Chapter 139: The Genius of Overthinking

The moment Fang Mu thought of the fact that Yu Ling was a necromancer, a surge of excitement washed over him.

Of course, he didn't have any strange fetishes; he was simply interested in those corpses.

Since the corpses were anomalies, interacting with them would inevitably trigger the Corpse-Plucking Technique.

With such a golden opportunity presented right before him, Fang Mu would have felt utterly foolish to let it slip away.

Upon hearing this, Yu Ling froze on the spot.

He is asking me to let the corpses out… for him to take a look?

An indescribable sense of humiliation arose out of nowhere, and Yu Ling couldn't help but feel that Fang Mu was mocking her.

Just because you're strong, you think you can do whatever you pleases? You want to look, and I'm just supposed to show you?

Isn't this a bit damaging to one's self-esteem? Isn't it going way too far!

The more Yu Ling thought about it, the angrier she became. With a wave of her hand, four corpses appeared, and through clenched teeth, she said, "These are the corpses."

That's right, being strong truly meant you could do whatever you wanted.

Although Yu Ling was furious, she complied.

After all, she still harbored some apprehension. Given Fang Mu's eccentric temperament, she decided it was better to be obedient.

With a hint of genuine regret, Fang Mu said, "Aren't you a corpse refiner? How come there are only these four?"

He had expected a few dozen at least, so seeing a mere four corpses left him somewhat disappointed.

Yu Ling felt as though she had been looked down upon, but remembering Fang Mu's bizarre personality, she suppressed her anger and tried to appear calm. "Have you ever heard of raising Gu worms?"

Fang Mu rubbed his chin. "I've heard of that."

"I can't go around killing the innocent indiscriminately, so I can only search grave mounds." Yu Ling took a deep breath, her chest heaving slightly. "After refining the corpses, I make them devour each other until I am left with a powerful corpse."

At this point, Yu Ling paused before continuing, "These four corpses have extremely high defense; they are my signature masterpieces."

"Defense?" Fang Mu rubbed his chin and asked, "Are there any offensive types?"

Yu Ling was stunned. "Why would you need offense? As long as the defense is high enough, you can live a long time."

Her tone was completely matter-of-fact.

Fang Mu walked over to one of the corpses, his eyes shining brightly.

This gaze sent a chill down Yu Ling's spine.

She had long heard rumors about men and their various peculiar fetishes, and seeing Fang Mu's expression now, she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

Fang Mu explained, "I am a mortician, so I've done a lot of research on corpses. However, I have very little experience with anomalies, and I find them fascinating."

Saying this, Fang Mu reached out and gave the corpse a pat.

Prompt notifications chimed in his mind...

[You have plucked the Iron Corpse, obtaining a wisp of True Qi.]
[You have plucked the Iron Corpse, obtaining a wisp of True Qi.]
[You have plucked the Iron Corpse, obtaining a wisp of anomalous Qi.]
[You have plucked the Iron Corpse, obtaining a wisp of anomalous Qi.]
……

After patting all four corpses in turn, Fang Mu harvested a total of eight wisps of True Qi and eight wisps of anomalous Qi.

The eight wisps of True Qi merged into the True Qi fish within Fang Mu's body, and the scales on the fish began to light up one after another.

In the blink of an eye, only the tail section remained unlit.

The eight wisps of anomalous Qi also integrated, bringing his total count of anomalous Qi to twelve.

Drawing back his hand, Fang Mu looked thoroughly satisfied.

He stared at Yu Ling, pondering whether he should lock her up and do unspeakable things—such as forcing her to continuously manufacture anomalies—thus establishing a steady, inexhaustible source of supplies.

Unfortunately, this thought merely flashed through his mind, and he ultimately decided against it.

After all, Yu Ling was an undercover agent personally appointed by his cheap master, so doing something like that would be rather inappropriate.

Yu Ling felt a tingling sensation across her scalp under Fang Mu's stare, making her feel thoroughly uncomfortable.

She felt as though Fang Mu's gaze carried a wicked intent—not coveting her body, but rather coveting her very existence.

While it sounded like one and the same, it actually carried two entirely different meanings.

In short, Yu Ling wanted nothing more than to leave immediately; she didn't want to stay a single second longer.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now." Yu Ling quickly stowed away the Iron Corpses.

Fang Mu suddenly grabbed Yu Ling's hand, shook it vigorously, and said with genuine regret, "We should have a meal together sometime. We really hit it off!"

Struggling desperately to pull her hand away, Yu Ling fled in a panic, her words lingering in the air...

"We'll talk about it if we get the chance!"

Watching Yu Ling's panicked retreat, Fang Mu sighed, finding it quite a pity.

"My Lord truly possesses profound foresight," Ghost One said with an expression of deep admiration. "Your subordinate was truly like a frog at the bottom of a well, even plotting to kill this woman. As expected, my thinking falls far short of yours, My Lord."

The corners of Fang Mu's mouth twitched. "You understand again?"

Ghost One nodded firmly, analyzing the situation with utmost seriousness. "This person is an undercover agent dispatched by the Sky Inspection Guard. Once she succeeds, she will inevitably be heavily relied upon by them. By doing this, My Lord is simply making friends far and wide.

"Furthermore, My Lord deliberately displayed such bizarre eccentricities, most likely to show weakness, making her feel that My Lord is very approachable. As expected of My Lord."

Fang Mu raised his right hand, massaged his temples, and with a deadpan expression, replied to Ghost One, "Indeed. As expected of you."

Ghost One bowed respectfully. "To receive such praise from My Lord, this subordinate is deeply flattered."

Fang Mu was speechless. Think whatever you want; there was simply no way for him to change this guy's perspective now.

"The members of the Evil Buddha Sect remain a major threat," Ghost One said gravely. "How does My Lord plan to deal with them?"

Fang Mu shook his head. "We'll return to Jinglong County in a few days. Since I carry the aura of the Evil Buddha Sect, I don't need to worry about them failing to find me."

Since he couldn't actively track them down anyway, all he could do was sit back and wait for the rabbit to crash into the stump. With the Evil Buddha aura on him, Fang Mu only needed to wait.

"Is that so?" Ghost One pondered. "Only by returning to a familiar place can one better deal with the enemy. My Lord's considerations are truly thorough."

Fang Mu clenched his right fist tightly. He desperately wanted to clarify that he hadn't thought things through nearly that much.

Yet, upon seeing Ghost One's look of absolute confidence, Fang Mu felt that crushing his illusions would be far too cruel.

……

Time slipped away unnoticed. After waiting at the liaison station for two days without a single incident occurring, Fang Mu had no choice but to set off and return to Jinglong County.

Upon opening the door to his residence in Jinglong County, a wave of dust rushed out to greet them.

Having been away for so long without anyone cleaning the place, such a smell was entirely normal.

Just as Fang Mu was about to step across the threshold, a sudden gust of wind stirred behind him, followed by a fleeting blur of motion.

Armed with a broom and a basin of water, Ghost One began sprinkling water and sweeping away the dust. "My Lord, please wait outside for a moment. The dust in here is rather heavy."

A-Bai, who had been resting on Fang Mu's shoulder, was utterly dumbfounded. Its eyes widened to the point where they almost bulged out of its sockets.

What on earth was happening? Why did it suddenly have this strange feeling, as if something vital was slipping away from its heart?

After a brief moment of thought, A-Bai instantly understood.

It was its status! Its position was under threat!

A dignified Devourer of Anomalies and undisputed household chores expert like A-Bai was about to become unemployed? No way, absolutely not!

With a swift streak of afterimages, A-Bai bolted straight toward the kitchen...

It was fired up, damn it!