Chapter 330 - Shadow Worker

The three brothers gained their notoriety from this unique set of clothes and, in recent years, made a name for themselves in the surrounding areas of Sambia, always choosing missions that seemed impossible to accomplish.They indeed obtained quite a lot of valuable items from wealthy homes and vaults.

The bounty on their heads in Sambia now exceeded ten thousand Gold Coins each.

The Stealth Worm trio had their eyes set on Ghost Manor this time around, not so much for the money, but mainly for the reputation.

Now, who in the Valley didn’t know of Weizemay Manor, and who hadn’t heard of Ghost Grape Wine?

Before the Ghost Grape Wine auction, they planned to steal a part of it first.

From now on, whoever mentioned Weizemay Manor, whoever spoke of Ghost Grape Wine, would have to mention the three brothers first.

They believed that after this deed, their fame would soar, their worth would double, and countless people would clamor to employ them.

As they were nearing the corner of the wall, the youngest brother couldn’t help but ask, "Big brother, why did we change our strategy this time to have the second brother stay outside?"

"Didn’t you see how scared he was that he almost peed his pants? If you really let him come inside, wouldn’t it ruin our plan?" the eldest brother said irritably.

"Really? But hasn’t the second brother always boasted that he’s never been afraid of ghosts? He’s the one who took the initiative to come to Weizemay Manor this time," remarked the third brother with an incredulous tone.

"The less a person has of something, the more they’ll boast about it. You’re usually sharper than a monkey, so how come you’re so confused by the second brother’s bluffs this time?" the eldest brother whispered. "Stop the nonsense. We’re at the spot now. Sniff it out. Where’s the stuff? Let’s get it done and leave quickly. It’s not just the second brother—I’m getting goosebumps, too. There’s something off about the air here; it’s even denser than in the Random Burial Grounds."

"I’ve found it, follow me." Since nearing Weizemay Manor, the youngest brother had been constantly sniffing, like a human-shaped hound. This was his innate ability, to track by scent.

Once he set his sights on something, it wouldn’t escape his nose, even better than a dog’s.

The two brothers’ crawling completely defied the Laws of Physics, like slugs, as they climbed up Weizemay Manor’s courtyard walls and then down again.

Under the youngest brother’s lead, they inched their way directly towards the manor’s wine cellar.

The tightly closed secret door of the wine cellar was no obstacle for them. They managed to slowly squirm their way through the tiny cracks.

That was the reason heavily guarded vaults were like nothing to them.

As long as there was a crack, even one invisible to the naked eye, they could squeeze through.

Upon entering the wine cellar, the youngest brother leading the way noticeably sped up their squirming. He had caught the scent of the rich fragrance of wine, a familiar, thick aroma.

He hadn’t lied to his second brother; he had tasted many kinds of wine in his life, but there were few like the Shadow Wine from Weizemay Manor, which left such a deep impression on him, as if it were etched into his soul. It felt like he had just tasted it a moment ago; just the mention of its name brought the unique sensation and flavor to mind, igniting the urge to taste it once more.

No matter if it causes trouble, even if the eldest brother were here, he would let himself go for a moment to drink a bottle of Ghost Grape Wine.

But the next second, the two self-invited thieves froze on the spot.

Because in the wine cellar, there wasn’t just wine; there were people.

If they could still be called people.

"Why? Why am I still working here after I died and became a ghost? Mama’s had enough, Mama wants to strike."

"Don’t talk about it here. If you have the guts, go tell Daphne, go tell the madam, go tell the Lord."

"I’ve heard her say those words no less than a thousand times, yet I’ve never seen her take action. It’s not just about breaking a wine bottle. Even just stopping work would raise my respect for you, just by a bit."

"Don’t mention Daphne to me; that’s a bona fide traitor, a wretch. It was her idea to use the Shadow Power to carve and fill these wine bottles. She came up with the rotten idea, but didn’t do the work herself, letting us sisters toil here."

"You’re already dead, you don’t feel tiredness; you just think it’s boring."

"But this kind of monotonous work is really boring, especially when it never ends. I’ve heard this is just the beginning. That slave master who even squeezes ghosts has reportedly sent people to order more wine bottles, and they will arrive in a few days. All the wine in the cellar must be bottled."

"That’s just the beginning? This is just for bottling old wine. A few days ago, I heard the Lord, the madam, and that wretch Daphne discussing using us to brew wine, to make real Ghost Grape Wine, which means this job isn’t a one-time thing, it’s permanent."

"Don’t treat this job as work; treat it as cultivation, a practice to gain greater Strength. Then you won’t find it boring. Haven’t you noticed that during this time, your control over your new bodies, your use of shadows, has greatly improved?"

"There’s a way to free ourselves from these tedious tasks."

"What way? Tell me quickly." Googlᴇ search NovᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet

"It’s simple. Just like Daphne, become a supervisor, and pass on this no-skill, repetitive labor to those newer, lower-level ghosts. Wouldn’t that solve it?"

"Where can we find ghosts to replace us?"

"Aren’t there two fresh laborers who just showed up at our doorstep?"

