Who hid My Corpse!

"Is it in here?"

"Yes, Knight Master, it's in here."

Kelsay lifted his head, gazing at the dark and profound alley before him, and wrinkled his brow at the stench wafting from within.

"Damn it, these bastards just love skulking around these godforsaken places," Kelsay cursed. "And they have to reek to high heaven too. Absolutely disgusting."

"Uh, since you don't like it here, how about we go inside and you stay out?"

Kelsay really wanted to agree, truly not wishing to be tainted by the stench of the place.

But when he remembered who had assigned him this task, he reluctantly shook his head, "Forget it, this is something Lord Bishop has entrusted to me, I have to do it myself."

Saying this, he pulled out a large red handkerchief from his pocket, covering his nose with it before reluctantly stepping into the alley with a frown.

There were quite a few people in the alley, mostly sitting against the wall on the ground.

They were thin and haggard, clearly in a state of extreme hunger. When they heard footsteps, some who still had the strength would look up with a glint of hope, while those too weak to even raise their heads lay there, it was unclear if they were alive or dead.

"This truly is a sin." The disdain in Kelsay's eyes grew even more pronounced, but he still refrained from an outburst, walking up to one who could still look up at him. He squatted down and said in a cold voice, "I am Rhein's third Knight Master, acting on my Lord's will, you must... Motherfucker, can you even hear me?"

Seeing the man was practically half-dead, Kelsay had his subordinate bring a piece of bread to wave in front of him.

Instantly, life sparked in the man's eyes.

"Answer my questions, and the bread is yours," Kelsay said coldly. "Can you understand?"

The man nodded repeatedly.

"Have you encountered a black market merchant here?"

"Black market... merchant?"

"Yes, a black market merchant called Yong Suo," Kelsay stated. "You should know what a black market merchant is, right? The type that sells forbidden items, all cloaked in black, very easy to recognize."

The man tried hard to remember, then shook his head.

Kelsay clicked his tongue, then gestured with his fingers, "Then, have you seen a box about this long? With some talismans inscribed on it... well, looking at you, you wouldn't know what a talisman is. Just tell me if you've seen a box this long, okay?"

The man continued to try to remember, then shook his head again, "No."

Kelsay felt his patience was nearly at its limit.

"So the last question," Kelsay slowly bent down, bringing his mouth close to the man's ear, then whispered, "Have you seen a finger?"

"A, a finger?"

"Yes, a severed finger, either the middle finger of the left hand or the thumb of the right," said Kelsay. "I've described it quite clearly, don't make me repeat myself... now tell me, have you seen two fingers like that? Think carefully before you answer."

The man tried hard to remember.

But still, under Kelsay's gaze, he shook his head, "No, haven't."

Then, he quickly looked towards the loaf of bread in Kelsay's hand, speaking in a pleading tone, "Kni-Knight Master, I've answered your questions, the bread, the bread, uh..."

His eyes widened, unable to finish his sentence.

Because Kelsay had already snapped his neck.

He died without even a chance to shriek, nor did he manage to draw anyone's attention.

Kelsay slowly stood up, his eyes filled with disgust.

"What use are you if you can't answer and still want food," he shook his head, then moved on to the next person, "Answer this question, and I'll give you this piece of bread. Have you seen a black market merchant named Yong Suo around here recently?"

After questioning several people, none had seen any black market merchant, nor did they know what the box and severed finger were.

Just as Kelsay's patience was wearing thin, finally someone hesitantly nodded: "I don't know his name, but there was someone selling some very strange things. It might be the black market merchant you're talking about."

Kelsay immediately perked up, "Oh? Where did he go then?"

"I don't know," the man shook his head with a wry smile, "He stayed here two days, trying to sell things to us, but who has money right now? And it wasn't food he was selling, so no one paid him any mind except... someone bought something from him?"

Kelsay immediately asked, "Who?"

"I don't know who that person was…" Seeing Kelsay's anger rising, the man quickly added, "But he was different from us, he was very cleanly dressed."

"Cleanly dressed?" At first, Kelsay did not grasp what this meant, but after looking over the huddled famine victims in the alley, it dawned on him.

That was someone unaffected by the famine.

Meaning, they were financially well-off.

Currently, there was a famine, and this area was among the hardest hit. Someone completely unaffected, who even came to purchase from a black market merchant — there wouldn't be many such individuals.

Kelsay made a judgment in his mind and then asked, "What did he buy?"

The man was unsure: "Probably... a box."

Kelsay's eyes narrowed immediately: "A box? What kind of box?"

"I... don't know how to describe it," the man was struggling, "and I was too far to see clearly."

"Just tell me," Kelsay said calmly, "Was it a box that could just fit a finger?"

The man blinked, then muttered as if he had an epiphany.

"Yes, that's right, it was indeed a box that could just fit a finger."

After a while, Kelsay walked out of the alley, wiping the blood from his hands with a handkerchief.

His subordinate immediately followed behind: "Knight Master."

"That black market merchant named Yong Suo," Kelsay instructed his subordinate, "is likely no longer in this place. He's gone to the next town. But don't let him get away, keep searching, and make sure to find him to understand what exactly he sold."

"Yes!"

"As for the one who bought the item, our priority now is to find him. Someone with fine economic standing, at least without worry for food and clothing, find him. And of course, most importantly, we need to find that box."

"Yes!" the subordinate asked tentatively, "Knight Master, what exactly is in the box that would make Lord Bishop have our entire team come out to search for it?"

"Heh, merely the last remnant remains of a long-passed spirit in this world," Kelsay finally cleaned the blood from his hands and tossed the blood-stained handkerchief aside, then turned to take one last look at the alley, and said indifferently, "We can't let people know what we're searching for, understand?"

The subordinate nodded.

As Kelsay departed, two Knights picked up their swords and headed back into the alley.