Chapter 6: The Coin Sword, The Dragon-Phoenix Candles

"Xiaocui, I ask you again, why call me 'Kind Sir'?"

"Because, Kind Sir... your incense offering... it preserved a wisp of my essence. This ghostly life of mine was granted by you. So, Xiaocui is willing to acknowledge you as Master and serve at your side."

By now...

...Lin Ye was about three-tenths convinced.

Still.

That explanation made sense logically...

"But next time you decide to move house," Lin Ye ground out, "could you maybe give me a heads-up?"

In the dead of night?

Goddamnit, he'd nearly scared him to death!

"Xiaocui understands her fault! She won't dare do it again!" Panicked words spilled instantly from the jar.

It seemed...

...Xiaocui also realized her impulsive act hadn't been well thought out.

"Fine, it was an accident," Lin Ye waved a dismissive hand.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you for forgiving Xiaocui!"

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'Kind Sir' anymore. It sounds... weird."

To Lin Ye, offering incense was just a casual gesture.

Being called 'Kind Sir' felt oddly formal and stiff.

"Then... Xiaocui shall call you Master?"

"Whatever." Lin Ye uttered this as he was already climbing into his coffin.

The night's intense mental focus had drained him utterly.

Dawn was approaching fast.

He desperately needed sleep.

"Oh, right," Lin Ye started, just settling in.

"What is your command, Master?"

"Do you have any red cord? Could I borrow some?"

It was just an idle question.

However.

The very next moment...

...he could swear he saw a blush bloom on the surface of the jar!

Lin Ye was dumbfounded.

Huh?!

What the—?!

He wasn't sure about Xiaocui.

He'd only asked for red cord. Why the shyness?!

"Master... Xiaocui has no red cord... but... but..." her voice grew impossibly small.

"But what?"

"...But... there is a cord... tying my underbodice?" After a long pause, hinting at unspoken imaginings...

...Xiaocui finally breathed the answer, her whisper almost inaudible.

"Master... should Xiaocui untie it?"

"N-no! No need!" Lin Ye stammered, heat rising to his face.

"Master... you're bleeding. From your nose."

"It's... it's nothing! Tomato juice!" he lied, frantically wiping the red drip away. (Squish!)

"So, Master... should Xiaocui assist in your attendance?"

"'Attendance'? What do you mean?"

"Attendance means..." Xiaocui's voice dwindled to a mosquito-like hum.

Lin Ye caught none of the final words.

Somehow...

...the jar now looked distinctly... flushed.

Damnit!

Being single for too long. Now even a jar seemed to have delicate features and a rosy complexion.

...

No further words were exchanged that night.

Lin Ye crashed into a deep sleep until... well, 'daylight'.

Though 'daylight' here felt more like perpetual dusk.

The sky was a uniform, oppressive gray.

Thick, dirty fog blanketed the graveyard, limiting Lin Ye's vision to his immediate surroundings.

"Xiaocui? Xiaocui! Wake up!" Lin Ye called towards the jar.

Silence.

No movement.

"Xiaocui, you must know this area pretty well. Which graves are unoccupied?"

Despite his talents, Lin Ye didn't want to waste his limited quota of Corpse Digger Ghosts unless necessary.

But...

...moments stretched after his question.

Still no response from the jar.

"Xiaocui! Did you dissipate?!" Dread seeped into Lin Ye's voice.

"Master... it is daylight. Xiaocui's spiritual cultivation is weak. I must hide within the jar by day... Only at night... can I emerge to serve."

Crap!

"Why didn't you mention this last night?"

"Xiaocui... didn't think too much last night," came the honest, meek reply.

"......"

Lin Ye bit back a retort.

Thinking it over... he found he couldn't argue.

Xiaocui truly hadn't thought about it last night.

Because...

...her thoughts had been entirely consumed by underbodies... and beyond.

He could personally attest to that.

With Xiaocui confined...

Lin Ye set out to dig alone.

This time.

He deployed all three of his Corpse Digger Ghosts at once.

Time blurred.

Soon.

The ghosts reported back.

One grave had an owner.

Two were unoccupied.

Decent luck.

Lin Ye picked one at random and started digging.

Dig in the dirt, dig deep and down...

Ding! System Notice: "Congratulations! Obtained Nethersoil x1!"

Ding! System Notice...

Roughly twenty minutes later...

...with the mound's accumulated earth finally cleared...

...a crimson coffin seeped into view.

It glowed with an eerie aura, unnervingly blood-red, as if perpetually soaked.

Prying the lid open revealed...

...another assortment of burial items.

However...

...Lin Ye frowned in confusion.

The name on the tombstone sounded masculine.

Yet the grave goods were distinctly feminine.

Inside...

...Lin Ye found a woman's hand mirror, comb, and rouge pots.

Even more strikingly...

...there was a delicate underbodice and a pair of fishnet stockings.

He hadn't seen Xiaocui's, but... imagination fills gaps.

Lin Ye deftly untied the straps of the underbodice, using the cord as the binding string for his Coin Sword.

Ding! System Notice: "Conditions met! Synthesize [Coin Sword] artifact? (Y/N)"

​​"Synthesize!"​​

Lin Ye confirmed instantly.

Ding! System Notice: "Synthesis successful! Obtained [Coin Sword] x1!"

​​[Coin Sword]​​: Weapon

Grade: Longevity

Attributes: A sharp-edged tool specially crafted for suppressing evil and slaying specters!

Special Attribute: Absorbs moonlight to strengthen its power! Under a full moon, it may temporarily evolve to Mourning grade capacity!

"It's a pseudo-Mourning grade weapon?!"

Lin Ye couldn't help the astonished whisper escaping his lips.

With the Coin Sword bolstering him...

...if he faced that Foreman Zombie leader now...

...he felt solid confidence in a head-on clash!

After that discovery...

...Lin Ye assumed he'd looted everything and turned to the next grave.

But then...

...tucked beneath the pillow...

...his fingers brushed against a pair of elaborate candles and a single pill.

​​[Dragon-Phoenix Candles]​​: Tool

Grade: Longevity

Quantity: 1 Pair!

Description: Tie the red thread encircling the candles around the ring fingers of a man and a woman. Light the candles, and marriage vows are sworn! (The flames burn until the bond is complete...)

Finding wedding candles in a coffin?

Lin Ye was utterly baffled.

But the properties seemed promising.

He couldn't use them himself, but trading was an option.

Carefully storing the candles away, he focused on the final item.

​​[Dali Ghost Pill]​​: Medicinal Elixir

Quantity: 1

Grade: Longevity

Description: Upon consumption: Boosts spiritual cultivation! Significantly increases... stamina duration in... certain areas!

"It's a cultivation-enhancing elixir!"

The moment Lin Ye saw the pill boosted cultivation, he acted without hesitation.

Pop! Down his throat it went!

He'd only read half the description.

Crucially...

...the second half... slipped his mind entirely...