The Three Sages Classic

"Huh?!"

"I've already mastered Turtle Fist?!"

Even Lu Mian was astonished.

He hadn't expected to succeed so easily.

Looks like I was right. I shouldn't force myself to hold my breath. I need to follow the rhythm of the moves.

Looks like I do have a little talent for martial arts.

Next, I'll keep refining Turtle Fist. Once my blood and qi are strong enough, I'll try practicing Snake Fist.

Once turtle and snake become one, I'll have mastered the basics.

At that thought, Lu Mian felt a surge of motivation and resumed practicing Turtle Fist.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Mian had spent seven days at the Dust-Returning Courtyard and had grown completely accustomed to its routine.

Every day, he spent one tael of silver on pork and eggs to supplement his meals.

His gluttonous stomach steadily converted the food into blood and qi. Lu Mian could feel clear improvements in his strength, speed, and constitution, and even his face had grown much rosier.

Evening came.

Lu Mian slowly drew back his fists and released a long, steady breath.

After practicing these past few days, my breathing has grown longer and steadier. I've got plenty of stamina, and I feel full of energy.

These are all signs of abundant blood and qi. I should be able to try practicing Snake Fist tomorrow.

The corners of Lu Mian's mouth lifted.

He glanced at the sky, then crouched beside the stove and smeared a little wood ash on his face, making himself look filthy.

As his blood and qi grew stronger, his complexion had become much rosier. Compared to the pale, numb-looking corpse collectors at the Dust-Returning Courtyard, he stood out far too much, which could invite trouble.

For now, he had to lie low like a spirit turtle hidden in the ocean, revealing nothing unusual about himself.

Once his disguise was ready, Lu Mian pushed open the door.

Whooosh...

A cold wind swept past.

Despite wearing only a thin gray robe, Lu Mian barely felt the chill.

As his blood and qi grew rich and vigorous, his resistance to the cold improved greatly as well.

Just as Lu Mian reached the mouth of the alley, he spotted several idle figures crouching in the shadow of a stone house.

Lu Mian narrowed his eyes slightly.

These three were the Black Snake Gang members who had previously barged into his room and threatened him.

"Well, well."

"Isn't this the new corpse collector?"

Luo Shi whistled when he saw Lu Mian, then approached with his two underlings.

Lu Mian feigned alarm. "Master Luo... is there something you need?"

Seeing his reaction, Luo Shi grinned even more brazenly and slapped Lu Mian hard on the shoulder. "Nothing much. I just heard you've come into some money lately. Buying meat at the market every day, are you?"

"It's been ages since the boys and I had any meat ourselves."

Lu Mian hadn't expected them to notice. He smiled ingratiatingly. "Brother Luo, that's easy enough. I'll bring you some tomorrow."

Luo Shi was very pleased by his obedience. "You're all right, kid. Unlike some newcomers who need a beating before they learn their manners."

"Off you go. Scrounge up a little more money tonight."

Lu Mian hurried away, seemingly too frightened to watch where he was going.

At the sight, Luo Shi and the others laughed even louder.

They failed to see the cold, vicious look in Lu Mian's eyes as he turned his back on them.

Laugh. Go ahead and laugh.

Once I've mastered the basics of Tortoise-Snake Fist, you won't be laughing anymore.

Lu Mian spoke inwardly.

But he hadn't mastered his martial arts yet, so he would have to endure it a little longer.

Lu Mian hurried to the Dust-Returning Courtyard.

After dinner, the corpse collectors began gathering one after another.

"Tonight, we'll be on duty in the Shed Quarantine Zone."

"More and more refugees have been coming to Thousand Chimes City lately, and plenty of people are dying in the Shed District. Everyone needs to take a cart."

"And be careful while you work."

Chen Xiuzhu spoke listlessly.

Lu Mian wore a blank expression, neither moving nor making a sound.

It seemed those seven days had made him no different from the other corpse collectors.

Chen Xiuzhu was merely going through the motions himself. He paid little attention and waved for them to set out.

Creak...

After several days away, Lu Mian pushed his cart back into the Shed District.

With night fallen, only the patrols could be seen moving through the Shed District.

The refugees who had fled here had already retreated into their huts to sleep.

"You from the Dust-Returning Courtyard! Get over here."

"Two people froze to death here."

"We've got one here, too."

"Come with us first!"

The patrolmen had been waiting at the entrance to the Shed Quarantine Zone. The moment they saw the corpse collectors, they began calling out.

One look at the situation told Chen Xiuzhu there would be no rest tonight.

He immediately began assigning workers.

Lu Mian was assigned to work alone.

Pushing his cart, he followed a patrolman to a shack.

"The body's inside. Hurry up and haul it away."

"I need to get back to my patrol."

With that, the patrolman hurried off.

Lu Mian parked his cart outside the shack and walked straight inside.

The stench inside was overpowering.

Figures huddled around a brazier for warmth, paying no attention whatsoever to Lu Mian's arrival.

These refugees had seen far too many corpses already. They had long since grown numb.

Lu Mian looked around the shack and soon spotted a cold corpse in the corner.

The dead man appeared to be in his twenties. He wore thin clothing, was little more than skin and bones, and had a deathly pale complexion. There was no sign of life left in him.

Lu Mian crouched, braced his arms, and lifted the corpse, carrying it straight out to the cart.

Under the cover of night, Lu Mian pushed his cart out of the Shed Quarantine Zone and headed toward Corpse-Burning Valley.

Halfway there, he suddenly stopped.

"Sorry about this, brother."

After offering an apology, Lu Mian began searching the young man's corpse.

Over the past few days, he had figured out the rules of the Dust-Returning Courtyard.

When working alone like this, anything he found belonged to him.

Most of the time, though, there was nothing worthwhile to find.

In his seven days on the job, the best things Lu Mian had found were a piece of silver and a jade safety pendant that looked decent enough.

"Hmm..."

Soon, Lu Mian found a book on the young man's body.

"The Three Sages Classic..."

"So he was a scholar."

"What a shame he was born in the wrong era."

Lu Mian shook his head slightly.

Just as he was about to return the Three Sages Classic to the dead man's clothing, a deep, icy surge of resentment erupted from the corpse.

In a daze, Lu Mian seemed to hear countless voices reciting texts inside his head.

The voices were indistinct and chaotic, like murmured whispers, gradually dragging his mind into a lost, sinking haze.

Lu Mian had encountered this once before.

His face filled with terror. Struggling to stay conscious, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.

The sharp pain snapped Lu Mian awake.

Over the past few days, he had occasionally sought advice from Chen Xiuzhu.

If a corpse began transforming on the road, the first thing to do was stay lucid. The simplest method was to inflict pain, which would awaken a person's deepest instincts.

Those instincts could fight the resentment that corrupted the mind.

At that moment...

The scholar's corpse had opened his eyes!

His eyes were unfocused, ghastly white, and filled with venomous resentment.

Without turning around, Lu Mian pulled the corpse collector's token from his waist and pressed it against the dead man's forehead!

The corpse collector's token looked unremarkable, but it was actually carved from peach wood and had some power to suppress evil.

It was also a corpse collector's last means of staying alive.

The scholar's corpse had only just raised his pallid arms when the peachwood token pressed down, instantly suppressing the resentment, Death Aura, and yin energy within him.