Chapter 143: You All Live a Little Longer

Before Han Er could speak, Wu Chang immediately pledged his loyalty to the Hunguang Bishop and Duke Lutz inside the carriage.

"Rest assured, Your Excellencies; as the gravekeeper of Graveyard No. 44, I guarantee to find suitable graves for both of you, allowing you to rest eternally with smiles even in the underworld."

Duke Lutz, holding a high position, managed to keep his composure, but the Hunguang Bishop could barely hold back; he looked at Han Er and asked:

"Is this your successor?"

Han Er nodded and introduced him: "He is Xiao En, a very ambitious young man currently traveling the world, who just happened to arrive in Mikael."

The Hunguang Bishop's expression improved slightly; a foreigner unfamiliar with the language of the Kingdom of Mikael made everything understandable.

Lutz turned his head to glance at the moon; not wanting to waste time on trivial matters, he urged: "We should move out."

Understanding the cue, the Hunguang Bishop turned to face the two men: "It is late; you two will lead the way ahead. Stop when I say stop. Do not concern yourselves with what we are doing, nor interfere with anything extra. Understood?"

Seeing Wu Chang and Han Er nod, the Hunguang Bishop ordered the knights to begin their movement.

Nine knights approached the small chapel near Graveyard No. 44, swinging iron hammers in their hands to strike the chapel's thin walls.

Acting like a responsible gravekeeper, Wu Chang complained discontentedly: "Alas, Your Excellency Bishop, what are they doing!"

The Hunguang Bishop glanced at Wu Chang and stated expressionlessly: "Do you remember what I just said? Do not concern yourselves with what we are doing; just do your own job."

Wu Chang shrugged; fine, you are the client, so I will listen to you.

The nine strong knights quickly demolished the small chapel; after several people cleared the architectural debris and the corpses inside that had not yet been buried, they resumed swinging their iron hammers to strike the chapel floor.

As the floor was smashed open, a huge pit was revealed below, containing ten stone coffins manufactured to the exact specifications of the Eternal Stone Coffins found within the Eternal Burial Chamber.

Wu Chang looked at Han Er in confusion, asking with his eyes what was going on.

Han Er spread his hands, indicating that he was unclear as well.

The stone coffins inside the small chapel must have been arranged since long ago, even predating the emergence of the Hunguang Sect Sect.

The knights dragged the stone coffins out from underground, tied them with iron chains behind the carriages, and once everything was arranged, the Hunguang Bishop took out a map of Graveyard No. 44.

The map divided Graveyard No. 44 into ten sections, eight of which were marked with obvious red 'X's, leaving only the two innermost graves without any markings.

The Hunguang Bishop instructed Wu Chang and Han Er to head toward the two blank areas.

Wu Chang and Han Er walked in front, seeing only the Hunguang Bishop and the knight contingent following behind.

The most eye-catching elements were the two accompanying carriages, each drawn by four horses; every horse was a mutant species, exceptionally tall, with their backs nearly two meters off the ground.

Only such gigantic horses could drag the carriages while simultaneously towing five stone coffins each.

The Kingdom Grand Cemetery was responsible for burying the dead of the entire Kingdom of Mikael; as long as a family in the kingdom was slightly well-off, they would come to Serina before death to try to be buried within the Kingdom Grand Cemetery.

Moreover, cremation was not popular in the Kingdom of Mikael; earth burials occupied significant space, and despite the large area of the Kingdom Grand Cemetery, years of accumulation had made the graveyard extremely crowded.

Apart from the specially reserved carriage roads, places without paths were filled with standing tombstones, leaving no room for carriages to pass through.

But before the giant horses with legs nearly two meters long, these were non-issues; the two carriages followed behind Wu Chang and Han Er, shuttling directly through the clusters of graves, with the carriage cabins and the stone coffins dragged behind completely crushing every tombstone they encountered.

Wherever the carriages passed, they left behind a ground covered in fragments of tombstones.

Wu Chang frowned and could not help speaking up for his clients: "Your Excellency Bishop, carriages are unsuitable for passing through here; we could take another route. Destroying the tombstones of the dead seems inappropriate, does it not?"

The Bishop's face looked somewhat ugly as he said: "Gravekeeper Xiao En, I do not wish to repeat myself many times; do not concern yourselves with what we are doing, just do your own job."

Wu Chang sighed: "Fine, you have the final say."

