Chapter 54

Words : 1440 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 54: Missing Bodies Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Bodies were missing! The bodies in the graves were gone. Most of the huge graves had no bodies in them. To make sure that he was right, Jason looked at the graves in the distance. The dark, deathly stillness was almost clearly visible there. The graves in the distance were not like the huge graves in front of him. Besides the bodies buried in the layer of soil at the surface of the ground, the bodies deep inside the huge graves had disappeared. “Someone stole the bodies? No! There are so many corpses. It can’t be a normal thief!” Jason thought, then turned and asked Daniel, “This used to be Santel’s place?” “Um, yes. At first, there were several grave keepers fighting for this place, including Gardi and Caesar, but when Santel showed up, carrying Gardi and Caesar’s heads, he became the sole owner of this place.” Daniel shrugged as he spoke. Then, he suddenly realized that he was still in the cemetery. He shouldn’t tell Jason about this. It was humiliating to the dead people below the ground. He looked around. After his keen sixth sense reassured him that no other people had heard what he just said to Jason, he felt a little relieved. However, Daniel did not notice that Jason’s face suddenly looked terrible. “Santel’s territory and the missing bodies…” Jason thought about the two things. If anyone told him that the two had no connections between them, Jason wouldn’t believe it at all. The missing bodies were most likely related to the man from the mysterious side. “What’s his plan? To convince those who want to get the Herke Potions? Or to deal with my teacher? Or something else? What is he trying to get from those people?” Jason frowned and thought. “Do you know where Santel is now?” Jason suddenly asked. “Although the grave keeper is not as mysterious as the secret keeper, they will not tell others where they are. Especially Santel, who is a high-profile grave keeper, would never want others to know where he stays. I’m afraid that he won’t be able to sleep well at night if others know his place. After all, he makes many enemies whenever he goes,” Daniel said with ridicule. But before Daniel could continue, Jason turned around and walked toward the outside of the cemetery. As Jason left, a sudden chilly wind blew across Daniel’s cheek. The sensation of cold tingling made Daniel wince at once. His sixth sense told him that if he stayed any longer, something bad would happen to him. “Wait! Wait for me! Jason, wait for me!” Without any hesitation, Daniel shouted Jason’s name and quickly followed up. Jason didn’t slow down or stop. He went on at his own pace, ignoring Daniel’s shouting. In the cemetery in front of them, those young victims had been buried below ground, and their families had left. After a funeral, families would leave before it got dark that day, and then come back to hold a memorial ceremony for the dead on the second and third days. After that, on the 13th of each month, the families would come back again to hold the memorial ceremony for the dead. After three years in a row repeating such a memorial ceremony, they would come back again on the 1st of the winter month. This was the tradition of Rhode City. Daniel told Jason this when they were in the carriage. And now, with the families gone, the police and detectives also left. They used to be the victims’ great friends and colleagues when those brave men were still alive. The only one left outside the cemetery was Finch. He was watching the carriage in front of the cemetery gate, waiting for Jason and Daniel to come out. Of course, Bondy hadn’t left either. At the moment, this sheriff was standing in front of a nameless tombstone. Jason didn’t want to disturb the sheriff, though he had something to ask Bondy. Daniel was very clever and did not choose to get in the way. He walked out of the cemetery and went into the carriage, first. After more than ten minutes, Bondy slapped the tombstone hard, then turned away. Seeing Jason not far away, Bondy’s sad face showed a smile. “Sure enough, you are right. You said goodbye to him, too?” Bondy said to Jason. Jason had not the least idea what Bondy was talking about. He was confused, but he didn’t show that to Bondy. He was expressionless, neither admitting nor denying it. And the next moment, Bondy went on on his own. “That’s Kurtz’s grave. He had made an unforgivable mistake. His family and friends will not forgive him. Neither can I. According to the process, he should have no names on his tombstones, but, after all, he had a name, even if it can no longer be mentioned,” Bondy said, looking at Jason. He would like to ask what Jason was thinking about, or to ask Jason whether he thought that he did it right or wrong. Unfortunately, Jason kept silent. Bondy was absent-minded for a while because of the silence, then he shook his head and smiled bitterly. “I have become a hypocritical person, haven’t I? When did I become like this?” Bondy asked himself. He was looking for an answer from himself. But unexpectedly, Jason, who had been silent, suddenly spoke and interrupted him. “Kalina. Find her. Then you will have the answer,” Jason said to Bondy slowly, pointing to the huge graves in the distance. “Kalina should be there if I’m right.” “What do you mean?” It was obvious to Bondy that Jason was dropping a hint to him. “A lot of bodies are missing. There are no corpses in the big graves except on the surface layer of soil,” Jason told Bondy. He was here to ask for Bondy’s help, so he would not hide from Bondy what he found at this time. As for Kalina? He thought it was no bother to tell Bondy this. “What?!” Bondy let out an exclamation. A large number of missing bodies gave the sheriff an ominous presentiment. Immediately, he stared at Jason. Jason nodded a little. “Your guess is right. I suspect it’s about Santel. You can start with him,” Jason said. “Santel, the grave keeper? I will arrange for someone to check it right away!” Bondy said, then he went to the carriage. Jason followed. As soon as Finch swished the reins, the carriage started. They were going back to downtown. At this moment, the sun was going to set in the west, but the bright sunlight still shone through the window of the carriage. Jason and Bondy didn’t speak along the way. The silence made Daniel awkwardly uncomfortable. In order to break the ice, the young teacher of Deer College took the initiative to take up the task of introducing a conversation topic. “As you all know, Rhode’s air hasn’t been very good because of its abundant coal resources. A student used to ask me how to judge the air quality of Rhode. I told him that he can pick his nose and identify the nose sh*t’s color. It’s bad air if the sh*t is black. The next day, he asked me, what if it’s red? Do you know what I said? You are picking your nose too hard.” After he finished, Daniel had a big laugh alone. He seemed to be very satisfied with what he just did. After all, it was a good beginning for their trip back to town. He couldn’t just stay silent all the way like the other two. However, Jason and Bondy didn’t laugh with him. They just looked at Daniel silently. Immediately, Daniel’s laughter was getting lower, and he could only end his terrible joke with an awkward scratching of the back of his head. “Isn’t it funny? Do you want another one? I can do a better one than this. Believe me,” looking at Jason, Daniel asked cautiously. “You want to see blood, too?” Jason asked. At once, Daniel shook his head, saying that he would never dare to tell such a bad joke in front of them again. However, the next moment– Daniel took out his dagger and stabbed himself in the stomach. His blood was welling out from the wound. He looked at his wound, then grinned at Jason. “Is this what you mean?” Daniel asked Jason.

Chapter 54

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