Chapter 134: Encounter in the Cemetery

Lei Ke Dun and the Hanged Man A'erjie completed a transaction outside, and not long after, they heard Mr. Fool at the topmost seat lightly tap the bronze long table, indicating that Miss Justice and Mr. World's private conversation had ended.

Then, Mr. World, under Ke Lai En's control, spoke again:

"I have another question."

"I want to know whether the Soren family of Indis still has high‑rank strong beings."

Lei Ke Dun was slightly curious, not expecting why Ke Lai En wanted information on the Soren family. After a brief thought, he realized he also didn't know whether the Soren family still had angels, but most likely they did.

He raised his hand slightly to answer Mr. World's question, but then heard a light tap on the tabletop coming from the topmost seat of the bronze long table.

"I'll answer this question; what reward can you pay?"

The world, under Ke Lai En's manipulation, immediately replied:

"One formula, a Sequence‑7 formula."

"Fine." Ke Lai En, shrouded in gray mist, answered.

He then created an environment where he and his minor persona could be alone together.

Lei Ke Dun, seated, raised an eyebrow slightly; his left hand, which had been about to rise, instead supported his body as he shifted his posture on the seat, quietly watching Ke Lai En perform his self‑questioning act.

After a while, when Ke Lai En finished the private exchange, he again manipulated the world to stand and bow:

"Honorable Mr. Fool, thank you for your answer; it is very helpful to me."

"It is an equivalent exchange; no thanks needed," Ke Lai En replied with his major persona.

Lei Ke Dun found the scene fascinating and watched the little drama with great interest.

"Whether I say it or not, the extraordinary ones on the diviner path truly have performance talent; in fact, each of them is a troupe on their own."

Lei Ke Dun maintained a calm exterior, while inwardly he muttered insults toward each high‑rank diviner.

Later, Ke Lai En again used his minor world persona to converse with everyone for a few minutes; this Tarot gathering then concluded.

Returning to his study, Lei Ke Dun still lingered on Ke Lai En's performance above the gray mist. He sighed and said:

"Some people truly are born diviners!"

He then summoned his messenger, wrote letters to Mr. Huang and to Jia De Li Ya aboard the Future, asking whether they knew the sailor's passage wind‑cherished demonic‑potion formula.

Because he frequently corresponded with Fu Lan Ke, the messenger had recorded Fu Lan Ke's aura; as long as the Future does not travel too far in a short time, the messenger can locate him.

After finishing the letters, Lei Ke Dun retrieved the Bei Ke Lan De map, preparing to switch to a new cemetery tonight, taking Wu Ya Anu to play the grave‑digger.

Through these trials, Lei Ke Dun has compiled the guidelines for playing the grave‑digger:

A grave‑digger is not merely one who digs or even destroys graves, but one who brings peace to the dead.

The usual practice is to baptize the dead, then transport the corpse to the cemetery for burial.

Initially, taking Wu Ya Anu to the cemetery to awaken the living dead and destroy graves was completely opposite to the role of a grave‑digger.

The true grave‑digger role is to give a soul‑rest to already dead, unprocessed corpses, and bring them to the cemetery for burial.

This is the previous sequence, the corpse‑collector role taken a step further.

Taking advantage of the still‑afternoon, Lei Ke Dun took Wu Ya Anu out directly to the East District and the Bei Ke Lan De Bridge area. These places belong to the lower‑class slums, crowded with many vagrants and beggars.

Every day here many people die, and many more join.

Lei Ke Dun, with Wu Ya Anu, walked the East District streets, his secret‑watching eye observing everyone, seeing their frailty like candles flickering in the wind. He marked each nameless person about to die or already dead, waiting for the right moment to collect their bodies.

"I actually find this role‑playing method reasonable, rather than lamenting how cruel the world is."

Lei Ke Dun muttered self‑deprecatingly.

"Boss, death is the final destination of all living beings; we give them post‑mortem rest."

Wu Ya Anu perched on Lei Ke Dun's shoulder, leaned its head to his ear and whispered:

"Death is the final destination of all living beings!"

Lei Ke Dun, seeming to sense something, turned his head and glanced at the crow on his shoulder; at that moment he truly felt the crow possessed an unusual talent on the path of death.

"Their suffering was not caused by me; on the contrary, I gave them final rest," Lei Ke Dun reasoned to himself.

After wandering the East District and Bei Ke Lan De Bridge area, night had already fallen.

