The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#488 - Lost

"Are you sure you want to choose this vial?" Little Marquis asked.

Lu Jing glanced at the other items and said with a wry smile, "It seems I have no other choice."

"Then let's do that." Little Marquis didn't give Lu Jing any more time to hesitate, nodding and closing the box. However, after she stood up and saw that Lu Jing hadn't left, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Uh, I wanted to ask when Han Shan Ke will be buried?"

Lu Jing still felt unwilling. Even if the pill he got was really the poison pill Han Shan Ke made for him, without the pill formula, he would still be doomed to become a Second Palace cultivator, whether it was sooner or later.

On the other hand, Han Shan Ke's death was too coincidental, just like a contractor choosing to hang himself the night before the client's deadline.

Although Lu Jing didn't believe that Han Shan Ke would commit suicide because he couldn't deliver the poison pill, after experiencing the case of Jiang Lei's fake death turning into a real death, Lu Jing couldn't help but be cautious.

"We paper figures don't have so many rules. Besides, Han Shan Ke doesn't have any relatives or friends in Mirror Lake Valley, so there's no such thing as a preliminary mourning, a formal mourning, a wake, or a lying-in-state. Since everyone has already said goodbye to him, to avoid further decomposition of the body, I plan to bury him later," Little Marquis said.

"Then I'll stay and help, and I can also take care of A'Bao, so it doesn't starve itself again."

"Okay."

Little Marquis was worried about not finding anyone to dig a pit and bury the body, so she was naturally overjoyed when Lu Jing volunteered.

However, before helping Han Shan Ke move to his new home, Lu Jing first went to Dongmen Weilan's residence, took a pill from the bottle, and asked her to help test it.

He also cultivated his Sword Control Technique in her thatched cottage for a while, exhausting most of his mystic power. He didn't return to the small valley where Han Shan Ke was until late afternoon.

Then, Lu Jing started working. He circulated his Little Vajra Strength to his arms, grabbed the shovel, and instantly transformed into a human-shaped earthmover. In less than an incense stick's time, he had dug a large pit in the ground.

Not to mention burying Han Shan Ke and his coffin, even if three more Han Shan Kes were added to the pit to play mahjong, there would be enough space.

By the time Little Marquis had someone bring the coffin over, Lu Jing had even tidied up the four corners of the grave pit.

Seeing this, Little Marquis didn't say anything more and was about to close the coffin lid.

But then she heard Lu Jing in the pit say, "Can I take another look?"

Little Marquis was a little surprised. It was true that Lu Jing knew Han Shan Ke, but they weren't some infatuated lovers. Was it necessary to be so sentimental, looking once and then wanting to look a second time?

However, considering how quickly Lu Jing had dug the pit, Little Marquis finally agreed to Lu Jing's request.

She even took the others away temporarily, giving Lu Jing and Han Shan Ke plenty of time to say goodbye, but the others' gazes towards Lu Jing were somewhat strange as they left.

However, Lu Jing couldn't care less. After everyone had left, he immediately went to Han Shan Ke's coffin.

Although he had seen it once before, he hadn't been so close, and Lu Jing had been completely shocked by the news of Han Shan Ke's death at the time. He hadn't had time to pay attention to other things, only taking a quick glance. He hadn't noticed many details. This time, he could finally examine Han Shan Ke's body properly.

Lu Jing hoped to find some clues about his fake death from Han Shan Ke's body.

However, as soon as he approached the coffin, Lu Jing smelled the unique stench of a dead body. In addition, Han Shan Ke's face, arms, and legs were covered with varying numbers of livor mortis spots, and his abdomen was swollen.

Lu Jing had read some detective novels and knew that this was because bacteria were multiplying in large numbers, producing putrid gases.

In other words, Han Shan Ke was indeed dead.

Not giving up, Lu Jing even felt around Han Shan Ke's face, but he didn't find any human skin mask there, thus ruling out the possibility of Han Shan Ke being impersonated.

In fact, Lu Jing knew in his heart that this situation wouldn't happen. Unlike Jiang Lei, even if Han Shan Ke had the means to deceive Little Marquis and the others, he couldn't possibly deceive A'Bao, who lived with him day and night.

Ye Gongmei had said that animals had a more acute intuition than humans.

A'Bao's heartbroken appearance before couldn't have been faked.

Lu Jing finally had to accept the fact that Han Shan Ke was dead.

Especially after Little Marquis and the others returned, closed the coffin lid, and then hammered three-inch-long iron nails into the coffin boards, even if Han Shan Ke turned into a zombie inside, he probably wouldn't be able to get out.

Lu Jing and the other three carried the coffin into the pit together, and then filled in the excavated soil, piling it up into a small mound.

Little Marquis didn't know where she had found a stone tablet, but there wasn't a single word on it.

She explained to Lu Jing, "Since you've entered Mirror Lake Valley, it means you've given up all your past, including your own name. Now, all the names we use in the valley are just code names. It's not necessary to carve anything, anyway, there won't be any descendants coming here to pay their respects."

Old Blind also said, "When I die, you can just burn me to ashes. Don't bother digging a pit for me."

Seeing that Han Shan Ke had been buried, everyone gradually dispersed and went about their own business.

For the paper figures in Mirror Lake Valley, such things were not unfamiliar.

Moreover, the person who died this time was Han Shan Ke, who was not very familiar with most people. Everyone had come to send him off on his final journey, which could already be considered the ultimate in benevolence and righteousness.

Only A'Bao was still lingering reluctantly by Han Shan Ke's grave.

Little Marquis asked Lu Jing, who was still standing in place, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"Uh, I'll stay with A'Bao for a while longer."

"Alright, then I'll take my leave first. You know where I live. If you need anything, just come find me there," Little Marquis said and then walked away on her own.

After a while, all the paper figures had left, and the small valley had returned to peace.

Han Shan Ke's lonely grave was left with only Lu Jing and A'Bao, each with their own thoughts.

Since he had nothing else to do, Lu Jing saw that Han Shan Ke's grave was a bit desolate, so he used the remaining mystic power to cast a few spells, creating some lush greenery and sprouting some wildflowers and weeds, slightly decorating his new home for him.

After that… Lu Jing fell into a daze again. Having lost the poison pill that Han Shan Ke had promised him, he would break through and become a Second Palace cultivator in at most ten days.

At that time, the activity time that Lu Jing had worked so hard to obtain would probably be further compressed. Even though Lu Jing had already made the worst-case scenario, he couldn't help but feel a burst of irritability in his heart when all of this happened.