Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng hesitantly said, "You'd better not go... "
Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled. "Why not?"
Bai Zisheng replied, "With how angry you made Zhang Quan, he'd rather die a thousand deaths than tell you anything."
Mo Hua was stunned. "Surely he's not that narrow-minded."
Bai Zisheng couldn't help but feel speechless. "I say his tolerance is already quite great. If it were any less, you would have already angered him to death... "
Mo Hua frowned and murmured in doubt,
"Am I really that infuriating?"
He hadn't noticed it himself.
Bai Zisheng sighed, "It's that innocent face you make when you anger people that's the most infuriating."
Mo Hua didn't believe it and turned to ask Bai Zixi,
"Little Senior Sister, do I anger people?"
Bai Zixi's beautiful eyes shifted slightly as she spoke softly,
"Not really."
Mo Hua nodded, feeling that his Little Senior Sister was right.
Bai Zisheng could only look at his sister and helplessly shake his head.
...
After walking alongside each other for a while, Bai Zisheng suddenly remembered something and asked,
"Just how many zombies were there in the Corpse Walking Stronghold?"
Mo Hua replied without a second thought, "Five Iron Corpses, six hundred and thirty-seven Walking Corpses."
"Did you actually count them?"
"Of course," Mo Hua nodded. In the Corpse Walking Stronghold, he probably knew the number of zombies better than Zhang Quan, the Householder.
Bai Zisheng clicked his tongue, "That's a lot..."
But Mo Hua shook his head, "No, it's not enough..."
Bai Zisheng was taken aback, "Still not enough?"
Mo Hua affirmed, "Not enough!"
Bai Zisheng was puzzled.
Mo Hua then explained, "Zhang Quan's method of refining corpses is passed down from his ancestors. He's been purchasing bodies and refining zombies for decades, if not over a hundred years. Given all these years, the number of zombies he's refined can't just be this amount..."
"And it's not just him refining; he established the Corpse Walking Stronghold, where bandits kill people and Mining Cultivators buy corpses. A couple of hundred Corpse Cultivators are also refining corpses. Over time, the number of zombies they've refined is definitely not small."
Bai Zisheng frowned, "Does he have other places to hide the zombies?"
"Not hiding, perhaps selling."
Mo Hua remembered Zhang Quan mentioning something about "sending corpses."
He wouldn't be refining corpses to "give" them to others; there must be some sort of transaction involved.
It was still all a mystery for now, with no clear leads to follow.
Bai Zisheng exclaimed, "The waters are deep indeed..."
Mo Hua nodded and looked toward the other side.
By now, they had reached South Yue City, and the opposite side of the road was a mine.
It was late morning, and the dawn light had dissipated, leaving the sunlight searing.
The mine was baking in the heat.
The Mining Cultivators began their work under the scorching sun.
Their heads bared to the fierce sunshine, feet on sizzling stones, bodies marked with lashings turned dark, hands cracked, backs bent, they toiled in hardship and numbness under the overseers' abuse.
For them, every breath was an immense struggle.
Like a person drowning in deep waters, gasping for air but unable to breathe.
Mo Hua's gaze shifted slightly as he murmured,
"The waters of South Yue City are very deep..."
"That's why these Mining Cultivators live amidst such treacherous conditions..."