This was a case of one trouble after another. Hou Mingzhu's recovery was a great relief, but Ye Tiancheng couldn't find a few days of peace. After leaving Hope City, he hurried to find his disciple, Lin Xue.
After leaving Hope City, the two first went to Plum Blossom Town and received terrible news: the old town mayor had died.
Ye Tiancheng rushed to see what had happened. He heard that the old town mayor had been found dead that morning, his body in his home. The only people left in Plum Blossom Town were very elderly, and no one could handle his corpse. So, tragically, the body was still in the house.
"Brother Ye, let's try to hire someone to come over. We're not funeral professionals. I already went above and beyond by sending that annoying old lady's body back to her hometown. Now we have to handle another corpse. It's really unlucky, and we should avoid it if we can."
"No need for so much trouble. It's not about bad luck. When people die, that's just how it is, a pile of dead meat. Helping to bury them is also putting them to rest."
Ye Tiancheng's heart was moved by compassion. He felt it was truly heartbreaking that an old man had died all alone, without any family, and that his body would be left to rot without anyone to collect it.
Who could guarantee that their life would always be smooth sailing, with friends and family by their side? Perhaps one day they too would become lonely and destitute, their death unnoticed, their body left to stink without anyone to tend to it.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's compassion for all living beings, Fatty didn't say much more. He knew what kind of person his brother was.
"Alright, the body has probably started to decay. I'll make a simple mask. I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed by the smell."
Fatty was sensitive to smells and had been overcome by them before. He was truly afraid and tried to avoid any unpleasant odors from then on, as it was a tragic torment for his nose.
"Okay, I'll go in first. If I can handle it alone, then you don't need to."
"It's alright. Whatever we do, we do it together, brother. I can't let you face those dreadful corpses alone."
Fatty couldn't bear to let Ye Tiancheng do it alone. Despite Ye Tiancheng's attempts to stop him, he still entered the house with him.
Upon entering, they quickly found the room in disarray. The man's body lay on the ground in a spread-eagle position. The person who found him had covered it with a white cloth; otherwise, the appearance and smell would have been much worse. It was fortunate that the person who discovered the body had made some basic arrangements, otherwise, it would have been truly dire.
"Let me take a look. If there are no problems and it was a natural death, then we'll help handle it. No need to be too nervous."
Ye Tiancheng managed to overcome his psychological barrier and took a look. He discovered that the old man's death pose was one of extreme terror. His eyes were wide open, his eyeballs seeming to bulge out, and his mouth was stretched to its human limit, as if in shock. This was not how a natural death would look; it was clearly as if he had been scared to death.
"Brother Ye, do you feel something is wrong?"
Fatty understood Ye Tiancheng too well. If there were no issues, he wouldn't have lingered for so long. Since he was observing, it meant there was definitely something unusual.
"Yes, I suspect the death in Plum Blossom Town was not a natural one. He must have encountered something terrible, which led to his death."
"Alright, then I'll take a look too."
With Fatty's agreement, Ye Tiancheng lifted the white cloth. However, even so, Fatty was still quite shaken.
"Oh my god, how could such a kind person die so tragically? It seems heaven is truly unfair to treat an elderly person like this."
Fatty, who had been indifferent moments before, couldn't help himself now. After all, they were all human. Sometimes, seeing the tragic state of others, they would naturally think if they too would end up like that one day.
"It should be the work of dark energy. It seems Ouyang Xinuo has already started targeting the surrounding areas. It just so happened that the town mayor of Plum Blossom Town was unlucky, and perhaps because of his old age, his resistance was weaker, making him susceptible to the erosion of dark energy."
Fatty spoke to Ye Tiancheng while handling the corpse, trying to distract himself. If he didn't, he might get too focused on the corpses, which was truly terrifying.
"How does this dark energy kill people? One can imagine that the town mayor of Plum Blossom Town must have gone through something incredibly terrifying before his death, otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a tragic state."
"The dark energy likely generated some kind of illusion. This illusion was probably the thing Plum Blossom Town mayor hated the most. That deep-seated fear would have caused him to die in this state. It's very cruel."
So that was the situation. Fatty couldn't help but sigh with regret. A good person was gone just like that. Sometimes, life was truly unpredictable.
"This Ouyang Xinuo is so aggressive. Not only does he do evil, but now he's attacking ordinary people. If I had known, I would have fought him last night."
