Who hid My Corpse!

It was the sharp-headed fat sheep he had searched for during the day.

In Lair's despairing heart, a final glimmer of hope emerged. The Rhein Knight was unwilling to act against him to leave evidence, so he entrusted the matter to the sheriff, a muscular man from the reserve. And since Lair had already seen this man's intelligence during the day, he still had a chance to survive!

So after the Rhein Knight left, Lair immediately humbled himself and said to the muscular man, "Good sir, I beg you to spare my life. You can have all my things; aren't you after Visas's Corpse? There are still two fingers of theirs in my sack along with the foot you saw this morning..."

Before he could say the word "toe," Lair suddenly felt a lightness, as it appeared the muscular man had seized his collar and forcefully lifted him up.

The two men stared at each other, and the man's eyes were full of fierce expression.

"You damned Black Merchant, you still dare to deceive me! Do you think I won't kill you? I've been searching for you the whole day!"

Searching for me the whole day?!

Lair suddenly felt a bad premonition creeping up, and then he saw the muscular man raising another hand, holding a tiny, blood-stained toe.

Judging from the shape of the toe, it was clearly the one Lair wanted to sell to the man during the day but failed to.

"You scoundrel deserving a thousand cuts!" the muscular man gritted his teeth and said, "Recognize it? This is the Corpse piece of Visas you mentioned!"

Lair was utterly confused: "I-I don't remember selling it to you..."

"No nonsense! It wasn't you who sold it!" the man cursed, "I snuck it while you weren't noticing, you fool. Haven't you realized it?"

Lair was dumbfounded.

After separating from the man during the day, all his attention was on those two fingers, and he didn't notice that the toe had been stolen.

He couldn't fathom how this sharp-headed guy could steal things.

And what he was even less prepared for...

The lifted Lair lowered his head and looked at the man's foot, and he discovered crimson blood stains on the tip of his right shoe.

He actually used it!!!!

Lair was at a loss for words.

The deal failed, and the item was stolen. The item got stolen, yet it was used. It got used, yet he was caught.

Lair couldn't imagine what his fate would be, and in desperation, he shouted, "Spare me, spare me! It wasn't my intention to deceive you; I just didn't know that one was fake. Truly, truly, please believe me! The other two are definitely real!"

"Oh? The other two are definitely real, are they?"

Lair was already stumbling, unsure of what to say, while the man got his followers to open Lair's sack and retrieve the two fingers.

"Since these two are real, prove it to me."

"Prove it?"

"Yes, didn't you say these two are real?" The man leaned close to Lair, enunciating each word, "Then prove it to me... in person!"

Before Lair could understand the meaning of "in person," the man pulled out a dagger, his hand rose and fell.

A slicing sound resounded.

Lair's thumb was cut right off by the man, blood pouring profusely.

"Ahhhh!"

He screamed, trying to withdraw his hand, but the man's two underlings held him tightly, forcing the severed finger against the thumb wound with brutal force.

"Come on, prove it!" the man yelled, "Prove this finger is real! Then take Visas's power and kill us all, come on!"

Lair was speechless, and another underling laughed slyly, "Boss, you cut the wrong finger, that severed one isn't a thumb."

"Oh, is that so?" The man feigned surprise, "Oh dear, it's a mistake; let's try again then, let's see which finger this is..."

The man looked at the obvious middle finger, revealing a more ruthless expression.

"Seems like the little finger, huh."

Saying this, he raised the dagger again, cutting Lair's little finger, while forcing another severed finger into the wound.

Lair was in near-mortal pain and understood he wouldn't be let off the hook by these guys, screaming in desperation: "You stupid bastards! Just kill me already, damn it... ahhhh!"

Another finger was cut.

"Don't rush!" the man shouted excitedly and grimly, "You haven't obtained Visas's power yet! Uh... seems like a mistake again, must be another finger, hang in there, soon you'll have Visas's power."

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Lair roared in despair in his heart.

Why was he so unlucky?! Why hadn't he gained anything but ended up this way?! Why was he tortured like this instead of him torturing others?!

He actually knew the answer deep down, it was because he lacked power.

Indeed... all because he lacked power. With power, he could have higher standing among the Black Merchants, get more information, and tonight he wouldn't be bait but his colleague would be. With power, this sharp-headed bastard wouldn't dare treat him like this; instead, he would be the one pulling off this guy's fingers.

With power, everything would be different.

If only someone could grant him such power, then he...

"Oh?" At this moment, a teasing voice echoed in his mind, "Do you yearn for power?"

Lair froze.

"Ah, sorry." The man who had been chopping off Lair's fingers, five altogether, while pressing the severed finger onto the last severed middle finger's wound, smiled grimly, "This is the last one, why haven't you obtained Visas's power yet? Maybe it's not this hand? Yeah, definitely, don't worry, I'll swap hands for you."

With that, the man prepared to take the severed finger.

But at that moment, he found... he couldn't move it, he instinctively let go, and then saw the severed finger fitting perfectly into Lair's wound, as if it had grown anew.

The man's eyes widened gradually.

...

When Lair opened his eyes again, there were already three corpses before him.

The muscular man who had previously tortured him lay dead like a dog in a pool of blood, with eyes wide open in horror, mirroring Lair's current expression.

What happened?!

Instinctively, Lair looked down at his right hand.

The right hand, with its fingers previously severed by the man, was completely intact now, as if all that had transpired was mere hallucination.

But he knew, it wasn't a hallucination...

Lair stared intently at the middle finger, a terrifying suspicion surfacing, and he swallowed hard, speaking in a trembling voice.

"Was it you... no, was it you who helped me?"

The teasing voice echoed again from his mind: "What do you think?"

Lair opened his mouth, myriad thoughts surged inside him, emotions flickered through his eyes.

At this moment, despite his many doubts, he asked none, slowly bowing down, kneeling in the blood.

"Grant me power, please." He enunciated each word, "Master Visas!"

...

In the hotel room, Bai Wei gazing from the windowsill towards the distance, smirked slightly.

The first gift has been delivered, now it's time to send the second one.

Bai Wei stretched, got into bed.

Beside him on the windowsill, two identically sized boxes sat silently.