bookbashuk Chapter 561 Exploring Gourd Town
Chapter 561 Exploring Gourd Town
Chapter 561 Second Visit to Hulu Town
Of course, Wei Xi would never say such a thing now.
If she scares away the embers, wouldn't her plan to lure and capture the Skyweaver fall apart halfway through?
Unaware of the truth, Yu Jin was still grinning foolishly, believing he had found an unparalleled patron—judging from Wei Xi's skeletal remains, she was so tough she could swim two laps even if she fell into lava.
Traveling with people like that, Yu Jin felt extremely safe.
After chuckling to himself, Yu Jin eagerly approached Wei Xi, "Fellow Daoist Wei, do you need any help?"
Wei Xi put away the hook and said expressionlessly, "It's all done. Let's get going."
Yu Jin stood on tiptoe and pointed at the corpse lying on the ground, saying, "Where did you dig this out from?"
Wei Xi twitched the corner of his mouth and said unhappily, "This is a new puppet I made. It's just that it's not set up properly and sometimes it goes out of control. Be careful."
I Qiyu had calmed down by now, and the parasitic corpse was of ordinary appearance, so Wei Xi's words naturally did not arouse Yu Jin's suspicion.
Seeing that Yu Jin believed her without a doubt, Wei Xi felt a rare sense of self-doubt: she had been lying as easily as drinking water all these years, and sometimes she couldn't even tell whether it was because of the circumstances or because of habit.
However, this self-doubt is like a bird skimming across a lake, leaving only a few ripples before disappearing without a trace.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, shall we set off for Calabash Town now?"
Seeing that Yu Jin was eager to try, Wei Xi asked in surprise, "Do you know the corpse collector's tricks?"
"will not."
Wei Xi pointed to himself again and asked, "Do I look like someone who knows how to collect corpses?"
"Probably not?" Yu Jin smiled ingratiatingly. "How would I know?"
"Then I'll tell Fellow Daoist Yu that I don't know either."
Yu Jin touched the tip of his nose and added, "How about we just leave these corpses behind? According to you, we can enter Calabash Town during the day even without corpses."
“Take him with you first,” Wei Xi said, lifting Yu Jin into the car. “Later you can learn from other corpse collectors.”
Yu Jin looked timid, wanting to ask but not daring to, clearly having kept Wei Xi's request firmly in mind.
Wei Xi made no attempt to explain, since it was Yu Jin who had taken the initiative to ask to travel together, and by doing so, he had lost the right to bargain.
Besides, Wei Xi wasn't exactly a saint, so he felt no psychological pressure at all using the embers to conduct small experiments.
Eqiyu and Yujin serve as a reference point for Wei Xi, an anomaly, representing the normal state of a Foundation Establishment cultivator after entering Dieji Mountain.
According to Ember's description, he could clearly feel that he was parasitizing a corpse, and that as time passed, he would gradually transform into a real corpse and remain forever in the Dieji Mountain.
This is precisely why Eqiyu did not transform into a "ghost" after being brought into Hulu Town—the time was not yet ripe, and Hulu Town would not accept him.
So here's the question: what kind of magical effects would occur if Ember imitated the Corpse Collector?
Wei Xi said that since they were already there, they could discuss this issue properly.
Of course, Wei Xi still had some sense of friendship and would not make the choice to sacrifice his friend rather than himself unless absolutely necessary.
As for what constitutes "necessary circumstances," the interpretation of that definition rests with Wei Xi.
Completely unaware of Wei Xi's inner thoughts, Yu Jin followed closely behind his chosen companion, repeatedly asking her what he needed to be careful of after entering Calabash Town. When Wei Xi mentioned the gambling den, Yu Jin let out a sound of surprise; when she mentioned the brothel, Yu Jin let out two sounds of surprise.
"Master Yu, have you made any discoveries?"
Yu Jin hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Wei Xi and said, "Fellow Daoist Wei, look around here, where does it resemble the mortal world? There are no merchants in the city, no fertile fields outside the city, the market is desolate during the day, and ghosts roam at sunset. In such an abnormal place, there are gambling dens and brothels. Don't you find it strange?"
These words were like a wake-up call, and Wei Xi followed Yu Jin's train of thought to recall what the apprentice at the brokerage had said.
Those "people" locked up in the brokerage firm were sent there by the casino.
What kind of casino would send someone who has lost everything to a brokerage firm? Why kill the goose that lays the golden eggs when they could be exploiting people to death (and who knows if the corpse will die again)?
Wei Xi was somewhat annoyed that she hadn't noticed such a strange thing.
“It is a bit strange,” Wei Xi said with certainty. “It seems we will have to go to the casino to investigate during the day.”
Yu Jin shrank back and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just saying, Fellow Daoist Wei, you don't need to take it to heart. What are the chances of such a coincidence? Besides, the disciples of the Myriad Swords Sect wouldn't go..."
Wei Xi flicked the rump of the animal pulling the cart with a hook, and Yu Jin shuddered and immediately fell silent.
"Master Yu, Calabash Town is only so big. If you want to form your core, you don't have to plunder the whole place, but you can't let any opportunity slip by. You want to form your core, but don't the cultivators of the Myriad Swords Sect want to? What's a mere gambling den? It's already a favor that we didn't send you to infiltrate a brothel!"
Yu Jin thought about that terrifying scene and Wei Xi's ruthlessness, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
“This humble Daoist will naturally stand with Fellow Daoist Wei through thick and thin,” Yu Jin immediately flattered, “Wherever Fellow Daoist Wei points, I will go!”
Wei Xi gave him a half-smile, but showed no intention of playing along with his nonsense.
Before long, the darkness slowly sculpted the outline of Hulu Town, like a wild beast lurking at the boundary between heaven and earth, making people uneasy.
Compared to the calm and composed Wei Xi, Yu Jin was somewhat flustered.
Wei Xi couldn't help but maliciously speculate that perhaps as people shrank, their courage also shrank along with their physique.
Of course, this was just a joke. Wei Xi and Yu Jin did have some acquaintance, and Wei Xi knew that this person was indeed a bit... eccentric.
It must be said that Wei Xi has excellent insight, and he saw through Yu Jin's true nature in a single sentence.
Judging solely from Yu Jin's words and actions, it would be easy to see him as a glib, cowardly charlatan.
However, Wei Xi noticed that Yu Jin was not only meticulous, but also decisive, and most importantly, he knew the pros and cons.
The only problem is that, perhaps because he was taught by the Heaven and Earth Sect, Yu Jin firmly believed in the Way of Heaven. His excellent qualities were tied to superstitious things, and he immediately went to extremes.
Of course, Wei Xi was too lazy to think about Yu Jin's personality correction; she was focused on squeezing every last drop of value out of him.
As Hulu Town drew nearer, the previously separate groups of corpse collectors gradually converged and drew closer.
Wei Xi took the opportunity to observe an important part of the Dieji Mountain ecosystem.
The most striking feature of the corpse collectors was the number of bodies they carried, ranging from a minimum of eight to as many as two cartloads. This fully demonstrated the considerable corpse storage capacity of Dieji Mountain, providing strong evidence for the hypothesis that Dieji Mountain was a place where all the dead were collected.
Besides, most of these corpse collectors were emaciated, but you could barely tell they were still alive. They varied in height, weight, skin color, appearance, and even the shapes of the hooks they held were bizarre.
At the same time, Wei Xi noticed that these corpse collectors seemed to be very reluctant to communicate with their colleagues, each of them keeping their eyes straight ahead and ignoring the people around them.