"This is Corpse-Burning Valley. All the bodies are brought here to be burned."
"Remember this place. You'll be coming here often."
Chen Xiuzhu spoke without warning.
"Understood, Captain Chen."
Lu Mian answered.
Seeing Lu Mian's attitude, Chen Xiuzhu nodded inwardly, then said, "Go into the cave and bring out some firewood."
"I'll unload the bodies."
As Lu Mian followed the veteran corpse collectors toward a cave, he quietly glanced back.
He saw Chen Xiuzhu reaching out and searching the mangled bodies.
After just one glance, Lu Mian hurriedly looked away.
Soon, they carried a large quantity of firewood out of the cave, along with some lamp oil.
Once they had arranged the wood around the bodies and poured the oil over it, Chen Xiuzhu took out a stack of spirit money.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..."
"May your journey be peaceful..."
With that, he lit the fire.
The flames quickly rose, gradually reducing the bodies to drifting ash.
Lu Mian simply watched, his expression calm.
"Let's head back."
Only after the fire had died out did Chen Xiuzhu finally speak.
They pushed the carts out of Corpse-Burning Valley.
But as soon as they returned to the Shed Quarantine Zone, before dawn had even broken, a patrol came looking for them, ordering them to take two bodies of people who had died of illness away to be burned.
Chen Xiuzhu did not refuse.
Or rather, he had no right to refuse. This was the Dust-Returning Courtyard's job in the first place.
By the time they finished this additional round of work, day had broken.
This time, Chen Xiuzhu did not return to the Shed Quarantine Zone. Instead, he took Lu Mian somewhere closer to Thousand Chimes Commandery City.
"Thousand Chimes City has four main districts."
"The inner city, the outer city, the refugee district, and the shantytown..."
"The inner city is where the Upper Three Palaces and the rich and powerful live."
"The outer city is reserved for the Middle Three Halls and their families."
"The refugee district is where we of the Lower Three Institutes live."
As they walked, Chen Xiuzhu explained things to Lu Mian.
"Captain, what are the Lower Three Institutes... and the Middle Three Halls?"
Lu Mian was thoroughly confused.
He had always stayed within the shantytown quarantine zone, where information was scarce, and his understanding of Thousand Chimes City was very limited.
"The Lower Three Institutes are the General Affairs Office, the Dust-Returning Courtyard, and the Agriculture Office."
"The General Affairs Office has the most people. They do all sorts of manual labor and odd jobs for the people in the Inner City and outer city, repair structures, and so on."
"The Agriculture Office handles farming and raising livestock year-round. It's hard work, but at least you get fed."
"The Dust-Returning Courtyard has the fewest people, and it's also the most dangerous. We specialize in collecting bodies and taking them to Corpse-Burning Valley to be burned."
"But ever since the upheaval on the Day of Heaven's Death, sinister entities have sprung up all too easily. One day, a body you're carrying might suddenly turn undead and kill you."
Chen Xiuzhu spoke calmly.
No wonder he was so eager to take me... Turns out nobody wants to join the Dust-Returning Courtyard.
Lu Mian grumbled inwardly.
He did not actually mind. Dangerous though the work at the Dust-Returning Courtyard was, it might give him a few more uncanny abilities.
"As for the Middle Three Halls, there's the Artisans' Hall. If you have a skill, such as smithing and forging weapons, or knowledge of medicine, you can join as long as the higher-ups think you're useful."
"Then there's the Guard Hall, which handles security and patrols in Thousand Chimes Commandery City. If you can cultivate to blood-qi perfection, you can join that too."
"Last is the Administrative Hall. Its officials manage the daily affairs of Thousand Chimes Commandery City. Ordinary people have no chance of getting in."
Chen Xiuzhu continued explaining things to Lu Mian.
"What about the Upper Three Palaces..."
"Are they the masters of the Sunflame Sect?"
Lu Mian asked cautiously.
"That's right... The Upper Three Palaces are the Doctrine Transmission Palace, the Demon Extermination Palace, and the Evil Surveillance Palace."
"They say you have to become an outer disciple of the Sunflame Sect before you can join the Upper Three Palaces."
"People like that are beyond our reach."
Chen Xiuzhu spoke flatly.
Lu Mian's eyes flickered.
It seemed that since the uncanny upheaval, the Thousand Chimes government had swiftly surrendered its authority, handing everything over to the Sunflame Sect's local establishment in exchange for its protection.
