At the common border between the hostile North and South stood the battlefront where the perpetual war they fought persisted even today. It was known as the Bloody War Frontier.
Adjacent to the battle line was a vast snaking river that began in the South, flowing along the Frontier to the North like a giant dragon.
The southerners named this the Mother River, as it irrigated the land for the many villages by the river. Countless village fishermen and farmers would even perform yearly rituals by the river.
On the other hand, the Northerners held love-hate feelings towards the same river, known to them as the Red River. Flowing by the Bloody War Frontier, the river was dyed red with blood every time they battled. It looked like a long, red cloth bearing the corpses of soldiers from both the North and the South down the river into the North. Many families from the North would wait by the river, hoping to come across their missing loved ones to give them a proper send-off.
Just like the sea, the river had an end as well. The mouth of the river was located in the depths of the North, near the North Pole—an uninhabited, desolate land where few gliphic beasts could be found, a forbidden land for humans.
The North Pole aside, the mouth of the Red River was also a forbidden area. The unclaimed corpses of both the Southerners and Northerners flowed along with the river into its mouth, where they ended up like beached fishes. This turned the river’s mouth into a mysterious land filled with concentrated negative energy.
But there was nothing in this world that would stop greedy humans from pursuing benefits. Of the many warriors sacrificed in battle, many were powerful cultivators carrying valuable items and weapons, making their corpses essentially treasure chests. A man once turned into a millionaire after he found a four-chambered glipher’s corpse and his gliphic weapon.
Therefore, this place became a gold mine to the countless who wanted to get rich. Since the place was filled with strong negative energy and diseased corpses, many contracted diseases and illnesses after spending too much time there.
However, nothing was worse than poverty to them.
That was why this forbidden area was said to be a thorny rose that attracted many, turning people into new treasures for others after they passed.
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“Damn it.” A bony man looked around greedily.
He was standing in front of a literal corpse hill, a hill made of countless corpses. The man cared nothing about the annoying files around him; he even ate the flies that flew into his mouth, humming a tune. “Why must it rain! Irritating… these corpses are the most disgusting when it rains!”
He was Shu Sam, a famous corpse digger at the mouth of the Red River. After scavenging here for five years, he had become known to many. Ordinary people would die from various illnesses after just two years here, but he was able to continue for double that time as a two-chambered glipher. Gliphers rarely picked up such jobs as they had their pride, even if it was in exchange for strong gliph weapons or the legacy of powerful cultivators.
However, Shu Sam didn’t care. He wasn’t any outstanding cultivator, nor did he have anyone to rely on. Reaching the two-chambered stage was the furthest he could go. Moreover, he was often described as “slightly obscene”, which was why not many were willing to hire him as a guard. Out of anger, he came to the mouth of the Red River and stayed till today.
Shu Sam had gained many precious items and lots of money in the past five years. In fact, this would be his last year here. As a glipher, he was very clear of his body’s condition and knew that five years was the most he could stay before dying of disease. Shu Sam didn’t wish to die so soon. He had to live to enjoy his wealth after all!
His eyes lit up at a corpse with its torso sliced open as he stuck his hands into its stomach, pulling out a plum blossom dart from within its intestines.
“What a treasure!” Shu Sam said delightedly. “An assassination-type gliph weapon? This is a one-time use treasure that only the rich can afford!”
Shu Sam gasped as he kept the plum blossom dart, continuing his work.
Boom!
Lighting stroke once more. It poured, creating an even eerier vibe to the bloody river mouth.
However, this was nothing to Shu Sam. If he was a scardy-cat, why would he be at the Red River’s mouth? No matter how terrifying it was, the gravediggers would remain unfazed.
Boom!
As if displeased by Shu Sam’s nonchalance, a blue bolt struck down from the sky onto the corpse hill in front of him. Blood and flesh flew everywhere while many corpses rolled down. There was even a smell of barbequed meat that made Shu Sam hungry. He looked down at his body stained with blood and bits of countless corpses in disgust.
“I guess we’ll have to end early today.” He sighed. But he smiled once he remembered the plum blossom dart.
He turned to leave, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks. It was as if time had paused, and Shu Sam stayed still like he was frozen despite the rain pouring down.
“Waa… Waa…”
Shu Sam turned back towards the corpse hill in shock. Is that… a cry?
He ran towards the hill and started digging without hesitation. Corpses fell from the hill as he searched. As a two-chambered glipher, the weight of an adult was light enough for him to fling away. He continued until he reached the bottom of the hill.
Rainwater mixed with blood formed a small pond. It looked just like a door leading to hell. On it was a crying baby. However, the baby stopped and stared at Shu Sam curiously when he saw him.
“Where did this baby come from!”
The baby had olive green eyes and wasn’t scared of the stranger. He continued staring at Shu Sam, who picked him up and left.
This was a baby born of the corpse hill and bloody water.
Shu Sam was unaware of what his choice today would bring.
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