Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 417

A makeshift mourning hall was set up in the open space in front of the staff building.

This usually quiet area has unusually attracted some people today, but that's because someone died.

The old woman's children arrived with their own children.

The funeral was neither solemn nor even sad.

For the elderly woman who stubbornly refuses to move away, does not rely on her children, and chooses to remain here alone, closing her eyes here and being buried with her husband in the end is her long-cherished wish.

Zhao Yi offered incense, offered a few words of comfort to the deceased's children, and reminisced about the care his grandmother had given him when he lived there as a child.

Afterwards, he went upstairs and strolled around the room where the old woman had lived before her death.

When he reached the bedroom door, he stopped and stared at it for a long time.

This subject has a problem, or rather, it used to have a problem.

There is a new, long crack on the door, with a bend.

Zhao Yi took the map out of his pocket and unfolded it.

If we consider the first endpoint as Siyuan Village in Nantong, then the next turning points are Jinan and here, extending proportionally to the next segment...

"Dandong".

Putting away the map, Zhao Yi put his hands on his hips and said with great dissatisfaction:
"So, you surnamed Li have been living the high life, and I have to follow you around licking your plates and serving you the whole time, huh?"

……

After leaving Tianjin, the yellow pickup truck did not continue along the coastline to cross the border, but instead went to Beijing.

The two places were so close that Li Zhuiyuan decided to pick up something there while he was at it.

After arriving in Beijing, Li Zhuiyuan visited his parents' alma mater, which can also be considered Li Zhuiyuan's "alma mater".

Without Li Lan's perfectly timed glance back here that year, which led to her reeling in her father, Li Zhuiyuan would never have been born.

Even after all these years, this path on campus remains fresh and beautiful, because every year a new batch of young people irrigates it with their youth and vitality.

The principles of Feng Shui state that: a landscape can nurture people, and people can nurture a landscape.

Although the group had brought Grandpa Li to Beijing for a trip last time, they had not visited this famous university.

Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou couldn't help but look left and right.

For over 99% of students nationwide, the name of this school is only used for boasting during their youthful arrogance, just like writing an essay as a child saying that they want to be a scientist when they grow up.

Tan Wenbin: "Hey, Ah You, why didn't you work harder back then and get into this school?"

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, is it possible to get into this place just by working hard?"

Tan Wenbin: "Look, you're making excuses for your laziness again."

Lin Shuyou: "And what about you, Brother Bin?"

Tan Wenbin: "If my dad hadn't spotted Xiao Yuan in the crowd at the scene in Shinan Town and taken him home, I wouldn't have even been able to get into university."

Lin Shuyou: "From this perspective, it makes perfect sense for the uncle to take advantage of the younger one."

Tan Wenbin: "Indeed."

Lin Shuyou: "But Xiao Yuan's parents used to be at this school. Now Xiao Yuan is at our school, so it seems like he's been demoted."

Tan Wenbin: "Who told us to have such a good name for our school? Back then, Xiao Yuan was obsessed with 'Lao Si Dao' (a type of slang term for a ...

"Hello, classmate, can we get to know each other?"

A girl with short hair took the initiative to approach Lin Shuyou, seeking to get to know him, and behaved in a very natural and generous manner.

Lin Shuyou shook his head and spread his hands: "Sorry, classmate."

"Okay, have a great weekend!" The girl walked away, shrugging and shaking her head at the few female classmates sitting on the grass in the distance.

Tan Wenbin praised, "Tsk tsk tsk, our Ah You is truly loyal and unwavering; once he sets his sights on someone, he only commits to that one."

Runsheng: "Which one?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the ginkgo tree, turned his head, and looked at the grassy area opposite.

When he was very young, his father would hold him and sit there, telling him about his chance encounter with his mother.

The foolish father thought it was fate and destiny, unaware that he was actually prey that had been targeted by a hunting rifle long ago.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his pocket watch and glanced at the ginkgo leaf specimen tucked inside.

With a wave of his hand, the boy planned to set up a simple temporary isolation formation.

But at this moment, he sensed the feng shui of the place rejecting his actions.

It was possible to force the arrangement forward without much problem, but Li Zhuiyuan decided to stop.

The boy and his friends went to eat first. After the meal, as it got dark, they returned to the spot, and the three of them each picked up a Yellow River shovel and began digging.

"Found it, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Tan Wenbin held up a rectangular wooden box, which was exquisite and rustic. It would usually be placed in the sales counter at the crematorium for customers' families to choose from.

Li Zhuiyuan took it, weighed it in his hand, and found that there were books inside, but also some powder and fragments.

Touching the opening, I found it was a mechanism; if opened incorrectly, kerosene would leak out and spontaneously combust.

For Li Zhuiyuan, this kind of mechanism was not difficult at all.

However, the boy didn't plan to open it now; he would save it for when he got back.

Li Zhuiyuan handed the box to Runsheng, who put it into his backpack.

After filling the pit back in, without further delay, everyone left the school, got into the car, and headed towards the location of the third radish.

There were two drivers in the car, and when they were on the road, the car basically kept running even when the drivers were resting.

Unfortunately, we were a bit unlucky; there was a traffic jam at night due to road construction.

However, as the sun rises, the vast expanse of Northeast China, bathed in the morning light, unfolds before everyone.

