The Croft family's suffering had only just begun, and they still had many problems to solve. Comforted by his sister, Edrick calmed down and began to think about his plan. At present, he had three primary goals in order of importance:
1. Kill Griff
2. Make money
3. Extend his life
Griff was also plotting against Edrick's father. It was clear that he was not just acting on lust, and his purpose was definitely not simple. He would not give up easily, so Griff had to be dealt with.
The second goal was very realistic. The Croft family's financial situation was very bad. They now lived in a single room with an attic in the Rust District, which was not too bad. Although it was only 15 square meters, it at least had a window, and the rent was 4 shillings a week.
Their main food consists of black bread and oatmeal porridge, with fresh meat and a small amount of milk once a week, totaling about 5 shillings. Coal, candles, and soap cost 3 shillings per week. There's also the parish tax of 1 shilling and protection fees of 2 shillings...
"Damn it, isn't the parish tax supposed to help the poor!?" Edrick couldn't help but groan as he looked at the expenses he had listed, "Why doesn't the church help the Crofts!"
"The church has a beggar registration system," Miryam said. 'According to Mary, as long as you go to the church every week to get a stamp, you can receive relief grain."
Hannah shook her head upon hearing this: 'To receive church relief, you must be certified as having no personal property and no job. Once you start working and receive wages, you can no longer claim relief grain."
Their weekly total expenses were 15 shillings. Previously, her father and mother could earn 10-14 shillings between them, plus Edrick's 5 shillings per week and Hannah and Miryam's 4 shillings per week, barely enough to get by. Now they couldn't afford such high rent.
"Perhaps I could..." Hannah said hesitantly, biting her dry lips, which were cracked from vitamin deficiency, as if she had made a major decision.
Edrick, who was familiar with the history of the Industrial Revolution, turned pale and immediately interrupted Hannah: "Don't say such nonsense! Things aren't that bad yet! Give me two more days, and everything will be fine. I promise. First, we have to move."
It wasn't just because of the rent; Griff had his eye on them, and it wasn't safe to stay here any longer. However, to find a place cheaper than their current one, they would have to go to the border between the Rust District and the slums.
Fortunately, the Crofts didn't have much in the way of possessions, as most of their furniture was rented, and it wasn't difficult to find a place for three people to stay temporarily in the slums—if you didn't consider the security and environment.
"The money from this should be enough to bury our father and mother." Edrick made up his mind, and that afternoon they sold the crushed crystal ore and got a measly 7 shillings and 11 pence, which was a little more than they had expected.
They spent 1 shilling to rent a wooden cart and two coffins, then transported their parents' bodies to the cemetery on the outskirts of town. The cart and coffins were too expensive to keep, so they would have to return them afterward. For the burial, they could only use the cheap pine shavings and soft boards provided by the cemetery to make a makeshift coffin.
Normally, burying someone here cost 1 shilling, and the cheaper potter's field only cost 4 pence, but those places were too harsh—no headstones, and scavenging dogs roamed freely. Burying someone there wasn't much better than throwing them into the river.
But at the cemetery gate, they froze.
"12 shillings!?" Hannah couldn't believe her ears. "Six shillings per person!?"
Rainwater trickled down Edrick's hat brim into his collar. He counted the five shilling coins in his hand, the taste of copper rust lingering on his tongue.
The cemetery's iron gate was locked with a new lock, and a faded wooden sign hung on the monument engraved with the names of the donors: "St. Clare's Cemetery: Burial fees for commoners are six shillings per grave, including a pine coffin, a night light, and a priest's prayer."
Hannah's fingers dug into the shroud: "Martha's grandmother was buried here last month, and it only cost one shilling!"
The gravedigger poked half his face out of the gatehouse, his wine-red nose glowing purple, his cuffs stained with a suspicious yellow powder. Edrick recognized it as the waste product of phosphorus extraction from the mines, mixed with unburned lime. "That was before. This used to be a parish-certified cemetery, with stone walls to prevent grave robbing. and crosses to ward off evil spirits. If you can't afford it, just throw the body into the potter's field to feed the rats and wild dogs!"
Edrick stared at the wooden plaque hanging on the monument, running his fingertips along the ridges of the coin's edge. The monument bore the names of only a few people, most of whom Edrick didn't recognize, with one exception: Bishop Lacus.
He was the head of the diocese and the highest authority of the Luminous Pontificate in Stellaxis. The Crofts were not devout believers, but they did occasionally go to church to worship.