"Don't be impulsive. Ouyang Xinuo has been absorbing the resentment of heaven and earth. If Lin Xue's spiritual energy couldn't suppress it, we might have all perished at his hands. Ouyang Xinuo has become powerful beyond our imagination, so we must be extremely careful. Never act on impulse, or you'll end up harming yourself."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Fatty fell silent. Fatty wouldn't say something like that without reason. Since he said it, there must be a reason.
The two of them worked hard for most of the day and finally managed to bury the town mayor of Plum Blossom Town. After burying him, they felt a sense of desolation.
"From now on, such an old man has disappeared from the world. Perhaps his relatives don't know the joy they felt when raising their child. Now, it has all come to nothing."
Fatty was a bit pessimistic. Ye Tiancheng naturally thought of his daughter. "It seems I need to treat our Qingcheng better. Otherwise, if she doesn't collect my body, I'll probably be just as desolate."
"Your daughter won't, Brother Ye. They say daughters are their father's close little cotton-padded jackets. Your little darling will definitely be filial to you in the future."
Speaking of which, Ye Tiancheng quickly sent a message to his secretary to transfer money to Hou Mingzhu. Although he had been sending money all along for child support, this time Ye Tiancheng decided to send more.
The 1 million was the company's profit from the past few months. He had originally planned to spend it on Fatty, but now he had to temporarily put all of Fatty's plans on hold and preferred to spend it on his daughter.
With the matter in Plum Blossom Town settled, Ye Tiancheng and Fatty prepared to search for Lin Xue next. They had only confirmed a general direction, so this search was bound to be somewhat aimless.
"If we just keep walking in this direction, we'll soon reach a desert. We tried our best to avoid it when we went to Hope City. Now, if we want to go in that direction, I see a cliff over there and a bottomless pool over there. We can only go through this desert."
Fatty had conducted a general study of the terrain and concluded that it was best to go through the desert. Their supplies were sufficient.
"Can the car make it?"
"If we don't encounter extremely large sandstorms, it should be fine. No need to worry too much."
It seemed Fatty couldn't guarantee it completely, but no one could be sure what dangers they would encounter next. However, they couldn't not search for Lin Xue. The suddenly missing Lin Xue must have some secrets.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to grit his teeth and choose to cross the desert. "Then let's hurry and go during the day. Don't waste time. It's not good to be in the desert at night. Let's secure enough water. As long as we don't die of thirst, I believe there won't be too much danger."
Ye Tiancheng felt that the current calm seemed to indicate no danger, so he wasn't in a hurry. He would take it one step at a time.
"Why has the weather suddenly become so hot? If this continues, we'll all be dried out."
The car had only driven for about half an hour when Ye Tiancheng quickly noticed something: the weather in the desert was becoming increasingly hot, completely unsuitable for human survival. He even felt as if the moisture in his skin was being baked dry, giving him a suffocating feeling.
"Brother Ye, don't worry. I'm here. I can feel the increase in heat. I've researched desert weather before, and I know this hot weather will only last for a short while and won't persist for too long."
Fatty had done his homework before coming to Hope City. At that time, his idea about the desert was to try to prevent the desert from endangering their lives.
Fatty's first consideration was water, so he always kept a lot of water in the car. Even if they hadn't passed through the desert, he never dared to discard it, thinking these water supplies were very precious.
Next was the issue of temperature. Due to the special environment of the desert, water evaporated quickly. To protect themselves, they had to control the temperature well. If the temperature was too high, it would cook people. Regardless, they wouldn't be able to survive.
"Really? But why do I feel the temperature is getting higher and higher? Or is this particular desert special? The sun is really strong. I hated the dark when I was traveling before, but now I wish for night to come quickly. At least it would be cooler, and I could catch my breath."
Ye Tiancheng gradually felt very unwell, but even so, he kept controlling himself, not wanting his emotions to turn sour.
"It's alright, Brother Ye. Based on my experience, the sun will set in at most 20 minutes. The temperature will definitely drop then, and the weather will be cooler. We can set up a tent and sleep comfortably inside."
"Okay, no problem. It's settled then. What about food?"
"Food? That's easy. I brought a lot of ingredients, whether it's instant or slightly more complex, I can make it. Just tell me what you want to eat."
Fatty had enough experience in wilderness survival. This small situation was nothing to him. It was easy to solve and would definitely satisfy Ye Tiancheng.
"I hope the sun sets quickly, otherwise, the water consumption is too high. I've been drinking water constantly, much more than I anticipated."