9~The Flower of Corpse Rot
There were still some leftovers in the boiler, presumably the Silver-haired Girl had cooked dinner for herself.
Not a feast, just two bowls of grain with vegetable salad, but it suited their tastes perfectly.
Dillin didn’t know if his former self had just really loved vegetable salad, but this taste fit him just right.
The Silver-haired Girl watched calmly as they ate at the rough little wooden table, leaning on one arm like an intricately crafted doll, her gaze seemingly always somewhat distant, making her appear as if she lacked life altogether.
“Thank you, this is our travel fee.” After dinner, Dillin also knew it wasn’t right to eat and stay for free, so he placed some coins on the table.
“No need.” The Silver-haired Girl shook her head. “I don’t need those.”
“That’s only proper; you should take it.”
Hearing that, the Silver-haired Girl sat silently, not saying anything more.
“Although you say you have no name, we at least need a way to refer to you, right?”
The Silver-haired Girl tilted her head, saying nothing.
“Perhaps, we can call you Doll Lady?”
The Silver-haired Girl stayed silent, whereas Yimi seated across the small wooden table merely glanced at Dillin. The expressionless face showed some disdain. “Who would willingly be called a doll??”
“Piece.”
“Hmm?”
“Call me Piece. That’s enough.” The Silver-haired Girl spoke word by word in an emotionless tone.
“Miss Piece, is it? Alright, understood. I’m Dillin, she’s Yimi.” Such a strange title, much like the silver-haired girl herself, an odd presence.
At least Dillin could see that this girl cared nothing about ‘names,’ taking whatever was convenient.
After dinner, Dillin took the initiative to wash the dishes, taking along the cutlery piled in front of the stove.
“There’s a stream if you go left and walk straight out.” Piece said.
“But remember, don’t wash downstream, go upstream.” Piece warned immediately after.
Why can’t we go downstream?
Dillin had this question in his mind, but he didn’t inquire further. As a foreigner unfamiliar with the area, he might as well obediently follow the local’s arrangements.
Leaving Yimi in the little wooden house, Dillin followed Piece’s advice, going out of the wooden hut and walking left to hear the faint sound of flowing water. Beneath the moonlight, a silver torrent split the black soil in two.
By the stream, Dillin bent down to clean the carried bowls and cutlery. It wasn’t his imagination; he felt a strange, foul stench permeated the air.
It smelled like something rotten.
He remembered that Yimi had already resisted this smell earlier, but because it was far away, he hadn’t smelled it.
By the stream, it seemed he was very close to the source of the smell.
Why couldn’t you go downstream?
Curiosity drove Dillin to follow the stream downward.
Just as he expected, the source of the foul smell was downstream. The deeper he went, the stronger the stench became, thick and unbearable.
What kind of smell is this? It felt like it was almost solidifying.
Dillin covered his mouth and nose, naturally repelled by this smell.
When he reached downstream, the stench became unbearable. The water splashed against the shore, nurturing purple vines among black orchids.
It seemed to be the root of the foul smell. These roots were deeply planted in the ground, and he didn’t know what they were feeding on.
Dillin knit his brow. He had never seen such a bizarre flower in his life, exuding an ominous aura from root to leaf.
The roots and vines of this flower were very lush, occupying the entire stream, almost blocking the water, possibly even polluting the water source downstream.
Gazing at this flower, Dillin had an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen a similar flower somewhere before.
Staring at this purplish-black flower vine, Dillin’s temples started to throb a little, unsure if it was because of the unbearable stench or something else.
Unable to endure it, he returned to the wooden cabin along the way.
“You’ve seen that flower.”
When Dillin returned to the little wooden house and put the utensils back on the stove, the silver-haired girl suddenly said unexpectedly. It wasn’t a question but a positive statement.
“Hmm?” Dillin hesitated. “What flower?”
“The corpse rot flower downstream.” Answered the Silver-haired Girl, looking at the Yimi sitting on the chair gazing out the window.
“Corpse Rot Flower??”
