CHAPTER 138: CHAPTER 138 GREAT FILIAL PIETY AMUSES THE FAMILY

"Why?"

He asked in surprise.

Natasha’s corpse shouldn’t be of any use to the French Plane Tree, it can’t eat it.

"Because I also gave it a name."

The French Plane Tree pointed at the small tombstone.

Next to "Natasha" was engraved "Marceau," a standard French name.

"Then I need her body to enter the graveyard, and by moving her you could save some hassle too."

He tried to appeal to emotions and reason.

"I don’t care."

The French Plane Tree was not in the mood to be reasonable.

"Name your price."

Liu Zheng sighed.

Pay to bury, pay again to dig up, what kind of deal is that?

"No deal. Annoy me further and I’ll smash your car."

The French Plane Tree said impatiently.

This was troublesome.

With the stance the French Plane Tree was taking, it seemed determined not to let him take Natasha.

"Then give me the skeleton of the Legendary delivery man?"

Liu Zheng changed his target.

"Then you can forget about that too."

The French Plane Tree said without hesitation.

"Well then, you can give me some suitable tool at least."

He settled for less.

"Nothing. Do you really think I am a treasure box, that I have whatever you want?"

The French Plane Tree glared at him.

"This won’t do, that won’t do, you’re making things difficult for me. If I die in the graveyard, you’ll miss your chance to evolve into a phoenix."

"Annoying as hell, take this, okay?"

The black soil exploded, and pieces of bark flew out, assembling themselves into a coffin automatically.

"Will this thing do?"

Liu Zheng looked at its sloppy surface, skeptical.

"You know shit."

The French Plane Tree said disdainfully.

"This is the bark I shed. The lost souls and wild ghosts in the graveyard couldn’t afford such a coffin in a lifetime."

"Fine, I’ll trust you this once."

He called Niu Ma again.

"Boss, what’s the number of your acquaintance’s tombstone?"

"Geez, you really are fearless, huh?"

Niu Ma was shocked.

Even it dared not visit the grave, yet this kid was willing to go, seemingly eager to bury himself.

"No choice, things have changed. I can’t just fabricate a corpse right now."

Liu Zheng said resignedly.

If he had known the French Plane Tree would go nuts, he would have had Niu Ma buy a corpse from the kitchen.

"The tombstone number is 10086, the name is Red Pig."

Niu Ma said.

"Really a pig?"

"Pig-headed human, but it’s cursed, not like that other guy."

Niu Ma said.

Alright then, pig-headed human Red Pig, pig-head human Oynk, domestic dog Black Claw, Feather Chicken Napoleon, Big White Goose Ottawa, and a nameless Centaur.

Liu Zheng realized Niu Ma’s acquaintances all seemed to be domestic animals and poultry.

This must be what they mean by ’Birds of a feather flock together.’

"Is there any way to calm it down?"

He asked.

"Don’t know, if I knew, I wouldn’t have avoided sweeping its grave. But that guy didn’t like to deal with females in life, especially beautiful ones; probably the same in death."

Niu Ma thought and said.

"That’ll do."

Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

This time he was accompanied by three beautiful women, each with a distinct style, so there should be one that Red Pig fancies.

"By the way, Dai Legao also gave me a coffin made from its bark, will it be useful?"

He asked again.

"Damn! What kind of potion did you feed it, it actually parted with that thing?"

Niu Ma couldn’t help but curse.

Had it not been in the prime of its life, it almost wished Liu Zheng would keep the coffin for it.

"Good stuff, but Red Pig probably won’t be interested. You might try sweeping graves of zombies, vampires, and the like; they should like it."

It said calmly after.

"Can I sweep other people’s graves too?"

"The designated grave must be swept, but you can certainly sweep others if you want, the graveyard likes making extra money. Of course, most people wouldn’t do that since the more graves you sweep, the higher the chance of encountering ghosts."

"But with your skills, you should be able to handle ghosts."

"Enough, don’t call me again, or I’ll block your number."

Niu Ma hung up.

"Now you know the value of this coffin. Hurry up and pay the difference."

The French Plane Tree said while sipping fruit wine.

"Next time for sure. Gotta go now."

Liu Zheng jumped into the Ferrari and floored the accelerator.

The roaring engine shattered the quiet of the night as the fiery red car turned into a streak of light, speeding towards the city’s edge.

Luckily, the journey was smooth with no incidents.

Liu Zheng’s prepared cash went unused, probably because the green-vested workers had knocked off for the day.

At a blinding speed of 365 km/h, it took him less than twenty minutes to reach the entrance of the graveyard.

And the Nightingale, Sea Maiden, and Vampire Sister were already waiting there.

Perhaps to blend in with the surroundings, they all had changed into black attire, albeit in different styles.

The Nightingale wore a luxurious palace gown with lace around the neck and cuffs, and a white tulip pinned to her hair.

The Sea Maiden was dressed in a black coat and black dress, wearing a black veiled hat trimmed with pearls.

The veil obscured her face, inducing endless speculation, like the widow series or something.

And the Vampire Sister was in a black Gothic maid outfit, wearing tiny sheepskin gloves.

But her garter belt was white and studded with a row of throwing knives.