The sheer rigidity of this hierarchy also shocked him.
No wonder Chen Xiuzhu and the others remained numb and listless even after leaving the Shed Quarantine Zone and entering the refugee district.
"Captain, does the Day of Heaven's Death mean that Heaven itself died?"
Lu Mian seized the opportunity to ask another question.
He desperately wanted to know why this world had become such a hellhole.
"I don't know... That's what the higher-ups call it."
"We just repeat what they say. Supposedly, sinister entities began appearing in great numbers on the sixth day of the sixth month."
"That day became known as the Day of Heaven's Death."
Chen Xiuzhu spoke indifferently.
As they talked, Lu Mian began to see rows of low stone houses laid out in an orderly fashion.
This stone-housing district was even larger than the Shed District. The densely packed houses were enough to trigger anyone's fear of clustered objects.
"This is the refugee district. Let's go back to the Dust-Returning Courtyard for breakfast first."
Chen Xiuzhu led Lu Mian into the district.
Filthy, chaotic, and run-down...
Although it was somewhat better than the Shed District, the difference was limited.
Sewage flowed through the streets, and excrement lay everywhere.
Most of the people walking the streets were sallow and emaciated, their eyes weary and numb.
Yet when the residents of the refugee district saw Chen Xiuzhu's group, they kept well away, as though they had spotted plague gods.
"That's how it is for us in the Dust-Returning Courtyard... Nobody wants to see us, after all."
"Get used to it sooner rather than later."
Chen Xiuzhu was long accustomed to it.
Lu Mian did not particularly care either.
In his previous life, he had already learned not to live by other people's judgments.
People had to live for themselves.
After a while, the group arrived in front of a spacious courtyard.
The Dust-Returning Courtyard.
Lu Mian saw the sign hanging out front.
Inside the Dust-Returning Courtyard was an open space, where many people dressed in gray were already sitting casually on the ground, eating noodles.
"The food here at the Dust-Returning Courtyard is decent. We're guaranteed two meals a day."
"Breakfast is usually noodles or something made from flour, along with an egg. In the afternoon, it's white rice with some meat, mostly fatty pork."
Chen Xiuzhu led Lu Mian and the others into the dining hall. Each collected a bowl of noodles, then went outside and sat down wherever they pleased to eat.
After working all night, Lu Mian was already ravenous.
He wolfed down the noodles and egg.
"Hmm..."
At that moment, Lu Mian felt his stomach and intestines churning rapidly, then sending out waves of warmth that quickly spread through his body.
His exhausted body gradually regained some vitality.
In particular, the burning pain in his injured hands seemed to ease considerably all at once.
Is this the effect of the gluttonous stomach...
Then as long as I have enough food, I can improve my physique in no time...
Lu Mian's spirits lifted.
The gluttonous stomach really was useful after all. The ten years of lifespan he had spent on it had not been wasted.
A little later, once Chen Xiuzhu had finished eating and drinking, he took Lu Mian to the Dust-Returning Courtyard's administrative office to register him.
The others in their team had already gone home.
Under Thousand Chimes Commandery City's hierarchy, everyone in the Lower Three Institutes belonged to the lowborn class.
Of course, this registration system was not based on bloodline.
Anyone who joined the Middle Three Halls could have their status changed to commoner.
As for the Upper Three Palaces... Their members had already joined the Sunflame Sect. What need did they have for any such registration?
Lowborn or not, though, it was at least better than being a refugee.
The registration procedures were soon completed.
Lu Mian received his own wooden token, two sets of gray clothes, and a waterskin filled with talisman water.
He also received a martial arts manual, "Tortoise-Snake Fist."
"You must carry this waterskin whenever you're on duty. The talisman water inside can dispel resentment and Death Aura."
"You can practice Tortoise-Snake Fist too."
"We corpse collectors deal with bodies every day, so some Death Aura and yin energy inevitably rub off on us. Over time, they not only shorten our lives but gradually weaken our bodies, making us prone to serious illness."
"Practicing Tortoise-Snake Fist can strengthen your blood and qi, helping you resist all sorts of diseases."
Chen Xiuzhu explained.
In truth, the higher-ups had corpse collectors practice Tortoise-Snake Fist simply because they wanted them to stop dying so quickly.
Before you continue