Becoming a Saint by Touching Corpses

"Another beast tide? Didn't it just happen a few years ago?"

"The trade route is located in the desolate area of the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range. Even if there's a beast tide, it rarely affects that place, right?"

"If the trade route is destroyed, I'm afraid the impact won't be limited to just tea!"

Many tea patrons instantly lost their interest in drinking tea and left one after another.

The tea house shopkeeper didn't expect that his casual remark would have such a significant impact on the main city.

The news of the beast tide outbreak and the trade route being cut off spread through Tai City at a terrifying speed.

As the saying goes, good news never goes beyond the gate, but bad news spreads a thousand miles.

In less than a day, everyone in the city was talking about this news.

Even though the City Lord's Mansion posted notices to stop the rumors, it was to no avail.

Soon, a slew of bad news came one after another:

"The grain coming from Zhongyuan City, as much as eighty thousand jin, was said to be destroyed by the beast tide! The escort was from the Fulin Escort Agency, over fifty people, and only three made it back!"

"The Su Family's silver caravan was nearly wiped out; it's said they lost as much as three hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"The Wang Family's salt wasn't transported back either..."

"There's also the Yuan Family's silk. I have a relative working as a laborer for them; he says half a year's supply was lost on the trade route..."

In just two or three days, turmoil spread throughout the entire city.

With the trade route cut off, Wangjiang County essentially lost its major supply station from the Central Plains.

And Wangjiang County, situated in a remote corner, is utterly incapable of self-sufficiency.

The resulting consequence was that prices for grains, meat, eggs, and various market goods soared day by day.

Despite this, the doors of the rice shops, salt houses, and meat stalls were still crowded with people.

Even Zhan Family's pharmacy experienced a second spring, with a constant stream of people coming to buy essential medicines.

Meanwhile, a current of tension quietly surged among the major powers in the city.

Every major power is like a beast that swallows massive amounts of resources, and they demand resources even more than ordinary households.

The Lin Gang and River Gang, two major gangs that serve as black gloves for the aristocratic families, have already clashed several times, resulting in the deaths of several people.

And the hooligans at the bottom are even more unscrupulous, with brawls and fights erupting nightly.

A storm is brewing, chaos is about to ensue. This is the sensation felt by all the citizens of the main city.

"These days, be careful. Don't get into arguments with others for no reason," Lou Yi said to Lu Yang and Liu Yuan in the rented small room.

He thought for a moment and still wasn't at ease, so he took out the lime, darts, healing salves, and leather armor he had previously collected and gave them to them.

With Lou Yi's current strength, these things were of little use.

"Be careful yourself, leader," Lu Yang said with a serious expression.

"No worries, I'm just going out for a walk."

After Lou Yi finished speaking, he rushed to the sites of bodies provided by Lu Yang and Liu Yuan.

One site was the mass grave outside the city, where several fresh corpses had appeared over the past two days. The bodies were horribly mutilated, clearly killed by sharp weapons.

Another site was the morgue in the west of the city, where the dead were legitimate residents of the city.

With family members reporting the deaths, the authorities had to perform autopsies to determine the true causes of death.

Lou Yi made the rounds and gained eleven points of energy, with speed not less than when he was in the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range.

The more chaotic the world becomes, the more beneficial it is for his golden finger.

Soon, the disorder spread to the Extreme Fist Sect.

As one of the few Martial Arts Halls in the city, the Extreme Fist Sect had significant properties under its name.

Two of its properties had been damaged.

One was the 'Feiyun Tower', a tavern in the city.

Yesterday, someone set it on fire, but it was fortunately discovered in time. Otherwise, the tavern, with its all-wood structure, would have turned to ash.

Another was a fruit manor on the outskirts of the city, where apples, pears, and other varieties were grown, covering over a hundred acres.

But a severe theft occurred; many fruits were stolen, and two orchard workers went missing, and their bodies couldn't be found.

The saying goes, "Train soldiers for a thousand days, and use them for a moment."

All disciples in the sect were summoned, with Elder Zhou standing solemnly at the front of the Martial Arts Arena.

"With the trade route blocked, unrest is inevitable. But if someone dares to target our Extreme Fist Sect, that is absolutely intolerable!"

"As disciples of the Extreme Fist Sect, according to the sect rules, you must help alleviate the sect's difficulties, and without special circumstances, you may not refuse!"

After speaking, he looked at the disciples below and began to call names.

"Jia Hong."

"Here, Master." Jia Hong, dressed in white, gracefully stood up, her long hair tied up, looking heroic and valiant.

"You'll lead the investigation of the fire at Feiyun Tower. Find the true culprit, punish them severely, and don't let our sect's prestige be tarnished!"

