Chapter 119: Playing the Grave Digger

After Tu Ba Ge left, Ke Lai En busily dealt with the corpse and then called the police.

It was only with the help of the neighboring lawyer Yu Ergen that I barely managed to get out of the police station; I had intended to ask A Er, who lives opposite, about the rabbit's name and how best to deal with the fact that the ambassador had sent someone to assassinate me. Instead, the landlord's maid from next door summoned me to discuss compensation.

"My detective career actually started with a loss!"

Ke Lai En looked at the horribly dismal room and couldn't help but sigh.

"You're planning to find me?"

Lei Ke Dun's figure materialized in the somewhat messy living room and naturally sat on the still intact sofa.

Perhaps because the sage's nature inside his body is gradually merging with him, Lei Ke Dun found his divination and intuitive premonitions growing stronger.

For example, just now when Ke Lai En briefly thought of wanting to talk to him, Lei Ke Dun already sensed the corresponding premonition in his mind.

Ke Lai En was startled by the sudden appearance of a figure in his room; having just survived an assassination, his reflex was to fling a few tarot-card throwing knives.

"Can't you just use the door? Don't keep appearing and disappearing suddenly."

Ke Lai En couldn't help but complain.

"Next time, for sure!"

Lei Ke Dun replied insincerely, then changed the subject:

"What do you want with me? Dealing with that Indis ambassador?"

"How do you know everything?"

Ke Lai En didn't answer Lei Ke Dun's question; instead he was puzzled by the other's perpetual air of knowing everything, even suspecting that the guy might be watching him from across the street whenever he has nothing to do.

"Everyone has secrets, like me; I'm pretty good at prophecy!"

Lei Ke Dun tossed out a casual excuse and explained.

Ke Lai En nodded, neither showing belief nor doubt, and continued:

"Since you can foresee, how do you think I should resolve this?"

"Do you want me to protect you for a while, or to deal with that ambassador?"

"Can't I choose both options?"

"If you seek protection from others, there will be additional developments."

"My suggestion is, it's worth a try!"

Lei Ke Dun still hoped Ke Lai En could get in touch with Miss Sha Lun's group, which would both sow trouble for the Rose School and bolster his own allies.

"Additional developments? Worth a try?"

Ke Lai En murmured, feeling the other was steering him toward that choice. After a moment of thought, he didn't rush to answer, but asked about the ambassador:

"How do you plan to deal with that ambassador?"

"Ten thousand gold pounds; I'll go kill him."

Lei Ke Dun directly quoted the bounty Miss Justice had set for that ambassador.

"You're still charging money?"

Ke Lai En widened his eyes, looking at Lei Ke Dun in disbelief. He was discussing such a serious matter, and the other turned the conversation to money.

"I have no money! For Mr. Fool's sake, can I buy on credit?"

Ke Lai En said that without any confidence. He truly couldn't produce ten thousand gold pounds, not even a thousand. He could only hope the other would, for Mr. Fool's sake, let him buy on credit.

"Of course; you can also have Mr. Fool announce a bounty for you at the Monday gathering."

Lei Ke Dun nodded in agreement; Miss Justice still had a bounty to give to Mr. Fool's followers, so rather than let the Aurora Society earn it, he'd take it himself.

"Hmm, I understand."

Ke Lai En nodded; even if the other didn't mention it, he would post the ambassador's bounty at next week's Tarot gathering.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Lei Ke Dun rose to leave.

"Wait! Why did you name your rabbit Tu Ba Ge?"

Ke Lai En hurriedly called out to Lei Ke Dun, who was about to step into the spirit realm, and asked his most pressing question.

"Tu Ba Ge? Don't you think a two‑legged rabbit fits that name?"

Lei Ke Dun's foot paused as he entered the spirit realm; he hadn't expected his identity to be exposed starting with the name Tu Ba Ge, though he hadn't considered that issue when naming the rabbit.

"I'm taking my crow out to the outskirts to dig a grave in a cemetery; we'll talk next time!"

Lei Ke Dun gave a casual excuse and stepped into the spirit realm, leaving Ke Lai En's house.

"Does a two‑legged rabbit suit that name? A Er, could you be another time‑traveler?"

Ke Lai En thought more and felt his suspicion was probably correct.

Recalling that at the last Tarot gathering, when the Hanged Man gave Mr. Fool Russell's diary, the other showed little reaction, seeming indifferent to the fact that the diary could be deciphered. Ke Lai En gradually confirmed his conjecture.

