Chapter: The Cemetery Search
Cheng Yu and the other two followed the dark-skinned young man named Rexy out of the city.
On the way, Cheng Yu bought Rexy some dry, hard bread as a reward for leading the way.
While chewing the bread, Rexy saw Cheng Yu wearing a black magic cloak with a first-tier mage badge on his chest. He asked with a smile, "Boss, are you a first-tier mage?"
"I just took the first-tier mage test yesterday and passed with 81 points."
"Boss is awesome!"
Rexy flattered. "There's a relatively large cemetery in the east of Snow City. I'll take you to see it."
"Let's go."
The group left the city from the east gate of Snow City and walked east along the wide avenue.
After walking about two or three miles, a quiet and solemn cemetery appeared before them—covering a large area.
The cemetery was symbolically surrounded by a half-meter-high wooden fence. There were tall tombstones inside.
Mages who studied necromancy liked cemeteries the most.
Some necromancers came to cemeteries to steal corpses and refine them into puppets for combat.
Some necromancers simply liked the atmosphere of cemeteries.
Standing at the cemetery entrance, Cheng Yu took out The Encyclopedia of Plants and Animals of the Celsis Continent from the system warehouse, turned to the page on corpse flower, and showed the illustration to Mina, Ivennie, and Rexy.
"I want to find this plant. You three help me look for it."
"No problem, boss!" Rexy smiled enthusiastically.
Ivennie and Mina nodded slightly.
The four began searching the cemetery.
The corpse flower plant exuded a strong stench that could be smelled from a long distance. It was relatively easy to find as long as you smelled the scent in the air.
No one usually came to a place like a cemetery to hang out.
Cheng Yu walked among the tall tombstones. The surrounding environment was so quiet he could almost hear his heartbeat—even a little eerie.
When Cheng Yu walked between two tall tombstones, he suddenly saw a person sitting there. His nerves tensed.
Between two tall white stone tombstones sat a small table and a small bench. An old man with white hair and beard sat in front of the table. There were books and tea sets on the table. He was reading and drinking tea leisurely.
"Old man, are you human or ghost?" Cheng Yu asked the old man drinking tea and reading.
Normal people wouldn't drink tea and read books in a cemetery. This old man might be a deceased ghost.
Putting down the teacup and book in his hand, the white-haired old man glanced at Cheng Yu and said lightly, "Of course I'm human."
"So what are you doing here?"
The white-haired old man sat upright and turned the pages of the book gracefully. "As you can see—drinking tea and reading books cultivates sentiment."
Cheng Yu was confused. "Come to a creepy place like a cemetery to drink tea and read books?"
Hearing Cheng Yu's disrespect for the cemetery, the white-haired old man showed a trace of displeasure on his weathered face. He waved his fist and cursed angrily, "The cemetery is the resting place at the end of human life! It's the most wonderful place in the world! Anyone who slanders cemeteries will go to hell!"
Cheng Yu looked at the book on the old man's table: Self-Cultivation of an Elegant Necromancer.
It seems this old man should be a necromancer.
Rumor had it that in the eyes of necromancers, cemeteries were more wonderful places than brothels.
It seemed the rumor was true.
"Excuse me."
Cheng Yu ignored the old man and continued looking for corpse flower.
Half an hour later, he'd searched the entire cemetery. No trace of corpse flower.
"Boss, there's a smaller cemetery to the south," Rexy said to Cheng Yu.
"Take me there."
The special recipe—pickled earthworms—could not only heal injuries but also restore physical strength. It had to be prepared.
"I can take you to the cemetery in the south, but you have to pay a little," Rexy said. "I'm not blackmailing you. You can pay whatever you want."
Thinking Rexy had helped search for corpse flower just now, Cheng Yu didn't say much. He pulled out a silver coin and tossed it to Rexy.
"Thank you, boss!" Rexy bowed and thanked him.
"Let's go."
Rexy led Cheng Yu and the other two to the southern cemetery.
The southern cemetery was smaller than the previous one. It was located in a dense forest—quiet all around. The leaves blocked the sunlight, making it eerie and hidden.
The four walked into the cemetery and started looking for corpse flowers.
Not long after walking into this small cemetery, Cheng Yu heard a strange rustling sound coming from underground.
Frowning slightly, Cheng Yu felt a bit worried.
Could the corpses here be resurrecting?
Following the strange sound, they came to a tombstone over two meters high. The strange sound came from behind the tombstone.
After walking around the tombstone, Cheng Yu saw a one-meter-diameter grave robbery hole behind it. A middle-aged man with a scar on his face lay beside the hole, dragging out the body of a young girl from the tunnel.
The female corpse was stiff and pale but not rotten—should have been buried not long ago.
The scarred man dragged the girl's corpse out of the tunnel. He was startled to see Cheng Yu standing next to him staring. "You... who are you?"
"Uh... just passing by," Cheng Yu said. "What are you doing?"
So he's just passing by.
The panting scarred man breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm a necromancy mage. I've been watching near this cemetery for a long time. A beautiful noble lady was buried here yesterday. I'm taking her back to be my wife. Hehe~"
The scarred man grinned. His eyes curved into crescents. A creepy smile appeared on his face.
ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
Cheng Yu stared with wide eyes, face full of shock. "Brother, wouldn't it be better to find a living person as a wife?"
"Living people aren't as good as dead people."
The scarred man hugged the cold body of the girl and kissed the pale face of the corpse with an intoxicated expression.
This is too absurd!
Thinking of the old man who'd cultivated sentiment in the cemetery just now, Cheng Yu seriously doubted the mental state of the group of people who learned necromancy.
Did these guys learn necromancy and damage their brains?
The scarred man carried the girl's body on his shoulders and showed off to Cheng Yu. "Look! My wife is cold and stable. Isn't she much cuter than a living person?"
Cheng Yu clasped his fists in admiration. "Amazing, amazing. I've lost."
"Please don't spread this matter."
After saying that, the scarred man prepared to leave the cemetery.
Seeing the middle-aged man about to leave, Cheng Yu hurriedly called out, "Brother, wait!"
"Something else?"
The scarred man turned around.
"Do you know where there are corpse flowers?" Cheng Yu asked.
Necromancers often dealt with the dead. They might know where corpse flowers grew.
"Corpse flowers? I remember there's a pile of corpses in the valley southeast of this cemetery. There's a large area of corpse flowers there. However, there are undead monsters nearby. It's a bit dangerous," the scarred man said.
"Thank you."
Cheng Yu thanked the scarred man.
Then he walked to Mina and the others. "Don't look here anymore. There are no corpse flowers here. Let's go to the valley in the southeast to look."
"Okay."
Ivennie and Mina stopped searching.
Rexy came over and asked, "Boss, aren't you looking for corpse flowers?"
"We're going to the valley in the southeast. You don't have to follow."
Rexy was just an ordinary person. Following would be a burden.
"Boss, I'm leaving. You can come to the Mercenary Guild to find me next time you need a guide."
Rexy left the cemetery alone.
Cheng Yu took Mina and Ivennie out of the cemetery and walked southeast.
The three walked about five or six miles. A hill four or five hundred meters high appeared before them. The hill was covered with a large area of green plants.
Walking to the top of the hill, they could see a depression between this hill and another hill.
In the middle of the depression grew a large area of green plants. The tops of the plants bloomed with deep red flowers shaped like trumpets—exactly the corpse flower Cheng Yu was looking for.