Chapter 112: Past Affairs of Zhu'er

The night fades, the sun rises in the east.

Du En is currently receiving a guest in the small building where he is temporarily staying.

The corpse-transport supervisor Li Jian, while coming over in the morning to report on work, discovered that his direct superior He Bo was in seclusion healing from injuries, so he immediately seized the opportunity and, looking rather furtive, found his way to Du En's side.

However, upon arriving at the doorway, he appeared hesitant and exceptionally nervous, lingering on the spot for quite a while; it was only when Du En could no longer watch and went over to open the door himself that he stepped into the room.

"Regarding the matter of delivering pills, the matter of looking after others, and the matter of spreading rumors, I haven't yet found the time to pay a visit and express my thanks, yet you have come to my door yourself."

Du En used such direct words to open the conversation.

To this, Li Jian could only offer a bitter smile, appearing quite reserved: "This subordinate dare not accept your thanks. In truth, this whole affair is inseparable from me. The reason I acted this way is, firstly, naturally to keep the Lord's kindness in mind, and secondly, because I have guilt in my heart that is difficult to dispel..."

"In the past, I had just become a supervisor, and she had just been assigned as a laborer. Because we fell in love at first sight and cherished one another, we naturally became a pair of Dao companions."

Perhaps there was a reason for Du En stirring the pot in this, but more likely, it was that she felt her "gift" was not good enough, and so she began to meticulously prepare something else.

"I was merely fighting an enemy; rather, it is quite unexpected that you do not hate me for killing her."

Whether it was deep reminiscence or painful reflection, he came to an abrupt halt.

With a strike of his palm, he knocked out the source of the strangeness, Li Jian.

"In order to better look after her, I arranged for her to work in corpse transport. Originally, I did not want her to follow along and do dirty work moving corpses everywhere, but she did not want me to be gossiped about, and she herself felt the need to be self-reliant and strong."

Until the conception was complete, she would strike at the corpse transporters, turning old acquaintances and some newcomers into gorgeous bouquets to present to the lover she had always loved.

"I, actually, just wanted to ask, how was Zhu'er's behavior at the very end..."

He was somewhat incoherent, unable to cut to the main topic.

"..."

"You spoke too excitedly, fell ill from worry, and vomited blood in a faint." Du En said this while observing the other's expression, only to see that he actually believed it, remembering nothing of the previous abnormality, and continued along that line, "The matter is in the past; remember to recuperate after you go back."

"At Li Yue's—oh, he was there at the time, still a greenhorn, steady and capable. Under the care of his subordinates, everything was very ordinary and normal for the first few months, and no accidents occurred. Just when I thought the days would continue like that, on that day, a change appeared!"

Li Jian lay slumped on the tabletop, having fallen into a faint and even vomited blood, but he looked like nothing more than an ordinary person injured and unconscious, with nothing special about it.

He had actually long thought about meeting Du En in person to ask about some things, but forced by the situation and unable to act on his own, this had dragged on for over a year. He had thought it would continue to drag on, until the rumors he had spread might cause Du En to come out.

After all, Du En had defeated and killed that evil cultivator Zhu'er, so he could barely be called a top-tier talent.

Du En answered calmly.

The real Zhu'er had perhaps died long ago; the one moving about was likely not her own corpse at all.

When he reached this point, Li Jian suddenly stopped his narration.

When he reached this point, his expression and mood were exceptionally complex.

"I have caused you trouble again; I am truly deeply sorry, cough..."

Du En's answer was full of his own characteristics, without the slightest circumlocution or tact.

Li Jian stated his purpose for coming, and feeling that his words were disjointed, he began to recount the past and his history with that Zhu'er.

"A very ordinary and normal performance—that is, the evil-sect performance that an evil cultivator should have."

And so everything was changed; the female cultivator who was originally soft on the outside but firm on the inside and worthy of pity fell into the evil path, becoming an evil cultivator who killed for pleasure, toyed with corpses, and used evil methods!

"She must have discovered it too and wanted to turn back, but the things she did became increasingly extreme. In recent years, she appeared again and began to place various corpses in front of me. I really didn't know what to do before, and in the end, even Li Yue and the others died, all of them..."

