Chapter 438: Chapter 436: Ears and Intelligence

The identity bestowed by the First Dead Man proved extremely useful,

even Yi Chen, as a newcomer with various attributes not belonging to Death mixed in his system, was not affected in the slightest. During his stay at the Black Funeral House, he quickly became one with the dead residing in the inn.

He often took out Ancient Coins to book the place exclusively, constantly improving the dead’s affinity for him, and during his daily visits, he learned about the dead’s ranking system, internal relationships, and the standing of the Knight Orders among the dead.

It only took him a week to figure out the whole ‘ecosystem’ of the Original Tomb

The first point, which he concluded upon arrival at the Original Tomb, was that the First Dead Man basically did not interfere with matters of the Original Tomb. Whether small or large, he kept his hands off, with the only concern being the establishment of the Death Laws; anyone who severely violated the Death Laws would be marked by the First Dead Man, and within three days, they would face true death.

Due to the First Dead Man delegating his authority, the real power to manage the Original Tomb essentially fell into the hands of the Knight Orders, and the current leader of the Death Plague Knights had the highest say.

The second point was the division of the identity hierarchy.

This concept was initially proposed by the Knight Order, and after being agreed upon by the First Dead Man, it started to be widely adopted, categorizing the dead based on their ‘standard of strength’ to ensure that the proportion of upper, middle, and lower rank dead was roughly 1:3:6.

While identity does not affect their residential rights in the Original Tomb, it can restrict their activity area and the resources they can access,

only the upper-level dead are qualified to apply for the examination of new recruits for the Death Plague Knights.

In addition, if the lower-rank dead stagnates for a long time, each month they compete against the excellent talents nominated from six other tomb areas, and their failure results in their exchange to other tomb areas.

Through this so-called identity hierarchy system, talents are screened to strengthen the power of the Knight Orders.

However, according to the rumors Yi Chen heard, the overall strength of the Knight Orders hasn’t changed much in decades, even centuries, and has even diminished.

Clearly, there must be some internal issues within the Knight Orders.

Yi Chen did not bother to ask Black Wolf Bernard about it, because he had to completely cut off contact with Bernard for this period; even a trace of Black Wolf’s aura on him would be detected by ‘Miss Vivian,’ and he had to negotiate with her in a completely new identity.

Two weeks passed by, and Yi Chen felt that his affinity had been brushed up enough, so he started making inquiries with the innkeeper at the bar.

“Mr. Saide, may I ask you something?”

The bartender, who was serving another customer inside the bar, took out his eyeball to make a drink named ‘Sayed’s Eye,’ then turned around and walked toward Yi Chen, meanwhile stuffing a backup eyeball into the hollow of his eye socket. After fermenting for five minutes, this eyeball could be used to make the next drink.

“What can I do for you, respected Mr. William?”

“Do you know of a female Knight who has been punished to watch over the elevator?”

“You must be talking about Miss Vivian Westwood. As for me, a humble innkeeper, I am admittedly not very clear on her information.”

Although the innkeeper was quite fond of William, he decisively avoided discussing matters related to the Knight Order.

At that moment, a guest who had just ordered a cocktail suddenly turned his head, revealing a gruesomely decayed face, and spoke through the white maggots in his mouth.

“It’s nearly impossible to inquire such ‘High Rank information’ in our ordinary region. If this information is very important to you, you might try seeking ‘Mr. Bone.'”

“As long as you can offer a suitable price, Mr. Bone can dig up anything for you, even the Knight Order’s internal secrets.

But please do be careful–many dead who have sought out Mr. Bone now stay behind closed doors, and it is unknown what has happened to them.”

“Mr. Bone, where can I find him?”

“On the second layer, the darkest edges and corners of the third layer–you might find him there. In any case, once you spot someone particularly inconspicuous, you’ve likely found the right person.”

“Thank you.”

Without asking anything more, Yi Chen left.

Utilizing the global vision granted by the little grape, he began to search through the so-called Dark Corners and indeed found a dead man sitting cross-legged, shrouded in a cloak, in a corner piled with massive tombstones.

