夜幕降临.
舅舅家的灯熄灭后,陈洛换上了一套新衣服,第二次离开了家.
白天做事不方便,但晚上非常适合挖坟!
自从昨天他唤醒了自己的"金手指"后,他就没有忘记过.他白天忙着试药备材料,但晚上是行动的最佳时机.
这时天空完全黑暗了,所有的邻居都关了灯,都上床睡觉了.甚至狗也躺着——这是上班的最佳时机.趁着这一刻,陈洛打算把昨天埋的尸体挖出来,再检查一遍.这么多武者,如果他逐一通读,他可能会遇到一个脑海中还隐藏着非凡武功秘诀的人!
为了防止中毒,陈洛准备了必要的设备.
皮手套和口罩,一袋解毒药丸和一些毒物测试昆虫.光是这几件东西,他就已经花光了上次和他叔叔埋葬尸体时赚到的所有钱.如果他叔叔知道了,他肯定会挨一顿揍.
在这样的小县城里,没有守夜人.由于它的位置,城墙正在分崩离析.陈洛轻易地找到了一个缺口,爬了出去.
凭借着记忆,陈洛急忙赶路.
周围逐渐变得荒凉,陈洛点燃了灯笼,继续沿着小路走.
山谷很安静,到处都是昆虫和鸟儿的鸣叫声.
夜鸦从枯树上发出诡异的叫声,深红色的眼睛看着陈洛穿过群山.
"我们到了!"
陈洛松了一口气.
帮助叔叔埋葬尸体这么久,他积累了一些经验.即使晚上山路险恶,他仍然感到自信.挖坟是一项危险的工作,但它有自己的一套代代相传的技能.
陈洛点燃了手中的角灯,挂在了附近的歪树上.
他把手伸到身后,拿出铁锹,吐了两口唾沫,然后开始挖掘.
既然是亲手埋了尸体,陈洛对那个地方记得很清楚.很快,他发现了一张草席.
他小心翼翼地把泥土移开,果然发现下面埋着一具武术家的尸体.
"这是幻觉吗?让我们找出答案.
陈洛屏住呼吸,强忍着恶臭,掀开了草席.难闻的气味袭来,差点让他吐掉上一顿饭.幸运的是,他已经做好了心理准备,忍受住了这种气味.
他从腰间掏出一根竹筒,放出里面的试毒虫.这个形状像蝎子的小生物,全身都是黑色的.当陈洛把它时,虫子已经蜷缩了起来.在感觉到尸体的气味后,它展开并开始移动.这个小生物伸出钳子,在尸体上戳了两下,然后在尸体周围爬行.
过了一会儿,它又蜷缩成一个小球.
没有毒药!
陈洛松了一口气.
然后他戴上了早先准备好的鹿皮手套,小心翼翼地将手放在尸体上.
"Residual brain waves detected, damage level 97%, would you like to read?"
"Read!"
Chen Luo shouted aloud, as no one else was around.
'Wang, that widow is really big, but sadly, there's no chance to develop it further.'
The familiar brainwave entered his mind, and the lingering obsession of the corpse before it died quickly appeared in Chen Luo's consciousness. But this result left Chen Luo frozen. Looking at the now rotten martial artist, he was disheartened.
After all this effort to dig up a body in the dead of night, this was the obsession he got!
Unwilling to give up, Chen Luo swung the shovel again, starting his second round of digging.
"Read!"
This time, Chen Luo didn't wait for the system prompt and spoke directly.
'Cuīhuā, wait for me to come back!'
'I've hidden a few silver coins under the crooked tree next door.'
He continued to check each corpse, and by the end, Chen Luo was starting to feel numb.
None of the final obsessions left in the heads of these dead martial artists were reliable—some were about secret stashes of money, others about mistresses, and a few with a sense of duty who were thinking about their families. To Chen Luo, these obsessions held no meaning.
But fortunately, the last corpse provided him with a gain.
'Taking Black Belly Herb after three cycles of qi and blood will increase the chance of breaking through internal cultivation by three levels.'
Internal cultivation?
What realm?
Chen Luo didn't know, but he made a note of it.
The path of martial arts was something he would eventually walk down, even if his uncle couldn't help him tomorrow or if he couldn't find someone to guide him. As long as he picked up his shovel and carried his dim light, he could carve out a place for himself in the graveyard.
After a whole night of work, by the time Chen Luo had reburied all the bodies, the sky was already starting to brighten.
He dragged his tired body back to the city.
By the time he reached the city gate, the guards were already starting to yawn.
The dog hole that Chen Luo had crawled through now had a few people by it. It seemed they were locals from nearby villages coming to the market, trying to avoid paying the city fee by taking the shortcut.
Those who knew about this path were mostly local residents.
It was like sneaking into a tourist attraction without paying; no one was going to expose anyone else.