“Understand its name, it’s a flower that sustains itself by using the corpse as nutrients.” Piece explained impassively. “I haven’t been to see it for a long time, it should have grown considerably bigger over these few decades.”
“Decades?? Dillin’s eyes changed at the sight of Piece.
“Um.”
“Miss Piece, are you not human??”
“I’ve never said I was human.” The silver-haired girl tilted her head.
Yimi’s gaze also turned to the silver-haired girl, looking at Piece thoughtfully.
“A flower that feeds on corpses, isn’t it dangerous to let it grow unchecked?”
“Do you want to cut its roots?”
“Why not?”
“You’re an interesting person.” Piece’s eyes, lacking vitality, looked at Dillin.
“Interesting?”
“Corpse rot flower, while not really consuming corpses for nourishment, indeed has conditions that strongly tie to them.”
“Did you know, the conditions for the corpse rot flower require heaps of corpses, at least as high as a small mountain, and that’s not even its sole condition.”
“The corpse rot flower is the tumor of Caleburn; most people see it as a disaster, never considering who provides the conditions for this calamity to grow.”
“So, just let it grow indefinitely?” Piece’s indifferent stance outside of the situation makes Dillin unable to understand.
“Obstructing its growth is utterly meaningless. It is impervious to sword and sorcery, absorbing divine authority and magic; there’s no record of anyone making it wither thus far. There is a way to inhibit its continued growth, but it’s something humans cannot achieve, or rather, no race can accomplish.”
“What’s the method?”
“Prevent the breeding of negative emotions.” Piece replied. “Without excessive negative emotions, there won’t be any resentment, thus providing no environment for the corpse rot flower to grow.”
“If nothing changes, it will only grow larger with time.”
“Sounds like there’s a solution, but in reality, it’s a dead end. I’ve never seen a corpse rot flower stop growing after it’s birth; often the birth of this flower means the issue has escalated beyond reconciliation.”
“This flower isn’t even afraid of divine authority?? Dillin finds it hard to believe.
“Existence is reasonable; the birth of this flower is a distortion of the world, and also an inevitability of the world’s principle. It is a normal operation of the world principle.”
“It’s normally formed ‘World Revision’, like human bodies, where spinal displacement causes other parts to compensate to maintain balance or high fevers k*ll bacteria by invading viruses. The world has no consciousness; it only mechanically solves problems without caring whether it solves human issues.”
“The notion of life is the raw material of the world’s operation; do not underestimate the resentment of the common crowd.”
“Strength stems from vision, and resentment is one kind of vision.” Piece said something that Dillin didn’t fully understand, but it made him feel familiar.
“So, there’s nothing that can be done with that flower?”
“No one can deal with it, it isn’t necessary. Besides, even if someone does, it wouldn’t be effective. The corpse rot flower is merely the manifestation of resentment, not the source, treating the symptoms without addressing the cause.”
Piece stood up and walked slowly to the simple alchemy bench. “Do you know what the raw material for these medications is?”
Mentioning this, Dillin noticed that the alchemy medicines stored on the wooden cabinet had peculiar colors, some being overly deep, as if due to excessive ingredients, deep to the point of slightly gray and black.
“I don’t understand alchemy.”
“Its raw material is the juice from the corpse rot flower.”
“Can that thing’s juice be used in medicine?”
“Not only can it be used in medicine, it is also a highly precious medicinal material.”
“Is it settled for you to gather that flower’s juice here?” If such, the apparent intention of this girl is to keep the corpse rot flower from withering, so what she said couldn’t be fully trusted.
“The priorities are mixed. It’s incidental.” Piece turned and looked at Dillin. “The reason I am here is because I can only be here.”
“Diilin, do you believe in so-called missions?”
“Mission?”
“Everyone who descends into this world comes bearing a mission.”
“It’s just that most people may never know what their mission is; mine differs because I know exactly what that mission is.”
“Miss Piece, can you say something I could understand?”
Piece remained silent, staring at Dillin for a long time without speaking.
