Chapter 28: It

After Wang Erhu was knocked off the cliff, the remaining government troops were also slaughtered clean by that monster in a short time.

At that moment, the hemp‑clad figure hiding in the darkness slowly stepped out, gazing at the corpses on the ground. It slowly took out an ancient‑looking clay pot; with delicate jade hands it opened the pot, and blood‑glowing worms crawled out, quickly burrowing into the troops' corpses.

After the worms burrowed in, in the blink of an eye each troop's corpse rapidly withered, turning into a desiccated corpse.

The hemp‑clad figure then went to the three carts carrying treasure, opened one wooden crate and said, "Tie Nu, the gold and silver are yours; take the rest of the treasure."

Behind it, the monster heard the command, quickly walked to the cart, gulped down all the gold and silver, then hoisted the remaining jewels and followed the hemp‑clad figure into the night.

Maple Forest Town.

Fang Xu was cultivating when a virtual light screen suddenly popped up before him.

【Your good friend Wang Erhu has died; as a friend, you may randomly inherit any one of Wang Erhu's three legacies.】

Legacy One: 【Red Legacy·Azure Dragon Blade Technique (Ninth‑Grade Blade Technique)】 – inheriting it carries great risk, for the Azure Dragon Blade Technique is the exclusive sword art of the Huangzhou Prefecture troops; if one is not a troop member and practices it privately, once discovered the entire Huangzhou Prefecture will hunt them down.

Legacy Two: 【White Legacy·Lifespan +50】 – inheriting it is risk‑free, but requires touching Wang Erhu's corpse.

Legacy Three: 【Gray Legacy·Wang Erhu's Savings (equivalent to one thousand liang of silver)】 – inheriting it carries low risk; the silver deed is currently in the Huangzhou Prefecture troops' camp tent, and the host must go retrieve it personally.

"Erhu Ge is dead?!"

Looking at the conspicuous numbers on the light screen, Fang Xu's expression grew slightly solemn.

Although Wang Erhu's death had been anticipated, when it actually happened he still found it hard to accept.

Wang Erhu's visage and smile from this period unbidden rose before him, and Fang Xu couldn't help but sigh.

It's all fate!

Such is the world; he lacks the power to change anything, and if he doesn't want to follow in Wang Erhu's footsteps, he can only keep growing stronger.

He suppressed his sorrow and directly chose to inherit.

In the light screen, the three legacies rolled rapidly, finally settling on Legacy Two.

【Congratulations, host, you have obtained Legacy Two·Lifespan +50.】

【Automatically obtained upon touching Wang Erhu's corpse.】

After those two lines of text appeared on the light screen, a scarlet arrow then showed up, seemingly pointing to the direction of Wang Erhu's corpse.

Looking at the light screen, Fang Xu furrowed his brows.

Wang Erhu undoubtedly died in Ti Lan Shan; to gain those 50 Lifespan points, it seems he must personally venture into the mountain to find Wang Erhu's corpse.

The interior of Ti Lan Shan is too dangerous, with ferocious beasts running rampant and many bandits; since he isn't even a Martial Apprentice yet, would going into the mountain be perilous?

But if he doesn't go now, Wang Erhu's corpse will likely be eaten by mountain beasts, and those 50 Lifespan points would then be wasted.

Lifespan points are undoubtedly beneficial to one's life; 50 points is no small amount, and giving them up would truly be a pity.

After long consideration, Fang Xu made a decision!

Let's go see!

The outskirts of Ti Lan Shan have been patrolled year‑round by hunting squads, making the danger relatively low; if the place where Wang Erhu died is too deep inside, he can still give up later without delay.

Having decided, he immediately rose, found an iron spade indoors, hefted it a few times, shook his head and sighed, "Once I break through to Martial Apprentice, I should still buy a suitable weapon as soon as possible."

The night was deep; alone he left the town, following the arrow on the virtual light screen, Fang Xu felt his way toward Ti Lan Shan.

