Chapter 113: The Hemp-Clad Corpse Collectors

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and Linzhou was successfully reclaimed by Jiao Yong, Tian Qiang, and the others.

However, this did not mean the disaster had ended. Linzhou and Liuzhou had suffered heavy casualties due to the war; countless civilians had died in the crossfire or while fleeing.

The corpses remained unburied. The suffering and resentment they endured in life caused a portion of them to transform into *Guiyi*, beginning to wander about and attack the living.

The Suppression of Strange Office was now severely weakened; they were too busy dealing with the chaos within the cities to even consider sparing manpower to handle the *Guiyi* disasters in the villages, towns, and wilderness outside.

Yet, under these circumstances, people clad in hemp garments and wearing bamboo hats began to appear across the war-torn Linzhou region.

These people wandered the wilderness and traveled between villages and market towns, collecting and burying the remains that had been left exposed.

They also appeared in many villages that had suffered from the military disaster—villages that were essentially ghost towns, nine out of ten houses empty.

The only survivors were the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled who had been too afraid to resist and were merely clinging to life.

Naturally, they were powerless to deal with the majority of the corpses, especially those that had undergone *shibian* (corpse transformation), which were sources of disaster—whoever touched them died!

But just as these villagers were in despair, these hemp-clad, bamboo-hatted corpse collectors suddenly appeared.

These people never spoke; they simply buried their heads in their work, helping to collect remains, suppressing mutated corpses, and dealing with harmful *Guiyi*.

Their methods of disposal varied: corpses that were nothing but bones or severely decomposed were buried in graves dug on the spot, while those that were still relatively intact were taken away in shrouds.

Most of the survivors in the towns and villages were deeply grateful to them.

Although they did not understand why these corpse collectors did what they did, there was no doubt they had resolved the massive hazard posed by the corpses.

The appearance of this group significantly lowered the probability of *Guiyi* disasters in Linzhou and Liuzhou.

"You mean to say these corpse collectors did nothing but collect corpses?"

Jiao Yong, who was currently suffering from a headache over how to restore production after the war, felt a sense of surprise upon hearing his subordinate's report.

"Yes. This subordinate even followed them for a time; other than collecting corpses and digging pits to bury them, they did nothing else."

"However, I also noticed their strength is extraordinary. Corpse transformations, minor *Guiyi*, and major *Guiyi* are basically no match for them!"

The Silver-Rank Divine Catcher from the Suppression of Strange Office who came to report was filled with admiration; clearly, these corpse collectors had left a deep impression on him.

"They... never mind, leave them be. Since they have no other intentions, it is a good thing regardless!"

Jiao Yong, who had originally wanted to say more, ultimately gave up. His primary task at the moment was how to deal with the mess before him.

In the graveyard outside Luohe City, Lin Feng was still in the courtyard, eyes closed, basking in the sun.

He had spent most of his free time over the past two days this way. The *Zhiren* (paper dolls) he had previously scattered to various locations had also been redeployed to Linzhou and Liuzhou.

In just two days, the Linzhou *Zhiren* alone had collected over three thousand corpses for him; for a time, there were so many corpses that even he couldn't bury them all.

As a result, the vast majority of the corpses had to be temporarily stored in the graveyard deep within Xinglong Ling. To prevent the corpses from mutating, Lin Feng had specifically arranged for two thousand heavy-armored *Zhiren* to guard that graveyard.

He would bury a few more each night, which would prevent his strength from expanding so rapidly that his body could no longer bear it.

"The rebel armies in some cities in Liuzhou have already surrendered upon seeing the situation. The imperial court's people really chose a clever time to arrive; they're just here to pick up the spoils."

Slowly opening his eyes, Lin Feng felt nothing but speechlessness regarding the current situation.

After several rounds of infighting and power struggles, the imperial suppression army from the capital had finally arrived.

These people were quite capable; they could harvest the fruits of others' labor the moment they arrived. The credit for reclaiming Liuzhou would definitely fall to them.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Lin Feng; he simply felt disgusted and wanted to vent a little.

However, others felt even more disgusted than Lin Feng.

Inside the Luohe City Lord's Mansion, Li Yanbing bowed and performed a salute after listening to the eunuch finish reading the imperial decree in a shrill voice.

"Lord Li, why not thank the Emperor for his grace?"

"This humble official thanks the Emperor for his grace!"

"Haha, Lord Li, from this day forward, you are the Inspector of Jiangzhou. It was the Emperor's original intention to summon you to the capital to reward you in person to show his favor, but the ministers all said that the situation in Jiangzhou, Linzhou, and Liuzhou is currently turbulent and you cannot leave, so I had to make the trip myself."

The eunuch seemed quite pleased, his face wearing a very cheerful smile.

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Eunuch!"

Li Yanbing took the decree from the other's hand with a wooden expression, then replied indifferently.

This was all because a motley crew of officials had come along with the eunuch; this method of "mixing in sand" and planting spies could not have been more obvious.

What made Li Yanbing feel the most disgusted was that she had no way to refuse; after all, the entire Jiangzhou region was currently suffering from a shortage of officials.

Seeing Li Yanbing's wooden expression, the eunuch did not mind; as long as he got the benefits he was due later, it didn't matter.

After a round of hypocritical pleasantries, Li Yanbing finally escaped these troublesome matters.

However, an even more troublesome person was waiting for her when she returned to her study.

Sitting there was none other than Princess Qingyuan, the daughter of Prince Li. She had already removed her veil, revealing a face of peerless beauty.

Seeing Li Yanbing enter, Princess Qingyuan looked at her with a smile, then asked with concern:

"If Lord Li is tired, you can simply leave these matters to your subordinates. If you claim to be unwell, surely those people wouldn't dare barge into your boudoir, would they?"

"How I choose to act is no concern of yours, Princess. I have already said that if that senior wishes to see someone, he will appear naturally. Asking me is useless!"

Li Yanbing looked at Princess Qingyuan, her words remaining firm. She did not want that senior to have any connection with Prince Li.

"Hehe, I have heard recently that the Suppression of Strange Office has been collecting things like Millennium God-Offering Steles, Underworld Clay Bowls, and Century-Old Yin-Sinking Wood from various places."

"As it happens, I have some in my possession. I wonder if these items would be enough to have that senior grant me an audience?"

Princess Qingyuan remained smiling even after hearing the blunt refusal, but her words made Li Yanbing's heart skip a beat.

There was no doubt that someone in the Suppression of Strange Office had leaked the information; of course, it could not be ruled out that Prince Li himself had planted spies within the office.

"Or do you feel that these items cannot move that senior, and you must act on your own authority to block him?"

Princess Qingyuan's follow-up sentence made her feel even more uneasy. She did not believe she had such authority.

If she really did that and the senior discovered it later, there was no telling if the hard-earned goodwill she had accumulated would be worn away completely.

"Hoo~ Do you truly wish to pay respects to that senior?"

Li Yanbing took a deep breath and then asked Princess Qingyuan.

"Hehe, naturally!"

Princess Qingyuan confirmed it straightforwardly. She had put in no small amount of effort over these past few days to obtain this information and collect these supplies!

"Very well. At midnight tonight, Princess, come here and I will take you to pay respects to that senior!"

Having made her decision, Li Yanbing no longer wavered and spoke directly to Princess Qingyuan.

"Good, I will arrive on time tonight!"

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, a bright smile could not help but appear on Princess Qingyuan's face. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====