"Cough, cough, just now, what happened?"

At the same time, Du En's divine sense perceived that something seemed to have rapidly detached from Li Jian's body.

Du En acted decisively!

"Ga~"

Li Jian's eyes were dim, but he braced his spirit and spoke again: "In short, Zhu'er fell into the evil path, and I could not stop or save her. To tell the truth, after seeing her like that twice, I have been harboring fear!"

"Although due to some of my concerns and worries, I chose not to speak of it publicly, in this environment outside the city, we were already quite content and satisfied."

He had not expected that this side would be the first to walk out of the predicament, which greatly exceeded his expectations, but thinking about it carefully, it also felt inexplicably reasonable.

As he spoke, Li Jian could not help but cough again due to his excitement.

Li Jian asked this, his voice sounding very soft, his hands gripping his clothes tightly.

Then Li Jian became even more afraid, and she, in turn, fell silent once more.

Li Jian's mouth twitched and moved, and from his throat, he struggled to squeeze out the words: "Not the Supreme Lord, it is a grievance... evil... yes, she, she on that day, at that time, encountered, a grievance..."

"... Saying these things out loud, my mood feels a little better."

Sensing the yellow earth beneath his feet, which would usually respond and resonate, it was now sending back an abnormal vibration, quite repelling and resistant.

From the previous incident of the two gang leaders' fused corpses to the later human bouquets, the cause and effect could be considered completely sorted out.

"So she also went to participate in corpse transport. I really couldn't refuse her, so I could only urge others to take good care of her. Although my heart ached, I also felt she had a unique charm."

However, this was the real him.

Everything quietly returned to normal, as if it had never happened.

"... I have been thinking, is that kind of her really still her? Could it be that, in fact, she is just a corpse?"

Li Jian was stunned by this, his mouth agape, not knowing what else to say. Finally, he was dejected and dispirited, closing his eyes as tears slid down.

But I find it hard to walk out of it...

Zhu'er became an evil cultivator and began to do evil; Li Jian felt fear. She must have suffered a blow, which is why she hid for quite a long time until she appeared again, turning the two gang leaders of the Blood Eagle Iron Hand into fused corpses to express her desire for reconciliation.

Regarding this, Du En found a few spiritual herbs from his storage bag, crushed them with a surge of magic power, separated the essence of the medicinal liquid, and fed it to him, which improved his condition.

"Because of the calling of that so-called Supreme Lord?"

Li Jian finally returned to the purpose of his visit and expressed his sincere thanks.

His gaze was lowered, and he did not voice this speculation; however, Li Jian seemed to actually have his own answer.

Regarding these words, Du En suddenly thought of the situation where Zhu'er gave birth from a corpse at the very end.

"I have made you laugh at me. Actually, what I really wanted to say is, thank you for being able to help her find release."

"In short, thank you very much for being able to help me end all of this. She can finally find release, thank you."

Du En did not interrupt, letting him ramble on.

It took quite a while before he recovered.

However, he did not choose to erupt directly, but instead chose to observe silently first.

Du En's brows furrowed slightly, his mana already in a state of complete alert in the blink of an eye, ready to move, needing only an instant to erupt.

In his heart, many thoughts were actually still piling up, but, just as Du En said, the person was already dead, and the past had dissipated like clouds and smoke; the matter was actually already over.

After the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, Li Jian woke up hazily.

And after those two words were mentioned with great difficulty and in broken fragments, Du En suddenly sensed a quiet stillness outside the room, as if something were faintly brewing and changing.

Li Jian, who was clearly looking up yet whose face seemed to have become blurred, stiffly turned his face at this moment, stared straight at Du En, and asked coldly: "Do you know how evil cultivators come to be?"

Having formally finished expressing his thanks, the person did not linger here any longer, and thus said goodbye and left.

Writing up to here, the first volume, Grave Digger, ends; the next to arrive at the battlefield is the second volume, Outpost Patrol, though, while it is called Outpost Patrol, in reality, around chapter 150, the outpost camp is gone.

(End of this chapter)