A month ago, they had met Bishop Lacus at the cathedral, and he had even praised Miryam for her spirituality.
The Croft family was overwhelmed with gratitude and briefly considered discarding the idol of the邪神 in their home, but Miryam insisted on keeping it, so they decided against it.
Meanwhile, Edrick noticed that the price tag originally read "1 shilling," but it had been crossed out and rewritten as "6 shillings." The ink was smudged and irregular, leading Edrick to conclude that it had been altered using cheap iron-based ink, exposing the gravedigger's hasty price hike: "Price hike? It was still 1 shilling when I passed by earlier."
"It's haunted, kid." The gravedigger shook the copper bell in his hand, which was engraved with a faded Triangular symbol. "Three new corpses were dragged away in the middle of the night last Wednesday, and the graves were covered with dog paw prints. Now we have to add an exorcism ritual: the priest will recite the Psalms three times, sprinkle holy salt on the graves, and add a night light."
As he spoke, he deliberately shook some phosphorus powder onto the ground. Blue sparks "puffed" upward, startling Hannah and Miryam: "Did you see that? The footprints of a female ghost. Now we have to charge extra for the burial."
"This isn't ghost fire." Edrick thought of the steam spirit at home. He didn't doubt that ghosts existed in this world, but this wasn't one of them. His voice was as taut as a stretched wire, 'It's phosphorus chemical waste, with impurity levels exceeding 40%.' Edrick's voice sounded like a laboratory burette, each word precise and unwavering, "True phosphine self-ignition should produce a pure,幽 blue flame, but you..."
He kicked the ground, and sparks gathered into irregular patches of light. "The added kerosene lowered the ignition point to 25°C, causing the flames to glow a murky orange-yellow with a waxy odor."
Miryam stared at the iron barrel at the gravedigger's feet, which contained half a crow's corpse—the raw material for refining crude phosphorus.
As a chemistry master's graduate, Edrick had studied the byproducts of industrial phosphorus production in his thesis, but the gravedigger didn't know that calcium sulfide in the impurities would produce hydrogen sulfide, which was the source of the faint rotten egg smell in the air.
"Last month's funeral fees posted by the parish." Edrick pulled out a crumpled newspaper from his pocket, its edges still stained with copper sulfate from the lab, "One shilling covers a pine coffin, basic prayers, and..." He pointed to the stone wall behind the gravedigger, "the standard rat-proof iron mesh for each body. You removed the mesh and sold it to the scrap yard, using the phosphorus powder scam to cover the deficit."
The gravedigger's copper bell clattered to the ground, landing on the freshly scattered phosphorus powder. As sparks flew, Edrick caught the acrid smell of kerosene, confirming his suspicion: the other party had deliberately added cheap kerosene to make the phosphorus powder burn faster in the damp environment, exposing the essence of industrial fraud.
Hannah suddenly pointed at the gravedigger's money pouch at his waist. The clinking of gold coins mixed with the crackling sound of burning phosphorus powder: "Grandma Martha gave you an extra 10 pence when she was buried. You said you'd buy holy salt, but you actually bought kerosene!"
The gravedigger instinctively covered the money bag, and the phosphorus powder on his sleeve rubbed against the doorframe, leaving twisted trails of flickering light. Edrick seized the opportunity, pulling out a leather-bound package from his chest. Inside was calcium carbonate he had made himself using kitchen vinegar and limestone, commonly known as "fake holy salt": "Real holy salt is sodium chloride, and what you used is lime mixed with coal ash. Now, either pay the original price for the burial, or..."
He shook the paper packet in his hand, "I'll go to the mine union and report you for selling industrial waste. You know the mine owner hates workers hoarding phosphorus powder—that stuff explodes when heated."
This hit the gravedigger's weak spot. His face turned from a drunken purple to ashen gray, and he finally relented: "Two shillings. Bury him in the deepest part of Wild Dog Hill, no coffin, dig the hole yourself."
Edrick sneered, grabbed the shovel, and said, "Deal."
The three found a slope covered in flint at the edge of Potter's Field. Edrick had Hannah and Miryam collect sharp stone fragments while he spread the powder evenly over a two-meter-square area. "The phosphate ions produced by the hydrolysis of calcium phosphate inhibit the activity of proteases in the soil, slowing the decomposition of the body by 20%. Wild dogs will avoid it when they smell it."
