Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 247: Hunting

Ma Yan, a biology Ph.D student at A University.

In two days, there would be an academic exchange conference at D University. As one of the two representatives from A University, Ma Yan was quite nervous—

D University was located in a remote area, close to several ancient tombs. Recently, a new burial site was discovered, and strange occurrences have been happening since then. Based on Ma Yan’s experience, those rumors weren’t just idle talk—he had interned at a special department in Shian and knew some inside information.

As the bus departure time approached, Ma Yan took off his backpack. While swinging the backpack, he accidentally hit the person next to him.

“Sorry Zhong Chengshuo,” Ma Yan apologized as he put the backpack on his lap.

“It’s okay.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded without turning his gaze.

Indeed, he’s such an odd person. 

Zhong Chengshuo was considered the most highly regarded student in the department. It was said that he wandered outside for a few years before returning to pursue his Ph.D. He rented a place near A University and didn’t participate in any student group activities. This guy didn’t even eat in the cafeteria—he always went back to his rented house for meals. Ma Yan wondered what he was so dedicated to.

Currently, there were three seats in a row, but Zhong Chengshuo had left the one by the window empty.

“Waiting for someone?” Ma Yan looked at the time, trying to start a conversation.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yes, a family member.”

Ma Yan took a deep breath. This conference allowed attendees to bring their family members. But this person Zhong Chengshuo… Wasn’t that ring just for fun? Who would choose such a strange wedding ring?

Considering his behavior of running back to his rented house, Ma Yan solemnly pondered. “Taking care of a relative’s children?”

“My partner wants to come along.” Zhong Chengshuo’s voice became slightly louder. He finally turned his head, and his black, hollow eyes fixated on Ma Yan.

Bachelor Ma Yan: “…” He’s not happy.

Speaking of which, Zhong Chengshuo was quite good-looking. Even if he was an eccentric person, there would definitely be girls who liked him. Ma Yan wondered what kind of person his partner would be like…

“Zhong Ge!” A figure swiftly jumped onto the bus. The person was wearing a black shirt and a red duckbill cap. Their long hair was tied up in a ponytail. Above the mask, a pair of red eyes formed a smiling curve.

The person strode over to Ma Yan. “Brother, excuse me.”

They took the empty seat by the window, wearing the same ring on their ring finger as Zhong Chengshuo.

So, it really is a wedding ring?!

Ma Yan is shocked. “Wait, a guy?”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded. His expression remained unchanged, but the atmosphere around him seemed to have brightened by 10%. The person sitting down removed their mask and took a deep breath.

After seeing the other person’s appearance, Ma Yan was speechless. The more beautiful a “person” was, the more dangerous they were, as Ma Yan learned during his internship. His mental tension instantly escalated.

“Zhong Chengshuo’s classmate? I’m Yin Ren.” Yin Ren extends his hand in a straightforward manner.

“Ma Yan.” Ma Yan shook their hand, trembling.

Fortunately, Yin Ren only exchanged a simple greeting. Not long after getting on the bus, he yawned loudly and immediately rested his head on Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder, falling asleep.

……

D University was in a remote location, and the nearby shops and hotels were at a small-town level. Most of the conference participants stayed on campus, but Zhong Chengshuo, with his family member, had booked a room in a hotel.

After some contemplation, Ma Yan chose to book a room at the same hotel. Just in case there were real problems with the nearby burial site or if Zhong Chengshuo’s boyfriend was indeed suspicious, it would be easier to contact Shian.

The first two days went smoothly.

Zhong Chengshuo acted as usual, while his partner, Mr. Yin, simply wandered around various street food stalls nearby. Ma Yan felt relieved, thinking that maybe he was overreacting.

Until midnight of the third day.

In the cheerful background music of the game, Ma Yan poked at his phone while playing a video on his computer. He was going back tomorrow, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

Swish.

Amidst the music and dialogue, a strange sound suddenly appeared.

Swish, swish.

Vague noises came from beneath the floor, sounding like digging in the soil. Ma Yan turned off the game and video, but the strange sound became even clearer.

Swish, swish, swish. The floor was trembling.

Ma Yan’s room was on the third floor, with an empty guest room below. There was a simple layer of reinforced concrete in between, which couldn’t explain these digging-like noises.

