Who hid My Corpse!

...

Vic withdrew his gaze from the slightly harsh sunlight and concentrated on listening to the conversation of the two strangers at the next table.

"What's going on here? Why is it so chaotic?"

"Don't you know? A tough guy came here yesterday."

"How tough?"

"More than a dozen Holy Sound Players are after him, what do you think?"

"...That's indeed impressive, and then?"

"Then a third of them got killed right away, but they couldn't catch him; he escaped."

"Hiss... That exaggerated? Where did he come from?"

"Where else could he come from? Haven't you heard what happened recently with the Holy Sound?"

Vic pulled his attention back, not continuing to listen.

Because he didn't have the time for gossip, he was more concerned about other things at the moment.

Such as... those guys who are always chasing him.

Vic narrowed his eyes slightly, looking to find his target among the diverse people coming and going in the Boundary Land.

But he couldn't find it.

Not because there weren't suspicious people, but because everyone in this place... was suspicious.

This left Vic, who was here for the first time, a bit at a loss.

Fortunately...

His nose twitched.

Amidst the chaotic smells, he still sniffed out the most distinctive scent.

Identical to the one on him.

Indeed, they were still in pursuit.

Vic's expression didn't change much; after confirming the presence of that scent, he discreetly removed his jacket and hung it on the chatty guest at the table beside him, simultaneously taking the guest's personal spice and wearing it, then quickly left the tavern.

Not long after, he heard the sound of an uproar coming from the tavern.

But Vic didn't stop there; instead, he hung the taken spice onto a carriage leaving the Boundary Land, then walked in the opposite direction of the carriage.

Shortly after he left, several shadows darted out from the tavern and chased the carriage.

Thus, Vic successfully arrived at his destination—Yade Town.

But more precisely, he "returned" to it.

Yes, he had previously departed from the town to the Boundary Land, making those tracking him believe he intended to use it to leave this land.

But in truth, he never planned to leave.

At least not until he finds Ade.

Vic also knew this would be difficult.

As a Hunter without Hounds, surviving alone was already a tremendous effort.

However...

Vic pressed his lips, telling himself twice "keep going" in his heart before setting off again.

Yet he didn't enter the town, as there were far too many spies in the town, so he skirted the town's edge and headed into the deep mountains.

Before long, darkness fell.

On this land, night meant danger.

Fortunately, Vic managed to reach his destination before anything changed, arriving at a dilapidated, abandoned church.

This church belonged to the former Church of Senluo on this land.

A hundred years ago, it was abandoned after the demise of the Senluo Church, and the surrounding graveyard also turned into wasteland.

The townspeople naturally didn't want to approach this area much, even Hunters were reluctant to tread lightly.

But Vic no longer had a choice.

He slowly pushed open the church's door, and the first thing that caught his eye was the ancient and decaying Senluo Divine Statue.

From his perspective, he could still feel the powerful presence of the God of Senluo before his death, a massive oppressive force that suffocated anyone entering here for the first time.

Luckily, Vic was accustomed to it; he walked in smoothly.

Yet before taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

His nose twitched, his eyes simultaneously narrowing.

Because he smelled the scent of blood.

And it was unfamiliar blood.

...Was it them?

Vic immediately reached for the small axe behind him but didn't retreat.

After all, the dangers of retreating into the night at this moment far outweighed fighting them off in here.

Vic's thinking remained clear.

But the scent of this blood... It was chaotic, clearly not coming from one person.

Such a scent could only mean one of two scenarios: either the church hid a dozen injured people, or...

One person carried the blood of more than ten people.

Vic walked inside gradually, finally seeing the source of the blood scent beneath the Senluo Divine Statue.

An unconscious man lay at his feet, a folded serrated knife beside him.

He wore a robe soaked in blood, from which more than a dozen different scents of blood emanated.

This attire didn't resemble that of people from these lands; at least Vic was certain he hadn't seen such a robe style before.

Who is this guy?

Confusion and answers surged simultaneously in Vic's mind.

This is... the ruthless man who was said to have killed countless Holy Sound Players in the Boundary Land?

He actually came all the way here?

Upon realizing the man's identity, Vic instinctively had a thought — kill him!

Though unaware of who he truly was or what stance he held, his presence here was a threat to Vic.

Thinking this, Vic immediately positioned his axe against the man's neck.

With just a slight exertion, he could sever the man's head.

Yet Vic couldn't bring himself to do it, his expression marked with deep struggle.

After a while, he lowered the axe, repeatedly muttering to himself, "I am a Hunter," as if trying to persuade himself.

Finally, he successfully convinced himself.

Then, Vic looked at him, muttering somewhat helplessly, "You're lucky."

Next, Vic noticed the man's still-bleeding wound and the serrated knife at his feet.

He thought briefly.

"If I leave you alone, you would die." Vic took out a small vial from his pocket, gently shaking it, "I can save you, but not for free, I'll take your knife... no problem, right?"

The man naturally didn't respond, so Vic placed the vial by his hand.

"Meeting me, you're indeed very lucky."

He said this, then reached out to grab the bloodstained folded serrated knife.

But just a moment before his hand touched the knife, Vic noticed a shadow flitting across its chaotic blade.

That is...

Realizing something, Vic suddenly bent his head down.

"Crunch."

A huge wolf head bit above him, sharp teeth gnawing at the edge of his hood into fragments.

They still tracked him down!

Vic, gritting his teeth, suddenly turned around, swinging the axe towards the attacker's head.

However, the person merely raised his other hand.

In an instant, the other hand turned into a vicious wolf head, biting into the axe handle.

Another "Crunch" sound.

The wooden axe handle split into two.

The wolf head that had previously attacked Vic's head lunged at him again.

This wasn't enough.

From the corner of his eye, Vic saw two more pursuers approaching from left and right, their muscles surging beneath their thin clothing, like beasts about to burst forth.

Cornered to the brink.

Vic bit down hard, determined to fight back.

A Hunter must never die without a weapon.

His axe was lost, but he still had the serrated knife.

He immediately stepped back, keeping eyes on the three men and reaching for the knife.

And then grasped nothing.

Vic's eyes widened, he spun around.

He found the serrated knife was no longer there.

What's going on?!

Before he could react, two sounds reached his ears.

One was the sound of rusty metal scraping.

The other, the sound of a blade cutting through flesh.

"Clang."

"Slash."

And then came several dull thuds.

When Vic turned back again, the three pursuers were already lying in their own blood.

Standing amidst the blood was the same man from before.

The serrated knife in his hand fully unfolded, blood slowly dripping from its rusty blade.

Vic stood frozen, then heard the man speak slowly.

"Looks like..."

Bai Wei chuckled, looking at Vic.

"You're the lucky one."