novelhk Chapter 15: I'm going to climb up!
Chapter 15: I'm going to climb up!
Winter is the hardest time for the poor, but this winter is particularly special.
Bright got up early in the morning to buy some vegetables and dried meat at the West End Farmers Market. He hadn't even come out of the crematorium when he saw soldiers outside preparing to transport the corpses.
The sheer number of items on the cart made Bright feel ashamed.
"Bright? You're just in time! Hurry up, you're here!"
Several soldiers quickly waved, and Bright frowned as he went over. Looking at the pile of corpses on the cart, taller than a person, he was shocked: "What's going on?"
"Sigh... Yesterday's blizzard caused many people to fall ill, not just these refugees, but also many people from the noble districts. This disease is severe, but those noble lords have warm fireplaces, hot water, and dedicated doctors in their homes. How can these people living in tents in the north of the city withstand it?"
"So many people died on the first night?" Brett couldn't help but ask.
"The first night?" The veteran opposite him was somewhat taken aback.
"What I mean is... on this cold first night," Bright said, rubbing his hands hastily, "with so many corpses, all refugees, there certainly aren't enough families to pay for cremation, are there?"
"Don't worry about that. The city lord has been in charge of cremating the refugees. I just sent someone to the city lord's mansion to inquire." The soldier said, taking out five silver nars. "These should be enough for a while, right? There should be more later. Don't run around these next few days. There's already the flu; we don't want another outbreak. The corpses need to be disposed of as soon as possible!"
"Yes, sir." Bright smiled and accepted the silver nar, forcing a smile. If it were before, he might have felt a pang of guilt for having so many lives, but now that so many people had died, he actually felt a pang of compassion deep down. Sure enough... people start to have a conscience after getting rich? Poverty breeds cunning, wealth breeds conscience, that seems to make some sense.
As the soldiers carried the bodies into the crematorium, Bright's expression grew increasingly grim. Most of the bodies were women and children, and many of them were familiar faces.
His crematorium was located high up in the North District. He had a lot of dealings with the refugees in the North District. The women in the North District, especially those without men to help them, mostly turned to prostitution to survive. But because they weren't professional prostitutes, even some of the better-looking ones couldn't seduce men like the women in regular brothels. Moreover, regular brothels had money, could conduct regular inspections, and were safer. Women in the slums wouldn't come here unless a desperate man was really craving them. Even if they did come, they preferred to choose new women. For many women in the refugee area, the best way was to marry a local man with status so they could have long-term support.
Bright, having spent so much time traveling around this area, was naturally a hot commodity among many women. While corpse collectors might be looked down upon by normal families, they wouldn't be disliked by these refugees.
For the women in the refugee camp, Bright had a stable income, a warm house (crematorium), and plenty of food. Being able to become the mistress there was already a blessing from God, wasn't it? What else was there to complain about?
Bright had always avoided these female refugees. In his memories, Old John had warned him countless times that he must find a woman with status no matter what, and not be tempted by the appearance of refugees. He would learn from his past life what price he would pay for marrying someone without status!
Now, those women who used to fawn over him the moment he stepped out are now just cold corpses after only one night.
Brett sighed and began moving the bodies to the autopsy table. He was very familiar with the first body; it was an extremely thin girl with beautiful brown eyes. She was so malnourished that many people thought she was only twelve years old, but Brett knew that she was actually sixteen.
She never solicited clients, believing that this would give her an advantage and that maintaining a clean body might be the only way to be accepted by Mr. Bright.
"Mr. Bright..."
Just as Bright was undressing the other person, a familiar voice rang in his ears, causing Bright to tremble involuntarily.
"If... I were a weaver or a farmer in my next life, would you accept me?"
The corpse did not move, but the girl's silvery voice could be heard.
Bright lowered his head and continued with his work. The intelligence report stated that corpse whisperers should not speak to corpse spirits easily, especially when there are many corpse spirits, as it can easily cause a corpse spirit riot.
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]
"Mr. Bright can't hear me..." The girl's voice was filled with regret. "Actually, I've always wanted to tell you that I like your appearance, not your identity as a corpse collector. Even if you were a refugee like me, I would still choose you. But I should have been braver. Even if you didn't want to accept me, I should at least let you know how I feel. But you know, I'm a coward. Every day I tell myself that I'll confess to Mr. Bright tomorrow, confess my feelings, just let him know how I feel..."
The girl's voice choked with sobs as she spoke...
"But it seems... I'll never have another chance..."
Without pausing, with many undead watching, Bright dared not stop and continued to dispose of the girl's corpse with a calm expression.
What was her name again?
"Mr. Bright... I'm leaving now. May you rest in peace, and may you never suffer the same hardships I have experienced..."
"Lilith, right?"
In an instant, all the spirits in the cremation chamber looked over, and the warm room suddenly became incredibly cold.
Bright rubbed his hands together, breathed on them, and said with a sad expression, "What a beautiful girl. This world is so unfair. A gentle girl like you should be drinking hot soup in a warm house, not becoming a cold corpse."
