Chapter 1689: Chapter 976: Corpse Control Skill
After handling the matter of the three people’s merits and rewards, Yang Xiao began a round of lecturing, filled with motivational words, encouraging everyone to keep up their efforts, strive for new achievements, and aim for leniency as soon as possible.
Apart from Yang Xiao, the rest of the people had calm expressions. The promises Yang Xiao made seemed far away, but the living people beside them had died silently.
Butterfly Lady was dead, and no one mentioned her from beginning to end, only the Hammer Girl was quietly sobbing, clutching her hammer tightly, her eyes red from crying.
After the award ceremony, Yang Xiao dismissed everyone else, leaving only the Ku Daoist.
The two went to the residence of the Ku Daoist, which was a house built underground, with decent living conditions and even a small courtyard.
"You want to learn Corpse Refining?" Upon learning Yang Xiao’s purpose, the Ku Daoist was taken aback.
"What, you don’t want to teach me?" Yang Xiao smiled. He wasn’t here to ask; today he would teach, whether he wanted to or not, and he had to teach well.
After confirming that Yang Xiao wasn’t joking, the Ku Daoist waved his hand, "No, no, Ming Emperor, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that the path of Corpse Refining requires special Magic Techniques and involves certain risks, I’m worried..."
"Don’t try to stall me with words. I asked someone else, and they said I have the aptitude. Plus, I have a Spiritual Magical Artifact. As long as you teach sincerely, there’s no reason I won’t learn." Of course, these words were originally from Elder Sheng, but they weren’t said like this. Yang Xiao was pressuring the Ku Daoist, leaving him with no retreat.
"Since Netherworld Emperor Captain wants to learn, I naturally have no objections, but if any risks arise..."
"I take responsibility for minor injuries. But if the injuries are severe, or if there’s a serious backlash, even if I’m willing to let you go, I’m afraid Wu Qingcang and the others won’t." Yang Xiao directly laid his cards on the table.
Hong Anguo and Wu Qingcang made it very clear. These guys are criminals, and given their crimes, to die ten times each wouldn’t be too much. The provincial office sparing their lives is already a great favor, having them work is making amends with their crimes. As for fairness and humanity, they’re not worthy of it.
"Understood, but there’s one thing I need to say upfront. During Corpse Refining, you’ll have to follow all my instructions, otherwise, it’s off the table." The Ku Daoist also stated his stance. After all, this is no child’s play; an error leading to a mutation in the corpse could be fatal.
"Since I’m learning from you, of course, I’ll follow your instructions. And rest assured, I, Ming Emperor, never take advantage unfairly. If you can teach me successfully, consider it as completing an extra task and earn two Merit Points." Yang Xiao generously said.
The Ku Daoist stared at Yang Xiao’s face, remained silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "How about two tasks, for 5 Merit Points?"
"No, just one task, two Merit Points. What I say goes." Yang Xiao rejected firmly, in his eyes, these people have no right to bargain with him.
Additionally, Yang Xiao understood the Ku Daoist’s intention wasn’t really about that. He was testing him; if Yang Xiao agreed too easily, showing indifference to task numbers and Merit Points, it would indicate he had no intention of keeping his promise, and the Ku Daoist would secretly prepare his own countermeasures.
Seeing Yang Xiao uncompromising, the Ku Daoist finally relaxed his guard and agreed. He also wanted to see how talented this Ming Emperor Ye Xiao was in the path of Corpse Refining.
But before that, the Ku Daoist said he needed some time to master the newly acquired Magic Artifact, namely the Funeral Guanyin’s Mourning Stick.
The two agreed to meet at 3 PM the next day. At that time, the Ku Daoist would attempt to refine the Funeral Guanyin’s corpse, and Yang Xiao could watch and learn from the side.
After returning home, Yang Xiao, in his dream, had a nightmare. He dreamed that the young Sect Master came to find him, bringing with him a horde of high-rank puppets.
The dense wave of corpses numbered in the hundreds or thousands, and among them were many familiar faces: Director Nolan, Lu Youdao, Second Demon Uncle, Qingfeng Mingyue brothers, Tong Han, Sui, Fu Qingzhu, Beibei, Da Xiong, Yu Shu, Xi Menxiu, and... and several captains from the Rongcheng Patrol Division he knew well. These people, with their hands extended forward shoulder-high, were hopping towards him. The scene was so real it startled Yang Xiao awake.
Awake, Yang Xiao was breathing heavily, unable to shake off the images from his mind. He immediately took out the Warning Incense Pouch he carried, but it had no reaction—the pouch was silent, everything around him was quiet.
It was truly quiet, not deathly silent. With intense unease in his heart, Yang Xiao put on his clothes, picked up the Human Bone Staff, and searched all around to confirm there were no problems before sitting down again. All of this... was really just a dream.
Yang Xiao closed his eyes, carefully recalling the faces of those puppets. He confirmed that many of those puppets were his friends in Rongcheng. It felt as if the young Sect Master, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, had gone to Rongcheng, stolen his home, killed all his friends, and turned them into puppets.
However, after calming down, Yang Xiao also found it unlikely. First of all, that Sect Master was a smart person. The only person he wanted was Yang Xiao himself. Massacring innocent people, especially those from Rongcheng Patrol Division, wouldn’t benefit him at all. On the contrary, it would provoke a frenzied retaliation from the entire division.
Thinking back to when he was on the Esoteric Sect’s territory, the young Sect Master spared the convoy of Esoteric Elders and others, which also showed he didn’t want a mortal feud with the Esoteric Sect.
In Yang Xiao’s eyes, that Sect Master was indeed a madman, but not a fool. He was a person who could discern the situation and clearly understood the pros and cons.
