Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

Chapter 756: Chapter 433: Become the Sacrificial Offering for the Undead Sacrifice!_2
 

The group exited the small alleyway and hadn’t taken many steps when suddenly a man rushed out, blocking their way. He raised his hands above his head and forcefuly kowtowed on the ground.

“Is he…begging?” Negris was stunned.

This was the first time that Ange and his companions were being begged to for alms, something they had never experienced before. As such, they were taken aback and didn’t know how to respond.

Instead, Silver Coin, acting as if he had just found a treasure, urgently pulled the beggar to a corner. The rest of Ange’s group quickly followed suit and surrounded them.

The beggar was confused. What was happening? He regarded everyone with caution and slowly raised his hands in defense.

“Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. What’s your name?” Silver Coin asked kindly, as he asked Ji Li for some small flatbreads. Among the crowd, only Ji Li needed to eat.

“John,” said the beggar, obviously famished. His eyes lit up at the sight of the flatbreads. He immediately bit off half as soon as he received it. When he was about to take the second bite, he forced himself to swallow, resisting with great willpower before reluctantly stowing the remaining piece into his bosom.

“Another John? Do people here like the name John?” Negris couldn’t help but comment. From his experiences, he had come across many Johns, Old Johns, Young Johns and Johns the Bull. This seemed to him a clear sign of laziness from those naming their children.

Seeing the man store his bread, Negris asked in confusion, “Why aren’t you eating? Are you not hungry?”

Beggar John humbly answered, “Thank you for your kindness. But I want to take the rest home for my wife.”

“Oh, you have a wife? Eat, eat. As long as you answer some of my questions, all these flatbreads are yours. Don’t hesitate, just eat!” Silver Coin then showed John the rest of the bread he had.

Silver Coin had detained this John to understand the situation in the city. Ideally, they should have done this as soon as they entered the city. However, they had stumbled upon the grain merchant’s guild near the outskirts of the city, and there were no beggars to be seen there.

Ji Li wasn’t pleased and said, “Leave some for me though, I made this beef flatbread with beef-bone flour and lake snow, baked to perfection. If you give it all to him, what will I eat?”

Every time Ji Li mentioned an ingredient, John would swallow saliva. By the time Ji Li finished speaking, his stomach was audibly growling. He fixed his gaze strictly upon the remaining flatbreads in Silver Coin’s hands.

The bite he had earlier went down too quickly, not allowing him to savour the taste. Now that Ji Li was discussing the ingredients, he could taste the beef and wheat lingering in his mouth.

“When was the last time you ate?” Silver Coin asked, while reaching out to give him another flatbread.

“I haven’t eaten in three days.” John received the flatbread, but instead of eating it, he put it into his bosom. He took out the half he had earlier and began nibbling at it.

“How many people are in your family?” Silver Coin asked.

“There are two…one. My wife is at home,” John said with a sudden drop in his spirits.

“So, is it one or two?” Silver Coin asked.

Tears welled up in John’s eyes, “There is another one, my daughter. But she is cursed and won’t survive. When I return, there will likely only be one left.”

“Cursed?” Silver Coin muttered, noting it down for later, before asking, “Why did you decide to beg from us?”

John wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and gratefully said, “You came from the grain merchant’s guild. I figured you would have some food. The granary has been shut down for seven days, only the black market has grain for sale. I was truly desperate, thank you.”

“Seven days? Do you know why?” Silver Coin asked.

John nodded, “It seems that the road has been cut off by sorcerers. The city of Northern Wind is now isolated from the outside world.”

“Cut off the road? But why?” Negris couldn’t help but ask.

In a world where teleportation arrays exist, severing roads is an unnecessary move. Even if the roads are cut off, the nobles and rich can still teleport, maintaining their contact with the outside world.

“They probably want to starve us poor people to death. Most of the food in Northern Wind City is imported from outside. Without the road, many of us will starve,” John said with a bitter smile.

Silver Coin asked some detailed questions, such as whether the streets were busy lately, if there were any luxury carriages or Knights passing by, what was sold on the black market, and if there were any robberies or the like.

After these minor questions were addressed, Silver Coin revealed a thoughtful expression.

Seeing Silver Coin finish his questioning, Negris promptly urged: “John, take us to your home to have a look. Didn’t you say your daughter is cursed? We want to see what kind of curse it is.”

Negris was quite interested in curses. Curses are a rather unique kind of power, sometimes more akin to Divine Arts, belonging to the realm of faith and spiritual power.

As a Necromancer, Negris was competent in Curse Magic. Given his knowledge, a glance at the magic could roughly discern the strength of the Wizard.

John led the way with some disbelief, a glimmer of hope flickering in his heart. These people were going to see his daughter, could they possibly have a way to dispel the curse?

However, this hope was dashed upon returning home. Sorrowful sobbing echoed from within, and John quickly rushed in, soon sobbing himself.

Negris couldn’t help but sigh: “Alas, poor man, he doesn’t even dare to cry out loud.”

John’s house wasn’t big. When Silver Coin, Negris and Ange walked in, there wasn’t much space left, so the others had to wait outside.

As soon as they entered, Ange saw a mummified body on the bed. Why say mummified? Because the corpse was so thin it was practically skeletal, just like a dehydrated mummy.

However, Ange still keenly sensed that the inside of the corpse was warm. The body had not been dead for very long.

Ange’s gaze followed the corpse to a corner of the wall, where there was a rat hole.

John had been mentally prepared for this moment to come, so losing hope was his primary emotion. After a few sobs, he turned and bowed to Ange and the others, before attempting to roll up the mat.

Wrap the corpse in straw mats and toss it outside to the cemetery, then the Undead would deal with it. This was the most respectful burial method, as the deceased’s spirit would return to the embrace of the Undead God, and rest in eternal peace.

“Wait.” Negris interrupted, “She’s not fully dead yet, there might be a chance of saving her, Ange, come and see.”

Ange cast a few Purification Techniques. The emaciated corpse warmed slightly, then he used a Rebirth Technique, targeting the corpse’s heart. The body suddenly sat up, gasping for air, it was now alive.

This treatment frightened John and his wife immensely. They regained their bearings only when their daughter, with wide open eyes, laid back on the bed and hoarsely cried, “mom…dad…” Overwhelmed, they hesitated to approach.

Undead God, this is incredible! Is this treatment or…resurrection?

Ange didn’t pay them any mind. He merely conjured a water orb, crushed a piece of Elf Beans, mixed it into the orb, and then fed it to the girl.

Next came more Purification Techniques. The skin of the girl, once withered like a corpse, turned radiantly healthy before their eyes.

It wasn’t until the girl’s life energy stabilized that Ange stopped. He then turned his attention back to the rat hole in the corner of the room.

The girl was now able to sit up on her own. She gazed unbelievingly at her hands and padded down her own body. Nothing was missing and she no longer felt the debilitating weakness. Had she not died? And the curse seemed to have disappeared too?

“Mom… Dad…” She hoarsely called out to John and his wife.

John and his wife were in disbelief. John, plucking up his courage, hesitatingly reached out to feel his daughter’s arm. It was soft and warm to the touch, not the cold sensation of a corpse. His daughter had truly come back to life.

The family of three held each other, weeping softly in confusion.

Just then, an enraged voice came puffing out of the rat hole in the corner, “Damn it! Who stole my offering?! Hasn’t your teacher taught you to mind your own business?! In that case, you’ll replace her, becoming the offering for my Undead Sacrifice!”

A puff of black smoke emerged from the hole, forming an ominous face.