Corpse Retriever

“Shoes are torn, hat is torn, the cassock on my back is torn; you laugh at me, he laughs at me, even my fan is torn...”

Xue Liangliang reached out and turned up the volume.

The next moment, everyone in the car—except Li Zhuiyuan—began singing in unison:

“Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha...”

The TV series Ji Gong, starring You Benchang, had been airing for years now and was still wildly popular.

Once the song ended, the car finally quieted down.

Yin Meng asked, “How much longer till we get to Jinling?”

Xue Liangliang replied, “About an hour.”

“So your place isn’t too far from the provincial capital, huh?”

“Not far?” Xue Liangliang chuckled. “Jinling may be the capital of Jiangsu, but most cities in the province aren’t actually that close to it. My hometown’s in Anhui, and from there it’s actually more convenient to get to Jinling.”“That’s still not considered close?”

“Well, I suppose...” He remembered Yin Meng was from Fengdu, whose capital was Rong City. “Compared to your area, sure, it’s a lot closer. But you guys probably don’t even go to Rong City much. Isn’t it easier to head for Shancheng?”

“Last time I came back with you guys, we passed by there. That was the first time I’d ever set foot in Shancheng.”

Tan Wenbin smacked his forehead regretfully. “You should’ve said something! We would’ve stayed a couple more days in Shancheng so you could look around.”

Yin Meng looked a little dejected. “I thought Nantong would be more fun.”

She’d actually been staying at Li Sanjiang’s house for quite a while. At first, she’d visited the city and some tourist spots, but none of them really left an impression.

Especially during the New Year, when Li Sanjiang went to Wolf Mountain to offer incense—she’d tagged along. But while she was still warming up from the climb, they’d already reached the summit.

So even when she wasn’t working, she preferred staying in to watch TV or practice her techniques. She couldn’t be bothered to go out.

Yin Meng asked again, “Is Jinling fun?”

Xue Liangliang said, “Don’t expect much from the natural scenery—it can’t compete with your hometown. But there’s a lot of cultural sites. Oh, last time Little Yuan came here for an exam, he left right after. He didn’t get to enjoy anything. This time, he can show you around and play tour guide.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “Okay.”

Tan Wenbin opened a soda, took a sip, and said, “Sightseeing is whatever. I just wanna know if there are Dead Sinkers around. It’s rare for us to get out of our hometown—we should take full advantage. Brother Liangliang, do you know if there are a lot of Dead Sinkers near our school?”

Xue Liangliang scoffed, “If I knew that, would I still be alive long enough to meet you lot?”

Tan Wenbin turned to Li Zhuiyuan. “Little Yuan, can you find fishing spots?”

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment. “Actually, in terms of feng shui and aura, a group like ours tends to attract unclean things more easily.”

“Huh?” Tan Wenbin scratched his head. “That sounds like a math problem.”

“Kind of. There are four Corpse Retrievers in this car alone,” Li Zhuiyuan said, glancing at Xue Liangliang, who was driving. “Plus one son-in-law of the Bai family.”

Xue Liangliang muttered, “Did you really have to say ‘son-in-law’ like that?”

Li Zhuiyuan spread his hands. “It’s like putting five scrubbers together—if the area’s too clean, dirty stuff naturally comes over to balance it out.”

Tan Wenbin caught on. “So basically, just by sticking together, we already have a higher chance of encountering unclean things than normal folks?”

“Exactly.” Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “And if you actively go looking for them, the odds go up even more.”

Tan Wenbin clapped his hands. “Perfect! I’ll switch my morning jogs to nighttime runs by the river.”

Xue Liangliang shook his head and sighed. “Wenbin, you really are desperate.”

Tan Wenbin shot him a look. “Easy for a full man to say when he doesn’t know a hungry man’s pain.”

“Little Yuan, enjoy the rest of your break before school starts. Once the professors wrap up their current projects, they’ll launch a new one. They’ll be pulling people from the university—you’ll definitely be part of it.”

“Got it.”

Tan Wenbin asked, “What about me?”

Xue Liangliang teased, “Didn’t you say you were going jogging at night?”

“Oh come on, Brother Liangliang I was wrong”

“Little Yuan hasn’t even started classes yet and he’s already done multiple versions of his senior project.”

“I was busy with the college entrance exams! Do you think I still have time to catch up on my major courses? I’m not smart like Little Yuan.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. Either me or Little Yuan can talk to the professor. Every project team needs labor roles. There are only two requirements: you need to be a student here and have all four limbs intact. Lucky you qualify.”

