After returning home last time, Third Uncle had completely vanished. Yesterday, Chen Luo had specifically asked Crippled Ma for leave and made a trip to the yamen where Third Uncle worked. The reply there was that he had gone out on official business and would need several more days before returning. Chen Luo had encountered such long-term assignments before when he helped Third Uncle, but this time, for some reason, he felt deeply uneasy.

Linking it to the rumors in town, he increasingly felt that this matter was far from simple.

"My strength is still too weak."

Chen Luo clenched his fists and continued practicing in the courtyard.

The strength-enhancing medicinal paste in the stove beside him continuously emitted a foul odor. After so many days, he had more or less figured out how to use this prescription.

External application!

It could also be taken internally, but the dosage could not be large, and it would cause diarrhea the next day.

Chen Luo had learned all this by black-heartedly testing it on a ruffian. Thinking of the sight of that ruffian's weak legs when he emerged from the latrine the next day, Chen Luo abandoned the idea of taking it internally.

Fortunately, external application worked very well too.

After several days of practice, Chen Luo could clearly feel that his fist techniques were advancing by leaps and bounds. Especially after applying the medicinal paste, the rate at which the warm current increased was frighteningly fast. And Borrowing Brains to Practice Martial Arts in his dreams at night likewise brought tremendous improvement.

Don't look at the fact that Chen Luo had only practiced for half a month. With external medicine and the help of over a hundred "old friends" in his mind, this half month of his stacked up to the equivalent of several years for others.

Now, he was growing stronger every moment. By this point, even Chen Luo himself could no longer tell what level he had reached.

But his master, Crippled Ma, was certainly no longer his match.

Today, as usual, Chen Luo practiced his fist techniques. When he reached the tenth round, he suddenly felt a warm current surge from his dantian. Energy flowed through all four limbs and every bone, sweeping away all fatigue.

"Is this... Internal Qi?"

Chen Luo was startled at first, then overjoyed.

Ignoring the changes brought by the warm current, he immediately stood in the courtyard, assumed the posture for stance training, and controlled the warm current as it circulated inside his body. Among the hundred-plus "brains" in his mind, several emerged with corresponding memories, allowing him to rapidly grasp how to use Internal Qi.

One circuit, two circuits.

In his perception, every muscle in his body began trembling rapidly, his strength rising by geometric multiples. He did not know whether others experienced such massive changes when they broke through as well. Right now, he only felt that his strength was several times greater than before. As for exactly how much greater, he had no way to judge for the moment.

"Continue! I need to become even stronger!"

Suppressing his restless emotions, Chen Luo continued training.

Going out to show off after achieving a little something was what children did. He had lived two lifetimes; he could still restrain himself to this extent.

Thus, after completing his breakthrough, Chen Luo continued practicing in the courtyard as though nothing had happened.

While Chen Luo was accumulating martial arts progress.

Within the boundaries of Barren Mountain Ridge.

The weather grew colder, and a fine misty rain began to drift down from the sky.

Chen Laosan and two other corpse buriers skillfully gathered up and buried the corpses in the woods.

This was already the thirteenth batch of corpses they had buried these past days. The three of them had also been kept here by the Imperial Court's people and forbidden from returning home.

"Have something to eat."

After finishing their work, the three sat amid the piles of earth. Each took out a cloth bundle and shared several steamed buns.

In such cold weather, the steamed buns had already turned hard.

Just that they were lowly corpse buriers, and no one cared whether they lived or died. Having something to eat was good enough.

"Fourth day."

The corpse burier on the left took a bite of the cold, hard steamed bun and suddenly spoke.

"One of the people who died today was someone I knew." This corpse burier was named Luo Cheng, a well-known corpse burier in Qingya County. Like Chen Laosan, he was an old hand with over ten years of experience, and so was the third man. The three of them were the pillars among Qingya County's corpse buriers. No corpse that passed through their hands had ever gone wrong.

"Second Master Bai."

The other silent man took a bite of his steamed bun and spoke in a deep voice. This man was Wang Laoshuan, older even than Chen Laosan. Of the three, he had been burying corpses the longest.

The three were all seasoned old hands, so naturally they understood what Second Master Bai represented.

The helmsman of the Bai Family, Qingya County's local tyrant, an important figure they had once needed to look up to. Now he lay among a pile of corpses like a dead dog, without even a coffin. If an important figure like Second Master Bai met such an end, then what identities did the rest possess?

Chen Laosan said nothing and silently ate his steamed bun. He had noticed some things too, but whether he spoke of them no longer mattered.

The three of them would likely remain here forever.

The three old corpse buriers all understood this in their hearts.

That eunuch who had issued the assignment had never intended to leave any survivors.

Rebels?

Traitors?

Who was loyal and who was treacherous was still hard to say. The three of them had seen far too much.