Chapter 422: Selling Corpses
Chapter 422: Selling Corpses
Mo Hua and his two companions exchanged glances, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Selling corpses after killing?
"Who did you sell them to?" Mo Hua asked.
Wang Lai hesitated, "A gray-robed and masked cultivator... I don't know who he is..."
"You've never seen his face?"
"I only care about spirit stones, not his appearance..."
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly. "Go on."
Wang Lai looked taken aback. "What else?"
Mo Hua said, "Tell me how you met him, how you made contact, how you conducted the transactions, how you killed them, and how you sold the corpses. Leave nothing out."
Wang Lai tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Mo Hua kicked him, her beautiful face stern as she said, "Don't even think about lying to me. Your little tricks won't work on me. If I find out you've deceived me, I'll make your life miserable!"
However, her delicate features and expressive brows made it hard for her stern expression to be truly intimidating.
But Wang Lai dared not withhold the truth.
This little brat might have a cute face, but his actions were anything but adorable.
Especially those eyes—innocent yet profound, as if they could see right through him...
Besides, things had already come to this point, and there was no point in hiding anymore.
If he chose to speak, he would have to tell the whole truth:
"I met that gray-robed cultivator in a brothel on Jinhua Street..."
"He's of medium height and lean, always keeping his face covered, making it impossible to see his features, and his spiritual sense is also shielded."
"He always has a faint, peculiar odor about him. At first, I didn't know what it was, but after dealing with him a few times, I realized it was the smell of death—a cold, decaying scent."
"The first time I did 'business' with him was because I was out of spirit stones."
"I had gambled all night and lost everything. The debt collectors were after me, threatening to chop off my hand if I didn't pay up."
"I was desperate, and that's when he asked me if I wanted to do business."
"I scoffed. In this day and age, how can you make spirit stones through honest business?"
"He said it wasn't an honest business."
"That piqued my interest, and I asked him what kind of business it was. He asked if I had ever killed anyone, and when I said yes, he said it was similar to that, except after killing someone, I would have to give him the corpse."
"I thought it was bad luck, but I had no spirit stones, no food or drink, and I was worse off than the stray dogs on the street."
"Poverty is scarier than death."
"Besides, the dead were none of my concern, so I agreed."
"The first time I did business with him, I killed a passing cultivator. After I was done, I slashed the body a few extra times, and he frowned, saying that apart from the heart meridian, there shouldn't be any other wounds, or he would deduct the price."
"I was impatient. Killing someone was one thing, but he was being too picky. But I needed the spirit stones, so I had to listen to him."
"He then explained the rules to me in detail..."
"A young and robust cultivator's corpse is worth one hundred and fifty spirit stones;"
"An elderly cultivator's corpse is worth eighty spirit stones;"
"Gender doesn't matter."
"Apart from the heart meridian, the limbs and flesh must not have any wounds."
"If there are wounds, a deduction of ten to fifty spirit stones will be made depending on the severity..."
"..."
"After a few transactions, I realized this business couldn't last."
"Killing one or two people might not attract the attention of those lazy bureaucrats in the Dao Court, but if you kill too many, even a fool could trace it back to you."
"That's when the gray-robed cultivator suggested I kill miner cultivators."
"I hesitated at first because my father is a miner cultivator, and I'm also considered half a miner cultivator. Even though I don't usually do good deeds, we still see each other often, and there's some familiarity between us."
"But the reward was too great, and I couldn't refuse..."
"For cultivators, spirit stones are the only real thing. Everything else, including relationships, is fake."
"Killing a miner cultivator brings in about a hundred spirit stones."
"There are so many miner cultivators in Nan Yue City. If I kept at it, how many spirit stones could I make? I didn't even dare to think about it..."
"And miner cultivators give birth to more miner cultivators. There's an endless supply..."
"Even if I didn't kill them, they would still die of old age, exhaustion, miner's poison, oppression, or accidents in the mines..."
"Since they're all going to die anyway, why shouldn't I earn some spirit stones from it?"
"Moreover, killing miner cultivators can be done very discreetly."
"Miner cultivators lead hard lives, and all you need to do is offer them the prospect of earning spirit stones, and they'll follow you."
"The mines are quiet at night and deserted, making them the perfect place for murder."
"After killing them, I could pretend they went missing, and no one would ever find them. It was foolproof."
"But we were still worried about being discovered."
"So we found the families of the deceased miner cultivators and offered to help them get compensation."
"First, it was to divert suspicion from ourselves. By helping the miner cultivators' families seek compensation, they wouldn't suspect that we were the killers."
"Second, we could get the compensation and still split some extra spirit stones from it."
"With each dead miner cultivator, we could earn a double reward..."
Lao Yu's head was lowered, his eyes red with rage as he listened. He wanted to devour Wang Lai.
Mo Hua's expression was icy, "Were the five missing miner cultivators also killed by you?"
Wang Lai hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"I just killed them, but after finishing them off, I sensed some movement in the mine..."
