The first volume of the funeral Chapter 9: Meat Pieces and Crows
Although the two corpses still maintained their complete human form, a closer look revealed that the two people had been cut into pieces by some sharp weapon like chicken fillets, and then neatly stacked on the ground.
The clothes of the two men had been completely soaked with blood, and were wrinkled and twisted and stuck to the corpses. The soil beneath them had also turned black and red, and was filled with a strong smell of blood. There were dozens of crows around the corpses, and they did not fly away when they saw Mu Yiran approaching. They stared at it with their dark eyes, revealing a dead silence.
Ke Xun turned around and opened his mouth to vomit, which frightened Wei Dong so much that he moved back another seven or eight meters using his hands and hips: "Shut up! What did you see?!"
Ke Xun shook his hands, and finally suppressed the nausea for a long time. He took two deep breaths of the unpleasant air, gritted his teeth, and turned back.
Mu Yiran was still staring at the corpse, seemingly lost in thought.
Ke Xun gritted his teeth and looked at the two bodies again. Two people were lying there side by side. If you ignore the fact that their bodies were cut into pieces, the postures of the two people when they died can be said to be quite peaceful. Their arms were neatly placed on both sides of the body, their legs were straight, and their heads were facing upwards in a standard manner.
Face... Ke Xun took a few glances at the corpse on the left. The girl, who was about sixteen or seventeen years old, closed her inexperienced eyes. Her face was covered with blood, hiding her original youthfulness. Her long, soft hair was mixed with mud and blood under her body and became a mess. The body of youth that was about to bloom had now become a pile of minced meat.
Ke Xun had no way of imagining what kind of horrible things the girl had experienced before her death. How scared, how painful, and how much she wanted to go home she was in the process of being slaughtered like an animal by that irresistible force of terror.
Ke Xun's hands hanging by his side trembled unconsciously, and then he clenched them into fists.
"Have you finished your examination?" he asked Mu Yiran.
Mu Yiran raised his eyes to look at him and nodded slightly.
Ke Xun stopped talking, walked over, picked up the shovel thrown not far away, and started digging the soil nearby.
Mu looked at him happily but didn't say anything else.
Wei Dong stood at a distance and didn't dare to come over, so he had to raise his voice and ask Ke Xun: "What are you doing? Don't mess around!"
Ke Xun just buried his head and dug the soil, ignoring him.
There were more and more crows in the sky, and they kept falling down. Seeing Mu Yiran standing motionless beside the corpse, a few crows stopped staring at him and fell directly on the corpse, tearing the flesh with their sharp beaks.
Mu Yiran frowned slightly and took a few steps back.
Ke Xun heard the sound, turned his head and took a look. Suddenly, he was furious and swung the shovel in his hand at the crow on the corpse: "Fuck you! Get out!"
However, there were too many crows. When a few were waved away, others fell down. More and more crows kept falling. Soon, the two bodies were covered with crows. The bodies could hardly be seen as they were completely covered by the dense swarm of crows.
Ke Xun didn't want to touch the corpse, so he tried to do something useless for a long time. In the end, he simply covered the corpse with dirt. The crows hid aside, dozens or even hundreds of crows, all in unison, silently, and coldly stared at him.
"Ke Xun." Mu Yiran suddenly called him in a deep voice, "Stop, don't bury it."
Ke Xun held the shovel tightly and looked up at him: "Just let them be eaten by birds?"
"Look what they are doing." Mu Yiran looked at him coldly.
Ke Xun looked at the group of crows and met their dark and dead eyes.
"If you bury these two people, I'm afraid you will be the next to die." Mu Yiran's tone was full of warning, and he took a few steps back again, "Put down the shovel and come here."
Ke Xun pursed his lips tightly, threw down the shovel after a moment, and strode towards Mu Yiran: "Have you finished your investigation? I want to go back."
Mu Yiran glanced at him, and in his calm tone there was an imperceptible hint of tolerance: "I have nothing else to check."
"Dongzi, get up and go." Ke Xun immediately turned around and strode out of the wasteland along the same path he came from.
When they were still some distance away from the village, Ke Xun saw several other people walking out of the village together, also heading towards the wasteland. Liu Yufei was walking in front, and did not say hello to Wei Dong when he saw him.
Everyone is trying hard to find clues.
Ke Xun calmed down and turned to look at Mu Yiran: "Did you find any clues just now?"
Mu Yiran glanced at him and said calmly, "Why do you think I would share the clues I found with you?"
Ke Xun was choked, and Wei Dong was also speechless beside him, looking at Mu Yiran's back who continued to move forward without stopping: "Although there is nothing wrong with what you said, I still feel a little sad..."