Stay calm, it’s a minor thing. There must be some scientific explanation behind it. Ma Yan tightened his face.

Outside, the night had grown dark, and no lights were visible. In the silence, apart from the sound of digging, there were eerie whispers. Ma Yan walked a few circles in the room, making sure it wasn’t his own illusion or dream.

Ma Yan couldn’t decide whether to go outside or not. The occupancy rate here was low, and he was the only one on the third floor. Moving around casually might be even more dangerous.

Swish, swish. A faint, foul odor filled the air.

The digging and whispers were getting closer. Ma Yan anxiously stared at the source of the sound. In the hotel’s dim yellow light, a small clump of soil faintly appeared on the tiled floor.

Ma Yan swallowed his saliva, shifting his gaze towards the door—

Knock, knock, knock!

“Ma Yan, want to have a drink together?” Right at that moment, Yin Ren’s voice sounded from outside the door.

The digging sound abruptly stopped, and even the soil on the floor seemed to retreat at a rapid pace, as if trying to escape.

Ma Yan: “…?”

“We came to find you.” Outside the door, Yin Ren continued to call out. “Zhong Ge can’t drink, and it’s boring if it’s just me. It’s livelier with more people.”

Ma Yan approached the peephole. In the dim corridor, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were indeed standing there. The problem was that he barely knew Zhong Chengshuo, and it was his first time meeting Yin Ren. It was suspicious for them to suddenly come from another floor to drink in the middle of the night.

Taking a step back, something about his room felt off, and he couldn’t involve innocent classmates in this.

Ma Yan cleared his throat. “I’m about to sleep. Let’s meet up after I return to the city.”

Swish.

Just as Ma Yan finished speaking, there was a cautious sound beneath the floor.

Yin Ren: “Ah, what a pity…”

In an instant, the hotel’s door slammed onto the ground. Yin Ren stood at the entrance with a smile, still in the motion of pushing the door.

“Sorry, the door isn’t sturdy.” Yin Ren’s eyes glowed red in the darkness.

Sturdy my ass! Ma Yan jumped up and grabbed his phone. Something was definitely off with this guy, and he had to report it to Shian.

Zhong Chengshuo was holding a strange-looking lantern as he approached. “Should we show it to him?”

“No need to erase his memory. Fu Tianyi just sent news that this person has good potential.” Yin Ren murmured to himself, tilting his head. “The science post values cognition, right? If his cognition collapses here, he won’t be of much use.”

“I understand.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded solemnly.

With a terrified gaze, Ma Yan watched the two of them chattering. His heart almost exploded. What on earth was going on with these two? Could it be that Zhong Chengshuo was being controlled by a monster? It had already been so long; why hadn’t Shian’s people arrived yet?

In Ma Yan’s frightened gaze, Yin Ren casually walked to the center of the room and knocked on the floor. “Why not keep digging?”

The room fell into complete silence.

“You were having so much fun digging just now. You were only one step away from singing the ‘most glorious labor’.” Yin Ren gently raised his right hand, then struck the floor. Strangely, the tiles showed no damage, and Yin Ren’s hand sank into the ground as if it were sinking into mud, straight into the floor.

In an instant, he pulled his hand, and a desiccated, skeletal arm emerged.

Below the arm, there were brownish-black bones and intertwined tree roots that seemed inseparable from each other. Yin Ren pulled it out like he was pulling a water hose, while Zhong Chengshuo carefully arranged the part that was pulled out, meticulously stacking it against the wall.

For some reason, the monster being pulled out trembled slightly, without any resistance. When it was being arranged in a circle by Yin Ren, it even cooperated by adjusting its position.

This is insane. Ma Yan slid slowly to the corner of the wall.

The monster itself was one thing, but these two people… He couldn’t come up with any explanation.

After pulling for about twenty minutes, the monster beneath the floor was finally completely pulled out. It occupied one-third of the room and was piled up like stacked tires. The monster wriggled, and the dust on its body fell to the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo examined the monster for a while, and a look of joy appeared on his face. Ma Yan had seen that expression before; every time his father caught a fish, he had the same satisfied look.

“Corpse intestine from an ancient tomb. The corpses have different years, most of them are sacrificial, and a few should be tomb raiders or…” Yin Ren wiped his hands with a wet towel. “Or people who were recently attacked.”

