I buried the gods in the restricted area.

There are specific rules and guidelines for carving tombstones.

From materials and fonts to the content of the inscription, every step has its rules, which can be summarized in one sentence: be devoted to the deceased and show compassion to the living.

Stones remember longer than people, but ultimately, only the person lying down knows best how many words should be inscribed on a tombstone to record a person's life.

Therefore, Jiang Mian's habit was to carve a tombstone for a person before they died.

Those who know him well often send their relatives and friends over before their death, and many even come in person to order tombstones for themselves.

For example, the order for eighty-eight tombstones was placed by the customer himself who came to him to have them carved.

Therefore, seeing the two pale-faced "patients" suffering from terminal illnesses in front of him, Jiang Mian thought that business had come to him. He didn't care about their trespassing and immediately spoke up to express his professionalism.

It is said that a dying man's words are good, and what he needs to do is to record those most sincere words before his death on his tombstone.

This is the meaning of "being good at dealing with dying people".

But to everyone present, these words had a completely different meaning.

"Skilled at dealing with the dead... What... what does that mean?"

Jiang Rou swallowed hard, glanced at the two stiff corpses beside her, and asked cautiously.

"After all, this is how I make a living," Jiang Mian replied with a gentle smile.

Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, he slowly suppressed his smile, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes. "Could it be... that you've come for something else?"

Feeding on the dead? This monster probably likes to eat corpses, right?

Apart from Zhou Kai, who remained calm, Jiang Rou and the others were all terrified, feeling that Jiang Mian's gaze was particularly chilling under the dim light.

Seeing that the two corpses' eyes were still fixed on her, Jiang Rou inwardly groaned, but she could only grit her teeth and continue, "No...no, we just know you're good at...good at making a living off the dead, so we came to find you..."

What do you mean by making a living off the dead? Although I do do business with the dead, aren't these two still alive?

It seems this girl has a low emotional intelligence...

"To be precise, I mainly make a living by eating people," he corrected earnestly.

hiss--

They eat living people too?

Everyone was shocked and their panicked appearance puzzled Jiang Mian.

He was a little puzzled. Judging from their accents, these people didn't seem to be locals. They were probably from out of town. But when did he become so famous?

"Have you heard my story?" he asked curiously.

If only I had heard it… Jiang Rou forced a smile and complimented, “Your face is full of stories.”

Do I look that weathered?

Jiang Mian's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't press the matter. After all, regardless of where these people had heard about him, business was a good thing. So, he leisurely took two items out of his pocket—

An old notebook with worn edges and yellowed pages, and a short, comically short wooden pencil with a finely sharpened tip.

He picked up a pen and paper, and his expression became more serious.

"No need for all that formalities, my name is Jiang Mian, just call me by my name... What are your names?"

The paper and pen look so vintage. Could that be some kind of forbidden sequence? Like the legendary Book of Life and Death, where writing a name down or crossing it out means certain death...

Looking at the notebook, which clearly showed signs of age, Jiang Rou felt a chill run down her spine, but ultimately answered honestly, "My name is Jiang Rou..."

"I didn't ask you."

Jiang Mian shook her head slightly, her gaze falling on the two corpses. "I'm asking about these two patients."

The moment their gazes met, the eyes of the two corpses immediately cleared, their faces bearing stiff and eerie smiles, standing motionless like statues.

Zhou Kai observed them silently for a long time, realizing that they might not be able to speak, or perhaps they didn't know how to answer, so he carefully began, "They..."

"I'm asking them."

Jiang Mian interrupted him rudely, turning to look at him with a slight frown. "Did I ask you to interrupt?"

Honestly, he doesn't know any manners at all. I'm currently inquiring about the affairs of two dying people, and this guy is interrupting me. Doesn't he fear bad luck?

Under the dim light, his expression suddenly turned sinister, startling Jiang Rou into taking two steps back.

At the same time, seemingly sensing Jiang Mian's displeasure, the smiles on the faces of the two corpses gradually cooled, and they mechanically and stiffly twisted their necks, their eerie gazes falling on Zhou Kai.

The air suddenly became still, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Zhou Kai narrowed his eyes and subconsciously reached for the dagger at his waist—he wasn't angry, nor did he intend to make a move; he simply had a habit of stroking the dagger while thinking.

Before his fingertips could even touch the hilt of the knife, a cold, iron-like hand gripped his wrist tightly.

Two corpses had somehow gotten close to him. One "person" had his arm around his shoulder, his cold index finger resting on his neck, while the other "person" gripped his wrist tightly, not giving him a chance to draw his dagger.

Zhou Kai's pupils contracted slightly.

The two corpses possessed terrifying strength; even with his D-level mutant physique, he struggled to break free.

What's even more terrifying is that... he didn't even realize when they got close.

Something's not right.

The corpse that has died nine times doesn't make sense to be so strong. Could it be related to this monster who calls himself Jiang Mian?