Not long after entering the cemetery, perhaps as a prelude to an approaching storm, the full moon overhead slowly transformed into a crescent.

As the full moon waned, thick fog rose within the cemetery, obscuring everyone's vision.

Wu Chang lit the gravekeeper's oil lamp; wherever the lamplight reached, the thick fog instantly dispersed. He moved closer to Han Er, enveloping them both in the light, intending to ask the Hunguang Bishop whether the formation should contract to keep as many people as possible within the lamp's range.

But when he turned around, he discovered that the Archbishop and the nine knights, including the two coachmen driving the carriages, had all lit a gravekeeper's oil lamp.

The light from the oil lamps connected into a single sheet, making it difficult for the thick fog to approach the convoy.

A gravekeeper's oil lamp was not something that could be produced casually; they were all designed by scholars during the era of Mikael I to coordinate with the Blood Moon Eternal Life.

Each gravekeeper's oil lamp was an antique inherited over hundreds of years, with one spot for each role; the royal family possessed only five spare lamps, and due to accidental damage over the years, it was said that only one spare lamp remained.

Judging by the effect of dispersing the thick fog, the oil lamps used by the Hunguang Bishops were definitely authentic; where did they obtain these lamps?

It was common knowledge that a gravekeeper's oil lamp could be lit under only two circumstances.

One was if the user was a gravekeeper, and the other was if the gravekeeper position was vacant, leaving the lamp without a master.

Wu Chang glanced at the Hunguang Bishop's oil lamp; fresh blood that had not been wiped clean remained on the corner of the lamp base, making the origin of the lamp self-evident.

Traveling through the thick fog, surrounded by dead silence, the sound of carriages crushing tombstones became exceptionally grating.

Wu Chang suddenly stopped in place, nearly causing the Hunguang Bishop, who had been following right behind him, to collide with him.

"What is wrong?" the Hunguang Bishop asked.

"Your Excellency Bishop, I still feel their actions are inappropriate; everyone here will eventually become residents of this place, seeing each other constantly. Moreover, they are too noisy, which could easily..."

The Hunguang Bishop became flushed with anger and shouted: "Listen well, gravekeeper, you have made me repeat myself too many times; I said..."

"Did you see the moon?"

The Hunguang Bishop replied: "No, and do not interrupt me! I..."

Hm?

The Hunguang Bishop froze mid-sentence; the voice that had just interjected did not seem to belong to Wu Chang.

Before entering the Kingdom Grand Cemetery, he had carefully read the taboos regarding the gravekeeper's night patrol, which seemed to mention not answering questions from strangers.

Oh no.

Before the Hunguang Bishop could prepare, his entire body flew upward; a massive flesh-and-blood hand stitched together with thorns burst out from beneath him, launching him into the air, then, taking advantage of his inability to react, tightly gripped him.

The thorns serving as sutures on the massive flesh-and-blood hand came alive at this moment, resembling centipedes as they burrowed into the Hunguang Bishop's body.

"Help!"

Accompanying the Hunguang Bishop's cry for help, several knights following behind took action; especially the five old nobles disguised as knights, who dismembered the flesh-and-blood hand the moment they struck.

Since the Blood Moon had not yet appeared, the flesh-and-blood hand, severed into dozens of sections, did not immediately revive.

Although everyone acted in time, after being gripped and burrowed into, two of the Hunguang Bishop's ribs were crushed by the giant hand, and his limbs, shoulders, and mouth were pierced through by thorns, leaving large, bloody holes.

Wu Chang watched the miserable state of the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop and shrugged. "I wanted to warn you—making noise at a time like this attracts these monsters."

"Mmmmmmm…"

The Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop, whose mouth had been drilled through by a massive bloodied hole, spoke incoherently, but from his expression and eyes, he was clearly cursing bitterly.

The voice of Duke Ruz came from inside the carriage.

"Take the Ruifuzhu Sect's bishop back to the carriage for treatment, then scatter the formation and clear away everything blocking the path."

A common knight of the Hunguang Sect Sect helped the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop back to the carriage to treat his wounds, while the other knights dispersed to carefully search the area.

Whether or not they took Wu Chang's advice, the two drivers began choosing wider paths, reducing damage to the tombstones.

After the strategy changed—or rather, after the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop was taken out—the group encountered no further obstacles and soon arrived at the designated location.

