Eastern Plains of the Holy Spirit.
The pitter-patter of rain had been falling all night. Large and small puddles and slippery muddy ground could be seen everywhere in the wilderness. The stubborn white-stemmed grass had fallen to the ground under the erosion of the rain. One had to be extra careful when walking on it.
Taka, the corpse hauler, drove the cart carefully through the plains. He had to focus on the solid ground without puddles to prevent the wheels of the cart from sinking into the mud. In a place so far away from the campsite, it would be very troublesome if the wheels got stuck in the mud.
A gust of cold wind blew, and the bearded man could not help but shiver. He raised his yellowish and cloudy eyes and looked at the low sky in the distance. He could not help but mutter, "Blood God above, what a terrible weather."
Rain on the night of Requiem Festival was not a good sign, especially for a superstitious corpse hauler.
From the perspective of mysticism, the rain on the night of soul reunion would severely affect the effects of the bonfire, even preventing some small bonfires from burning smoothly. The lost souls of the ancestors would wander about in the veil formed by the water vapor and flames. Most of the terrifying legends about evil spirits among the residents of the plains and the mountain people originated from this.
And from a practical point of view, the rain on Requiem Festival often meant that the weather would turn cold quickly. Winter would come earlier and fiercer.
No matter which one it was, it was not a good thing for normal people.
The cart seemed to have run over a rock on the road. The entire cart suddenly shook violently. Taka hurriedly controlled the reins to maintain its balance. Amidst the neighing of the horses, the cart stabilized again. The strong man who was dragging the corpse quickly looked back. On the board of the cart behind him, there were more than a dozen human-shaped "goods" wrapped in linen. The ropes did not show any signs of loosening.
"You guys better stay here," Taka muttered. "On next year's Requiem Festival, someone will light a bonfire for you."
Of course, the corpses would not respond to the person dragging them. But just like every strange person who dragged corpses, Taka had his own quirks. He was used to talking to the 'goods' he was transporting and pretending that they were 'passengers' who could understand him. He believed that it was necessary for him to maintain a good relationship with the 'passengers'. Only by maintaining a good relationship could he prevent these 'passengers' from causing him trouble in the future.
Especially when these "passengers" died on the battlefield. According to legend, they were the remains of soldiers who could easily turn into evil spirits.
The road ahead was very slippery, and the puddles were difficult to bypass. The person dragging the body carefully controlled the vehicle as he cursed in a low voice, "This bloody civil war … I wonder how long it's going to last. Don't you think so? "
Although he was cursing, Taka knew very well that if it were not for the civil war, his "business" would not be so good.
War would create a lot of corpses, soldiers, civilians, and occasionally even Knight and mages. Of course, the latter were the noble dead and would not be touched by low-level corpse haulers like Taka. But the former were different. Those who died on the battlefield and at the edge of the battlefield would become the main source of income for the corpse haulers. The commanders of both sides and the villagers would hire professional corpse haulers to dispose of the corpses that could not be collected in time or whose identities could not be identified. The corpse haulers did not have to bury the corpses but only needed to transport them to the designated pit to avoid polluting the water or turning into evil spirits.
It was a menial but lucrative job. The corpse haulers had been doing it for generations. Since they often had to deal with the dead, the corpse haulers naturally formed their own set of rules and taboos. For example, they must not insult the dead, they must not recite the name of Death when collecting the corpses (this was to prevent the dead from being targeted by Death when they were supposed to enter the kingdom of other gods), and they must send the corpses to the destination within two days after the Requiem Festival.
It was because of these rules that Taka had to travel on the muddy and slippery plain to prevent his "passengers" from becoming angry because they missed the "Day of Return" after the Requiem Festival.
When the giant sun was gradually rising in the sky, Taka finally arrived.
This place was far away from the front line of the war and also far away from any camp of the Eastern Region or the Royal Army. It was a natural pit and now it was stinking.
The person dragging the corpse put on a thick scarf and hood, and wrapped his hands with cloth strips. He nimbly jumped down from the cart and looked at the empty place.
Frankly speaking, this was not a very suitable cemetery. It did not conform to the teachings of the Death Gods, nor did it meet the requirements of the Blood God. But this was the place designated by the client, so Taka, as the corpse hauler, would not ask why he had to dump the corpses in this pit.
There were some wooden carvings and metal frames scattered around the pit. Those were simple altars set up by the priests to appease the souls. It was a very crude thing, but it was enough to deal with the lowest level of evil spirits. Taka walked to one of the wooden carvings next to the edge of the pit. He followed the corpse hauler's rules and took out a wrinkled Death Heralding Chrysanthemum and placed it at the base of the wooden carvings.
