Chapter 37: The Terrified Crowd

In the dim mountain forest at the first light of dawn, a cold dampness was diffusing due to last night's light rain.

The sky was cloudless today; normally at this hour, the scavenging beasts that should have been gathering on the small path waiting for a meal were now all lying silently in the forest, not daring to move a single bit.

For on the corpse-transport path, several people were standing, each one incomparably nervous, their mana fluctuations roiling and intertwining as they spread outward.

It's the corpse transporters!

A good number of them had come, joining forces to deliver a corpse here, but they dared not step into the wasteland, so they remained at a stalemate.

Until now, the time had finally come.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

The burly man leading them shouted in a rough voice.

"Don't you tell me any... ah? Cough!"

Li Yue was like a cat with its fur standing on end, appearing hysterical, which made Ning Caize and the others feel a chill in their hearts.

Yet at this moment.

Isn't it you, the boss, who told me to go and bring Du En and the others over?

Why are you now acting like this, shifting your anger onto me?

"Cough! A-Ran, you did well this time, actually bringing the entire burial crew!"

He said this, not giving Du En any room to respond, and directly, without looking back, pointed at the handcart in the wasteland and said: "The corpse is placed there; the burial work from here on is yours. Do it well, we are leaving now!"

No accident occurred, and they let out a sigh of relief; some individuals even collapsed onto the ground.

The others were the same, all wanting to retreat quickly.

Ah...

Eerie!

Xu Ran, struck by the unkind gazes, felt completely bewildered.

Rumble—

The familiar sound of cart wheels turning made them stare fiercely at the handcart in the wasteland.

The excited words came to an abrupt halt, and Li Yue could not help but feel embarrassed and blush.

Xu Ran truly stopped hitting.

Even Li Yue, who was at the middle stage of Qi Refining and a true veteran in the corpse-handling business, was now so fearful and panicked—just how terrifying must this morning's urgent corpse be?!

"Boss, I've brought the people!"

"No need for humble refusals; I say it's you, so it is. Also, you know how to undo and recover this magical artifact corpse bag, so the capable should do more work; you just wait here and recover it!"

The leader retracted his mana, just about to say something.

"My ox..."

There was a corpse bag on the cart, wrapping the body, but the bulging shape looked somewhat strange, as if the person inside were still alive, struggling to straighten their limbs and kick, fighting to crawl out.

Ning Caize, holding the shovel, felt his hands sweating nervously and couldn't help but interject.

The leader was even brewing spells, his mana chaotic, clearly bluffing and putting on a fierce front to intimidate the corpse, but the more one looked, the more uneasy one felt.

Xu Ran helplessly raised his hands, his complexion deathly pale.

The leader was none other than Li Yue, the boss of this small group of corpse transporters; he was burly, strong, and had a stern face, but at this moment, because his fright had not fully subsided, he was breaking out in a cold sweat and his face was white.

However, seeing Du En lead the team over, he still forced a show of authority; after all, he had been working here for decades and was at the middle stage of Qi Refining, a true veteran!

"Little Du, it's good that you've come."

Ah? What does this have to do with me?

Then, he very naturally looked at the culprit who had just given them such a big fright and caused him to lose his composure: Xu Ran.

The corpse transporters did not dare to hesitate; they gripped the thick hemp ropes in their hands and gave a violent tug, and amidst the rumbling sound, they pulled a handcart.

Although they had long known that the corpse transporters' boss was not a good person, they hadn't expected him to be *this* bad—shifting blame and running away in one go, and his attitude toward Du En just now was a true display of his nature, which they found utterly disgusting!

"What kind of corpse is it, exactly, that scared you all so much that you're eager to grease your heels?"

Nearly scared to the point of wetting themselves, terrified!

However, the handcart was perfectly fine and hadn't moved at all.

After speaking in an unquestionable tone, he wanted to leave quickly, to get away from this godforsaken place he hadn't visited in a long time, and away from that incredibly eerie and terrifying corpse.

The handcart was nothing special; it should have been pulled by a green-skinned water buffalo, but for fear of accidents, it had been changed to human labor.

Since you're here, let's work together!

Although Xu Ran was a bit dazed, he still raised his hand to catch the shovel, then with a face full of lingering fear, stammered: "You'll know soon enough; I can only say, prepare yourselves mentally."

Du En signaled to the others to put the spare tools in the usual place, while carrying two shovels and tossing one to the dazed Xu Ran.

This was even more terrifying!

Clearly the handcart hadn't moved at all, so why was there the sound of cart wheels turning?!

The crowd was shocked, their legs trembling, staring at the handcart and the corpse bag, swallowing saliva incessantly, their bodies shaking non-stop.

Under the gaze of many eyes, the handcart was finally dragged into the wasteland.

This green-skinned water buffalo, upon arriving here, also seemed to feel relieved and let out a simple, honest lowing, meaning: stop hitting, I will walk honestly.

"Tsk! Little Xu, you're being so mysterious; could it be even more disgusting than that powder corpse?"

As the handcart moved closer to the burial wasteland, the corpse bag swayed and swayed, keeping the nerves of everyone present taut and causing them to break out in cold sweat.

Xu Ran was on it, waving a whip to drive the ox.

The burial workers were timid; Du En blinked, remaining calm and composed: "Doesn't that corpse bag need to be recovered? I remember that was the supervisor's magical artifact used last time."

And so, they hurriedly shifted their positions, looking with dissatisfied and resentful eyes at the ox-drawn cart that had just appeared from the depths of the dim path.

After speaking in an unquestionable tone, ignoring the stunned Xu Ran, Li Yue waved his hand, and the corpse transporters immediately joined forces to lift and turn the ox cart, snatched the whip, sat on it, and whipped the ox's rear fiercely, quickly and frantically fleeing the place.

The burial workers looked at one another, staring blankly.

"What do you want to do?! I'm telling you! This task was arranged by the overseer. Even though it's not the overseer from your side, as a corpse-burier, you still have to do this job well. Don't even think about shirking your responsibility!"

Du En and the others got off the cart and walked toward the corpse-transporters who were quickly gathering.

What should be done?

What on earth should be done?!

"Uh, this, it's not really..."

Du En glanced into the wasteland and, at this moment, stepped sideways to intercept the other party.

There was absolutely no counting on anyone else to save oneself!

At a time like this, you don't need to run faster than the evil entity; you just need to run faster than your companions!

In short, just first... Hm? Wait!

The crowd had only run two steps; having dealt with corpses all year round, they finally came to their senses before they had even managed to run far.

Because they had already arrived at the destination.

The sound coming from behind startled the group, causing them to jump straight up and prepare to scramble and flee in all directions.

And the very corpse he mentioned, just hearing it brought to mind, immediately caused the expressions of the other three to change once again.

They, along with Du En, had all personally experienced that corpse, and they all shared the same thought: that corpse was the most disgusting, most nauseating one they had ever seen!

Please follow the story! Please add to your collection!

(End of this chapter)