Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 6: Burning the Corpse at Midnight, the Martial Arts Begins

As night deepened, the firelight flickered in the backyard of the paper-making shop.

That was not a warm hearth fire, but a karmic fire burning corpses.

Gu Yan did not choose a simple burial.

In this bizarre world, a corpse buried in the ground may not find peace. If its resentment lingers, it could become a living dead seeking revenge, just like in the opening animation of Plants vs. Zombies.

Moreover, if the Black Dragon Gang were to bring in hunting dogs or skilled trackers, the newly unearthed soil would be irrefutable evidence.

Only ashes are truly clean, after all, Gu Yan didn't believe that this small Black Dragon Gang had any sorcerers who could summon spirits.

If such a capable person truly exists, it won't matter if he runs to the ends of the earth.

Gu Yan piled all the defective paper figures and discarded bamboo strips that had accumulated in the shop onto the corpse, and then poured a whole jar of strong liquor and two large cans of tung oil on it.

The fire started fiercely, but it didn't rise very high due to the pressure of the falling snow; it just crackled and popped.

Gu Yan stood by the fire, holding a long stick in his hand, turning it over from time to time to make sure that every inch of bone was burned to crisp.

He was focused, as if he were doing something very ordinary.

Old Xu slumped under the eaves, wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, his body still trembling.

He looked at the boy's face, which was flickering in and out of the firelight, and felt that it was both familiar and strange.

But having lived most of his life, he quickly realized his current predicament after the initial shock.

"Gu boy."

Old Xu's voice was a little hoarse, "Ma San is dead, but the Black Dragon Gang will never let this go. We can't stay in this shop any longer."

Gu Yan nodded, his hands still moving: "I know."

He smashed a piece of leg bone that wasn't completely burned with a stick and calmly said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the county government office and report this to the authorities."

"Report to the authorities?!" Old Xu's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? That's walking right into a trap!"

"It's not turning myself in, it's reporting a missing person."

Gu Yan turned his head, the firelight dancing in his pupils.

"Just last night, Ma San brought some men to rob us. After robbing us, he thought the money wasn't enough, so he beat you up and kidnapped me, saying he was going to sell me into hard labor."

Old Xu was stunned, his cloudy eyes darting around as he processed what he had just heard.

"There are signs of a struggle here, which confirms that they committed the crime. As for the body..."

Gu Yan pointed to the pile of remains that was about to turn to ashes.

"They were all burned to ashes and washed away into the sewers. They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. In gangs like this, infighting and backstabbing are common. If a few people are missing for ten days or half a month, the Black Dragon Gang might not care."

"It will be a long time before the Black Dragon Gang realizes what's happening."

Old Xu looked at Gu Yan with a complicated expression.

Is this meticulous thinking and ruthless method really from the apprentice who usually just buries himself in making paper?

As the fire gradually died down, Gu Yan muttered a few verses of prayer for the deceased.

He mixed the ashes with the snow and shoveled it into the outhouse in the backyard, then carefully cleaned up the bloodstains and burn marks on the ground.

By the time all this was done, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Gu Yan returned to the house, took out the silver notes and loose silver coins he had taken from Ma San from his pocket, and divided them into two portions.

The largest portion, weighing over thirty taels, was pushed in front of Old Man Xu.

"Shopkeeper, you should leave at daybreak."

Gu Yan looked at the old man and said seriously:

"Whether you go to the countryside to stay with relatives or move to another county and live in anonymity, just don't stay in Changning County. This money is enough for your retirement."

Old Xu looked at the silver on the table, his hand trembled, but he didn't take it.

"And what about you?"

"I can't leave."

Gu Yan shook his head.

He can't leave. If the two of them disappear together, it would be a sign of a guilty conscience, and the Black Dragon Gang would immediately issue an arrest warrant.

Moreover, once he leaves this place, not only will he have no work, but he will also find it difficult to openly improve his paper-making skills.

Only when one person is "kidnapped and goes missing" and the other is "seriously injured and left behind" will the act seem real.

"I'm an orphan, with no ties to me. But I can't be a burden to you."

Gu Yan forcefully stuffed the silver into the old man's hand, saying, "Shopkeeper, thank you for the meals these past three months. This is a token of my respect."

Old Xu's eyes reddened as he held the silver.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just sighed heavily and patted Gu Yan's hand.

That withered, claw-like hand conveyed the little warmth that remained in this cruel world.

"Gu boy, you're alive."

"Being alive is more important than anything else."

……

Two hours later.

Old Xu, carrying a small bundle, looked back one last time at the dilapidated wooden door before disappearing into the first wave of people leaving the city that morning.

Gu Yan stood behind the window crack in the attic, watching the old man's figure disappear completely before letting out a long sigh of relief.

The burden has been removed, and the escape route has been cut off.