Back at the house across the street, Lei Ke Dun's mouth curved into a smile; he could already guess Ke Lai En's current expression, which was the effect he wanted.

"Compared to answers given by others, a diviner trusts the answer he discovers himself."

Lei Ke Dun murmured to himself.

"Come, let's go to a cemetery and see if we can help you process the demon elixir."

Saying that, Lei Ke Dun grabbed the crow that had been staring at the plague doctor figurine and turned to step into the spirit realm.

Traversing the spirit realm, Lei Ke Dun brought the crow Anu to a relatively remote cemetery on the outskirts of Beike Land.

Lei Ke Dun surveyed the surroundings of the cemetery, making sure no one would suddenly intrude, then placed the crow on a tombstone and said:

"You'll try to communicate with the spirits here, then use the prepared potion together with ritual magic to reanimate the buried corpses, to see if you can act as a grave digger."

"Alright, boss."

The crow Anu lifted its neck, a faint phosphorescence flashing in its eyes like a wraith in the night.

Lei Ke Dun stepped back a distance, letting Anu communicate with the surrounding spirits on its own.

If Anu were not a crow who could't shovel soil like Tu Ba Ge with a little spade, Lei Kedun would not have let it reanimate the corpses in the cemetery to act as a gravedigger.

After all, these are already buried corpses, and Lei Kedun feels this method somewhat desecrates the dead.

"I always feel that if this continues, my favor with the Night Goddess will keep dropping."

"No, my favor with the goddess was already negative; I appeared, stole things from the church right inside the chapel."

Thinking of what he has done since arriving in Luen, Lei Kedun worries the Night Goddess might someday bless him with a curse of misfortune.

The crow Anu quickly communicated with the spirits in the cemetery, sprinkled the pre‑prepared potion on several selected graves, then took out the ritual materials and placed them in the proper spots.

This is a ritual that borrows power from the Underworld, capable of locally boosting the strength of the Dead Spirit Realm and giving the corpses the traits of reanimation.

Coordinating with the earlier potion, a cold, gloomy wind soon rose over that part of the cemetery. Lei Kedun stepped back further, distancing himself from the area saturated with necrotic aura.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

The sound of soil being pierced rang out, and a pale arm marked by obvious rot emerged from a tomb.

More graves were then pried open, and one after another, reanimated corpses crawled out, each body bearing varying degrees of decay.

Seeing this, the crow Anu immediately began communicating with the spirits attached to those reanimated corpses, letting them wander the cemetery several times as previously agreed before returning to their own pits.

After all the reanimated corpses slipped back into their pits, Lei Kedun scattered gray‑black sunflower powder from a distance. The powder burned in the air, emitting an intense yet non‑irritating golden light that flowed forward like rippling water.

The golden light purified the necrotic aura from the entire area. The once‑animated corpses lost their vitality again, reverting to ordinary dead bodies.

The spirits that had been lingering there, having absorbed enough necrotic aura, departed from the now‑cleansed spot.

"How's that? Does the demon drug show any signs of digestion?"

Lei Kedun walked up to the crow Anu and asked.

"No, there's not a single hint of digestion. I think this contradicts the role of a gravedigger."

The crow Anu shook its head, saying it didn't understand at all.

On Sunday, Lei Kedun watched Ke Lai En busily moving furniture back and forth across the street, while he leisurely sat on the second‑floor balcony, enjoying the rare sunshine of Beikelande and sipping coffee.

Feeling his own spirit stirred, Lei Kedun set down the book he was holding, reached into the air, and gently grasped a pale‑yellow sheet bearing golden sunflower patterns, which settled steadily in his hand.

"Good afternoon, leisurely 5,000‑pound pirate, Mr. A Er Tai En Si:

I didn't expect your life after leaving Feineibote to be so fulfilling. Yet, as a noble of the blood clan, I must remind you that if your bounty keeps rising, it will spread to the inland regions of Feineibote.

Also, the mushrooms you sent last time have been handed over to the people of the Earth Church. They treat the mushrooms well, but their attitude toward that Frank is rather complicated.

His Grace the Archbishop asked me to tell you that if you reach Beikelande, you can look for Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji of the Harvest Church there; he seems to need some assistance."

The closing signature read: a noble blood‑clan baron, Ya Si.

"Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji? The Earth Church knows his situation yet doesn't help resolve it?"

"But, a baron? The Earth Church actually supplied him with demon drug? Looks like this blood‑clan member is doing quite well within the Earth Church."

Lei Kedun sighed inwardly. He could only say that Lilith still takes good care of her own kind.

(End of Chapter)