All the busy Dwarves Bound Wraiths turned their heads in unison, gazing at the two uninvited thieves with open, delightful, welcoming smiles.

The smile that fell into the eyes of the two brothers was as eerie as it was terrifying, and the thought that crazily echoed in their minds was that Weizemay Manor truly had ghosts and their wine was indeed brewed by specters.

The brothers wanted to turn and run, but they found themselves completely drained of any strength.

Unbeknownst to them, two shadows had already clung to their backs, sucking away their strength and life force.

When the brothers came to their senses again, the first thing they saw were corpses lying at their feet, their own corpses.

Looking down, they saw that their forms too had become shadowy figures.

Great, they had become ghosts themselves.

In such a situation, they should have been screaming in terror, but they didn’t.

They didn’t even feel a surge of horror or fear in their hearts, only endless calm.

It seemed as if, in this world, there was nothing left that could terrify them, nothing to surprise them.

All the emotions that humans should normally feel, whether positive or negative, had left them.

"Two new ones, what are you dawdling there for? Hurry up and get to work. Don’t you see we’re busy as can be? We need to have all the wine bottled by the auction start on the first of next month," one of the Dwarves Bound Wraiths called out to the two thief specters.

The two thief specters, upon hearing the command, wordlessly walked straight over and stood dumbly beside the Dwarves Bound Wraith.

The Dwarves Bound Wraith sighed and said, "Great, another two dunces, looks like I’ll have to train you from scratch. Come here, look closely, imagine the manor in that brainless head of yours, then infuse a bit of shadow power into it, and stamp it onto this wine bottle. On the bottom, stamp the year 1348. It’s that simple, got it?"

Without a word, the two thief specters each picked up an empty glass wine bottle from the ground, gathered shadow energy in front of them, and conjured a miniature model of the manor, which floated toward the bottles in their hands.

Most of the shadow energy swept past, leaving just a faint image of the manor composed of shadow energy on the bottles.

The year on the bottom of the bottle was done in the same way.

A look of barely concealed joy appeared on the Dwarves Bound Wraith’s face, "Good, good, the intelligence isn’t too low, not the kind that’s hopeless. You learned it in one go, very good. You’ve completed the most difficult first step; the rest is easy. Use the same shadow power to control the wine, letting it pour directly into the bottle."

While he spoke, a stream of black wine shot out from an open barrel, and with a scoop of his hand, the Dwarves Bound Wraith caught it neatly in an empty bottle.

Exactly the right amount, filling up to the neck of the bottle.

After being infused with the black wine, the previously stamped manor insignia seemed to come to life, as if it weren’t engraved on the bottle at all, but floating in the wine, continuously rising and sinking, indescribably unique, indescribably fantastical.

A cork drifted over from a distance and sealed the bottle tightly.

As he worked, he passed along tips to the novices: "This cork isn’t forcefully pressed in with shadow power, but you should let your power permeate the part of the bottle not filled with wine, then slowly draw it out while adding a bit of pull, and you’ll easily seal it. You must use my method, or it’ll be deemed a defective product and need to be redone."

After saying this, the completed bottle of Ghost Grape Wine automatically drifted to a new rack not far away.

The two thief specters did as they were shown, managing to produce an exact replica, and within seconds, each had a bottle of Ghost Grape Wine in their hands.

Just as they were about to place it on the rack, the Dwarves Bound Wraith intercepted them.

He held the Shadow Wine they had bottled, examining it while commenting, "Not bad, not bad, achieving this level on the first try shows good potential. There’s a small issue with the amount filled, the cork must reach the stop ring, barely passing as a quality product. From now on, you are qualified bottlers, start working. At least one thousand bottles a day, no upper limit.

Do not treat this task as mere work, but as a form of cultivation, a channel to improve yourselves, and strive to bottle even more Ghost Grape Wine every day."

The two thief specters said nothing and joined the work of bottling Ghost Grape Wine, silent from beginning to end, industriously bottling like the other non-Dwarves Bound Wraiths.

The Earthbound Wraiths were divided into two groups.

One group consisted of the Dwarves Bound Wraiths who worked while discussing and complaining. Aside from their physical composition, their speech, demeanor, and emotional fluctuations were no different from those of the living.

The other group was like the thief specters, who worked quietly and mechanically from start to finish, resembling shadowy robots. Their forms were mostly indistinct, like amorphous shadows, barely distinguishable as to what race they had been in life, let alone their faces.

Among these, the two thief specters had relatively distinct shapes and appearances, but they still lacked the verisimilitude of the Dwarves Bound Wraiths.

Despite all being shadows, work efficiency differed greatly.

The more solid the silhouette, the higher the work efficiency, and vice versa.

In a corner, squatting there like a mere shadow, was one whose pace was as slow as a snail’s crawl. From the time the thief specters snuck in until they themselves became working shadows, this one hadn’t even finished a single bottle. With such efficiency, forget a thousand bottles a day, even a hundred would be a challenge.

Naturally, the most efficient were the Dwarves Bound Wraiths.

The one who just showed them had done it one bottle at a time only for demonstration purposes.

When it came to actual work, it wasn’t done that way.