Chapter 1327: The Scholar's Soul

This time, it was still a tiger that appeared, and it was the same tiger from just now.

It walked out of the forest again, but this time it wasn't to attack Xia De and Xiao Miya. Behind it followed a young man dressed in summer clothes, or rather, the soul of a young middle-aged man. The latter's neck was very wrong; it seemed this was the fatal wound.

Looking up at the bright afternoon sun above the tree branches, Xia De muttered in surprise:

"A ghost that can appear during the day?"

This kind of ghost either had a special encounter or was quite powerful itself.

"You can really see me?"

A look of surprise appeared on the man's face, and Xia De nodded, looking at the tiger that clearly didn't want to get close to him anymore:

"Did this tiger kill you?"

As he spoke, he wanted to take action, but the young man shook his head hurriedly:

"No. About two years ago, when I came to the vicinity for an inspection, I accidentally slipped down the hillside and broke my neck. Although it ate my corpse later, I was already dead by then. I don't know if it's because of this reason, but I've been able to follow it, or rather, it follows me. I help it scare away small animals like wild rabbits, and it follows my instructions to move in the mountains and forests."

Xia De had truly never heard of this kind of strange symbiotic relationship.

"At noon, I can't move around at will, so it ran out by itself. Just now it ran back to find me with injuries, and I knew that we had finally met those legendary people who can use witchcraft and magic. To tell you the truth, although I was a folklore scholar when I was alive, I actually didn't believe in these things."

He stood in the shadow of a thick tree trunk and said. Xia De nodded, seeing that the soul was normal and hadn't fallen into depravity because of killing people, so he took the initiative to suggest:

"Unable to leave after death, you should still have some wishes, right? You can tell me what you want to do, and I can send you off, letting you truly move on."

The man nodded with a smile immediately:

"That would be great. Oh, forgot to introduce myself. Benjamin Erfurt, a scholar from Olick River University in Willondale. I know my own wish, too; it's a very simple wish."

He showed an embarrassed expression:

"I spent a year inspecting the Randell Valley, and I also had gains regarding the local worship of the earth and festival activities, and I've already written it into an article, just missing the final revision and polishing. May I ask, can you help me submit it? I've already chosen the journal, and it should be accepted... If this article could be published while I was alive, I probably could have gotten an associate professorship before I was thirty-five..."

Xia De didn't hear the last half of the sentence clearly, but he could also feel the soul's bitterness:

"You're already dead. It's impossible for me to publish this article under your name. Otherwise, it will cause trouble."

Xia De said, and Mr. Erfurt shook his head immediately:

"No, no, no need to use my name, as long as you thank me first in the acknowledgments. After all, it's already written, and I even lost my life for it. If it's not published, I really..."

Xia De understood what he meant. This was a very simple matter:

"No problem. I'll get it published in Delarion. That's no problem, right?"

"Thank you very much."

Xia De just wanted to express that there was no need to thank him, but immediately remembered what Duo Luo Xi had told him this morning. Instead, he felt a bit embarrassed:

"Speaking of which, if I publish it under my name, would you mind? I'm currently striving for... an honorary degree. Oh, lead the way in front. Where are your notebook and materials now?"

Thus, Mr. Erfurt's soul rode the tiger, and the tiger, with its head drooping, came to Xia De's side and led the way in front. The direction it walked was exactly the direction Xia De, the tiger, and the cat had come from just now.

"It doesn't matter. I don't know if I can know what honorary degree you are striving for..."

The soul riding the tiger asked curiously.

"Honorary Doctorate in History."

Xia De said:

"With this degree, I can have some confidence in front of my female friends. Also, the job I hold can also give me a degree subsidy."

This was a benefit for public officials, with degree subsidies issued according to the degree. And the subsidy for an honorary degree was about three-fifths of that of a formal degree.

"I see."

Mr. Erfurt nodded and said quite reverently:

"I thought that people like you who possess extraordinary power wouldn't care about these things that ordinary people pay attention to."

"Even if you possess extraordinary power, you still have to live in a house at night, eat during the day, pay the meter when you turn on the gas lamp, and spending money to keep a cat is also necessary."

Xia De said while walking forward with the tiger, while Xiao Miya looked at the tiger, not knowing what it was thinking:

"You can't imagine how high the housing prices are in the city where I live. If it weren't for the house left by my uncle that I could inherit, I would even have to rent a house to live in, and then many experiments wouldn't be convenient to do."

