Chapter Forty-Three: Foreign Language

As expected...

Tu Junfang’s answer was no surprise; the leverage he relied upon was Liao Zhong and the others—or more precisely, Liao Zhong’s position as the district manager.

Because he was certain of this, Tu Junfang behaved so brazenly in front of Ye Yan and Chen Duo; after all, he still held hostages.

“Where are they?”

Ye Yan didn’t want to waste words with Tu Junfang over this matter. It was pointless. His task now was to rescue Liao Zhong.

The rest would be handled by Huang Boren and the company. Dealing with Tu Junfang was not his headache.

It wasn’t Ye Yan’s responsibility.

“They’re all in the earth building behind you—well-fed and comfortable. Nothing much to worry about.”

Since the cards were already on the table, there was no need for further concealment. Tu Junfang generously disclosed their location.

As for those captured and already implanted with the Three Corpses, he didn’t care much, nor was he worried about them escaping.

Escape? With the Three Corpses inside them?

“Take me there.”

Ye Yan glanced at the earth building, his tone cold.

He needed to check on Liao Zhong’s condition but couldn’t let Tu Junfang out of his sight.

He wasn’t at ease leaving only Chen Duo to watch over him, especially since Tu Junfang was a Three Corpses demon.

“Alright…”

Under Ye Yan’s cold gaze, Tu Junfang obediently led the two toward the earth building.

As the main doors swung open, a wave of foul stench—urine and feces—mixed with noisy commotion washed over them.

Ye Yan squinted, sweeping his gaze across the dim interior, taking in the scene at a glance.

The first floor was a vast warehouse-like space, choked with dust. The original contents had long been cleared out, leaving only a group of ordinary people, grimy and dazed.

Their eyes were vacant, bodies wrapped in black Qi, expressions shifting unpredictably—sometimes grinning foolishly, sometimes wailing, sometimes recoiling from unseen horrors.

Clearly...

All these people were under Tu Junfang’s influence.

“This was all your doing?”

Ye Yan turned to Tu Junfang, his voice rough.

“Of course… Don’t you think they’re beautiful? Like a masterpiece painting.”

Tu Junfang’s eyes gleamed with pleasure as he surveyed these minds ravaged by inner demons, as though admiring works of art.

“Scum…”

Even running in “dark mode,” Ye Yan felt his chest fill with rage.

He strode over to Tu Junfang, grabbed his shoulder and yanked him hard. Immediately, a giant, veined fist loomed in Tu Junfang’s vision, and a stream of blood shot from his nose.

“Bang!”

The punch landed solidly. Tu Junfang clutched his nose, staggering to steady himself.

But despite the blow, Tu Junfang wasn’t angry. He straightened up, spat out bloody foam, and looked at Ye Yan with mocking amusement.

“Such temper?”

“Don’t you know the rules among the Awakened? You’re not supposed to harm ordinary people.”

Ye Yan’s face was cold as he questioned.

Tu Junfang replied immediately, “That’s why I’m with the All-Nature Society, not the company.”

Freedom might be one reason, but compared to the company and other orthodox forces, the All-Nature Society operated without so many rules and restrictions.

More wanton, less restrained.

Different paths cannot work together. Ye Yan suppressed his anger and said nothing more.

If persuasion worked, there’d be no need for official organizations, nor would so many flock to join the All-Nature Society.

In the end, it all came down to stance.

Ye Yan’s expression was gloomy, but Tu Junfang cheerfully patted his shoulder, saying with indifference,

“No need to worry. While I’ve drawn out the Three Corpses in these ordinary people, I won’t harm them. They’re not even worthy of being harmed.”

“These ordinary people are simply too weak. Too weak to condense Qi, so the Three Corpses can’t take on a corporeal form. For them, what they see as the Three Corpses is nothing but a dream that fulfills their private desires.”

“They might not even want to wake up.”

Tu Junfang said this with a playful look in his eyes.

Ye Yan didn’t doubt what Tu Junfang said. Those who’ve tasted delicacies rarely care for plain fare.

Aside from certain perverts, most wouldn’t have much interest in ordinary people.

Ye Yan brushed off Tu Junfang’s hand from his shoulder, coldly saying, “I’m not interested in your nonsense. Take me to Liao Zhong.”

Tu Junfang, a little disappointed, rubbed the hand that had touched Ye Yan, sighing,

“He’s upstairs.”

Passing through the main floor and up to the second, Ye Yan found a space even emptier than the first.

There were few people.

Just about a dozen, all wearing the company uniforms—clearly the missing employees from the South China branch.

Yet, as Ye Yan looked at them, a strange embarrassment flickered in his eyes.

Compared to missing persons,

He felt more like he’d entered a zoo, or was watching some massive circus show—his worldview shattered.

Some were pounding walls, others humping wooden crates, some rolled their eyes and howled, while others blushed and picked at their feet—a scene straight out of social death.

Even worse, Ye Yan spotted Liao Zhong slumped in a wooden chair… His antics were even more over-the-top, utterly letting himself go.

He was draped in a black mink coat, a gold chain forged from the “Upper Corpse” around his neck, nine green jade rings on his ten fingers, and in his arms, a shapely “Lower Corpse” somewhere between human and ghost, exuding nouveau riche vibes.

Liao Zhong’s gaze was dreamy, lost in the world of inner demons, his hand wandering over the Lower Corpse’s waist, laughing to himself.

Like a live maggot slumped in a chair.

Writhing restlessly.

Ye Yan, mortified, leaned in closer, hearing Liao Zhong mumble,

“Autumn… autumn wrestling is so numb… you can’t touch there, dame… dame yo, dame dame yo… sss… ah… ah, damn…”

“Yan Ling… not allowed.”

Who’d have thought, this burly man was fluent in several languages—clearly he’d been secretly studying.

“What’s wrong with Uncle Liao?”

Chen Duo, ever innocent, wide-eyed in curiosity at Liao Zhong’s actions, full of questions.

Ye Yan awkwardly turned away, uncertain how to answer.

After a moment, he looked at Chen Duo helplessly and replied, “It’s nothing. Your Uncle Liao is just… learning foreign languages right now…”