Ruz stepped out of the carriage and pointed at Wu Chang and Han Er. "Time's nearly up. Patrol the perimeter. See if you can find anything unusual."

The two followed the map marked by the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop and swiftly surveyed the last two zones. Wu Chang asked quietly:

"If they've already confirmed the location, why do they need us?"

Han Er said, "Because we're the Tombkeepers. The Eternal Tomb chamber they seek is exceptionally unique—it's the core of the entire graveyard's layout, protected by the Blood Moon ritual. They can't detect it. Only the current Tombkeeper of this zone can use the ritual's granted power to detect even the faintest traces."

When Wu Chang reached the farthest edge of the first unmarked grave, a sudden inspiration struck him—he sensed what appeared to be a door's outline on the ground nearby.

He suppressed his active intuition with his will, then looked with his bare eyes—and saw nothing unusual.

"Brother Han Er, look over there—can you see anything?" Han Er followed Wu Chang's finger, stared for a full minute, then shook his head. "I see nothing. It seems only the current Tombkeeper can find the entrance to the special Eternal Tomb chamber."

Wu Chang first told Han Er to move far away—if Ruz Duke turned on them after the Eternal Tomb chamber was unearthed and tried to kill them both, Han Er should protect himself and not bother with him.

Then he circled the area, instructing Ailin and Zhenwo to seize advantageous positions, so that if chaos erupted, they could catch the enemy off guard.

Seeing everyone in position, he returned to the caravan and said to Ruz:

"Your Grace, I've found an unusual tomb. I don't know if it's the one you're looking for."

Ruz's face lit up. "Go take a look immediately."

Wu Chang led the group to the designated spot. Ruz and several nobles disguised as knights took turns approaching to confirm.

These monsters, having experienced the first Blood Moon immortality, were highly sensitive to Blood Moon energy—like Pastor, they could, to some extent, sense other Eternal Tomb sites through their perception of Blood Moon energy.

But like Han Er, they detected no anomalies.

Yet sometimes, the absence of anomaly is the greatest anomaly.

Ruz personally shoved a hoe into Wu Chang's hands. "Dig!"

!

Wu Chang stared at the hoe in his hand, frowning. "The contract only asked me to open the door—it didn't mention digging pits. Digging is physical labor. Extra pay required."

Ruz didn't waste words. He simply removed the gemstone ring from his finger and tossed it to Wu Chang.

"Dig!"

"Item Name: Valuable Gemstone Ring."

"Item Description: Property officially transferred by its owner. Extremely valuable. Can be exchanged for one thousand Rotten Silver Coins at the System's Recycler Merchant."

Wu Chang slipped the ring onto his finger, swung the hoe with full force, and began digging.

One thousand Rotten Silver Coins per pit—if all were this price, he could dig up the entire Kingdom's Graveyard!

Ten minutes later, a sharp clang echoed from the pit Wu Chang had dug.

The sound instantly drew everyone's attention.

Ruz was the first to charge forward with his iron shovel, moving so fast Wu Chang barely caught the motion—just this unintentional burst of strength, Ruz's performance rivaled Lei Hu's on the first day.

Several disguised knights followed close behind. A group of high nobles, as if racing for credit, dug with frantic desperation.

Soon, an exceptionally ornate metal tomb door appeared before Wu Chang and the others.

Compared to the two Eternal Tomb doors Wu Chang had seen before, this one was as different as a promotional poster versus a buyer's photo.

Ruz turned his head, eyes gleaming with excitement, and said, "Open it!"

Wu Chang took out the key Han Er had given him earlier and inserted it into the tomb door.

The key's model was wrong, the teeth were wrong, even the style didn't match the door—but strangely, once inserted, it turned.

With the clicking of gears and the scraping of metal plates, the tomb door beneath their feet opened.

Wu Chang called into the chamber: "Anyone home? A few tenants want to rent with you. Any objections?"

His voice echoed through the tomb. No sound came back.

"Looks like he doesn't mind."

Ruz and the others paid no attention to Wu Chang's words. They unloaded the stone coffins they had dragged along. Ruz took from his carriage a stone coffin specially made for him—unusually large.

The group dragged eleven stone coffins into the Eternal Tomb chamber.

As soon as they entered, they saw a golden Wang Zuo at the chamber's center. Upon it sat a man with a stern face, wearing a Wang Guan and full golden plate armor, gazing down upon everything within the tomb.

