The Origins of the Three Corpses

The three corpses had their arms and legs severed, all mixed together.

This kind of corpse was the most troublesome. The pieces had to be sorted bit by bit, and not a single mistake could be made. Otherwise, once the stitching began, it would bring misfortune.

For a badly wounded Corpse Seamstress who had lost his right arm and still needed to stitch corpses, this was no different from sending him to his death.

Wen Qingkong picked up a pebble and flicked it with his finger.

The pebble tore through the air!

With a whoosh, it struck the One-Eyed Corpse Seamster in Room Six on his sleeping acupoint.

The One-Eyed Corpse Seamster instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Wen Qingkong dropped down from the roof beam, moved the One-Eyed Corpse Seamster aside, and propped him against a pillar inside the room.

He first laid out the main bodies of the three corpses separately, then identified the missing arms and legs one by one based on their clothing, the thickness of the limbs, and whether the severed ends were smooth or rough.

"This severed arm has a smooth wound and is the right size. It belongs to this corpse."

"The bone fragments are exposed on this severed leg, and it has half a tattoo. It obviously belongs to this corpse—the tattoo lines up perfectly."

"This severed arm is slender, with delicate, fair skin. It clearly belongs to this scholar's corpse."

Before long, Wen Qingkong had sorted all the severed arms and legs for the three corpses. Yet at that very moment, his expression turned slightly grim, because one of the corpses was missing an ear.

Zhang Quan had deliberately found the One-Eyed Corpse Seamster a huge problem!

Wen Qingkong pulled out some clay, measured the size of the corpse's other ear, confirmed its shape, then mixed the clay with water, molded an ear, and attached it.

Once he was done, he lifted the simplest corpse onto the cold slab first.

After placing it properly, he lit Three Incense Sticks in the incense burner before the corpse's head.

After observing for more than ten breaths, Wen Qingkong began stitching.

His movements were swift and efficient. Before long, he had finished stitching the corpse.

Just then, the mechanical voice sounded in his mind once more.

Corpse Seamstress, Life's Flashback, witness the mortal world, obtain supreme treasures.

The host has stitched one corpse. Life's Flashback appears.

This corpse had belonged to a bandit. Though he called himself a hero of the greenwood, he was really nothing more than a thief. His Taizu Long Fist was practiced to perfection. Though he knew no inner arts, he was born with immense strength like a monk, so even ordinary martial artists were no match for him.

He had entrenched himself on Mount Xiong Guang, three hundred li outside Yujing City, robbing passing merchants and travelers.

Over the years, quite a few of those he robbed had narrowly escaped with their lives and rushed to Yujing City to report the crime.

At first, since this was so close to Yujing City—beneath the Son of Heaven's feet—how could such a vile criminal be allowed to exist? The Six Doors constables had thus been dispatched several times to surround and capture him.

All his subordinates were slaughtered, while he alone escaped by sheer luck.

Later, he realized this could not continue.

The Six Doors were filled with experts, especially in Yujing City, beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, where masters were as numerous as carp crossing a river!

For a small fry like him, escaping that time had already been incredible fortune.

If it happened a few more times, he would likely end up like his subordinates, hacked to death by countless blades!

At that thought, most people would probably have stopped.

But he did not. After disguising himself, he entered Yujing City, called in favors, and met Ninth Prince Xia Dian of the Great Xia imperial clan. He promised to hand over ninety percent of every robbery's proceeds to Xia Dian.

From then on, he became Prince Jiu's lackey. He continued ruling Mount Xiong Guang and robbing wealthy merchants.

Moreover, his targets changed. He no longer robbed the great merchants and tycoons, but ordinary traders or travelers traveling in groups of fewer than ten.

After every robbery, he would directly kill them all.

In this way, he truly became a tyrant of Mount Xiong Guang, with an unknown number of Human Lives staining his hands.

Then, a few days ago, he finally kicked an iron plate when he robbed Ma Qing, the only son of Marquis Fubo Ma Guangyuan.

Ma Qing's inherited Azure Sea Silver Spear Thirty-Six was a genuine top-tier martial art. With a single thrust, he severed the man's right arm and then escorted him back to the capital.

Who would have thought the young lord of Marquis Fubo would wander the martial world alone?

Because this matter involved Marquis Fubo, who held real power, Prince Jiu, the man's patron, did not dare show himself either. He simply watched as the man was taken to the Caishikou Execution Grounds and beheaded for public display.

The corpse had been delivered tonight.

After all, he had once done work for Prince Jiu. Sewing him into a whole corpse would at least let Prince Jiu's subordinates see that Prince Jiu remembered old ties.

The host has obtained Taizu Long Fist.

After the Life's Flashback ended, the mechanical voice sounded in his mind again, and every aspect of the bandit's Taizu Long Fist fused into Wen Qingkong's hands.

Wen Qingkong's eyes flickered. Zhang Quan had given such an important corpse to the One-Eyed Corpse Seamster, clearly intending to use Prince Jiu's hand to get rid of him.

If Prince Jiu's men discovered tomorrow that the corpse had not been properly stitched, it was easy to imagine what fate awaited the One-Eyed Corpse Seamster.

What a vicious heart!

The One-Eyed Corpse Seamster had always been notoriously hot-tempered. It was not enough for Zhang Quan to cut off one of his arms—he even wanted him dead!

This made Wen Qingkong wary of Zhang Quan.

He set this corpse aside, then lifted the second corpse onto the cold slab.

It was a scholar.

Wen Qingkong quickly stitched him up, and afterward, this man's life appeared in his mind once more.

The scholar came from a fairly decent family. His parents were both small landowners, possessing five hundred mu of farmland.

The scholar's parents wanted him to make something of himself, so they supported his studies.

His parents were extremely strict with him.

In the scholar's memories, his entire world was only that study from which he could never escape.

Day after day, year after year, the scholar passed the child student examination, then became a licentiate, and finally went to the capital for the imperial examination.

He longed to become a jinshi in the end, so that he could freely go wherever he wished. He would also have fulfilled his parents' hopes and no longer be trapped in that tiny room.

Yet while passing Mount Xiong Guang, the scholar was robbed and hacked to death.

But why had his corpse been brought here?

After the scholar died, he had no more memories. Nor had Wen Qingkong seen this detail in the bandit's memories.

Strange.

Ma Qing, the young lord, had wiped out the bandits of Mount Xiong Guang. Could he have brought back the scholar who had been slain as well?

That clearly made no sense.

The host has obtained the Four Books and Five Classics.

The scholar's Life's Flashback ended, and Wen Qingkong obtained the Four Books and Five Classics.

However, this reward was not of much use. After all, when he had stitched corpses last night, he had obtained the genuine learning of a third-place palace graduate. Compared to this scholar, it was undoubtedly far superior.

He put the scholar's corpse away.

It was now just after the seventh quarter of the Hour of the Boar. There was still a quarter of an hour until midnight and a full three hours until dawn at the Hour of the Rabbit, so there was plenty of time.

Wen Qingkong looked at the final corpse. It was the one with the tattoo on its leg. Its face was rugged, its hair disheveled, and an X-shaped scar crossed its face, making it look savage and terrifying.

Wen Qingkong lifted it onto the cold slab, lit Three Incense Sticks, and began making preparations as usual.

However, just as he was about to start stitching, he discovered that the Three Incense Sticks had gone out.

Wen Qingkong did not immediately relight them. Instead, he carefully examined every inch of the corpse.

Having obtained the Shaolin Golden Bell Shield, his eyesight was no longer what it had once been. As his gaze swept over the body, his expression immediately turned cold. There was a small tuft of black cat fur on the corpse's chest.