Chapter 7: Departure (Please Support)

Three days later, atop a beast ship outside Sulk City, stood a tall, slender man about 1.95 meters in height, clad in a shimmering silver-scaled robe. This kind of scaled robe was crafted from a special type of snakeskin, known for its excellent waterproof qualities, commonly worn by the southern marshland dwellers when traveling. The silver variety was quite common, valued not only for its water resistance but also for its remarkable warmth.

The man’s face was pale, almost skeletal, with white hair slicked back neatly. In his hand, he held a wooden staff about two meters long, polished smooth from a single tree core. At the top of the staff coiled a feathered serpent carved from black obsidian. Resting upon the serpent’s back was a crystal that, despite the pouring rain, emitted a soft glow like a streetlamp, marking the man’s position clearly.

This man was Liu Zhi, who had returned to his Sulk City clan’s territory three days earlier. That brief span was enough for him to transform his appearance and don the equipment provided by the Ide family. At this moment, his body resembled that of Sandru’s original form—not the Sandru Airantz from the game, nor the hidden visage Liu Zhi had long concealed.

He stood gazing at the beast ship before him, utterly unable to fathom that the major cities scattered across the southern marshlands moved relying on such creatures. Before him was a colossal six-legged lizard, over three times the size of a typical sperm whale. Upon its back were two wooden tiers of houses, built respectively on the head, back, and near the tail of the lizard.

The head housed the ship’s control room and some first-class cabins, considered the safest part of the vessel. The back contained the large passenger quarters and cargo hold; constrained by the lizard’s broad back, the spacious passenger area had to share space with freight. Near the tail lay the supply compartment, featuring several greenhouses cultivating plants—providing the ship’s food source, as the journey made hunting or foraging nearly impossible. Resupply only occurred at designated stops.

As a scion of Sulk City’s noble families, Liu Zhi had secured a first-class ticket, lodging in a small private chamber atop the lizard’s head. The room appeared no larger than a phone booth from the outside, but inside, it stretched to about twenty square meters, furnished with everything one might need except a balcony. A bed large enough for two, a bathroom with a bathtub, and a desk by the window adorned with a few simple books.

At the other end of the bed was a sofa, beside which stood a modest liquor cabinet stocked with water and several bottles of unknown brews.

Upon entering, Liu Zhi removed his outer robe, revealing the black clerical robe of a mortician beneath. This robe resembled those worn by Western judges but featured two hanging sashes on the shoulders, signifying their semi-official status.

Settling onto the sofa, Liu Zhi glanced up to see several bold lines of text inscribed on the opposite wall:

“No summoning of undead servants allowed!”
“No entry into the Underworld realm!”
“No access to the game!”
“And no research of poison or curse magic inside the room!”

Reading these words, Liu Zhi couldn’t help but smile wryly. Clearly, the beast ship’s crew had suffered much trouble with players before.

Fortunately, he had no time to engage in such matters now. Three days were far too brief to master the Ide family’s teachings fully, especially since he had switched mid-course from the Death Knight path to become a mortician. For over twenty years since Sandru’s birth, he had never studied mortician knowledge. The cram-style lessons of the past three days barely scratched the surface.

Still, Liu Zhi held several volumes marked as essential reading. Sitting back on the sofa, he retrieved these books from his luggage.

During those three days, he had focused entirely on mastering the Spirit Gathering art, only superficially familiarizing himself with the rest. He understood their purpose but could not yet convert them into skills as he had done with Spirit Gathering.

The journey from Sulk City to Adal-Malik would take a full month and a half on foot, providing Liu Zhi the opportunity to thoroughly study these books and transform their contents into his own skills and knowledge.

All these books were clan secrets, forbidden to be leaked. To ensure their safety, the Ide family had dispatched a level-three Death Knight to accompany Liu Zhi. This knight’s sole duty was to follow behind, and upon arrival at Adal-Malik, immediately retrieve the books and return to Sulk City aboard the same beast ship.

Thus, Liu Zhi had only this limited month-and-a-half window to study.

Time was indeed pressing.

Planting his death staff into the floor to serve as a lamp, Liu Zhi reopened the book he had been reading halfway through last time. Among the five volumes, this was the only one suitable for leisure reading: The Path of the Mortician.

Through a series of short stories, it detailed the mortician’s code, shared experience, and guidance on becoming a qualified mortician.

At the Whitewind Academy, Liu Zhi had thought morticians were merely spirit guides like the grim reaper, ferrying souls to the afterlife. To his surprise, the reality was quite different.

Low-level morticians did not have the right to directly lead dead souls onto the Yellow Springs Road; doing so risked attracting the attention of the Luminous Underworld, potentially providing them with a breakthrough.

Instead, the standard procedure was to collect all souls that died within their jurisdiction and bring them to their city. About every six months, their superiors would transfer these souls to higher-level ghost cities. This layered relay ultimately delivered the dead to the Yellow Springs Road.

Absorbing this, Liu Zhi could already imagine the kind of life he would lead for the foreseeable future.

Yet, this suited him well. After three days of intense study, he realized his understanding of necromancers was still flawed. There was much he had yet to grasp. These coming years would be a time to quietly consolidate his foundation.

Living quietly in one place aligned perfectly with his future plans.