It’s getting late, it’s time to sleep.
Elves don’t require much sleep, but sleeping does help them feel more energetic.
There is water in the water barrels outside; after washing up simply, Dillin entered the door to see Yimi taking off her dress at the wooden table, revealing soft, pink-white skin.
The hair tie loosened, golden tresses cascaded down, covering her tender back, revealing a petite waist.
Yimi’s petite body meant her figure was innocent and pure, making it even better.
Hearing the door open, Yimi instinctively looked toward where Dillin was standing, who quickly closed the door.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were changing?”
“? I’m washing up; why should I inform you specifically?” Yimi thought Dillin was too sensitive. There are no men in this house, why should changing be so random?
You’re making a big deal out of nothing.
Dillin entered the room next. It was Yimi’s turn to wash outside. The crisp sounds of water splashing were clearly audible in Dillin’s ears.
“Miss Piece, do you have any extra bedding?” This house only has one room and one living room; naturally, the room is for Piece’s rest.
Letting Yimi sleep with Piece, Dillin would just set up a bed on the floor.
“No.” Piece shook her head.
Dillin silently looked at the somewhat rough wooden floor.
Fine, staying on the floor for one night is alright; at least there’s no worry about getting wet from the rain.
“Diilin, are you done washing? Come inside to sleep.” Speaking of that, Piece started to undress in front of him, revealing skin as smooth as snow.
“Uh…” Dillin felt a bit awkward and looked away.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“Shouldn’t you be careful?”
“Careful about what?” Piece tilted her head.
“Ahem, there’s a man here watching.” Aren’t you two aware there’s a man here? You doing this seems very disrespectful.
“……” Piece was silent, staring at Dillin endlessly, saying nothing, which puzzled Dillin.
“Isn’t there a man here?” After a long pause, Piece said something that made Dillin feel offended.
Dillin was silent, unsure if the words carried any malice.
“……oh.” After being stared at for a long while by Dillin, Piece seemed to have just realized, still with the same expression, the same movements.
“Sorry, if I offended you, I apologize.”
“It’s late, go back to sleep.”
“But there’s only one bed in your room, isn’t there?”
“Doesn’t matter, the bed is big enough to fit three people.” Piece said nonchalantly.
“It’s not just about whether we’d fit or not, right??”
By then, Yimi had finished washing up and entered the room with wet hair wrapped in a towel, completely expressionless.
With clothes off and no bath towel available, using a towel to absorb the water stains, Dillin could perfectly imagine what she looked like, and a glimpse could definitely lead to a surprise.
The two of them seem to not consider him a man at all.
“Are you not coming inside to sleep?” Yimi came to Dillin’s side and glanced at him.
“……You two go ahead and sleep in; I’ll rest outside.”
Seemingly bold, but clearly, there was still some hesitation.
Yimi naturally wouldn’t have thought of Dillin’s concern about gender differences. In her view, her human form was just a disguise crafted by Tillysha’s illusion magic; she didn’t dare share a bed out of fear of being stabbed in her sleep.
“The living room doesn’t have windows; it will be quite cold with the wind blowing in at night.” Piece reminded him. She didn’t care where Dillin slept—on the floor, on the bed, or next to her—none made a difference to her.
“Okay, I understand.” Dillin took off his coat and used it as a cover and lied down on the ground without taking off his clothes.
“Also, in a few days, things will get lively here.”
“Get lively?” Dillin didn’t understand.
“Judging by the size of that flower, ‘It’ is about to arrive.” Piece said that and then returned inside.
‘It’ is about to arrive?
What a peculiar woman.
Dillin shook his head.
The Empire was bizarre enough, and here, at the outskirts of Furnace City, lived an extremely unusual girl.
She lacked the common knowledge of a girl and didn’t even have a name of her own.
But for some reason, up to now, Dillin didn’t feel any of her words were fake, as if there was a dependable voice from within him telling him so.
Perhaps, just like Yimi, he also felt an unexpected closeness to this girl?
Dillin couldn’t explain.