After traveling two hours, he had reached the outskirts of Ti Lan Shan, where hunting squads and herbalists‑gold prospectors often come and go, and many paths have been trodden through the woods.

Seeing the arrow on the light screen begin to flash, Fang Xu sensed that he was nearing Wang Erhu's corpse.

Following the arrow's guidance, he pressed on for another half hour; by moonlight he faintly saw a blurry figure on a rocky slope not far ahead.

Gripping the iron spade tightly, he quickened his steps and realized that the blurry figure was Wang Erhu.

At this moment Wang Erhu had breathed his last; a large dent was caved in his black armor at the chest, his skull shattered, much blood had congealed, and his personal weapon lay fallen nearby.

There were no signs of battle around.

"He must have been struck from above and fallen to his death." Looking up at the cliff tens of meters high, Fang Xu secretly speculated.

He set down the iron spade and closed Wang Erhu's blood‑shot, glaring eyes.

【Touching Wang Erhu's corpse grants Lifespan +50!】

The prompt appeared, and Fang Xu clearly felt a warm current emanating from Wang Erhu's body, which then surged directly into his own.

Under the influence of this warm current, he could clearly sense that his body was undergoing some wonderful transformation.

Within, even the little creatures enveloping his five viscera and six bowels emitted faint tremors of excitement.

Whoosh——

He drew a deep breath, Fang Xu silently marveled: when he had gained 10 Strength points from Liang San earlier, he hadn't felt much, but now gaining 50 Lifespan points from Wang Erhu's body gave him a pronounced sensation.

It seems the effect of Lifespan on oneself far surpasses that of Strength.

"Having met once, I cannot bear to let your corpse rot in the wilderness." With the legacy obtained, Fang Xu gazed at Wang Erhu's corpse before him and ultimately decided to lay him to rest.

Using the iron spade in hand, he dug a pit on the spot, moved Wang Erhu's corpse to its edge, tidied the appearance, and was about to bury it when he noticed a small cloth pouch peeking out from the armor on Wang Erhu's chest.

He promptly pulled out the pouch, and in the process a golden bean the size of a quail egg fell out!

Gold!?

Astonished, he picked up the golden bean, quickly opened the pouch, and found inside were likewise golden beans, a full twenty of them!

This single golden bean must weigh at least one liang, right!?

Hefting that golden bean in his hand, Fang Xu made a rough estimate.

Gold and silver are the hard currency of the Great Yu Dynasty, but in circulation silver and copper coins are most common.

Gold counts as high‑end currency; ordinary common folk rarely see it.

According to the usual exchange rate, one liang of gold can be traded for one hundred liang of silver, and one liang of silver equals one hundred cash.

At present, the twenty‑one golden beans on Wang Erhu's body are at least equivalent to two thousand one hundred liang of silver!

He happened to be short of money just now, and this windfall came at the perfect time.

"It's still Erhu Ge who cares for his younger brother." Bowing before Wang Erhu's corpse, Fang Xu solemnly placed it in the pit, filled the earth, and set up a stone as a grave marker.

Brother Erhu, walk well.

Having buried Wang Erhu's corpse, Fang Xu looked up at the cliff above.

Wang Erhu had been knocked down from above; there must have been a fight up there. As a government soldier, he had twenty-one golden beans on him—what about the others?

Wealth stirs people's hearts; Fang Xu felt he should go up and take a look.

One golden bean equals a hundred taels of silver, equivalent to ten Blood Qi Pills—worth taking a risk!

Thinking of this, he immediately grabbed an iron shovel, intending to go around to the cliff to take a look.

Wang Erhu's plain blade was a decent weapon, but Fang Xu didn't dare to take it.

These are all standard weapons of the government soldiers; if I took them and outsiders saw, there would be no way to explain.

He certainly didn't want to be suspected of covertly harming government soldiers.

New book period, can't update too much; I'll try to add one more chapter. Please vote monthly, please recommend, please follow. The junior author guarantees that if it passes three rounds of recommendation, upon release there will be an explosive update of at least fifty thousand words.

(End of chapter)