Ke Xun lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then quickly followed and looked at Mu Yiran: "You are right, you really have no obligation to share the clues you got with me, a person you are not that familiar with. We are not related in any way. It is a favor for you to tell me, and it is your duty not to tell me. I can't hate or blame you for this. This is an era where everything is paid for.
"In that case, let's discuss this from the perspective of mutual benefit. I think I am still somewhat useful, and I don't want your clues for nothing. You pay, and I get something in return. How do you think?"
Mu Yiran looked at him calmly and said coldly: "How do you want to repay me?"
Ke Xunhu pulled a handful of messy hair on his head and answered seriously: "A poor student like me can't provide any help mentally, but physical strength should be no problem. If you need any work that requires running errands, you can leave it to me, and you just need to talk. What do you think?"
"Do you think I'm a lazy person?" Mu asked him happily.
"No, I think you're the kind of boss who commands the enemy and makes everything disappear in a flash," Ke Xun said sincerely, "Boss, please take me with you. I'll give you one free if you take one. I guarantee you'll make a profit."
"You are the only one giving gifts, your whole family is giving gifts." Weidong said.
"Whose legs are thicker, yours or his?" Ke Xun asked.
"Hello, boss. I'm a gift." Wei Dong said to Mu Yiran.
Perhaps he was shocked by the two men's unabashed flattery in front of him, or perhaps he anticipated that even if he refused, he would still be pestered by these two idiots. After walking for a while with a blank expression, Mu Yiran finally spoke: "This is the first painting you have entered. There are many things you don't understand. We are not as peaceful as you see. So, if you two really want to form a team with me, you must agree to one condition of mine first."
"Tell me about it." Ke Xun looked at him.
The serious look in his eyes made Mu Yiran slightly restrain his coldness. If the other party agreed without thinking, it would make him difficult to trust him.
So he said in a calm voice: "I need you to always remember that all the clues we have obtained must not be disclosed to anyone other than the three of us without my permission. Any questions?"
Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. He knew his childhood friend best, and such a request was not in line with his childhood friend's values.
Ke Xun was always casual and even somewhat indifferent in the eyes of outsiders, but as a close friend of Ke Xun since childhood, Wei Dong knew that he was actually a very pure and... kind person. Although he had done a lot of bad things since childhood, he had also done good things.
Ke Xun doesn't care about gains and losses and has never been a selfish and stingy person.
He used the inheritance from his parents to open a gym. When he was able to make ends meet, he never forgot his friends.
Ke Xun brought those brothers and classmates who came from poor families, had no ability to earn money and were about to starve to death into the gym. Those who could be coaches became coaches, and those who couldn't be coaches worked as receptionists, clerical workers, or accountants. Those who really had no skills maintained equipment, cleaned, and distributed flyers. He tried his best to ensure that they had enough food and clothing in terms of treatment.
So people like Ke Xun, although they won't rush to help others on the streets, but if things come to him and he can, he will not hesitate to lend a hand.
Back to the present, all the people who enter this world in the painting are not facing the difficulties of poverty or hunger, but life and death. If you give a helping hand, you may be able to save one or even several lives. If you don’t help, in such a context, it will be no different from sending people to death.
Weidong was not sure whether Ke Xun would agree to Mu Yiran’s condition. Ke Xun was not the Holy Father, but he was not Satan either.
"Can I ask the reason?" Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran.
Mu Yiran also looked at Ke Xun.
This guy who sometimes acts a little silly can always use the pure look in his clear eyes to make him... soften his heart involuntarily.
Mu Yiran lowered his eyes, his voice still cold: "Because, in the painting, it's not just those 'things' that can kill you, there are also living people."
"You mean, those who entered the painting with us might kill us?" Ke Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, "Why?"
"There is a rule in the painting," Mu Yiran looked coldly at the lifeless village in front of him, "I said before that we only have seven days. If we can't find the signature or seal of the painter within seven days, everyone will die. And during these seven days, someone may die every day due to the various strange forces in the world of the painting, but this is not absolutely inevitable.
“In fact, death caused by the power in the painting is random. Just like last night, you were in imminent danger, but because of the sudden incident in the main room, you escaped. This is not a process pre-set by the power in the painting. Whether it is an unfortunate death or an unexpected survival, it is all random.
"However, there is another rule in the world of the painting that cannot be changed or defied. If one day in seven days, due to the randomness of the world of the painting, no one dies by chance, then between 8 and 9 a.m. the next day, all the living people will gather together and vote for someone... to die."
