Chapter 287: Eccentric |
After killing that burrowing worm, the Southern Hero sheathed his sword back into its scabbard. He didn't get even a speck of dust on his body, still maintaining his graceful bearing and tidiness. The bodily fluids splattered when the burrowing worm died were quite a distance away from him.
"Let's go back, sir. The nearby magic beasts are all afraid of the scent of this death worm. Since it died here, the magic beasts will avoid it. There won't be a second magic beast appearing tonight," the Southern Hero said.
So they returned to the church. By this time, the sky was completely dark. The cold wind blew in through the cracks in the windows. The church was the most well-preserved building in the village, but parts of its windows and doors were still destroyed.
It was fine when the weather was calm during the day, but when strong winds blew at night, it became very cold inside the church. The tongues of fire in the bonfire flickered, seemingly about to go out in the next second.
Xiao Wei nervously tugged at the hem of Bai Mu's clothes. This house piled with corpses felt somewhat like a haunted house. If one were to spend the night here alone, it would truly be a challenging task. Of course, Bai Mu and the Southern Hero turned a blind eye to this. The Witch, being a zombie, was also completely unaffected by the corpses. Only Xiao Wei felt afraid of this environment.
"Do you need to rest in another room, young lady?" the Southern Hero asked with a gentlemanly demeanor.
Xiao Wei didn't reply, just looked up at Bai Mu.
Bai Mu said, "If a big worm like just now appears while we are sleeping, it would be troublesome. So we'd better stay in the same room with Lord Hero."
In order to protect the villagers' corpses, the Hero wouldn't leave the church.
The people here would not bury corpses near the villages because the frequently appearing magic beasts and Demon Race would find the human corpses and eat them as food.
On the plateau, there was an organization called the Norm Merchant Guild, responsible for logistics between various regions, while also shouldering the task of transporting corpses to cemeteries protected by personnel.
Although it was a merchant guild, they were actually the most powerful organization on the plateau. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the uncrowned kings of the Northern Plateau. The transportation of resources to the war frontlines and intelligence gathering were all handled by this massive organization.
In fact, scientifically speaking, cremating the corpses of the deceased was the wisest choice. But the remains of relatives held a different meaning for the people living in their homeland, so this task of transporting corpses had been passed down since ancient times.
The Southern Hero also followed this tradition. So before the people from the Norm Merchant Guild arrived, he wouldn't leave the church. Even though the magic beast he foresaw being attracted was dead, he still stayed here like a gravekeeper. Perhaps he felt some sort of indebtedness for being unable to save these people, thus performing this act similar to mourning and paying respects.
Although it was dark, Bai Mu didn't feel sleepy. He still wanted to seek advice from the Southern Hero on some matters. Being able to meet such a kind-hearted powerhouse was something that could be met but not sought. He should cherish the time to learn from him. Therefore, he had no intention whatsoever of leaving the church to rest in another room. However, this howling cold wind was indeed freezing.
Because the blizzard was coming, the temperature dropped sharply, and snowflakes were already floating outside. Even the Southern Hero wrapped up his cloak and threw a few pieces of firewood into the fire pit to make the warming fire burn more vigorously.
To Bai Mu, this kind of cold was a bit more unbearable. Moreover, he had a habit cultivated over many years: he didn't like sleeping in places with drafts. Drafts meant there were gaps, and gaps meant there might be things sneaking in from the dark. If there really was no other way, he would have to endure it, but right now, he had plenty of energy to repair this house.
According to the Hero, the blizzard would probably last for about two days. It was just the beginning right now; the wind would only get stronger and colder later on.
He explained his intentions to the Southern Hero, and the Hero had no objections to it.
"Do you need me to lend a hand, sir? However, when it comes to construction, I'm probably just at a layman's level. Besides, there don't seem to be tools and materials here."
"I'm just doing some reinforcement measures; it won't take much effort," Bai Mu said. "As for tools and materials, I naturally have my own ways."
"Since that's the case, then I won't disturb your work, sir."
Hearing this, the Southern Hero sat back down by the fire pit, watching Bai Mu with interest.
It could be seen that he was very interested in Bai Mu's behavior. As someone with powerful precognition magic, many times, before talking to others, he would know in advance what the other party would say and do. Although this provided him with a lot of conveniences, it also made it very difficult for him to find pleasure in the process of communicating with people.
Perhaps, to the Southern Hero, many conversations were just like clicking dialog boxes when playing a game for the second time, somewhat dull. But the unpredictable Bai Mu seemed to let him find a certain playful mindset.
What Bai Mu did indeed exceed his expectations. Bai Mu took out the Book of the Witch and went to work dismantling and synthesizing the chairs and miscellaneous items in the church that the villagers originally used for worship.
He used wooden sticks and ironwares to synthesize a hammer and nails, and used those messy pieces of wood to synthesize flat wooden boards. Then, like a professional carpenter, he carried the wooden boards and patched up the gaps.
It wasn't as simple as just sealing up the gaps and damaged areas. He also preserved the openability of the windows. The architectural style of his modifications was completely different from the original style of the church; it was a practical school he had delved into over years in the apocalypse, possessing a kind of rough, modernized aesthetic feeling.
Because he was very skilled at this kind of work, it took him less than ten minutes to cover all the drafty spots. He also conveniently knocked out a charcoal stove for roasting, on which a pot could be placed. Using the Book of the Witch, he synthesized and modified two long benches that could be lain on, serving both as seats and beds. He synthesized the animal furs collected previously with some warm clothing the Southern Hero brought from the village to make pillows and bedding.
The Southern Hero watched with a smile at first, but later, when the bedding and pillows appeared before him, his face turned into astonishment. Thinking that he still had to stay in this room for the next two days of the blizzard, Bai Mu spent another five minutes knocking out two thermos flasks capable of storing hot water. With a simple structure of an inner liner and an outer shell, as long as the air in between was sealed off, the efficiency of heat preservation could be improved, preventing the hot water from freezing into a block of ice after a short while.
So, this dilapidated, drafty wooden house underwent a sudden transformation and took on a completely new look. The corner where Bai Mu and the Hero drank tea was especially filled with a warm atmosphere of life.
Beds, bedding, pots, ovens, stools, chairs, tables, thermos flasks, and even toiletries and daily necessities—everything one could expect to find was there. If the environment just now was wilderness survival, this corner now already had the warm feeling of a home.
The Southern Hero blankly hugged the bedding Bai Mu handed him, then looked at the long bench under his butt and that oven, inhaling a sharp breath of cold air with a hiss.
"Sir, you truly are an eccentric person."