Lei Ke Dun helped Wu Ya Anu discreetly carry away the vagrant whose body had turned into a corpse. Using a spirit‑realm transit, they delivered the corpse to the Austin Cemetery on the outskirts of the South District.

This cemetery is overseen by the God of Steam and Machinery Church; Lei Ke Dun thought that a church‑managed cemetery might be a better choice for the dead. Thus he chose the Steam Church‑managed cemetery he would inevitably deal with later.

Just as Lei Ke Dun's figure stepped out of the spirit realm dragging two corpses, he saw Ke Lai En staring at him in astonishment.

A moment stunned, Lei Ke Dun gave an awkward yet polite smile and greeted:

"Good evening, Detective, are you also here to bury people?"

Ke Lai En's gaze shifted between Lei Ke Dun and the two corpses he dragged, confirming that Al wasn't just awkwardly smiling after a murder, and he responded:

"Good evening, Al, I'm here to dig graves."

"Dig graves? You have that hobby? Your diviners have really odd hobbies."

"But could you not dig up the graves I buried? They're for my crow to play the grave‑digger."

Lei Ke Dun didn't quite understand why Ke Lai En was digging graves in the middle of the night, but he explained his reasons for burying bodies to avoid having his purchased corpses unearthed, fearing a role‑play failure.

"Um, okay."

"I'm just here to test a mysterious item from the necromancy realm! Don't overthink it."

Ke Lai En added an explanation, feeling his previous words might be misinterpreted.

"Hmm, are you in a hurry to test the mysterious item? If not, could you look at these two corpses for me? I still need to fetch more bodies."

Lei Ke Dun said something, and without waiting for a reply, set down the corpses he was dragging and stepped back into the spirit realm.

Ke Lai En stared at the vanished Al and the two new corpses on the ground, momentarily speechless.

He sighed helplessly, leaning against a tree that shielded the tomb from sun and rain, waiting for Al to return in the cold, gloomy night.

In the end, Al came back and forth five or six times, bringing a total of ten corpses.

Ke Lai En stared blankly at the scattered vagrant corpses; if not for his own spirit sight confirming they died naturally, he would suspect Al of secretly killing Bei Ke Lan De's vagrants to aid his crow's role.

"Alright, Anu, go prepare quickly: first perform the ritual to pacify these dead, then dig pits and bury them; this time we can't use the living dead again."

Rekton gave a reminder to the crow Anu perched on a nearby tombstone.

Then he walked to Kelei En's side, and the two stood side by side watching the crow Anu pacify and bury the bodies of these vagrants.

"Where did you find so many vagrant bodies?"

Kelei En voiced the doubt in his mind.

"East District, Beikelaide Bridge area—both places see countless deaths daily; I merely took out a few unnoticed bodies."

"Even the most prosperous city has dark corners; this era's Beikelaide is no exception."

Rekton explained the source of the bodies, then let out a sigh.

"This era?"

Kelei En didn't quite understand.

"It is the best of times, and the worst of times."

Rekton said that, offering no further explanation.

The crow Anu had already performed the ritual, pacifying these bodies.

Then, using the spell Rekton taught it, it scattered iron‑black powder, summoned an invisible giant hand, dug ten pits in the cemetery, placed each body inside, and covered them with earth.

Finally, Rekton fetched some stones, fashioned them into tombstones and set them on the ground before the pits.

On each tombstone he inscribed an epitaph of the nameless:

"Which star in the heavens will be mine, I do not know."

"Kind passerby, you may give me a fresh flower."

"Would you like to write a line?"

Rekton turned his head and asked Kelei En, who was watching beside him.

"Me?" Kelei En hesitated a moment, then wrote a short phrase on the last tombstone:

"I have been in this world."

"Gah~ Boss, my demon elixir has been digested a lot; I feel after two or three more rounds it will be fully digested."

The crow Anu flapped its wings excitedly, soaring through the air.

"It seems the role‑playing rules we summarized this time are fine."

Rekton, not particularly surprised, nodded.

"It's your turn to test your miraculous item; shall I take the crow and leave first?"

Rekton turned and asked Kelei En.

"No need," Kelei En shook his head lightly; he still trusted him.

In front of Rekton, Kelei En produced an exquisite ancient bronze whistle, its surface adorned with many mysterious, intricate patterns.

He walked to a spot far from the freshly buried vagrant bodies and repeatedly tossed the bronze whistle into the air.

After many repetitions, confirming no signs of corpse transformation nearby, he stopped and called out to Rekton, who was standing at a distance:

"It's ready; after a few days we'll see if any further changes occur."

(End of chapter)