Zhou Kai's heart sank. He gave Jiang Mian a deep look but did not make any rash moves.

At the same time, the others all saw Zhou Kai being controlled by the two corpses, and a chill ran down their spines. They all put their hands on the gun handles, but dared not actually pull them out.

In the dead silence, a weak voice rang out:

"Um... actually, they are deaf and mute."

"A deaf-mute?" Jiang Mian was taken aback.

"Yes, deaf and mute."

The speaker was Jiang Rou. She knew very well that if even Zhou Kai, a mutant, was no match for the two corpses, then the guns in their hands would be even less useful. So she cautiously added a sentence.

"Born that way..."

Jiang Mian fell silent.

Born deaf and mute, and suffering from various terminal illnesses at a young age, isn't her life story just too tragic?

He certainly saw the scene of the two corpses holding Zhou Kai hostage, but from his perspective, it was just friends pretending to be relaxed by putting their arms around each other's shoulders.

At this moment, both patients wore relaxed and relieved smiles, their eyes slowly and solemnly scanning everyone in the room, as if using these smiles to tell everyone that death is not terrible, and there is no need to feel sad or upset about their fate.

The others all looked grief-stricken, their hands trembling with sorrow, clearly unable to bear seeing their friend pass away. The young man whose shoulder was being held, in particular, had an unpredictable expression, as if he couldn't accept reality but had to swallow his grief and pretend to be strong.

Jiang Mian sighed inwardly. Although he had long been accustomed to the pain of separation and death, he still couldn't help but feel sad whenever he saw such a scene.

His tone softened, and he said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. My tone was a bit harsh just now."

Apologize?

This monster actually apologizes?

Everyone looked at each other.

"It's alright, Mr. Jiang Mian!" Jiang Rou quickly replied, "Just ask me any questions you may have!"

Jiang Mian considered for a moment, then shook his head: "It's better for the person in question to answer these questions; it's not appropriate for me to ask you."

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Well, they should be able to write, right?"

Jiang Rou turned her head, glanced hesitantly at the two corpses, then looked back nervously, her voice trembling: "I...I think...probably not..."

Jiang Mian paused in his work: "You can't even write your own name?"

"……Um."

"You can at least write down your birth date and time, right?"

"No, I won't..."

Jiang Rou smiled awkwardly, but her heart was pounding. What did this monster want with her name and birth date? Could it be that what he was holding was really the Book of Life and Death?

Jiang Mian gasped.

No way? What era are we living in? There are still people who can't even write their own birth date and time?

"never mind……"

After a brief silence, he pressed his temples and turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him who was secretly observing him. "Then you can come here. Tell me their names and birth dates."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked at the notebook in his hand.

"Huh?"

Jiang Rou was stunned.

She doesn't know these two people, so how would she know their names and birth dates?

Or... should we just make one up?

"This is very important. You don't have to be sure, but you absolutely must not say anything carelessly." Jiang Mian looked up at her.

Jiang Rou's expression froze, feeling both embarrassed and nervous. She hadn't expected to be seen through so quickly.

In the midst of the chaos, an old notebook was shoved into her hands, along with a short pencil: "No rush, take your time thinking. Write it down when you're done. I'm going to the bathroom."

The moment she took the notebook, her fingertips brushed against Jiang Mian's fingers.

—Hot.

It carries the warmth of a living person.

As is well known, the dead are cold.

Jiang Rou was stunned.

She had initially thought that this might be a corpse that had "died" many times under the rules of the City of the Unjustly Dead, and thus increasingly resembled a living person.

But at that moment, a bold idea suddenly popped into her mind—

Could it be that we've all misunderstood...?

This person is not a monster at all; he is a living, breathing human being.

After all, although he seems a bit abnormal and the things he says are somewhat frightening, he has never hurt us so far...

Most importantly... he can even go to the toilet!

What monster would use a toilet?

Thinking of this, Jiang Rou hesitated for a few seconds, then suddenly mustered her courage, took a deep breath, and cautiously asked, "Mr. Jiang... Mr. Jiang Mian, you're not a monster from the forbidden zone, are you?"

But she regretted it as soon as she said it.

The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell into a deathly silence.

A viscous, heavy, and almost tangible eerie aura suddenly emanated from Jiang Mian, who had just turned around.

On the low ceiling, the filament of the old light bulb emitted a very faint hissing sound, as if it were about to break at any moment.

The air was as thick as glue, and every breath carried a cold, sluggish, dull sensation, pressing deeply into the lungs of everyone present.

Zhou Kai keenly noticed that the two statue-like corpses behind him were trembling slightly.

Jiang Rou felt like she was suffocating, unable to make a sound, and even the thought of regret was frozen.

After a long while, Jiang Mian turned her head and looked over.

The light shone from the side, half of his face was shrouded in shadow, his expression indistinct, like a statue steeped in shadow, slowly coming to life.

"You mean... a monster from the forbidden zone?"