"You’re carrying a coffin to the fight; are you declaring your intent to die?"

The Nightingale looked at Liu Zheng carrying the coffin, her expression odd.

"You don’t know anything, this is called striking it rich with a coffin."

He said irritably.

"Wow!"

Vampire Sister’s eyes lit up at the sight of the coffin, and she pounced on it.

"Is this the dowry you’re giving me?"

She caressed the surface of the coffin, excitedly asking.

"I never agreed to marry you. Besides, what does a vampire need with a dowry? Puritans don’t have that tradition, right?"

Liu Zheng swatted away her restless hand.

"That’s where you’re wrong, actually. My family comes from the distant East, where there has always been the custom of giving a dowry."

Vampire Sister said with all seriousness.

"Ha, I think not only do you come from the East, but you also come from west of the river."

"What do you mean?"

This was beyond Vampire Sister’s range of knowledge.

"It means nothing. If it’s not useful this time, I might consider selling it to you."

As Liu Zheng spoke, he sized up the entrance of the cemetery.

The cemetery’s gate was a massive archway made of marble, resembling the ones you’d see in real-life graveyards.

Like in reality, there was a couplet on either side of the arch.

The first line read: Those who wish to live or die, once through these gates, will all be gone.

The second line read: Be you human or spirit, all must lie down when the coffin closes.

The banner at the top read: Good Death Cemetery.

Well, how should I put it.

Though the couplet and the name were full of mocking points, the calligraphy was still quite good, with a touch of antiquity.

"Let’s go."

He waved valiantly and walked behind the three of them.

"Hey, show some backbone—you’re a man, after all. This doesn’t seem quite proper."

Sea Woman couldn’t help but speak up.

"In this world, the strong lead. Clearly, you three are the strong ones, so it makes sense for you to go ahead."

Liu Zheng remained unmoved.

"Makes sense."

Nightingale acknowledged and purposefully positioned herself behind him.

"You spoil him like this?"

Sea Woman’s tone carried a subtle nuance, it was unclear whose jealousy she was invoking.

"Can’t help it, he just suits my taste so well,"

Nightingale stuck out her long tongue and licked her lip corner.

It seems her taste wasn’t exactly in a literal sense.

Liu Zheng thought with a shudder.

He certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to believe Nightingale was truly lovestruck.

The reason this woman was protecting him was probably largely because she was worried about the novelist.

Since this mysterious person had managed to free her, they could surely put her back in.

"I’ve already given you my essence, and here you are, flirting with other women outside. You’re simply inhuman. Woo~"

Vampire Sister started dropping little pearl-like tears.

"Look, I don’t mind you all relaxing before the battle, but can you not make fun of me?"

Liu Zheng quickly saw through their trick.

"It’s because our common link is you."

Vampire Sister’s tears stopped as quickly as they had started.

"I guess I am a bit nervous, it’s been a while since I last fought."

Nightingale admitted frankly.

"Me too."

Sea Woman said as well.

"Alright then. Are you relaxed enough? If so, let’s head in."

Liu Zheng suggested.

"Okay."

The three women nodded and walked towards the inside of the cemetery.

No sooner had they crossed the arch when the clip-clop of horse hooves approached from a distance.

A moment later, an old man riding a thin brown horse appeared before them.

He was wearing a broad-brimmed, high-crowned cowboy hat, a dirty leather jacket, and an equally dirty shirt underneath.

He had on worn jeans and high leather boots on his feet.

A typical Western cowboy attire.

As for why a Chinese-style cemetery’s administrator was a Western cowboy, Liu Zheng was too lazy to complain anymore.

"What brings you to the cemetery?"

The old cowboy administrator asked with his muffled, deep voice.

"Here for a visit."

Vampire Sister quickly answered.

"Tombstone number."

"18703."

The old cowboy looked her over, nodded, and said,

"Approved. And you three?"

He looked towards Liu Zheng and his companions.

"Cleaning graves, tombstone number 10086."

Liu Zheng replied.

"Me too."

"Me too."

Nightingale and Sea Woman chimed in.

"You’re approved. You two, the reason."

The old cowboy nodded towards Liu Zheng and then let his gaze linger on Nightingale and Sea Woman.

"I’m family, accompanying him to clean the graves."

Nightingale said.

"Me too."

Sea Woman added.

The old cowboy scanned Liu Zheng and then Nightingale and Sea Woman another time.

After a brief moment, he shook his head slightly.

Just as the old cowboy was about to speak, Liu Zheng cut him off.

"Respected administrator sir, may I ask how many packages you have for grave cleaning?"

The old cowboy looked at him and slowly started speaking.

"Tier S costs ten million."

"Tier A costs one million."

"Tier B costs one hundred thousand."

"Tier C costs ten thousand."

"Tier D costs one thousand."

He listed them one by one.

"Then we’ll take a C..."

Liu Zheng paused mid-sentence, catching the look of disappointment in the old cowboy’s eyes.

"Tier C would be too disrespectful. Let’s go with Tier B instead."

He changed his decision.

Spending one hundred thousand for two entry tickets seemed reasonable.

"One hundred thousand? You’re crazy!"

However, Vampire Sister seemed to have a different opinion.