Who hid My Corpse!

Ulu had thought that there were some things he had long forgotten, or rather, he had tried hard to make himself forget certain things, and he believed he had succeeded.

In those blurry memories, he was still a child.

Back then, it was winter, and the heavy snow covered everything in the town—houses, ground, and the people who starved to death.

He hobbled out of the church, his ripped trousers stained with blood, leaving a smear of red on the snow with every step. But he didn't feel the pain because he clutched two black loaves to his chest.

With these, his mother wouldn't go hungry, and she might just have the strength to survive the winter despite her illness.

With these, he could avoid thinking about what had happened last night.

With these, everything would be alright as long as he brought them home.

Then, he saw two men walking towards him, one of them asked, "Kid, what are you holding?"

He instinctively clutched the bread tighter, followed by a punch from the man... What happened after that was a blur, both his vision and his memory.

When things became clear again, he stood at his doorstep injured, looking at his mother who had long lost her vitality.

After that, he lit the house on fire, turned around, and went back to the church, back to the kind presence of Priest Lu Ji.

In those memories, the fierce blaze amid the pale world was extinguished by the growing snowfall, leaving no trace, so much so that Ulu thought he had truly forgotten.

But now, the blood-soaked grain in the hands of the landlord's servant abruptly pulled him back to twenty years ago.

That fire that should have been put out,

damn it, it was blazing anew.

Ulu's consciousness hadn't caught up yet, but his body had already reacted, slamming one of the servant's heads against the wall and gripping his neck tightly, as if he would devour the servant alive.

Faced with Ulu's sudden rampage, the other two servants were taken aback, but they dared not lay a hand on Ulu. After all, the priest robe Ulu wore represented one of the greatest powers in the world. So they did not dare to act, only to panic as if they were dancing.

"Lord Priest, what are you doing?"

"Let's, let's talk this out nicely!"

Ulu wasted no words, snatching the grain bag from the servant's hand and smashing it on the servant's head: "I'm asking! What did you do to that kid?!"

Only then did the servants realize what Ulu was asking.

"That, that kid stole grain from our master's house, so we..."

"Cut the crap!" Ulu glared fiercely at the speaking servant, "The grain was given out by me! Are you saying I stole it from you?!"

The two servants looked at each other, realizing they had hit a snag, and immediately bowed in apology.

"Yes, we're sorry, Lord Priest, we didn't know the grain was from you!"

"Really, we had no idea, we truly thought the child was a thief! Please, spare Kend, he's about to be choked to death by you!"

About to be choked to death by me?

Ulu then came to his senses and saw that the servant in front of him had a red face, gasping for breath as if he would suffocate the next second.

He immediately let go and then just stared blankly at the grain bag in his hands.

Wait, what was I just... doing?

Ulu was somewhat dazed.

Am I feeling angry?

Am I angry for that brat?

But why?

Ulu couldn't figure it out.

And while he was lost in thought, the other two servants quickly pulled Kend to his feet. They wanted to flee but didn't dare to bolt immediately. Instead, they dragged Kend to Ulu to apologize, "We are very sorry, Lord Priest. We didn't know that child... uh, had any connection to you. We truly thought he was a thief. So we just taught him a lesson, but rest assured, he's fine. We've sent him home already."

By now, the three servants had assumed that the little boy was Ulu's boy-toy (Rhein's tastes were well-known), and they feared reprisal from Ulu for having taken the boy's things and given him a harsh beating. At this moment, they could only pray for Ulu's forgiveness.

But Ulu didn't answer them. Instead, he hung his head low, intently staring at the blood-soaked bag of grain in his hands. The thick blood seeped from between his fingers, almost as if it were dragging him back to that winter twenty years ago.

"Um, Lord Priest..."

"Get out." His hoarse voice emanated from his throat, "Don't let me see you again, get the hell out!"

Hearing Ulu tell them to get out, the three servants felt an immense relief and immediately took off, afraid that Ulu might change his mind.

After they had gone far away, Ulu didn't move either. He just stood there, seemingly lost in thought, muttering to himself, "Why..."

Then he heard Bai Wei's icy voice, "I don't care why, but if you soak my original form in blood again, I'll kill you."

Ulu suddenly snapped back to reality and realized he had been holding the grain with his left hand without noticing, so now all five fingers were soaked in blood.

"Sorry, sorry, Lord Visas," Ulu quickly switched the bag to his right hand and then wiped his hand on the white Priest Robe, primarily focusing on the middle finger, until he had cleaned it thoroughly, ensuring not a speck of dirt remained under the fingernail. He then cautiously asked, "Um, Lord Visas, is this alright?"

"That's fine," Bai Wei said indifferently, "Well done."

"Uh, by 'well done' you mean..."

"That child," Bai Wei pretended to be puzzled, "You took back the grain for him because I value that child, didn't you?"

Ulu was slightly taken aback but then nodded emphatically, "Ah yes, yes, exactly, it's because he is a child valued by you, Lord Visas, that I..."

"Fine, go and deliver the grain to him," Bai Wei instructed, "You know where the child lives, right?"

"I... know," Ulu's tense heart suddenly felt much lighter, "I'll go right now."

Right, it's all because the child is valued by Lord Visas that I intervened.

Just because of that, nothing more.

...

In the church, the Priests' dormitory.

Kelsay, with a group of Knights, stood in front of Lu Ji's house.

"Has Ulu not returned?" Kelsay asked his subordinate.

"Yes," the subordinate replied, "Priest Ulu has not come back."

Kelsay squinted slightly.

Ulu hadn't returned to the church after parting from him.

Where could he go at this time?

But that wasn't the focus— the focus was...

Kelsay turned his head, looked toward Lu Ji's house, and gave the order, "Check immediately and find out exactly where that guy Lu Ji died."