Vegetables Hold a Meeting

"Grandpa??"

Xiao Ran stared at the gaunt face before him. At first, he genuinely hadn't recognized it. The way someone looked when they were old and the way they looked when they were young were practically two different things.

Xiao Ran wanted to move closer for a better look, but this was only a beggar's memory. He could only remain an observer; he couldn't change what the beggar remembered seeing.

So the old man's face was somewhat blurry, but Xiao Ran could still tell that he had been quite handsome at the time.

His features were sharply defined, with thick brows and big eyes, and a faint shadow of stubble that lent him a youthful air.

The muscles in both his arms were clearly defined.

But what does this beggar mean? The Changchun Association... Could Grandpa have been a member too? Probably, but this Changchun Association must be different from the one in Xue Hongling's memories.

Grandpa had mentioned it before. (It was brought up in Chapter 28.)

There was an organization on the lake that served as a gathering place for artisans and all sorts of people from every walk of life.

The organization had no ties to the authorities, but it often had close connections with local gentry, landlords, and shopkeepers. To put it bluntly, these people were the Changchun Association's backers.

Within the martial world, the association mediated business dealings and upheld its rules.

Outside it, the association united local forces to settle everything from temporary rents for plots of land to organizing events. Street performances, lantern festivals, temple fairs—all of it was under their purview.

The Changchun Association had been at its most active during Grandpa's time, so it wasn't surprising that he had some connection to it.

Later, as the country reformed and the times progressed, those disreputable trades gradually faded into history, either evolving or changing professions. The Changchun Association no longer had any reason to exist and disappeared long ago.

As for the Changchun Association in Xue Hongling's memories...

Xiao Ran guessed that after Micheng appeared and many people became initiates, they needed a platform to communicate. Over time, they had revived the Changchun Association, a relic of an older era.

The beggar's memories continued to flicker past. Xiao Ran didn't see Grandpa and the others attacking him; all he saw was the beggar being bound and then tossed into a coffin.

The scene should have ended there.

But there was another fragment, from an unknown time later. Someone pried open the coffin again. A man wearing a black hood pinched his nose and waved a hand, cursing, "Why do I have to do all the trash jobs? I'm not your damn dog."

As he spoke, he beckoned, and a black iron nail appeared out of thin air. Then he drove it into the beggar's chest.

"Micheng Space?"

"Was this iron nail driven in by an initiate?"

The memory ended there, but Xiao Ran couldn't help feeling surprised.

"Was this thing created by an initiate?"

"Then why is it here?"

Xiao Ran couldn't figure it out for the moment.

"The corpse of Qu Sanwa that you repaired received a B-grade rating. The Calamity Suppressing Token is in a special period and cannot obtain Energy Value."

"The Calamity Suppressing Token successfully seized a spirit. You obtained Qu Sanwa's ability, Ghost Scripture (Part One)!"

A text soon appeared in Xiao Ran's mind. It was barely over a thousand words, but its contents described a sinister method for refining souls into pills.

"With a sinister technique like this, he deserved to die!"

Xiao Ran examined the technique carefully. When he saw that it required infants less than three months old as the medium for the ritual, he felt sick.

He searched the beggar and found the so-called medium. It was actually the gourd he'd stolen earlier.

The souls of three children were sealed inside and refined into talismans. Living souls were continuously thrown in, slowly being refined into pills.

This thing wasn't a Cursed Object, but it was even more evil than one.

The Ghost Scripture wasn't much use to him, but it recorded quite a few unorthodox martial arts techniques that he could study.

"Bzz, bzz! Watermelon, Watermelon, this is Winter Melon. Anyone there?"

Just then, the walkie-talkie Xiao Ran had tossed onto the bed suddenly crackled to life.

Xiao Ran froze. He'd only picked the thing up on a whim, never expecting anyone to actually be talking over it.

He picked up the walkie-talkie and waited. A moment later, another voice came through.

"Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut, this is Chive. What's up, Winter Melon?"

"Last night, Cabbage nearly got killed. The Night Ghosts showing up lately are pretty strong. I think we should do a big sweep."

"Bullshit, big sweep. I think you're just craving some meat. That six-tier Night Ghost we killed last time—I saw you drooling over it."

"Garlic Sprouts, Garlic Sprouts, this is Tomato. Winter Melon has a point. The Night Ghosts are getting smarter and learning to hide. That eight-tier Night Ghost last time nearly slipped by us. If Green Bean hadn't been there, that thing might've quietly reached tier nine. Then none of us would be getting a good night's sleep."

