The Sorrowmender

Chapter 62 – Buried, but not to be memorialized

Staring at the ancient and sturdy box, Xu Qingzhou hesitated. Should he take it?

Naturally, he should.

But it should have been him taking it himself, or using another method, not Mo Shengge taking it for him.

This wasn't what he had expected.

However...

He still accepted it.

"Lady's item, I accept it because it's what the Lady owes me. I once relieved her worries, and although it was exchanged for Ningfeng, the Lady knows well what she did to Ningfeng."

He spoke slowly, giving himself a reason to accept the item and giving Mo Shengge a reason to give it.

A half-drunken Mo Shengge smiled faintly, "Whatever Mister says, so it shall be."

After all, she was a dying person.

Xu Qingzhou placed the wooden box in his arms, adjusted his attire, "So... has the Lady finished speaking?"

Mo Shengge nodded slightly, still charming.

"Yes, I'm done. How does Mister plan to kill me?"

Xu Qingzhou stood up, looking down at her. He did not deny that Mo Shengge was a pitiful person, but her misfortune had nothing to do with him.

"In my life, I have never killed a woman who has shared my time, and the Lady is no exception."

"Mister won't kill me?" Mo Shengge was startled, then squinted her long eyes, with a hint of playful drunkenness, "Can Mister sleep well?"

Xu Qingzhou turned gracefully, his embroidered robe fluttering, and walked out.

"Only those with a guilty conscience would be afraid. I, Xu Qingzhou, am open and honest, with a clear conscience, so why wouldn't I sleep well?"

With that, he paused, his footsteps halted, and a cold glint flashed in his lowered eyes.

"But because of the Lady's narrow-mindedness, many who shouldn't have died are dead. If the Lady lives, who knows how many more will die unjustly. I am uneasy, so the Lady must die."

Mo Shengge's eyes were filled with confusion, "So is Mister going to kill me or not?"

This time, Xu Qingzhou did not respond to Mo Shengge but instead walked to the front of the main hall and suddenly pushed open the tightly closed door.

In an instant, the cold wind rushed into the hall, wailing mournfully, accompanied by a light rain.

The candlelight inside flickered, casting scattered shadows.

"Li San."

Xu Qingzhou called out, and though there was thunder and lightning, wind and rain, his voice still overpowered everything.

In the rain, a figure appeared and soon came before Xu Qingzhou, bowing in salute.

"Mister, what are your orders?"

Xu Qingzhou looked directly into Li San's rain-drenched eyes and asked, "Do you remember what we once talked about?"

Li San raised his head, looking at Xu Qingzhou, then at Mo Shengge in the hall.

He recalled that night after the rain.

"I remember."

"Dare you?"

Li San knew exactly what Xu Qingzhou was referring to.

Dare you?

Li San straightened up, drew the long sword from his waist, held it in his hand, and solemnly said to Xu Qingzhou:

"Whatever Mister asks of me, Li San will do."

Xu Qingzhou approvingly patted Li San's shoulder and whispered in his ear:

"Give her a swift end."

"Rest assured, Mister, Li San understands."

Some blood you have to stain yourself with, some you don't want to.

Xu Qingzhou only wanted the result; the process didn't matter.

He wouldn't kill Mo Shengge himself, but he could have someone else do it. It wasn't that he wouldn't kill women.

It's just that he had once relieved Mo Shengge's worries, and if he were to kill her with his own hands now, it would go against his conscience.

Moreover, tonight, he didn't want his hands stained with blood.

Li San, holding his sword, walked towards the main hall, not forgetting to close the wooden door.

Xu Qingzhou stood with his back to the hall, watching the heavy rain in the night.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky, followed by a thunderous roar. Inside, a shadow's long sword fell, and blood splattered high with the sword's edge.

In less than half a minute, Li San emerged, covered in blood, his sword sheathed.

"Mister, she's dead."

"She can be buried, but no tombstone."

"Understood, Mister."

Mo Shengge was dead, but it wasn't over yet. The matter of Linfeng City still needed resolution.

These three thousand death warriors, having chosen to stand by him, naturally couldn't be treated unfairly.

He wanted to give them freedom, and this freedom should be open and honorable, not a betrayal for profit.

"Meng Xiao."

"Mister, please instruct."

"Take me to see City Lord Lin Shuo."

Meng Xiao hesitated for a moment, not understanding why Mister wanted to see a half-dead person, but still opened a black umbrella, respectfully saying:

"Mister, follow me."

Having resolved the matter of Mo Shengge, Xu Qingzhou, led by Meng Xiao, arrived at the courtyard where Mo Shengge had confined Lin Shuo.

Upon entering, he saw the variously bound naked men and the severely injured Lin Shuo.

"Mister, this is City Lord Lin Shuo," Meng Xiao said.

His tone showed no reverence for Lin Shuo.

Though in recent years, it was the Lady who controlled them, the root of the death warriors came from the Lin family.

Lin Shuo, being of the Lin family, was their master but also the enemy who shackled them.

The dying Lin Shuo looked at Xu Qingzhou in astonishment.

Xu Qingzhou looked at him as well.

The former's eyes were full of confusion, unable to utter a word.

The latter stroked his chin, furrowed his brows, and remained silent.

Lin Shuo's injuries were more severe than he had imagined, but still salvageable.

The first method was to directly buy a pill to heal him from the Worry-Free General Store.

Advantage: Convenient, Disadvantage: Expensive.

The second method was to find a young lady who genuinely cared for and hoped Lin Shuo would recover, and relieve her worries.

Advantage: Cheap, with rewards, Disadvantage: Troublesome.

After comparing the two, Xu Qingzhou pondered for a long time and chose to try the latter. After all, money was hard to earn, and saving where possible was wise.

Having decided on the plan, he acted immediately, first taking out a common pill frequently rewarded by the System and giving it to Lin Shuo.

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, its effects were evident.

The bedridden Lin Shuo seemed to experience a brief resurgence, not only regaining sensation in his body but also able to speak.

"I can move. What did you give me?"

Lin Shuo, excited and incoherent, quickly sat up and thanked Xu Qingzhou.

"Thank you for saving my life."

Though it was his first time meeting Xu Qingzhou, he knew the young man before him was no ordinary person, likely an immortal, hence possessing an elixir.

Xu Qingzhou calmly said:

"Don't rush to thank me. The pill I gave you won't keep you alive, only restore your vitality for an hour."

"If you want to live, listen to a few conditions from me. If you can agree, I'll save you. How about it?"

Lin Shuo, having been bedridden for five years and living a fate worse than death, would agree to anything if it meant living, be it a few, ten, a hundred, or a thousand conditions.

"You speak, I listen...."