This Is a Good Place to Bury People

All along the way, he did not say a single word.

It was not until he got home that he rummaged out the Wooden Box from the cabinet and opened it.

The Wooden Box was filled to the brim with Iron Beads—so many that they made one's scalp tingle.

"Two people of the martial world, yet they forgot what the greatest taboo in the martial world is." Xu Bai grabbed a handful of Iron Beads and thought to himself.

The Iron Beads slipped through his fingers and fell onto the Wooden Box with a series of clinks and clangs. In the night, the sound was eerily unsettling.

Cut the grass without pulling up the roots, and when the spring breeze blows, it grows again.

Threats?

Extortion?

In Xu Bai's eyes, satisfying them once would turn into a bottomless pit.

Greed knew no bounds. Benefits gained merely by reaching out were equivalent to greed magnified without limit.

To truly eradicate trouble, one had to treat not only the symptoms, but the root cause as well.

As he thought this, the corners of his mouth gradually rose.

It seemed... he had found a proper solution.

The blacksmith and the proprietress seemed to have overlooked a loophole—one that could send them plunging into the Yellow Springs.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Xu Bai went to the stall for breakfast as usual, and casually patted Xiao Yue's head.

After eating, he began wandering around again.

The entire process was no different from usual. He did not feel the slightest psychological burden.

Behind Xu Bai, the proprietress was secretly following him.

Seeing Xu Bai idling about all day, she could not figure out what he was thinking.

It was not until noon that Xu Bai left a street stall.

When he left, he had a hemp rope in hand, freshly bought from the stall.

"What did he buy hemp rope for?" The proprietress became even more puzzled.

She simply could not understand Xu Bai's train of thought. It was one thing for him to have no psychological burden at all, but buying a completely useless hemp rope made him increasingly incomprehensible.

Could he have been driven to the point of hanging himself? The proprietress shook her head hard, throwing off the unrealistic thought, and continued following him.

On the other side, after buying the hemp rope, Xu Bai did not linger on the streets. He found another place to eat lunch, then returned home carrying the rope.

The proprietress did not go inside either. She kept watch from a street corner not far away.

As afternoon approached, Xu Bai went out as usual, ate dinner, and then stayed home again.

The sun gradually set, and night descended.

On the streets, the endless stream of people and unceasing clamor gradually faded away.

The bustling, lively streets became deserted, with only the proprietress keeping watch in a corner.

The sound of the night watch rang out as the watchman began his nightly rounds.

"He's been at home the whole time?" The blacksmith had come out as well, carrying a huge iron chest in one hand, half as tall as a person.

The iron chest looked extremely heavy, yet the blacksmith carried it without the slightest effort, as though he were carrying a cardboard box.

"There was nothing unusual about him today. He was even perfectly normal." The proprietress stared fixedly at Xu Bai's door without turning her head.

The more normal something was, the less normal it was.

The two of them had also drifted through the martial world, so naturally they understood this.

"Better safe than sorry. If there were any other way, I would not approve of taking this path," the blacksmith said.

Those words enraged the proprietress.

"You think I wanted this? We went through untold hardship to hide here. If we hadn't run out of money and lost our supply route, would I take such a risk? That man is obviously an old hand of the martial world. I don't want anything to do with him either."

Hearing this, the blacksmith gave a bitter smile and said nothing more.

The proprietress's chest heaved before her anger gradually subsided.

At that moment, the tightly shut door opened.

The two stopped talking and stared intently at the doorway.

In the darkness, Xu Bai stepped out with the Wooden Box on his back.

The Wooden Box was tied with hemp rope, fashioned into two shoulder straps. It looked rather ridiculous on his back.

"That box... I think I gave it to him, for holding Iron Beads. Strange, why is he carrying the Wooden Box?" the proprietress asked suspiciously.

"Maybe he plans to use it to hold the silver. Didn't he say there were over a hundred ingots of silver? It would be hard to carry without a box," the blacksmith said after thinking for a moment.

"I hope so," the proprietress said.

Other than that, she could think of no other reason.

While the two were talking, Xu Bai had already left and headed north of Sheng County.

"Follow him!"

Neither hesitated. They quietly followed behind him.

Carrying the Wooden Box, Xu Bai soon left Sheng County and headed into its outskirts.

The Wooden Box was heavy, but Xu Bai carried it as lightly as though it weighed nothing.

The realm of an Eighth Rank Loose Cultivator, along with the golden current within his body, made him feel as though he were walking on level ground.

Few people left Sheng County at night. After all, out in the wilderness, no one could know what dangers might lurk.

Ordinary people were busy making a living every day. They certainly would not come wandering through the wilderness with nothing better to do.

Thus, Xu Bai was the only person walking through the outskirts of Sheng County.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky.

The moon hid behind them, casting down only faint silver radiance.

The silver glow fell upon Xu Bai, and the Wooden Box gleamed dully beneath it.

Xu Bai walked farther and farther. By now, he was already more than ten li from Sheng County.

Behind him, the blacksmith and the proprietress had followed all the way. The farther they went, the greater the doubts in their hearts grew.

Would anyone really hide silver this far away?

If something happened, they would not even have time to rush over. Wouldn't the silver end up making another man a wedding dress?

Neither could make sense of it, but having come this far, they could only bite the bullet and keep following.

After walking several more li, Xu Bai slowed down and stopped.

This was a somewhat open clearing. The earth beneath his feet was soft and loose, comfortable to step on.

Xu Bai turned around, looked toward the woods behind him, and smiled. "You two, stop hiding. The surroundings here are very nice."

The woods remained utterly silent.

"If you don't come out now, you can forget about getting the silver," Xu Bai added.

The moment he finished speaking, a rustle came from the woods, and the blacksmith and the proprietress stepped out.

"Kid, what are you playing at? Why are you carrying that Wooden Box?" The proprietress walked closer and asked.

"I'm helping you find money. Using a Wooden Box to carry the money is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?" Xu Bai untied the hemp rope from his shoulders and set the Wooden Box on the ground.

He raised one foot and placed it on the Wooden Box, rested his elbow on his knee, and bent slightly at the waist. With a mocking gaze, he stared at the blacksmith and the proprietress.

For some reason, when Xu Bai's eyes swept over them, both the blacksmith and the proprietress shivered.

"Originally, I thought I'd have to walk a little farther to reach the destination. But unexpectedly, this place is quite nice." Xu Bai propped his chin on one hand and spoke slowly.

"What do you mean? Is the silver hidden here?" the blacksmith asked in a dull voice.

Xu Bai pointed at the sky, then at the ground, shaking his head with a sigh. "Talking about money is so vulgar. I invited you two here because I wanted to see whether the scenery here was good."

Silence fell over the scene. One could hear a pin drop.

"What exactly do you mean? Why are you dragging this out?" Sensing that something was off, the proprietress snapped angrily.

Xu Bai stomped his foot. Beneath it lay soft earth.

Then he spoke one sentence.

"The soil here is very good. It's suitable for burying people."