The next day.
Wu Shuang woke up to a cheerful humming sound. He immediately sat up on high alert, only relaxing once he recognized his surroundings.
Right, he wasn't alone anymore. He had gained another person... No, to be precise, another head?
Mia had woken up at some point. Humming an off-key tune, she had started a campfire and was roasting black bread over it.
"You're awake?
"I saw you were sleeping pretty soundly, so I didn't wake you. Perfect timing—the bread is ready, so eat while it's hot."
Mia noticed his movement and looked over, her face seemingly washed clean and looking fair and lovely.
She handed over the food using hair strands as nimble as hands—a steaming, slightly charred piece of bread impaled on a wooden stick.
Wu Shuang had never tried eating toasted bread before and reached out to take it.
The toasted bread carried the aroma of wheat. Though the crust was dry and hard, the inside was softer—possibly toasted after moistening it with water—yet the taste...
"This bread really isn't great. The craft is too poor. Tastes awful."
Mia commented.
Wu Shuang agreed with this assessment; toasting it merely made it easier to swallow... Wait!
"You can eat?"
Wu Shuang asked with wide eyes. Mia was eating another piece of toasted bread, tearing off pieces, chewing, and swallowing with a face full of disgust.
"What? It's not like I don't have a mouth. Why wouldn't I be able to eat?"
Mia looked over and said.
"But..."
Wu Shuang wanted to say that her esophagus was severed, so wouldn't everything she ate just leak out...? But in reality, it didn't, leaving him stunned. It felt strange, and he even tilted his head to look downward.
"Hey, staring at a lady like that is extremely rude!"
Mia warned, blocking Wu Shuang's vision with her hair. He found himself unable to argue back.
"Oh, relax, it won't leak. I don't know the exact reason either. Maybe I still maintain a connection with my body, so everything I eat gets teleported over.
"Look, I don't even bleed..."
Mia explained. She had only been joking earlier.
But Wu Shuang couldn't get the punchline at all, even feeling a bit chilly.
He told Mia to finish her breakfast quickly so they could return to the hideout early and make a few supply runs. After all, now that they were a team, Mia had to pull her weight too.
"Breakfast?
"It's already noon, you know. It should be called lunch."
"Huh?"
Dumbfounded, Wu Shuang immediately called up his Hero Handbook to check the time, discovering it was already eleven o'clock.
"Damn it, why didn't you wake me sooner? We wasted half a day."
"You didn't ask me to."
"Uh..."
Wu Shuang gave in, though he was also surprised. This was the first time since transmigrating that he had slept for so long.
Oh well, it wasn't too late anyway, and sleeping longer meant recovering better.
He checked his status: his Humanity was at 112, while his Health and Stamina were completely full, and his injuries were fully healed. With such healing speed, he could only attribute it to the power of Yellow Humanity.
He called for Mia to pack up. Since they had planned ahead, it didn't take much time. They didn't have much to bring: besides their weapons, equipment, shovel, and lantern, there was only the treasure the Grave Digger had looted from the graves—a full five jin of various gold and silver jewelry. If sold, it would likely be worth a fortune.
As for that White Casket, because it was rather large and heavy, Wu Shuang and Mia discussed it and decided to dig a hole in the backyard to bury it, planning to return for it later when convenient.
The entire preparation took about an hour to complete. Since they didn't need to bury it very deep anyway, hardly anyone would come around randomly digging.
Once everything was ready, Wu Shuang picked up the rapier. The blade was about one meter long; Mia hadn't let him touch it before, so this was his first time handling it.
【Name: Blood Rose】
【Quality: Perfect】
【Description: A gorgeous rapier whose primary material is silver forged with Humanity, giving it extreme toughness and flexibility. The thorn-like serrations on the blade leave hard-to-heal wounds on targets, causing continuous bleeding and suppressing regenerative abilities.
The openwork red copper guard also protects the wrist well, and the weapon is overall quite light. Gem fragments embedded in the hilt further enhance the sword's sharpness.
You can smear your own blood on the blade to activate 『Whip of the Blood Rose』, which will further increase its power.】
(『Whip of the Blood Rose』: Consumes 20% Health and 20 points of Humanity of any color to activate. The blade can extend like a whip, tightly binding and cutting the target until it is torn to pieces. Lasts for 15 minutes, with a 72-hour cooldown.)
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This weapon possessed a skill, and a powerful one at that.
Despite looking like a work of art, its actual power was completely uncompromised.
A large portion of weapons and equipment in this world were probably like this—visually striking while being extremely strong.
Wu Shuang gave it a trial swing. The grip felt superb, whistling through the air with a sharp pfft, and he even jabbed at the wall, piercing a small hole into it.
"Be careful. That weapon is pretty dangerous; don't end up hurting yourself."
Mia warned, catching Wu Shuang's attention.
"You know how to use this sword?"
"A little bit."
Mia said, her silver-white hair shaping itself into a hand to gesture "a little bit" with its index finger and thumb.
After all, it was her sword, so it would be stranger if she didn't know how to use it. He could ask her for tips later, but not right now.
Wu Shuang performed a final check of his carried belongings, which included Argus...
"By the way, Mia, do you know how to reload percussion cap firearms?"
"Sure do. It's not hard."
"That works out great..."
Wu Shuang nodded as an idea suddenly struck him.
Since Mia's hair was as nimble as hands, he could try taking her into battle with him. That way, not only could she cover blind spots in his field of vision, but she could also help reload and assist in combat.
Thinking about it like that, it was practically like having several extra hands of his own, which would make fighting far more convenient.
After burying the White Casket, the two lingered by the Mysterious Gravestone for a moment before heading toward the front yard, preparing to return quickly.
But the moment he reached the front yard, Wu Shuang stopped in his tracks. The corpses on the ground were gone. Except for the Grave Digger's skeleton, all the slain living corpses—heads included—had vanished.
There had originally been one lying in the backyard too, but Wu Shuang hadn't realized it at first, only noticing when he saw the front yard.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Wu Shuang pause, Mia—who was "standing" on his shoulder—asked. Her silver-white hair draped over Wu Shuang's shoulder, making it look like Wu Shuang had two heads. Fortunately, no one was around to see, or he'd easily be mistaken for a monster.
"The corpses are gone."
"I killed four living corpses here, and their bodies seem to have been carried off by something."
Wu Shuang explained, asking Mia if she had heard any unusual noises last night. Mia shook her head, indicating she hadn't noticed anything either.
"Strange..."
Wu Shuang rubbed his chin and looked at the muddy ground. Because of the rain, footprints and trails were a total mess.
He recalled Paul's body, which had also disappeared overnight just like this time.
The reason it was still there on the first night might have had to do with the rain; perhaps the thunder and rain interfered with the corpse thief's activities.
"There's something in this town that specifically steals corpses at night."
Wu Shuang reasoned. Seeing no further clues, he headed down the mountain, preparing to return early to his hideout at Baron Raymont's Estate.
Rate on N.U.