"Mr. Bright? Are you talking to me?" The girl's voice became cheerful.
But the other corpses in the room slowly approached, exuding a chilling aura.
Bright pretended not to hear at all and continued, "I actually like you. Several times when I saw you approach me, I wanted to hold you in my arms, bring you into the house, and cook you a bowl of hot soup myself. But I'm a coward. I'm afraid... if I did that, the soldiers would laugh at me for having strange fetishes, after all, you look like a twelve-year-old angel."
"I should have been braver. I shouldn't have listened to what those soldiers said, nor should I have listened to old John's outdated ideas. I..." Bright seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, and took a deep breath before walking out of the crematorium.
The girl's spirit stood blankly beside the corpse for a long time before looking up and smiling.
"Thank you, Mr. Bright..."
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Holy crap, that's terrifying!!
When Bright stepped outside, he felt that it was warmer outside than inside the room with the fireplace. Just a moment ago, all the spirits looked over, and although he couldn't see them, he felt as if he could be torn to pieces at any moment!
I can't be such a good person next time...
Hey......
Sitting by the door, Bright watched the increasingly heavy snow outside and felt a sense of melancholy.
It's true what they say, the rope always breaks at its thinnest point.
Originally, the conspiracy of a group of cult members was aimed at the nobility, but the vulnerability of these refugees meant that even some of the aftershocks were unbearable for them. In this world, without status and power, sooner or later, they would probably end up like them.
The fragility of human life only strengthened Bright's resolve to climb higher, step by step, until he could change his own destiny and... the destiny of others!
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"Be careful, everyone!"
On Rose Avenue, in a villa, a large group of doctors were gathered, all being held hostage by a group of tall men in white coats.
Inside the villa were many women and children, all of whom had been given special drugs and were in a coma. The group of doctors, who had been coerced, could only carefully follow the instructions of the group to put a green liquid into bottles in their medical kits for the sake of their wives and children.
"Do not leak anything when you collect the medicine, otherwise you will be infected and can only be sent back to the forest to return to the embrace of the Mother Goddess, understand?"
A group of doctors bowed their heads and nodded repeatedly, but in their hearts they were cursing. What kind of Mother Goddess is she? They had never heard of any Mother Goddess in that bloated forest. How dare she preach in the Rhine Empire and even try to control the nobles? They are a bunch of lunatics!
But what should they do?
Framed nobles are a capital offense, but what can they do when their family members' lives are threatened?
Damn it, why did this have to happen to me?
With a sense of grievance, the doctors carefully poured the strange green liquid into the bottle and then quickly put the cap on. They had also witnessed a doctor accidentally break a bottle and his entire family was infected by this terrible toxin, growing into several human-faced trees outside the city. That kind of death was more terrifying than any death they had ever seen. What kind of evil cult is this?
What was the purpose? Was it merely to poison those nobles?
"From now on, you will continue to visit your own clinics as usual. If a nobleman invites you to see a doctor, you should know what to do, right?"
That very night, half of the doctors in the noble district were asked to leave.
Dr. Jack was one of them. As the most famous doctor on Rose Avenue, he received invitations from four or five noble butlers very early on. After all, every family wanted to hire the best doctor.
But for Dr. Jack at this moment, what he wished for most was not to be so famous.
The presiding judge, along with the Osric family, the Elvis family (chief of the merchant guild), and several affiliated nobles with titles but no official positions, plus at least a dozen stewards, left Jack both in a difficult and somewhat helpless situation.
Killing any nobleman is a serious crime!
"Dr. Jack? You'll have to come with me."
The familiar voice startled Jack. He looked up and exclaimed excitedly, "Lady Elsie?"
But the next moment, his heart turned cold. In that villa, besides the families of the doctors, there were also the families of all the Rose Avenue security guards. So many people were under control. What could the sheriff do if he came back?
"Sir Elsie?" A group of butlers frowned and said, "Please maintain order. There are quite a few distinguished adults ahead of you, all waiting in line for Dr. Jack's schedule."
Elsie was taken aback by his words, her face filled with anxiety. Both of her children were sick. In the past, Dr. Jack would have been very willing to help her at this time, but this time it seemed that the whole city was infected and many nobles were scrambling for doctors. She had already run to several doctors but to no avail. If Dr. Jack was still unwilling to help, her children would probably have to tough it out all night!
"I'm sorry... Lady Elsie." Jack looked apologetic, but felt a sense of relief. He respected Lady Elsie and naturally didn't want to be forced to hurt her. He'd rather find some damned nobleman to use that potion on.
Just as Jack was about to take the medicine kit to one of the most famous viscount houses, a voice stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Jack, you'll have to come with me today."
Who is it? Why are they talking so arrogantly?
All the butlers turned around in astonishment, only to see a handsome young man in an expensive fur coat, with fair skin and dark pupils. He was clearly dressed like a young nobleman, but these butlers, who had been in aristocratic circles for many years, had never seen this person before.
The Elsie Knight's face twitched. Wasn't this the one who burned corpses?
What is he planning to do now?