The corpse, The valley, and the dream

"Now what should I do about your body?" Sunny thought while looking at the cold corpse.

Because from what he heard and had guessed after a day of eavesdropping – killing fellow disciples wasn't allowed. And once caught, the murderers would be severely punished.

That explained why the original Sunny, pathetic as he was, was only ever bullied, mocked, or beaten down—but never outright killed.

That's why he had to get rid of the body.

Sunny's eyes flicked across the room. There were no closets. No bedframe to hide something under. No crawlspace. Just empty wood, dirt, a single mat, and a corpse.

He sighed in complaint. "Would've been easy if I had a bigger room. Or furniture. Or a fucking shovel."

But burying the body here would be madness. And burning it without alerting anyone was impossible.

And while this cultivation world didn't have forensics labs or DNA tracking, it did have magical artifacts. And only God knew what those glowing jade tokens or weird-looking orbs could do.

If they sniffed the corpse back to him… it would be Game over.

After a while of thinking, he finally settled on a place where the corpse could be hidden, and there wouldn't even be anything left of it to trace it back on him.

"The beast valley." Sunny muttered, and remembered about the punishment 'prison' where his original body was thrown.

"From what I heard, that place is usually abandoned and is only used for special training missions or trials on super rare occasions. Or when someone commits a major crime and gets thrown in."

(I doubt there'll be anything like that happening right now, or some kid must've mentioned it in the morning.) Sunny thought, already settling in on the place.

From the various rumors and insults he heard earlier, he already had a pretty good idea about where it could be.

The only thing left now was how to get there.

"Should I leave now , or wait for midnight when everybody's sleeping?" Sunny asked himself this question.

Before coming to a decision without wasting even a second.

He was sure no one was in the vicinity now. But he couldn't be sure, the same would be the case at night.

What if some couple sneaks out to have sex, or some weirdo left his bed to jerk off, or just some brainless brute training under the moonlight thinking it'll have better effects. —- there could be any of these possibilities happening at midnight, so Sunny refused this idea without any hesitation.

He didn't believe in 'safe' plans. Only 'done' plans.

The whole decision making journey sounded long or arduous, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed.

Sunny was never the type to overthink things, or act indecisive at shocking moments. – on the other hand, the more tense a situation he faced, the calmer and sharper he became.

That's why he could understand Ash's betrayal on earth with a single glance. And why Ash only dared to appear after his gun was empty.

The 'bastard' knew if there was even a single bullet left in the muzzle, surely he'd have a hole between his brows.

Because the Dragon would never hesitate when it comes to making a decision.

Sunny directly stood up and washed off the blood from his face and hands in a corner.

After changing his clothes into the hanging disciple uniform, he threw the bloody sacks in the corner.

He pushed Thomas's body on his straw mat, and rolled him into it. Using sleeves from the old uniform to tie up the loose corners so that the corpse's hands and feet didn't just roll out, when he moved fast outside.

In Between his actions, he paused only once — to glance at the blood on the floor.

"No time to clean now." Sunny muttered and chose to ignore it first.

Because even though he was new to this world, he knew one thing very clearly, – Being caught with a corpse was much more serious, then being caught at a crime scene.

So after taking a careful glance and a few peeks around the corners, to make sure he was clear. Sunny just fixed a 'mask' around his face. Tied the dagger on his waist. And slung the body over his shoulder.

"Thankfully, he was all thin and bones."

Sunny muttered while adjusting the weight and his posture, before slipping towards a mountain top, behind the disciples dormitory.

Gladly this world wasn't too developed so there wasn't any open road, or cameras at every street lamp, – but small pathways lit by torches in the middle of a forest. So the towering trees provided good cover for his swift movements.

Sunny didn't have a watch or phone on him to check the time, but after what felt like an hour or so of journey, his trek ended and he finally reached the place.

The Beast Valley.

Beyond him was the edge of the Beast Valley—a mist-choked gorge where mutated spirit beasts roamed like ancient gods forgotten by time. While trees twisted at unnatural angles acted as guards on the perimeter.

Tests and trials aside, every sect had one such valley. A place for punishment. For exile. And for throwing away mistakes.

A perfect dumping ground.

Sunny stood there, while breathing heavily. Feeling several pairs of eyes staring at him from behind the trees and the mist.

Predators. Watching and waiting.

(No wonder the original body pissed himself when he was thrown in. I'm just standing at the edge, and it's already giving me chills.)

But if it's this foggy , how did anyone even notice that?

Sunny thought wildly, but what he didn't know was that just to see his joke, and earn some pocket change by betting on his life - a certain elder from the sect had used his powers to clear out the fog.

Sunny ignored the hungry gazes from the beasts and started unwrapping the 'gift' he brought.

"No one in their right mind would come to look for you in this hellhole." He said while grabbing the corpse's collar and threw it down with a haul.

The corpse rolled, bouncing off sharp stone, spreading a meaty smell, before vanishing into the dark.

Gone. Devoured soon, hopefully.

With no meat left, and bones scattered.

No face, no badge, no clean kill for them to trace.

A perfect kill and as perfect a clean up as it can be.

Sunny thought as he wiped the sweat off his face with shaking hands. Before turning around and walking towards his room.

One step. Then another. And then—

The world tilted.

Maybe he was too tired, too hungry, and the fight and cleanup took way too much of his energy. But the moment he relaxed his nerves a little, the adrenaline rush was over.

His knees gave out and he fell unconscious at the ground. Surrounded by trees and wilderness alone.

After an unknown amount of time passed. Sunny's consciousness slowly returned back to his body. Where a familiar face with a teasing old voice greeted him with a smile.

"You always did have a habit of leaving behind a bloody mess for your uncle to clean, didn't you, Sunny?"

Sunny groaned and snapped awake with a sharp gasp. His wary eyes darted around—trees, night sky, wind. No one there.

"He's dead. I burned him with my own hands. It's just a dream. Just a fucking dream." Sunny muttered under his breath, and finally relaxed his tense nerves.

But despite this, that voice still lingered in the back of his skull like smoke trapped in a locked room.

He wasn't scared of his uncle. Not at all. He just hated the men that much.

After all, the bastard was the sole architect of all his early suffering on earth.

The man who really shaped the sweet and innocent Sunny into the cruel and merciless Dragon he became in the future.

But that's all in the past now.

Sunny pushed himself upright and started walking back towards his room.

To clean the bloody mess he left behind.