Wu Chang had seen this man before—in the resentment of the Miracle Tree. He was Mikael I.

He had seen him before—but in his current role, he still had to feign surprise.

So he instantly retreated behind the others, grabbed the wounded Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop, who sat in a wheelchair, and dragged him forward as a human shield. "Is this the tomb of Your Majesty Mikael I? He doesn't look pleased to see us. Maybe we should just call it off?"

Ruz snorted. He placed his stone coffin beside the golden Wang Zuo. "He's too busy to care about us."

Several knights imitated Ruz, placing their stone coffins in position.

Ruz stepped before Wu Chang, grabbed the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop, and said, "Lend him to me."

Wu Chang released his grip. "Be my guest."

Ruz shoved the Hunguang Sect Sect's bishop into one of the stone coffins, then drew his sword and stabbed him clean through the heart.

Wu Chang frowned, thinking: So this is how they plan to kill the messenger after the job's done?

Ruz seemed to sense his thought. He turned to Wu Chang and said, "It's part of the ritual."

Ruzi seemed to sense his thoughts, turned his head to look at Wu Chang, and said, "This is part of the ritual."

Discovering the tomb of Michael I seemed to have lifted Ruz's spirits; the man who once spoke sparingly now broke his reserved demeanor, his previously stiff tone becoming fluent.

"We must enter a near-death state, die completely within one minute as the moon turns blood-red, and then be revived by the blood moon—only then can we successfully absorb the blood moon's power. Missing any part will fail."

As he spoke, Ruz pointed at Michael I on the Golden Wang Zuo and sneered:

"He's the same—he entered complete death long ago to welcome eternal life under the blood moon. Even now, sensing our arrival, he cannot awaken to stop us."

As if confirming Ruz's words, the other nine knights lay inside stone coffins, turned their swords, and plunged them into their own chests.

The stench of blood instantly filled the entire chamber.

Wu Chang, as if unable to bear the sight of blood, turned his head aside and asked softly: "What happens if we don't die before the blood moon appears? Do you need my help?"

Ruz said: "Then you die for real. But it doesn't matter—we have a way to control our own life and death."

Wu Chang swallowed hard, watching Ruz approach, and asked: "Do I have to do this too?"

Ruz shook his head, his gaze shifting to Wu Chang and Han Er standing by the door, and said:

"You two don't. Your job is to wake us the instant the red moon ends. We must awaken before Michael I does—if we don't, we all die."

After speaking, he took a palm-sized short horn from his bosom and removed a sapphire ring from his hand, handing both to Wu Chang.

"Remember well—wake us the very first moment. When this is done, the reward will far exceed your imagination."

Wu Chang stared at the gemstone ring in his hand, worth two thousand Rotting Silver Coins, and frowned slightly. He understood the horn—but what was the gemstone ring for? Did Ruz look down on him? Was Wu Chang really that kind of man?

To erase the image Ruz had of him, Wu Chang looked at the emerald ring on Ruz's thumb and said: "I actually like green."

Ruz paused, then removed the ring and tossed it to Wu Chang.

"Do your job well. There's more than enough of these things."

Wu Chang snapped to attention, standing rigidly, and said: "Mission guaranteed. Anyone who knows my character knows I'm always content—I never crave more!"

Ruz smirked dismissively. Anyone who dares demand things directly from him—if that's not greed, then no one is greedy.

As time neared its limit, Ruz hurried into his coffin, drove his sword into his heart, glanced up at Michael I above, sneered, then closed his eyes.

This round, they would win.

All had lain in their coffins; now, only Wu Chang and Han Er remained awake in the tomb of eternal life.

Wu Chang hummed a tune, tossed the gemstone ring into his personal space, then joined Han Er at the tomb entrance to observe the moon's transformation.

When the moon shifted from crescent to full, gradually turning red, and the others' life signs weakened toward complete death, Wu Chang hummed his tune and returned to the tomb.

He said to Han Er: "Didn't you want to see what I took from the Hunguang Sect?"

Han Er blinked, unsure of Wu Chang's intent, but replied: "Yes."

Wu Chang pulled out the Four-Sided Suihuo Lamp; under its Suihuo light, the dying figures' faint life forces instantly revived.

He looked at Ruz and spoke slowly:

"I said I'm always content—I never crave more. So, you'll live a little longer."

(End of Chapter)