From this moment on, this paper-making shop, and even his life, truly belonged to him.

He wasn't in a hurry to go to the county government office to perform; such things would only seem real when there were more people around at noon.

The most urgent task now is to take stock of last night's biggest takeaway.

Gu Yan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the book "Iron Sand Palm" from his bosom.

The pages were yellowed and the edges were badly worn, clearly indicating that Ma San had read it countless times.

This is not some profound secret technique; in fact, it's just common knowledge in the martial arts world.

However, on the black market, such a manual that can cultivate internal strength would sell for hundreds of taels of silver, and even then, it would be priceless.

Gu Yan turned to the first page.

There were no profound meanings, only a few rough diagrams of the human body's meridians and a method for circulating qi, as well as the most core cultivation method: heat iron sand, insert your hands into it and rub and strike repeatedly, combined with soaking in medicinal wine, and over time, your palms will become as hard as steel, capable of splitting stone tablets.

This training method is extremely harmful to the body. Without the aid of medicinal wine, even if you ruin your hands, you won't achieve anything.

But Gu Yan doesn't need the medicinal wine.

Or rather, he has something even more miraculous than medicinal wine.

He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and began to try breathing exercises according to the methods described in the book.

Once, twice, three times...

Ten minutes later.

[The martial arts technique "Iron Sand Palm" has been detected. Should it be added to the database?]

The pop-up notification on the panel made Gu Yan's eyes light up as if he were seeing a long-lost relative.

"Included!"

hum.

The panel refreshed, and a new line of text appeared under the [Skills] section:

Martial Arts: Iron Palm (Beginner)

[Progress: 0/100]

As long as it can be included, I'll work hard!

Even without medicinal wine, even without a master's guidance, as long as you repeat that movement over and over again, your proficiency will be forcibly improved, and your physical fitness will be adapted to this martial art.

This is the most domineering aspect of the control panel: it can turn everything unreasonable into reasonable.

Gu Yan immediately got out of bed, ran to the backyard, found a broken iron pot, placed it on the still-burning embers, and poured in a basin of coarse gravel scooped from the corner of the wall.

If there's no iron shot, we'll use coarse sand instead; at worst, it'll be less efficient.

Heat the sand over a fire.

Gu Yan gritted his teeth and plunged his hands into the scalding sand.

"Sizzle~"

A burnt smell of scalded flesh filled the air, and the excruciating pain contorted Gu Yan's face, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

But instead of pulling his hands out, he silently recited the incantation in his mind, enduring the excruciating pain, and frantically rubbed and grabbed at the sand with both hands.

Iron Palm Proficiency +1

Seeing the number fluctuate, the pain in Gu Yan's eyes turned into fervor.

Come again!

One, two, three...

Until his hands became a bloody mess, until the scalding heat flowed into his body through the meridians of his arms, turning into a faint but real stream of heat.

This is "Qi and Blood," the foundation of a martial artist.

Just as Gu Yan was immersed in the bittersweet experience of practicing martial arts, he noticed the remnants of Ma San that he had tossed aside.

The Black Dragon Gang's token suddenly emitted a buzzing sound.

Gu Yan paused, then suddenly turned his head.

The dragon pattern originally carved on the black iron token suddenly emitted a strange blood-red light.

An extremely cold aura emanated from the token, causing the paper figure "Iron Demon" standing guard nearby to instinctively take a step back.

This is……

Gu Yan's pupils contracted.

Before he could even reach for it, a sinister voice suddenly emanated from the token:

"Ma San, the auspicious time has passed, why hasn't the blood offering been delivered yet?"

"Master Yin is hungry, very hungry!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling quality that pierced the soul.

Gu Yan stared intently at the token.

This is not an ordinary method of transmitting sound into a secret space.

This is a truly bizarre thing!

It seems that the Black Dragon Gang's influence is deeper and more murky than he imagined.

Ma San is dead, but this death warrant remains here like a time bomb.

If there is no response, they will soon find out that Ma San is in trouble.

Gu Yan squinted at the token that was still flashing red light, and the frantically spinning gears in his mind started turning again.

Since there's no way to avoid it.

Then let's stir the water even more.

He picked up the token, cleared his throat, and mimicked the voice of the gang member whose neck had been snapped by "Iron Fiend" the night before, shouting at the token with extreme terror and trembling:

"Master! Something's happened...a monster! Third Master is...ah!!!"

The final, piercing scream abruptly ended.

Gu Yan suddenly threw the token into the scalding hot iron pot in front of him.

With a hissing sound.

The token tumbled in the high temperature and hot sand, its crimson light flickering twice before going out completely.

Gu Yan stared at the smoldering iron pot, suppressing a smile.

The bait has been thrown in.

Next, let's see how many more monsters and demons will be caught in Changning County.

And he will be the only fisherman.