"Was that man really a dark cultivator?"
Once the frightened villagers scattered, Keqing frowned in doubt.
Adrian let out a small laugh.
"And you actually believed that?"
Keqing shot him a glare. "So you were lying?"
Adrian flicked his ear lazily.
"Those fools wouldn't understand otherwise. If I didn't scare them off, they'd still be worshipping that fraud as some heavenly immortal."
Keqing wanted to argue, but she had to admit he was right.
Some people simply could not be reasoned with.
"Never thought people these days would still fall for such cheap tricks." she muttered.
Adrian shrugged.
"People have greed. And greedy people are the easiest to deceive. Everyone wants a miracle, immortality… anything for a shortcut."
Keqing gave a reluctant nod. "That… you're right about."
She paused, then straightened.
"I'm going to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to issue a warrant for that scammer. I won't accompany you to survey the land."
Before Adrian could react, she already strode off, leaving him staring after her.
He sighed, cursing the scammer internally, then headed back toward Liyue Harbor at a leisurely pace.
Half an hour later…
Adrian had barely stepped into his funeral shop when he spotted an elderly woman slowly approaching.
Her back was hunched, her steps shaky.
Tears still clung to the corners of her reddened eyes.
Adrian hurried forward to support her.
"Grandmother, what happened?"
The old woman let out a heartbreaking sigh.
"My son… he's gone. Please, help me send him off properly. I… I want him to leave this world peacefully."
Adrian felt a heavy pang in his chest.
Losing a child was one of the cruellest tragedies in life.
He answered gently:
"Leave it to me. I'll make sure he departs safely."
But the old woman hesitated, her expression full of shame.
"I… I don't have much money."
Adrian offered her a small smile.
"I can see you're struggling. I'll give you a special price."
Her trembling lips parted.
"…I only have one thousand Mora."
She lowered her head immediately, preparing for rejection.
After all, that amount couldn't even cover the cost of incense.
Adrian opened his mouth to refuse—
—but seeing her pitiful, helpless face, he simply couldn't.
After a long silence, he sighed.
"Grandmother, I'll take the job. But we can only use the simplest procedures."
The old woman's eyes instantly filled with tears of gratitude, and she nearly knelt.
Adrian quickly stopped her and gently guided her inside.
Through their conversation, he learned:
Her surname was Qin
Her husband, a miner in the Chasm, died in an accident many years ago
Her son, Li Daping, had borrowed heavily from relatives
Unable to repay them and too ashamed to face his mother, he hanged himself
Adrian despised people like Li Daping—
but he would not turn away a grieving, lonely mother.
He prepared the donkey cart, loaded basic funeral supplies, and headed out.
Hearing the noise, Shenhe emerged from her room, expression cool as ever.
"Junior Brother, I'm coming too."
Adrian nodded, and the three set out.
An hour later…
They reached a remote village.
In front of a dilapidated old house, they stopped.
Old Lady Qin struggled to push open the creaking wooden door.
A thick, suffocating air hit them immediately.
Lying cold on the floor was her son's corpse—
skin mottled with livor mortis, a rope mark deep around his neck.
A discarded red cord lay beside him.
The scene was bleak.
The old woman broke down again, sobbing uncontrollably.
Adrian comforted her softly, then began preparing the body.
He washed the corpse, put on funeral clothes—
—but suddenly, loud voices erupted outside.
A group of seven or eight villagers barged in.
Middle-aged women and rough men, faces twisted with anger.
"Old Qin, you really have guts!"
One sharp-tongued woman screeched.
"You've got money to bury your useless dead son, but not to pay back our loans?"
The others immediately exploded in a storm of accusations, shouting over each other.
The room was filled with insults and curses.
Old Lady Qin cried while trying to explain:
"No—no, the funeral only cost one thousand Mora… the young man here was kind enough to help—"
No one listened.
They only grew louder, crueler, uglier in their words.
Adrian finally snapped.
He slammed his hand onto the coffin board, eyes blazing.
His voice erupted like thunder:
"Enough! Leave now—
or may his spirit never rest, and may none of you ever die peacefully!"
Silence fell instantly.
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
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