He pointed to the fresh part of the monster’s body, where it looked like tender shoots growing from withered tree branches.

“Thank you for the reminder.” Zhong Chengshuo took out a sample bag and a small knife from his pocket.

“Wait! You can’t just…” Ma Yan exclaimed.

The flesh and blood of the monster might have unknown effects, and it was strictly forbidden for ordinary people to privately obtain and study it under Shian’s regulations. With the situation happening right in front of him, Ma Yan couldn’t ignore it.

Zhong Chengshuo slowly turned his head, and Ma Yan was so scared that he covered his head. However, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t say a word, and his eyes just showed a hint of grievance.

Yin Ren raised a smile and spoke deliberately slowly. “We caught it, so naturally, we have the right to deal with it.”

Before he could finish his sentence, the monster let out a faint whimper and trembled, causing the floor to shake. If it weren’t for how disgusting the thing was, Ma Yan might have felt sorry for it.

“And guess why Shian hasn’t arrived yet?” Yin Ren’s smile became even brighter.

……

Before leaving the room, Yin Ren even left two cans of beer for Ma Yan. If he hadn’t left behind nearly half of the room filled with monsters, Ma Yan might have been even more grateful. The stimulated monster obediently remained still, playing dead alongside Ma Yan.

The good news was that five minutes after those two guys left, Shian’s personnel arrived at the door.

“Ancient tomb intestine, more than a thousand years old.” Fu Tianyi’s face showed no expression.

“Mr. Fu!”

Ma Yan instantly felt relieved. This was a top-notch expert from the Yandu branch, but he seemed particularly listless and in a bad mood.

Fu Tianyi absentmindedly picked up a can of beer and took a few sips.

“I’ll arrange for you to change rooms later, and Shian will handle this thing.” After putting down the can, Fu Tianyi sent a message while talking. “Not being shaken by seeing this thing, you’ve done well.”

Ma Yan had nothing to say. He actually wanted to be shaken, but unfortunately, the monster gave in too quickly, and his emotions hadn’t had time to brew.

Thinking about it, Ma Yan hesitated for a moment. “Two people took…”

“It’s safe here.” Fu Tianyi interrupted loudly. “No issues at all.”

“Just now, two people…”

“No issues at all.”

“Just now—”

“No issues at all!” Fu Tianyi drank half a can of beer, and a sense of despair appeared on his face.

Ma Yan: “…Alright, since the Fu family says there are no issues, I have no position to question further.”

……

One week later.

[BOOS Supreme Devil Emperor: Lao Jiang is selling ancient tomb corpse hearts!]

[Xinxin Dog Kennel: Where can you even get corpse hearts now? They’ve all been plucked clean.]

[BOOS Supreme Devil Emperor: That new burial site.]

[Lao Zhang Pancake Stall 028: The corpse heart is guarded by corpse intestines. Corpse intestines with high cultivation will devour people on their own. They are extremely dangerous.]

[No Head: That place has been around for thousands of years; it’s tough. Dealing with a five-hundred-year-old corpse intestines would require about a hundred people.]

[BOOS Supreme Devil Emperor: It must be King Yama.]

[No Head: Here we go again.]

[BOOS Supreme Devil Emperor: Didn’t he get a partner? It must be them.]

[yamagald: Guess?]

“Don’t worry too much. ‘King Yama’ won’t expose himself,” Zhong Chengshuo said as he embraced Yin Ren from behind, sounding drowsy.

“The ministers probably have an idea in their hearts.” Yin Ren chuckled as he looked at the chat room flooding with messages.

“I haven’t left any evidence.” Zhong Chengshuo’s tone instantly turned serious.

“You don’t need evidence for this kind of thing. It’s not like we’re going to court.” Yin Ren playfully ran his hand through his partner’s hair. “Trust me. Even if they do find evidence, they’ll pretend they didn’t see it.”

After all, having King Yama as a convenient scapegoat was much more convenient than admitting that “there’s someone in Shian who can’t be controlled”.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ll teach you slowly in the future.”

“…Alright.”

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The author has something to say:

King Yama, a sham company (…

Two people making extra money with their salaries, laboring to become wealthy!

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