Rewards

Back in the Corpse Handling Room, he opened one of the packets.

The so-called Lime Powder lived up to its name—inside was a grayish-white powder that gave off a pungent, quicklime-like smell.

He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and poured the coarse medicinal powder directly onto the blackened wound.

"Sizzle—!"

An indescribable, searing pain, like a red-hot branding iron pressed into flesh, shot through his entire body in an instant!

Lu Chen let out a muffled grunt, veins bulging on his forehead as his body trembled violently.

The powder seemed almost alive, madly burning into his wound as it clashed with the yin-cold corpse poison, emitting wisps of foul-smelling black smoke.

The agony lasted a full incense stick's time before slowly receding.

Lu Chen was drenched in cold sweat, leaning weakly against the icy stone wall, gasping for air.

He looked down—the wound was no longer black. Though it was a bloody mess, the yin-cold corpse poison had indeed been purged by that brutal, crude medicine.

The relief of surviving was quickly replaced by a far colder reality.

He closed his eyes, replaying every moment of his fight with that Corpse Badger over and over in his mind.

His flaws, his clumsiness, his utter disgrace—all were as clear as brands.

"The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique is a butcher's blade, not a warrior's..."

"Body Evasion Steps can dodge, but they can't win..."

"I need... I need something I can truly use to kill!"

The next morning, Foreman Wang came to find Lu Chen early.

He glanced at the other man's pale face, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.

"That trip out—we didn't catch that beast, but that report of yours at least saved me from wasting a trip in front of the Captain." He stared at Lu Chen with a fake smile. "Fine, merit is merit, fault is fault. I've always been clear on rewards and punishments."

Foreman Wang pretended to ponder for a moment, as if agonizing over some grand reward.

In truth, the pills and silver the Captain had bestowed were already tucked into his own purse—he hadn't planned to give Lu Chen a single hair.

He rummaged through a dusty wooden box in the corner for a while, then casually pulled out a booklet even more tattered than the Turtle Breath Meditation Method and tossed it at Lu Chen's feet.

The cover had fallen off, the pages were yellowed and curled, reeking of mold.

At the same time, he grabbed a few stacks of dark, coarse yellow paper from a drawer, along with a lump of cinnabar so low-quality it seemed mixed with sand.

"Kid, knowing how to swing a blade isn't enough—you need to learn more skills." Foreman Wang crossed his legs and spoke in a tone of "I'm doing this for your own good." "The art of talisman-making is profound and unfathomable—a celestial technique. Take this Detailed Explanation of Basic Talismans (Fragment) and study it well. When you handle some special corpses later, it might come in handy."

Giving this useless, unlearnable trash to Lu Chen counted as a reward, silencing the gossip, while also wasting his time and energy on something worthless—keeping him from getting any other ideas.

Killing two birds with one stone, Foreman Wang felt quite pleased with his cleverness.

Lu Chen looked at the reward at his feet, his heart ice-cold, but his face instantly lit up with flattered ecstasy.

He scrambled to pick up the broken book, talisman paper, and cinnabar, clutching them to his chest like precious treasures, and bowed deeply to Foreman Wang.

"Thank you, Foreman Wang, for your guidance! I... I will live up to your high expectations and devote myself to study—I won't let you down!"

His voice even trembled with feigned excitement, his acting so convincing that Foreman Wang felt a wave of satisfaction.

"Mm, the lad can be taught." Foreman Wang nodded approvingly, then his expression turned serious as he announced another matter.

"Since you've got this kind of luck, from now on, any demon corpse in the department with heavy Killing Intent or prone to trouble will go through your hands first. If you can't handle it, then pass it to Zhang Mazi and the others."

He paused, adopting a tone of "I'm entrusting you with this." "This is a test, and also training. Do it well, and you'll be rewarded!"

These words, dressed up as a promotion, were really just shifting the highest-risk tasks onto Lu Chen alone.

If Lu Chen succeeded, Foreman Wang could take the best materials to his superiors and claim credit.

If Lu Chen failed or even died, it would just be one insignificant Corpse Handler gone—no loss to him.

The scheme was both vicious and loud.

Outside the door, Zhang Mazi and the others, who happened to be passing by, heard this and turned green with envy.

In their eyes, this priority handling was a golden opportunity!

It meant first access to the most valuable demon corpses—the biggest haul.

They only saw the benefits, completely ignoring the deadly risks.

But Foreman Wang's authority weighed heavily, so they only cursed inwardly, not daring to show any discontent on their faces.

Lu Chen's heart, however, began to race uncontrollably.

Risks?

Behind the risks lay a mountain of Demon Devil Lifespan!

Foreman Wang's arrangement was like a pillow handed to him just as he was nodding off—perfectly timed!

"I... accept! I will serve Foreman Wang with all my might, even unto death!"

Lu Chen bowed deeply once more, his voice brimming with the thrill of being entrusted and a resolute determination.

Back in the damp, chilly Corpse Handling Room, he slid the stone door firmly shut, and the excitement and gratitude on his face vanished in an instant.

He placed the tattered Detailed Explanation of Basic Talismans on the stone bed and began to pore over it carefully.

As expected, this fragment was even more absurd than he had imagined.

The talisman scripts were twisted like ghostly scrawls, with many crucial strokes blurred beyond recognition. As for the so-called annotations, they were disjointed and riddled with self-contradictory claims.

"Draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to your fingertips, infuse clarity of intent into the brush's tip..."

Lu Chen stared at these abstruse descriptions, his head throbbing. Even just comprehending them was daunting, let alone cultivating.

He did not lose heart. Instead, he sank his mind into his consciousness and issued a command to the floating Bronze Tome.

"System, can I infuse the Detailed Explanation of Basic Talismans?"

[Detected incomplete skill book: Detailed Explanation of Basic Talismans (Fragment). Infusion and deduction are possible, but due to severe incompleteness, the required lifespan will increase significantly, and initial efficiency will be extremely low.]

"As long as it works."