Chapter 127

Besides this Corpse-Collecting Zhiren, other Corpse-Collecting Zhiren had also begun to take action.

Inside a dilapidated temple in Linzhou, several beggars who looked ragged were kneeling respectfully before a Corpse-Collecting Zhiren, kowtowing.

As it happened, this ruined temple was the place where these refugees were sheltering, and it was later spotted by the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren, who began collecting corpses there.

These people had originally been terrified of the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren; after all, in their eyes, someone who could deal with all kinds of corpses either had a hard life or possessed powerful abilities!

Clearly, the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren belonged to the latter, because they had seen with their own eyes the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren suppress a corpse that was undergoing corpse-transformation!

You must know that back in their hometown, if an ordinary farmer encountered such a corpse, it would mean death!

Let alone moving it away to bury it or whatever, they could only invite those famous figures in the countryside to handle it, and in their eyes, the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren belonged to that type of person!

As time went on, they discovered that besides collecting corpses, the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren basically did nothing else; it neither drove them away nor scolded them.

It even allowed them to watch how it collected corpses, which was a rare opportunity for them; if they could learn a few tricks, they might have the means to beg for food.

Unfortunately, they couldn't understand the methods of the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren at all; a corpse-transformation that was clearly extremely dangerous would instantly become docile in the other's hands.

It just so happened that last night, Lin Feng allowed these Corpse-Collecting Zhiren to start taking on disciples, so after the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren indicated this, these beggars immediately knelt on the ground and began kowtowing to apprentice themselves.

"My name is Ergou. From now on, I will serve under Master with no second thoughts. As long as I have a bite to eat, I will do whatever Master tells me to do!"

These beggars were farm boys themselves, so naturally, they couldn't say anything flowery. After kowtowing, one of the beggars even pointed to the sky and swore an oath.

"I, I, Li, Li Datou, also, also the same!"

Another beggar who stuttered also hurriedly raised his hand to swear.

"..."

There were four beggars in total, all young farm boys; only they could have escaped from the disaster.

After they finished their apprenticeship, the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren took out some items and began to busy itself.

These items were wooden plaques, cloth bags, talisman paper, and small-sized Zhiren.

The back of the wooden plaque had a relatively special mark, and the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren wrote the names of these new disciples on the front, which served as their identity verification.

As for the cloth bags, they were actually ordinary hemp bags, but they were sewn with the blood threads of the Tou Gui, meaning that any corpse placed inside could be transferred away by Lin Feng at any time.

The talisman papers were Corpse-Suppressing Talismans and Evil-Warding Talismans; Lin Feng had no use for these, so giving them to these disciples who knew nothing was naturally the best choice.

However, the most important and crucial item was that small-sized Zhiren. This was a Zhiren that Lin Feng had specifically asked the Qianmian Zhi Gui to make, which could be carried on one's person; if one encountered danger, throwing it out would make it grow larger, thereby serving the purpose of saving one's life.

These were items Lin Feng had prepared for the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren to have after taking on disciples.

After all, taking on disciples wasn't because he wanted them to die in the process of collecting corpses, but because he wanted to develop and grow!

"Master, what does the writing on this plaque mean?"

Upon receiving these items from the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren, these disciples were all overjoyed, but they were illiterate and could only ask the Zhiren cautiously.

"..."

But the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren couldn't speak; it just pointed at the wooden plaque and then at them.

"My name?"

"So that's how Ergou is written?"

"Heh heh, Li Datou, three characters, my name is three characters!"

"That's not right, there are three more characters!"

"..."

In reality, what was written on the wooden plaque should have been something like "Corpse-Collector Ergou."

It was just that these silly disciples were illiterate and could at most count simply, and the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren certainly wouldn't explain it to them.

In the Graveyard Keeper's small courtyard, Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes. He was also a bit speechless about these newly accepted disciples, but fortunately, he didn't need to train them himself.

"Besides these two places, the other Zhiren seem to need some time, but that doesn't matter; anyway, I have plenty of time now!"

He was quite satisfied with the current model of the Corpse-Collectors. By paying a little, he could gain his own forces and have a constant source of corpses—why wouldn't he do it?

Now, in these troubled times, as long as one had money and grain, one wouldn't worry about not being able to recruit disciples. He believed that it wouldn't be long before the scale of the Corpse-Collectors grew larger and larger.