"Tier nine sounds great. That'd be premium meat. If it weren't forbidden, I'd have raised a ghost of my own and nurtured it all the way to tier nine."

"Radish, Radish, this is Cabbage. I'm in favor of a sweep too. That Skeleton Night Ghost last night was a crafty one. If someone hadn't helped me in secret, I might've been in trouble."

"Helped you? Who?"

"I don't know. They seemed to be able to summon an evil spirit. It was pretty strong."

"Hmm... Cabbage, I just want to know if you ate the special seasoning I gave you." Watermelon asked curiously.

"Fuck!"

At the mention of it, Cabbage on the other end of the walkie-talkie immediately started cursing. "You son of a bitch, you're an absolute monster! Anyway, I'm in favor of a sweep. You guys can vote among yourselves. Once you've decided, have someone come tell me on the sixth floor!"

After Cabbage finished speaking, it sounded like he'd turned off his walkie-talkie. Watermelon's wild laughter filled the channel.

"Winter Melon, what special seasoning did you give him?"

"Nothing much, just some special chili powder. I made it using the Night Ghosts' anger. It doesn't have any side effects, except that it gives you diarrhea." After a pause, Watermelon added, "Oh, right. When you have diarrhea, you scream. Yeah, like a prairie dog. Hahahahaha..."

As one voice chimed in after another over the walkie-talkie, Xiao Ran lounged halfway back on the bed, listening to the initiates call one another by their names. He suddenly felt like he was listening to a meeting of vegetables and fruits.

But the way these people talked about the Night Ghosts was strange, especially Winter Melon. It was as though the Night Ghosts were just ingredients to him.

"Onion, Onion, this is Pumpkin. I heard everything you just said. Once Green Bean comes out of seclusion, we'll organize a big sweep. I could use some materials too."

A woman's voice came through, gentle and soft, but no one else on the walkie-talkie objected.

The voices on the walkie-talkie gradually faded away.

Xiao Ran toyed with the walkie-talkie in his hand, wondering whether he should take this chance to blend in and see if he could get something out of it. Then Pumpkin's voice came through again.

"Are you still listening?"

"Hm?"

Xiao Ran paused, looking down at the walkie-talkie in his hand.

"You're still listening, right? You're the one who helped Cabbage last night, aren't you?"

Pumpkin continued, "Don't be surprised. I'm in charge of this radio network, so I can see the signal source. After each conversation, we agree to turn off our walkie-talkies for ten minutes. As long as you haven't turned yours off, it means you're still listening."

Xiao Ran's heart gave a sudden thump. He hadn't expected them to have a way to do that.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I mean no harm. Initiates generally don't turn on each other unless they have a deadly grudge. You helped Cabbage last night, so Cabbage owes you a big favor. He wouldn't dare not repay it. If you need anything, just contact him. He's usually on channel six. Channel thirteen is our shared channel."

The woman's voice was gentle. Although Xiao Ran didn't respond, she continued speaking as if to herself. "By the way, did you recover that beggar's corpse last night? I'm short on materials. If you're willing, give me the beggar's eyes. I can offer you something of equal value in exchange, such as curse patterns, Cursed Objects, or special advancement materials."

The woman finished speaking and waited a while. When Xiao Ran still didn't respond, she continued, "If you need anything, you can call me on channel nine. I won't bother you any longer."

After that, the woman didn't say another word.

Xiao Ran simply turned off the walkie-talkie. Although Pumpkin had sounded sincere, he didn't dare respond to someone he'd never met.

She seemed completely sincere, but Xiao Ran had never even met her. How could he dare to speak up?

As for asking Cabbage to repay the favor, Xiao Ran figured that would be like tossing a meat bun to a dog—there was no telling whether they'd set the whole thing up just to find out who he was.

That big sweep they mentioned sounds like a good opportunity.

At the thought, Xiao Ran looked toward the bed, where the beggar's corpse and the old man's corpse lay...

Ever since he was little, Grandpa had taught him not to waste things.

So...

[Calamity Suppressing Token - Trainee] activated.

Privilege 2: Emulate. You can extract talismans.

[Black Swan Brooch - Corpse Stitcher] activated.

Privilege 2: Enlist. You can turn it into a servant.

After activating the two Cursed Objects again, Xiao Ran picked up the cleaver, wiped it off a few times, and walked over to the two corpses. Grinning, he said, "I'll be quick... Just bear with it."