The little white flower lay quietly in the mud, its petals trembling slightly in the cold wind. This little flower, which could be seen everywhere in damp and dark environments, had a surprising vitality. It could grow and bloom all year round, and even after being plucked, it could survive for days. The Ansu people believed that this incredible vitality was the proof that they could communicate with the kingdom of the living and the dead. And the Ansu people also believed that every Death Heralding Chrysanthemum grew in the kingdom of the living and the dead at the same time. The moment it withered in the mortal world was the moment it bloomed in the underworld, and the souls of the dead would smoothly reach the "other shore" through this secret connection at the moment when the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum withered and bloomed, and from the other shore, they would embark on the path to various divine kingdoms …
"Little Flower, I hope you can guide these lost people back to their homes …" The person who was dragging the corpse said in a low voice as he drew the symbol of the Blood God on his chest. "Sigh … It's been hard on you. One flower has to lead so many people …"
After saying this, Taka turned around and was ready to move the bodies from the cart.
However, before he took a step forward, his eyes suddenly noticed something not far away.
It was the embers of a bonfire, and it was a very small bonfire.
The person dragging the corpse was curious. He walked to the side of the bonfire and smelled the faint smell of smoke in his nostrils.
The bonfire was extinguished not long ago.
"Someone is mourning the dead here?" Taka mumbled as he walked around the small bonfire. "Could it be a relative of one of the lucky people in the mass grave came to retrieve the body..."
The corpse hauler was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly stopped.
The rain last night was not light, and it was said that it was especially heavy near the pit.
In the continuous rain, it was difficult for such a small bonfire to burn smoothly. Even if they used the bark of the black-striped tree that could burn in the rain, it should not have burned so thoroughly.
There was no trace of dampness around the bonfire. It was not because it was dried by the bonfire, it was because there was no rain falling on the ground within a radius of 10 meters.
Other than the smoke in the air, there was a strange sweet smell. It was like the fragrance of some kind of flower, but it was not the smell of the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum.
Taka had been a corpse hauler for half his life, so he was familiar with the spices that would appear during the Soul Heralding Festival, but he had never smelled anything like this before...
Although he couldn't tell exactly what was going on, the corpse hauler instinctively felt a trace of strangeness. This strange feeling made him uneasy and vaguely reminded him of the rumors that had been circulating among the corpse haulers recently …
It was said that there were ghouls that appeared at night... there were monsters that ate flesh and blood moving in the dark land... the bodies in the mass grave seemed to be decreasing inexplicably... the bodies that could not be buried in time often disappeared for no reason...
In the cold wind of late autumn, the corpse hauler could not help but shiver. He felt that something malicious was moving under his feet. Even though he could not see it, it seemed to have seen him.
He was not an Extraordinary, but he was a corpse hauler who had dealt with the dead for half his life. He was also a relatively devout disciple of the Blood God. He knew that he had some intuition that ordinary people did not have, and this intuition had indeed helped him avoid the attacks of evil spirits several times in his past life.
He began to carefully retreat. His movements were as slow and natural as possible, and he tried not to show any panic.
However, a rustling sound suddenly entered his ears. Along with the rustling sound, he saw that some turf and soil in the mass grave below were trembling, and a few human shaped objects wrapped in linen — the ones he had thrown in three days ago — were squirming strangely.
The man who dragged the corpses widened his eyes. He clearly saw a few vine-like things suddenly grow out of the soil and pierce into the corpses. Then, the ground rippled like water and swallowed the corpses into the depths of the darkness.
A huge wave of fear hit him, and he finally could not help but scream out loud. After that scream, he broke into a run.
However, the strange sweet smell that permeated the air surged out again, and it was more obvious than before. In this sudden sweet smell, Taka the corpse hauler was in a trance, and then he fell into a long and deep dream.
The vine-like things spread out from the soil and grass and wrapped around the corpse hauler's limbs. In a low rumbling and rustling sound, the soil rippled like water and dragged him bit by bit into the ground.
The cold wind of late autumn blew across the plains and the deserted mass grave. It was quiet here as if nothing had happened.
A moment later, a sudden gust of wind blew across the plains, and the wind rolled up large pieces of fallen leaves. In the midst of the falling leaves, a woman in a green priest's robe appeared.
Bertilla frowned and looked at the place where the corpse hauler was swallowed by the earth. She sighed slightly and said, "Unlucky guy …"
"Your bonfire for the dead caught his attention." A muffled voice came from the depths of the earth, accompanied by the rustling of shuttles. "I'm curious, what kind of person is worthy of a preacher lighting a bonfire on Requiem Day... Do you believe in the return of the dead like those ordinary people?"
"Patriarch Heaton, don't forget why you were punished to collect biomass here. Just do your job well."
"Ha … You are probably the most boring woman in the world …"
A vague mumble came from the ground, and then the voice gradually sank, and the rustling sound gradually weakened. The person who made the voice seemed to have returned to the deeper soil.
Bertilla stood quietly for a while, as if thinking about something. After a few minutes, she stepped forward. Under the priest's robe, countless roots and vines wriggled and brought her to the extinguished bonfire.
A blooming Death Heralding Chrysanthemum fell into the embers of the bonfire.
"I don't care what's in your body … You can't stop this plan.
"Humans will exist forever, even if they disobey God."
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