The only parts exposed were his skeletal hands, completely still, not even a hint of the Death Plague’s movement around him.

Through the ashen Vision, he could even see that the Death Plague released by this person formed the shape of two gigantic ears in the air, capturing every tiny vibration of sound immediately.

“Hello, my name is William Behrens. Are you Mr. Bone? I’d like to inquire about some matters.”

When Yi Chen approached the figure in front of him and introduced himself, the person slowly raised his head and revealed a face that made one feel uneasy.

It was an old face covered in wrinkles from where numerous ears of various shapes and colors hung, pierced by tiny metal hooks. These ears, each at different stages of decomposition, sizes, and even shapes, came from different deceased individuals.

Not only that,

but among his garments were also kept some ‘Abnormal Ears,’ belongings of a few special clients.

The eyes he used to look at Yi Chen were also shaped like cochleas, and at first glance, they were fixated on Yi Chen’s ears, with a tongue shaped like an ear licking his lips involuntarily.

“Human ears… they’re quite rare. What do you want to inquire about?”

“I want to find out about Vivian Westwood’s work schedule, her daily whereabouts, and where she typically goes after work.”

“A Death Word Knight? Such information is very costly.” White bony hands gestured the number ‘3’, “Thirty thousand, and I will have personal intel on Miss Vivian within a day.”

“That expensive?”

“What else? After all, she’s known as a dangerous figure among the Death Plague Knights currently. I have to utilize many connections to obtain her information.

But well~ If you don’t have enough money, you can pay with your ears. Cut off one of your ears for me, and I’ll waive all the costs.”

Ears, at his current stage, Yi Chen could regrow as many as he lost. However, given the other’s bizarre expression, the so-called ‘cutting of ears’ certainly wasn’t that simple.

“How will you cut?”

“I’ll personally cut off your ear…”

“You’ll erase the ‘concept of the ear,’ so it won’t grow back, right?”

“Hee hee~ Of course, what I need is the concept of your ear, otherwise just an external piece of flesh wouldn’t be worth thirty thousand. Don’t worry, I won’t damage your auditory system, it’ll just be missing an ear.”

“Sorry, I can’t accept such a proposal.”

Physical integrity, that’s Yi Chen’s bottom line as a person.

Just as Yi Chen turned to leave, a whisper came through: “How about this~ Let me touch your ear, and I’ll give you half off?”

“That’s fine, but you may do nothing beyond touching my ear.”

“Don’t worry, if I didn’t honor my word, I would have been kicked out of this place long ago.”

As Yi Chen sat down cross-legged in front of the person, two white bony palms began to touch with the delicacy of appreciating a treasure, from the earlobe to the helix, from the concha to the tragus, from the outer ear to the inner ear.

This touching lasted for a full three hours, only ending when the figure’s body started to convulse and relax.

“Ah~ How intoxicating! Ears that are perfect, straddling life and death, I do want them~ Pity the First Dead Man seems very interested in you. If I render you incomplete, the boss might hold me accountable.

Meet me here at this time tomorrow, and I will give you what you want.”

When Yi Chen stood up, his entire right ear was swollen and pale from being rubbed.

{Who is this person really… feels completely different from an Ordinary deceased.}

Perhaps it was due to being touched for so long that even in his dreams at night, he dreamt of his ear being caressed.

When Yi Chen woke up the next day, he found Thirteen kneeling by the bedside, massaging his ear.

Realizing that the teacher’s ear was uncomfortable, Thirteen had used candlelight to illuminate and dispel the remaining Death Plague aura, providing a whole night of massage.

The following day, arriving at the predetermined location,

Yi Chen received detailed information after paying six thousand ancient coins,

where there was not only Vivian’s work schedule, a probability-time map of her routine activity areas, but also some of her personal information and the Knight Order’s location data.

“Remember, finish reading the information as soon as possible and destroy it. If the intel leaks and leads back to me… I will stop at nothing to take both your ears and all your hearing.”