This topic immediately resonated with the soul:

"The housing prices in Willondale aren't low either. Don't look at the fact that I could get a position in the Academy, but without being promoted to associate professor and without tenure, my fiancée wasn't even willing to marry me. However, fortunately, we couldn't get married, otherwise, I would have harmed her now."

As he spoke, Mr. Erfurt even sighed. Xia De knew he had touched on his sad past, so he changed the subject:

"I will get that paper published as soon as possible, and your name will be mentioned in the acknowledgments. The corresponding author will use the name of another venerable old professor."

"No problem. However, my article leans toward folklore. If you want to successfully publish it, you'd better find a venerable old professor to help you."

Professor Ti Li Si Manning was clearly that kind of venerable old professor.

The two chatted as they walked. After crossing the frozen Ailong River, they actually returned to the place where Xia De and Xiao Miya had met the tiger just now. However, they didn't get close to the mountain where the Night Temple was located, but continued to penetrate deep into the forest. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, after sliding down the snowy slope with difficulty, they stopped above a pile of rubble that wasn't very hidden.

This was a hillside very common in the mountains, but also very hidden. If it were summer with lush vegetation, it would indeed be possible to slide down if one wasn't careful.

The tiger didn't dare to jump into the rubble pit in this season without plants to climb, so only Xia De jumped down. Because the deceased was right beside him, with the help of the "Blood Echo," Xia De easily found some human bones and a waterproof cloth bag in the rubble pile.

He didn't open the bag immediately, but after returning to the top, he first found a place with sufficient sunshine to bury those human bone remains. Afterward, he sat down on the spot and opened the bag in front of Mr. Erfurt to check the things inside.

The waterproof effect of this bag was still okay. Except for the white bread wrapped in kraft paper which had already become moldy, and the ink bottle and glasses which were broken, the other things were still intact.

Mr. Erfurt was very grateful that Xia De could bury his corpse, so he was quite happy to indicate that all the things in the bag belonged to Xia De.

The tiger lay above the burial place of his remains, and the soul leaned against the tiger, explaining to Xia De the materials in the notebook, the documented literature, and the article for which the draft had already been written.

He had actually completed most of the work, and in the end, only the polishing work remained. For Mr. Erfurt's encounter, Xia De also felt sorry for him, but two years of ghost life had made Mr. Erfurt understand many things. At least he wouldn't harbor resentment because of his death, thereby falling into depravity and becoming an evil spirit:

"To tell you the truth, compared to being a living person, it's really much easier after dying. No need to think of ways to deal with those students who don't honestly hand in their homework, no need to consider whether this year's research work has been completed, and even less need to think about writing project applications all the time just for those pitiful funds."

Xia De and the soul leaning against the tiger sat opposite each other, listening to the other party talk about his life when he was still a living person. Death was often so sudden. Compared to others, at least Mr. Erfurt was luckier to have met Xia De.

He soon finished explaining his article, and the remaining things in the bag—the wallet with not much money, the room key to the Abundant Earth Inn in Randell Valley, and the leftover food and his private letters—weren't particularly important. Especially the room key; room 303 had long been rented to others next to the room Xia De rented so he could have a mailing address.

Xia De respected Mr. Erfurt's own wishes, burned his private letters and a small portion of his personal items, and promised to take away the pocket watch with a photo in the cover, whether Xia De used it himself or found an opportunity to put it at the door of this gentleman's fiancée's house in the future.

And in the end, Xia De actually fished out a Luo De card storage box from the side pocket of the bag, and inside the box was a complete deck.

"When traveling, playing cards with strangers in a tavern or on the first floor of an inn is also a very interesting behavior."

Mr. Erfurt said embarrassedly. Xia De had originally intended to count these items and send him away immediately, but at this moment, he changed his mind. He looked up and suggested:

"Thank you very much for letting me have that article. How about this? Let's play one last game of Luo De cards, and then I'll send you off, how about that?"

【Are you really doing it to thank him, or do you want...】

"A good suggestion. Before truly stepping toward death, playing cards with a stranger encountered in the snowy forest in winter, although I don't know the specific identity, but who can use extraordinary power, is simply the last thing I can imagine before the end of my life."

Because of special reasons, he could use his soul to influence reality, so he could also touch his Luo De card deck:

"Among these cards of mine, there is a special card. After this game, it will belong to you." ===== CHAPTER 1328 =====