“As long as I can join. Uh, if I get in, will it be like last time in Wanzhou—no need to stay on campus?”

“Yeah.”

“Geez, the freedom difference between college and high school is massive.”

“That’s not college—it’s the boss that makes the difference.”

After entering Jinling, the truck drove straight to the north gate of the school, only to be stopped by security.

Xue Liangliang stuck his head out the window and shouted “Uncle” a few times. The guard smiled and opened the gate without even asking for registration.

Beyond the north gate was the living quarters—cafeteria and dorms. Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin shared a dorm in Building 9 of Area B, right at the far corner of the third floor.

It was quiet there, and unlike most six-bed rooms, this dorm only had two beds.

“Whoa, this is great.” Tan Wenbin couldn’t help praising it after setting down his luggage.

“Dorm preference was part of Little Yuan’s early admission package. We just added you in as his roommate.”

“The professor’s really kind.”

“Don’t thank the wrong person. No professor cares about this stuff. I used my connections to get you in.”

“Brother Liangliang, are you really that well-connected at school?”

“I’ve got a few small businesses here and know some people.”

Everyone pitched in, and the dorm was quickly cleaned up, beds made, supplies arranged. Then they headed out together.

Xue Liangliang led them to a two-story building. A sign on the left side of the door read “University Student Activity Center,” and on the right, “Discount Store.”

The store was fairly large and well-stocked.

It was still summer break, so few students were around. At the counter sat a clean-cut male student reading a book, while an auntie nearby was munching sunflower seeds.

Seeing Xue Liangliang, both put down their book and seeds and came over.

“Senior, you’re here.”

“Yeah. Zhihua.” Xue Liangliang patted the male student’s shoulder with his right hand and pulled two supply orders from his pocket with the left, handing them over.

Zhihua’s eyes widened at the paperwork.

“Senior, I can explain, I—”

“You realize if I reported this to the school, you wouldn’t graduate, right?”

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I’ll pay back the money—”

“No need. Just sort out the accounts and then leave. I’ll pretend this never happened.”

“Thank you, Senior, thank you so much.”

Zhihua left the ledger and keys on the counter, grabbed his book, and fled.

Xue Liangliang picked up the keys and handed them to Yin Meng. “Here, you take over the shop.”

Yin Meng quickly waved her hands. “I don’t know how to run a shop…”

“Didn’t you say you used to run one?”

“I did. Nearly went bankrupt.”

“No big deal. I renewed the school contract this spring—it’s exclusive for Area B, and we’ve got three more years left. You just need to man the counter and handle the cash.”

“Alright then.”

“Since it’s still break, there aren’t many people around. Once the semester starts, we’ll pick seven or eight poor students from the school’s list to help with stocking and chores.”

Runsheng said, “I can handle the moving. No need to hire.”

Xue Liangliang waved him off. “No can do. These work-study slots are political favors. You think it’s easy to get sole rights here?”

“Then I’ll stay and help too.” Runsheng still felt that working here let him stay close to Little Yuan.

“No problem.” Xue Liangliang pointed downward. “Upstairs is the rehearsal hall—student events are prepped there. Downstairs is a half-basement I use as a storeroom. I’ve partitioned it into small rooms—water, electricity, bathroom, all included. Lighting’s a bit poor, though. Auntie Sun lives here too.”

The seed-cracking auntie smiled. “That’s right, I live down here.”

Xue Liangliang continued, “You two can check it out. If it’s decent, you can stay there for now. I’ve got a rental place outside campus too—here’s the address and keys. But it’s far, and getting in and out of school is a hassle.”

He handed Runsheng a paper slip and a set of keys.

Runsheng didn’t take them, pointing downward instead. “We’ll stay down there.”

“Still, take the keys. I’ve got another set.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s move your stuff first, then grab food. The cafeteria’s mostly closed—just a couple windows open, and they’ve got nothing good. But there’s a Sichuan place outside the north gate. Real authentic.”

The only downside of the basement was poor lighting and dampness. But for Yin Meng and Runsheng, that wasn’t an issue. If you were afraid of damp, you had no business being a Corpse Retriever.

Tan Wenbin actually loved the place. If he didn’t need to room with Little Yuan, he’d have stayed here too—after all, he’d gotten used to sleeping in coffins.

Really, if Yin Meng weren’t a girl, someone like Runsheng could’ve just moved into the dorm. Just a little sweet-talking of the dorm auntie would’ve done the trick. As for the student council doing checks? Please, like they mattered.

Even the little black dog they kept had grown up. But now, just like Li Sanjiang, it had settled into a full retirement mode—eat, sleep, repeat.

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