"Understood!" Jia Hong responded with a cupped fist, her voice clear and her tone resolute.

"Wang Hai, Lu Changqing, Su Nan, you three assist Jia Hong in getting to the bottom of this matter," Elder Zhou then selected a few inner disciples.

"Yes!"

Immediately following, Elder Zhou began to pick the second group of people.

"The orchard on the outskirts of the city produces significant yields annually and is crucial to the sect. Chen Muju, you lead the team to find out the truth and eliminate the enemy!"

"Yes!"

Chen Muju, a young man with a proper appearance, stepped forward and responded.

"Lou Yi, Zhan Weida, Ding Minghai, Li Chunwen, Qian Ruiqin... you all assist Chen Muju."

"Yes!" Lou Yi and others who were named stepped forward to respond.

Seeing the disciples so understanding without anyone shirking their duties, Elder Zhou nodded in satisfaction.

After the disciples dispersed.

Zhan Weida couldn't help but complain to Lou Yi, "Damn it, isn't it just a few hooligans causing trouble at the tavern, what's there to investigate?

It's clearly an opportunity for Jia Hong to take credit."

He then resentfully added, "The orchard on the outskirts is much more complicated. It's far, and we don't even know who the enemy is.

If it's those bastards from the Heavy Sword Sect, we might even run into danger!"

"Junior Brother Zhan is right, Jia Hong is just a pretty face. When it comes to capability, there are so many better than her, why should it even be her turn?" said a twenty-something-year-old woman nearby in a sour tone.

Fair-skinned with proper features, except for being a bit chubby, she wasn't unattractive.

Of course, compared to Jia Hong, her looks were many levels lower.

She was Qian Ruiqin, a female disciple who was about to head to the orchard with Lou Yi and the others.

Seeing her words overheard by the others, Zhan Weida immediately fell silent, just giving a silly 'hehe' laugh.

"Spineless."

Seeing Zhan Weida not responding, Qian Ruiqin rolled her eyes, snorted coldly, and walked away.

After Qian Ruiqin left, the two continued chatting.

"Jia Hong even dumped Zhou Yang, and Elder Zhou still treats her well?" Lou Yi was curious about this aspect.

"Hey, Zhou Yang isn't Zhou Yuanxing's actual son, just a relative by blood, and with his legs broken, he has no future potential.

But Jia Hong is highly favored by the Great Elder and is extremely talented; she is the hope for the sect's future," Zhan Weida analyzed calmly, "What's more important is obvious, isn't it?"

Seeing Zhan Weida acting all serious and pretentious, Lou Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

If he were to publicly show his strength now, the Extreme Fist Sect would probably worship him, right?

But it's unnecessary.

With major enemies like the Heavy Sword Sect and the Xu Family still around, he shouldn't be too high-profile before he's sure he can handle martial artists.

However, the day he can be high-profile should not be far off.

Lou Yi had that confidence.

...

On that afternoon, Chen Muju, Lou Yi, Zhan Weida, Qian Ruiqin, and others rode tall horses swiftly towards the orchard on the outskirts of the city.

The so-called orchard was just a sizable fruit grove with simple fences around it, guarded by some older guards.

Responsible for the entire orchard was Xu Qing, a former inner sect disciple who retired many years ago.

He looked in his fifties, with gray temples, a face full of wrinkles, looking entirely like an old farmer, showing no signs of having practiced martial arts.

"Ah, gentlemen, I finally waited for you to arrive!" Upon seeing Chen Muju and Lou Yi, he sighed with relief.

Then he began to complain:

"The orchard was fine before; I don't know where a bad element came from recently, ruining several acres of fruit!"

"These days, no one dares to manage the fruit trees, fearing the same fate as Old Feng and the others!"

"It's good that you've come, I just regret not practicing martial arts diligently back then, now I can't even be of help!"

Upon hearing Xu Qing say this, Chen Muju couldn't help but console him, "Senior Brother Xu, don't be discouraged, the orchard has yielded abundant fruits for the sect over the years, earning silver for the sect, thanks to your efforts.

We are just here to clear away some small troubles, and the management of this orchard will still rely on you afterward."

Hearing this from Chen Muju, Xu Qing's expression improved a lot.

"For those of us who can't walk the path of martial arts, we can only do some menial tasks. The growth and development of the sect depend on young talents like you."

The two sides engaged in a friendly exchange for a while.

Suddenly, a shrill female voice rang out.

"Water, water? I'm dying of thirst!" Qian Ruiqin, looking displeased, "We traveled all this way to help, and you didn't even prepare water?"

She continuously fanned herself with her chubby hands, glaring harshly at Xu Qing.

The atmosphere on the scene suddenly grew tense.

...