Chen Luo didn't have the time to waste, so he crawled through the dog hole, back into the city, and climbed over the back wall to his home. From the sound of snoring in the front room, it seemed his uncle hadn't woken up yet.
After putting his tools away, Chen Luo didn't even bother to wash up. He just wrapped himself in his blanket and fell asleep.
It had been such an exhausting night, and he fell asleep quickly.
Chen Luo had a wonderful dream.
In the dream, he became a mighty hero who could summon the wind and rain, with exceptional martial arts skills. He flew through the air, and every time he raised his sword, an enemy would fall. But as he continued fighting, the scene changed. His sword had somehow turned into a shovel, and his clothes became tattered. A crooked stick was stuck to his back, with a lantern hanging from it. The people he had slain disappeared, turning into dirt, and the surroundings morphed into a graveyard.
A never-ending sea of tombs.
"Why am I digging graves again?"
Chen Luo was momentarily stunned. Just as he was about to look again, he suddenly heard someone calling him.
"Get up, you little rascal! I'm taking you to meet someone today."
Groggily, Chen Luo opened his eyes and found that his uncle had somehow entered the room. He was holding a bowl of tofu pudding and two oil sticks, trying to wake him up.
He looked up and saw that it was already bright outside.
Sunlight was streaming through the window, making the room warm and cozy.
"So early?"
Chen Luo shook his still groggy head and asked.
"It's because of you, little rascal, causing trouble for me! Hurry up and move!" Uncle Chen impatiently slapped the tofu pudding in front of him, some of it splashing out.
From the way Uncle Chen spoke, it seemed like he had already been out running errands this morning.
Chen Luo didn't dare waste any time, quickly finishing the tofu pudding in a few bites. Then he grabbed an oil stick, rolled it into a ball, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed hastily, almost choking. Thankfully, Uncle Chen quickly handed him a ladle of water to save him.
"Wash your face clean and put on some fresh clothes."
After giving a few instructions, Uncle Chen went to the front to wait for him.
Chen Luo didn't dare to waste any time, knowing this opportunity was rare. He quickly got up and started preparing.
A moment later, Chen Luo appeared in the front room, dressed in a new outfit.
"Not bad, now you look like a person."
Seeing his tall and upright nephew, Uncle Chen nodded in satisfaction. He walked to the wall, picked up the prepared gift, and led Chen Luo out the door.
Uncle Chen's connections were quite limited.
A grave digger doesn't have access to high-level big figures, and the person Uncle Chen brought Chen Luo to meet wasn't some earth-shattering big shot, nor was he a hidden master. He was just someone with a bit of reputation at their level. He was the only person in the circle that Uncle Chen knew who actually knew real martial arts.
Without Uncle Chen acting as a bridge, Chen Luo would never have been able to get close to this kind of connection.
Such is the reality of the world.
"The person I'm bringing you to meet is called Ma Quezi. When I met him, he was already crippled."
On the way, Uncle Chen began to tell Chen Luo a few things to pay attention to.
"I never asked him about his past, and he never mentioned it either."
Walking ahead, Uncle Chen took Chen Luo to the alley to buy two pounds of pork belly and three pounds of loose white wine.
"Seven years ago, when I was burying bodies, I came across a man who was still alive in the pile of corpses. I couldn't help myself and saved him." Uncle Chen didn't continue, but Chen Luo had a good idea of what he meant.
Uncle Chen was an official grave digger, and the people he buried were mostly from the martial arts world.
People like them basically all have murder cases on their backs. For ordinary people like them, it's like living in another dimension; getting involved with any of them spells trouble. When Uncle Chen saved Ma Quezi from the pile of corpses, it was definitely a huge risk.
"That's why he owes me a life. Under normal circumstances, Ma Quezi would never pass on his martial arts. The risks are just too high."
Martial arts is a taboo in the ordinary people's world.
If it gets out and is investigated by the authorities, no one involved can escape.
"I've told you so much, do you understand what I'm saying?"
Uncle Chen, walking in front, stopped and turned around, glaring at his nephew who had been silent for a long time.
"Understood, stay low-key!"
Chen Luo responded immediately.
"Little brat!"
Uncle Chen muttered a curse, but the appreciation in his eyes was hard to hide.
This nephew of his was quick-witted.
The old Chen family had been honest for several generations, and now finally, there was a sharp one.
"Move aside! Move aside!!"
As the uncle and nephew walked out of the alley, they saw a group of constables with broadswords rushing ahead, and the whole street was blocked. A large crowd had gathered, as if to watch the commotion.
In the crowd, some voices could be vaguely heard.
'Big trouble, the Wang family was wiped out.'
'I heard it's related to the former dynasty.'
Neighborhood gossip always spreads the fastest, and whether it's true or not doesn't matter, but it didn't stop the uncle and nephew from picking up on some key details.
"Let's go, it's none of our business."
Uncle Chen withdrew his gaze and turned to walk down another road.
The road is blocked, so we'll have to take a detour.