This slightly acidic environment temporarily disables the olfactory receptors of scavengers, making it more effective than any exorcism ritual. However, Edrick did not elaborate further.
Hannah and Miryam didn't fully grasp Edrick's explanation of the principle behind it. The past two days had been overwhelming, with too many events unfolding, including Edrick's transformation. The usually reserved man had changed significantly, though it seemed like a positive change. In such a solemn setting, they refrained from asking further questions.
Two hours later, the angry gravedigger watched the exhausted siblings leave the graveyard. After the three living people had departed, no one noticed that there were no longer any living beings in the graveyard.
The gravedigger, who had previously looked merely somber, suddenly tilted his head and turned into a corpse lying in the gravedigger's hut, making no sound. A ball of幽 blue ghostly light drifted out of his body, seeming to watch the three departing figures.
"That boy is off," the blue ghostly light spoke in a soulful voice.
"What did you discover?" A purple ghostly light appeared beside it, "They're just three poor souls."
"How does he know that? Even university students might not be that knowledgeable." The blue ghostly flame was puzzled, but the purple one wasn't concerned. A new red ghostly flame interrupted the blue one's inquiry: "I advise you to be cautious. Several heroes have been dispatched. This isn't the time to cause trouble."
"Aren't they here to investigate the murder of Lord Stwartd? What does that have to do with us?" The blue ghost fire was stunned. Their plan hadn't even started yet, so how could they have disturbed the heroes?
"Something unexpected must have happened in Stellaxis. We have to hurry. If we fail this time, I'm afraid we'll never have another chance to break the seal." The red ghost fire seemed to be the leader of the three ghost fires, and the other two could only obey its orders. "We need more wraiths."
On the way back, Edrick's consciousness immersed itself in the ruined temple on the mountain top, trying to find a way out.
He had already obtained the title of "Village Deity (Apprentice)," but apart from being able to purchase skills that he couldn't use at the moment, he still didn't know how to use the Faith Essence Points.
Although he had passively consumed 1,000 Faith Essence Points to repair his fatal wound and obtain his body, the Transmigrator was not sure if he could recover every time. This might be a one-time benefit.
However, recalling the names of those books and associating them with the divinity of the Village Deity (Apprentice), the Transmigrator already had a rough idea of the direction of this transmigration gift package.
Now he was ready to find two people who could give him answers. With that in mind, he walked over to the TV.
Two little people, one red and one blue, looked at him on the TV, and he stared at the screen, with many questions in his mind, but not knowing where to start.
Seeming to sense his confusion, the blue little person very understandingly formed a dialogue box: "This mama is asking, are you the new Village Deity?"
The transmigrator was also confused: 'Maybe... who are you?"
"You brat, you should call this Mama Queen,' replied the blue little person.
"Or..." the red figure tried to add.
"Get lost!"
The two figures suddenly vanished from the screen, which then began to flicker violently, as if it had been struck by something. Half a minute later, the two figures reappeared. The red figure was now leaning on a cane, with bandages wrapped around his body like mosaic tiles.
"This Mama is here to teach you how to be a qualified Village Deity. You'd better listen to this Mama," the blue little person typed in the dialogue box with a domineering tone. "If you do well, you will be a deity. If you don't do well, be prepared to become fertilizer..."
Before she could finish, Edrick turned off the TV.
About ten minutes later, Edrick turned the TV back on. The blue little figure's low-resolution face had turned slightly red, whether from holding back or anger, was unclear.
Edrick calmed himself down, looked at the TV, and slowly asked the question he had carefully considered: "Where is this place?"
"This is the Sanctum of the Village Deity. Are you illiterate, kid? There's a big sign hanging at the gate! I told you this kid was no good. Rats breed a generation worse than the last..."
Edrick decisively turned off the TV again.
It seemed that he couldn't get any more information from these two little things for the time being. So what could a person with a master's degree in chemistry and a doctorate in agriculture do in this world? Thinking of this, the Transmigrator felt a little excited.
On the TV screen, which he hadn't been paying any attention to, two dialogue boxes popped up: "Big sister, he didn't give us a chance to explain. What should we do next?"
"Hmph, if you don't read the beginner's guide, then you'll have to start on the hardest difficulty level. Don't blame this Mama for not warning you!"
"Right, what about the murmur corruption on those little things in the cemetery just now? Are we just going to let that go?"
"They already have reason. The Village Deity can't deal with them now, and judging by the time, that thing should be here soon..."