"I thought of the rumors about the mine and felt afraid, so I hid their bodies in a corner and covered them with rubble. I planned to come back later to secretly move the bodies out of the mine."
Wang Lai swallowed hard and continued, "But... when I returned the next day, I found that the bodies of those five people had disappeared..."
A cold light flashed in Mo Hua's eyes as she asked, "Don't you know about the incidents in the Liu family's mine?"
It seemed as if something had dragged these five corpses into the mine and devoured them...
Confusion filled Wang Lai's face. "What mine?"
Mo Hua released her spiritual sense, probing Wang Lai's spiritual fluctuations and finding no signs of deception.
Wang Lai... he really didn't know...
"How long have you been doing this kind of business?" Mo Hua inquired further.
"Three to four decades..." Wang Lai answered.
Mo Hua's expression remained neutral. "In other words, you've been killing miner cultivators and selling their corpses for three to four decades?"
Wang Lai swallowed nervously, "Yes..."
Bai Zisheng couldn't contain himself any longer. "Why don't we just finish him off?"
Wang Lai cried out in alarm, "You promised to let me go!"
Mo Hua's gaze turned colder, her expression unreadable as if deep in thought.
A chill ran down Wang Lai's spine.
Just then, Mo Hua's expression changed suddenly as she looked back at the mine behind them.
The stagnant air in the mine grew heavier, as if something within was slowly awakening.
Moisture condensed into droplets that fell with a rhythmic patter, their echoes reverberating eerily throughout the mine.
Faint, strange sounds emanated from the surrounding stone walls.
Mo Hua's expression shifted abruptly, and she hastily urged, "Let's go!"
Bai Zixi and Bai Zisheng also sensed the impending danger and nodded in agreement.
Mo Hua glanced at Wang Er and Tang Wu, who were lying on the ground, and instructed Lao Yu, "Wake them up."
Lao Yu's face was filled with trepidation.
He, too, had sensed the unusual activity in the mine.
It was midnight, the most perilous time within the mine.
Something within the mine had come to life...
Lao Yu's legs turned weak, and he shakily stood up, walking over to Wang Er and Tang Wu. He slapped each of them once, shouting, "Wake up!"
The two men had only been knocked unconscious and, having taken Mo Hua's pill, their wounds were gradually healing. With Lao Yu's slaps, they slowly opened their eyes.
The scene before them was unfamiliar and startling.
The thugs were lying on the ground, bleeding from their mouths, while Wang Lai cowered pathetically in the corner.
In front of Wang Lai stood three young cultivators with an air of dignity.
Wang Er and Tang Wu were momentarily dazed, and Wang Er stammered, "Old Yu... wha... what..."
Lao Yu said, "Don't ask questions, just run for your lives!"
Wang Er and Tang Wu finally reacted and scrambled to their feet.
"Let's go!" Mo Hua decided.
As they prepared to flee, Wang Lai pleaded, "Save me! I don't want to die here!"
Mo Hua's eyes flickered, and she instructed Bai Zisheng, "Take him with you."
Bai Zisheng hesitated, clearly reluctant.
"He might still be useful," Mo Hua added.
"Alright," Bai Zisheng agreed, nodding. He chained up Wang Lai and began dragging him away, their departure hastened by the urgency of the situation.
As for the remaining thugs, Mo Hua left them to their fate.
The disturbances in the mine meant their survival was up to chance; if they died, it would be their just deserts, a repayment for the miner cultivators they had killed.
In this manner, Bai Zisheng pulled along Wang Lai, who resembled a mangy dog, keeping up their pace without slowing down as they exited the mine.
Mo Hua displayed her agile movements, following closely behind Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zixi's footsteps were light and graceful as she kept pace with Mo Hua.
Behind them, Lao Yu, Wang Er, and Tang Wu ran for their lives, spurred on by the crisis. Surprisingly, they managed to keep up despite their panic.
The atmosphere within the mine grew increasingly sinister as the stagnant air permeated every corner.
Fortunately, Mo Hua's early detection and timely retreat allowed them to escape the mine just as muffled, inhuman screams echoed from its depths.
Still concerned, Mo Hua led the group through a hidden passage, away from the Liu family's mine, and only stopped once they reached the edge of the mountain.
Wang Lai, having been dragged along, was now bruised and unconscious.
Wang Er and Tang Wu had also calmed down, their breaths evening out.
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi exchanged glances, their expressions reflecting a mix of surprise and suspicion.
Mo Hua turned back to look at the mountain, her pupils quivering.
An overwhelming aura now emanated from the mountain, a composite of countless sinister forces.
From within the mine came the piercing, heart-wrenching sounds of something clawing frantically.
It was as if ghosts were scratching at something, or perhaps deceased miner cultivators were still digging away.
Amidst the putrid, stagnant air, the peculiar and evil aura that Mo Hua had sensed before grew even more intense.
Mo Hua's brows furrowed deeper.
Who had set up such an absolute formation?
What secrets were hidden within this eerie mountain...
(End of Chapter)
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