As for the source of money and grain, it was even simpler. The Assassin Zhiren had looted so many strongholds of the Incense Temple that the harvest was not just raw materials for making incense.

There was quite a lot of clothing, money, grain, and various miscellaneous items belonging to the Incense Temple disciples.

The main reason Lin Feng hadn't taken on any jobs during this period was also this, because how could working be faster than looting?

"The Assassin Zhiren cannot act during the day, otherwise they are too easily caught. They are quite convenient at night; they have already successfully destroyed three Incense Offering Towers."

Lin Feng was quite satisfied with the achievements of the Assassin Zhiren. They could gather together to attack the people of the Incense Temple, or they could disperse to cause destruction everywhere.

Although their numbers were relatively small, they made it impossible for the people of the Incense Temple to figure out who exactly was working against them.

Night fell, and more than sixty Assassin Zhiren began to act again. This time, according to Lin Feng's request, they began to act in groups of three.

In Linzhou, Liuzhou, Mingzhou, and even as far away as Yuzhou, Assassin Zhiren appeared quietly.

Based on the memories of the Incense Temple disciples, Lin Feng specifically arranged for them to attack those Incense Offering Towers located in relatively remote towns.

These places usually didn't have the main members of the Incense Temple, only some disciples who were relatively on the periphery.

In Liuzhou, several incense-making masters of the Incense Temple were gathered together to discuss the problems that had appeared over the past two days.

"Those people simply don't hold our Incense Temple in their eyes! Killing my disciples and followers, burning my Incense Offering Towers, and ruining the Incense Master's grand plans!"

"Could it be the Zhen Gui Si playing tricks behind our backs?"

"That shouldn't be it. The people from the Liuzhou Zhen Gui Si were long since slaughtered, and the greenhorns who have been transferred here now don't even dare to leave the city!"

The reason these people were so angry was not really because of the loss of a few disciples and several Incense Offering Towers, but because today, the Seventh Ancestor had actually asked them about this matter, and they hadn't been able to provide a single clue!

If this had happened in the past, they would definitely have been severely punished, but now, in a time when people were needed, the Seventh Ancestor only ordered them to catch the culprit as soon as possible.

"Then who else could it be?"

"This godforsaken place was originally the territory of the Tattoo Sect, but now the Tattoo Sect has been wiped out. Could it be that some other sect is playing tricks behind the scenes?"

"It's possible, but I really can't say which force is behind this."

But no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't think of who had done it. They had also been to the crime scenes, but the entire Incense Offering Tower had been burned to the ground—what clues could be found?

"Dong, dong, dong."

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks came at their door, and at the same time, the anxious voice of a disciple came:

"Master! Master! It's bad, something has happened in many places!"

As the door opened, the disciple spoke to these incense-making masters in a panic.

"What?"

"What are you panicking about?"

"Tell me quickly!"

Immediately, a terrifying, eerie power radiated from these incense-making masters, making the Incense Temple disciple who walked in feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his face turning deathly pale!

"Se, se, seven Incense Offering Towers have suddenly lost contact. This disciple has already sent, sent, sent people over..."

The Incense Temple disciple replied tremblingly.

"This is courting death!"

"You petty rats, do you dare to bully our Incense Temple as if there is no one left?"

"These rats will surely strike again. Let's go, you and I, and catch them!"

Immediately, these incense-making masters disappeared from the room. Last night it was only three places, and today it had suddenly become seven; clearly, the opponent's actions were becoming larger and larger!

In the graveyard deep within Xinglong Ling, Lin Feng had just finished exercising his body. Looking at the harvest brought back by the Assassin Zhiren, he felt incredibly satisfied.

"Heh, with these things, it's at least enough for the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren to recruit hundreds of disciples!"

"However, after such a big commotion tonight, the Incense Temple will definitely be more on guard. If the Assassin Zhiren try to strike again, I'm afraid they'll walk straight into the opponent's trap."

But Lin Feng didn't get carried away. The Incense Temple was definitely not comparable to the Tattoo Sect; it had a deep foundation and various methods, and there was no telling if they had ways Lin Feng didn't know about to find the Assassin Zhiren.

"Tonight's operation is suspended. Next, let the Corpse-Collecting Zhiren continue to scout the situation. Now that the enemy is in the light and I am in the dark, there is plenty of time and energy to mess with them!"