NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49, Corpse Preservation
Chapter 49, Corpse Preservation
Only recognize the receipt, not the person.
This aligns with the nature of the black market.
People come here to sell stolen goods or buy contraband, all wearing masks, so no one knows who anyone is.
Recognizing the receipt instead of the person makes sense.
But this also poses a problem—how can you be sure that the person who comes to retrieve the item next time is the same person who deposited it?
To establish such a consortium, they must have ways to deal with this issue.
"The Serpent Emblem Consortium spans across major kingdoms, wielding significant influence," Slater said as she glanced at the second floor. "You can think of it as the Adventurers' Guild of the underground world."
If the Adventurers' Guild is a platform under the sunlight, then the Serpent Emblem Consortium is an organization in the shadows.
The services it offers are highly regarded by certain special professions and the elite, but its business practices and methods make it unwelcome in many places.
"Let's keep looking around. We need to head back before the city gates close," Slater said, showing no intention of taking them upstairs to explore, as she continued to browse the stalls.
Wu Heng followed behind, casually glancing at the stalls.
After passing several stalls,
He stopped in front of one.
[Weakening Ray]
(Description: A long-range attack on targets within an area, inflicting a 'weakening' effect upon hitting.)
[Corpse Preservation]
(Description: Cast necromancy to delay the decay of corpses or remains. After casting, the unit cannot be further converted into undead creatures.)
These were two necromancy skill books.
"How much for this book?" Wu Heng pointed at the Weakening Ray.
"35 silver coins."
"And this one?"
"55 silver coins."
Both skill books were pricey, with the second one, Corpse Preservation, costing more than Weakening Ray.
Wu Heng didn’t immediately decide to buy them; instead, he casually glanced at the other items on the stall.
[Organ Jar]
(Description: A container that can preserve organs well.)
Damn, a container for preserving organs.
Who would buy something like this?
[Infected Burial Shroud (Oddity)]
[Effect: Wearing the shroud conceals the body, but if used by a living being, it will cause infection with corpse poison and pustules.]
(Description: A burial shroud discarded by an immortal sage after revival.)
Another oddity—its effect was to make the user invisible when draped over them.
The downside was that it couldn’t be used by the living.
It seemed rather useless.
His gaze wandered over the other items—rusted short swords, shattered tiles.
In short, everything on sale looked like it wasn’t meant for the living.
More like it was just unearthed.
"How much for this piece of cloth?" Wu Heng asked about the burial shroud.
"This is an oddity. Its effect is to make the wearer invisible. Don’t name it randomly if you don’t know. It’s 1,500 silver coins," the vendor said.
Wu Heng gave him a look but said nothing more.
The price was astronomical, and the vendor only mentioned the invisibility, leaving out the downside for the living.
He didn’t argue; he had no intention of buying it anyway.
"I’ll take these two skill books."
Wu Heng pulled out his purse and counted out the necessary silver coins.
Currency in this world was all metal coins, which were sometimes inconvenient to carry in large amounts.
Bringing too much was quite heavy.
The vendor stretched out his bony hand to take the coins, nodded after confirming the amount, and said, "Take them yourself."
Wu Heng picked up the two skill books and put them away.
As they continued walking, Slater said, "Oddities are different from magical items. Next time you see one, be sure to ask about the cost of using it."
"Mm, understood."
They continued browsing.
Slater bought Yuli a necklace with magical properties as a gift for coming to Blackstone Town.
Its effect was to heal wounds, similar to the bracelet that 'Otruluk' had brought along the previous day.
The girl was clearly in a better mood after receiving the gift and even showed it off to Wu Heng, unlike her previous attitude as if he owed her money.
The group got back on the carriage and returned to Blackstone Town.
Slater's carriage was still parked at the gate. When they arrived, the driver respectfully opened the door and invited them in.
It’s true—money garners respect in any world.
………
Back at his place,
Wu Heng opened the portal and returned to the zombie world.
Peeking out the window, he saw that a large number of zombies had gathered downstairs.
He couldn’t see the giant mutated zombie, so it was unclear if it was still in the area.
He focused his mind, and the ghost Xiaoxiao appeared in front of him.
She looked around.
"Xiaoxiao, check the area and see if that giant monster and the gray giant cat are still around."
"Oh, okay!" Xiaoxiao nodded, phasing through the wall and disappearing.
Wu Heng reopened a drawer in his study and started searching.
Finally, he found the receipt he had taken from the wanted criminal between the pages of his notebook.
One side of the receipt had a menacing snake head drawn on it.
"It’s exactly the same."
The snake head on the receipt was identical to the one he saw at the black market.
This meant that those wanted criminals hadn’t come to avenge their companion; they were more likely here to retrieve this receipt.
They had something stored with the Serpent Emblem Consortium.
Only with this receipt could they claim what was stored there.
One gain after another, indeed.
As he pondered this, the ghost Xiaoxiao phased back through the wall and returned.
Her face looked troubled as she said, "That monster is still in that building, and the gray cat is already dead. It’s terrifying."
Wu Heng followed her gaze.
She was pointing at the building diagonally opposite.
From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but since Xiaoxiao said so, that giant zombie must be inside.
This mutated zombie was no weakling, and with the dense crowd of zombies outside, it was hard to say who would win if a fight broke out.
Even if he won, it would likely come at a great cost.
"This is really going to mess up my leveling!"
But there was nothing he could do now. He could only hope that with the gray cat dead, the zombie would leave with its horde.
He recalled Xiaoxiao into his body and returned to Blackstone Town.
………
The next morning,
Wu Heng had just finished breakfast nearby.
When he saw an association staff member standing at the door.
The staff member smiled at him and said, "Mr. Wu Heng, Captain Otruluk has requested your presence."
"Oh, alright."
He arrived at the squad’s lounge in the association.
Inside, only Otruluk was present.
Seeing Wu Heng enter, Otruluk continued, "There’s been a decision regarding the 12th-level corpse from the Divine Punishment Sect."
Wu Heng’s expression grew serious. "What is it?"
Otruluk looked up at his expression and said, "The Blackstone Town Council has refused your request to convert the 12th-level corpse, citing the necromancer incident at the mining village as a reason. The deacon also believes that now is not the right time for you to have a second undead servant."
Hmm?
Wu Heng’s frown deepened.
So, not only did the town council disapprove of his request to convert the 12th-level corpse, but even the association rejected it.
"The deacon also disagreed?"
Deacon Yazde had always treated him well, and he was personally recruited by him.
Their relationship was better than most.
But even the deacon rejected his application—was a 12th-level skeleton that terrifying?
Or was there something else going on?
"What will happen to the corpse?"
"Tonight, the Adventurer’s Guild and the Blackstone Town Guard will jointly incinerate it."