For a long time, Northeast China was one of the most developed regions in the country.

Even now, when young people from Northeast China come to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, they feel that the local urban infrastructure and facilities are nothing special.

Driving along its veins, you can almost hear its unique weight and grandeur.

However, just as the group was about to reach Dandong, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that the description of the specific location behind Posuofu Road on the prison wall on the first page of the "Wordless Book" had disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell on the woman in the cell. The woman understood, left the first page, went to the second page, and began the interrogation.

Ye Dui on the second page also looked bewildered, meaning that he was also unable to sense the exact location of his last fellow inmate.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that this was probably not "it" deliberately causing trouble. He was about to head straight for the Goguryeo tomb after completing this mission, so it wouldn't be worth it for it to deliberately create some turmoil here. It was more likely that something unexpected had really happened.

An unexpected event that even it cannot avoid or eliminate.

Without specific coordinates, it's difficult to find someone in a city, let alone someone they're looking for.

We checked into a hotel, booked two rooms, and settled in.

The hotel was not far from the Broken Bridge. In the afternoon, the four of us went there to visit it, and for dinner we ate beef soup rice at a nearby restaurant.

After a satisfying meal, everyone returned to the hotel, took showers, and rested to recover from the fatigue accumulated from their recent continuous travel.

Li Zhuiyuan lay on the bed and opened the "Wordless Book" again.

The exact location has still not been found.

Li Zhuiyuan closed the book and tossed it onto the bedside table.

He's not in a hurry; it's the thing that should be in a hurry.

A good night's sleep.

Li Zhuiyuan got up very early, following his usual routine.

He got out of bed, walked to the window, and discovered that the morning market here had started much, much earlier than he had.

Tan Wenbin sat up: "Brother Xiaoyuan, today..."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the "Book Without Words" again and looked through it, but still couldn't find a specific location.

"Let's go to the morning market."

Ah-you was on night watch, and after waking Run-sheng up, the four of them went to the morning market.

The morning market is bustling with activity, offers a wide variety of products, and most importantly, is very affordable.

Li Zhuiyuan had already eaten his fill, while Runsheng and the other two wished they could eat from beginning to end.

After finishing their meal, instead of rushing back to the hotel, everyone found a set of steps to sit down and digest their food.

Lin Shuyou suddenly remarked, "If Miss Chen were here, she would definitely enjoy the meal very much."

After he finished speaking, Ayou realized that he might have said something wrong.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes, she will."

There's still a score to settle between the boy and the old man of the Chen family.

Moreover, it can be seen from Chen Zunfeng that, while there may not be a direct relationship between the Chen family of Qiongya and the Goguryeo tombs, there are indeed similarities between the two.

Perhaps, after I emerge from the Goguryeo tomb, I will have a clearer understanding of the Chen family of Qiongya.

This is the first time I've encountered a situation where the river's currents suddenly become stuck and the waves can't be pushed forward.

Admittedly, Li Zhuiyuan could skip this place and head straight for Ji'an.

But it would be a shame not to get to eat the third carrot. Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou both received gifts, so this gift, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be for Runsheng.

Runsheng is the cornerstone of the entire team, and his promotion is of paramount importance.

Let's wait a few days. If it really doesn't work, then we can skip it, or see when "it" gives a more straightforward and specific hint.

For the next two days, the four of them really treated it like a tourist trip, spending their time visiting museums and memorial halls, or sampling local delicacies.

As Tan Wenbin strolled back to the hotel from the riverside square in the evening, he laughed and said, "If I had known I would be staying here for so long, I could have stopped by Shenyang on the way here, found a bathhouse, taken a bath, and gotten a back scrub."

Lin Shuyou: "Lu Yi said in the dormitory that if we go to the Northeast to play someday and go into a bathhouse, we should go to the second floor if there is one, and go to the third floor if there is one."

Tan Wenbin glanced at Ayou: "What do you want to do upstairs?"

Lin Shuyou: "I don't know."

Tan Wenbin was about to say something more when his cell phone rang.

He answered the phone, mumbled "uh-huh" repeatedly, then covered the receiver and said to Li Zhuiyuan:
"Brother Xiaoyuan, it's Brother Liang on the phone. Brother Liang said that the investigation project has been restarted. He and Engineer Luo have been recalled to Jinling and are expected to bring their team to Ji'an in three days."

Brother Liang means that we should go back to Nanjing and rejoin the team now.

"Tell Brother Liangliang our current location and ask him if we can join the team nearby after they arrive."

Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang held discussions, and then Tan Wenbin hung up the phone.

“Brother Xiaoyuan, Brother Liang said it’s no problem. We can rejoin the team in Ji’an. Anyway, we have all our documents with us.”

"Ah."

Li Zhuiyuan looked down at the wordless book tied to his waist.

He finally understood why this wave of rhythm had been forcibly interrupted.

It's not only beings of the level of giant tortoises, emperors, or bodhisattvas who can change the course of waves.

Some things, once they appear, even they must temporarily retreat from their sharp edge.

But for something ethereal and intangible to have an impact on reality, it needs to have something tangible to exist.

It can be understood that the restart of the investigation team interrupted the progress of this wave, but the real factors that interrupted this process must objectively exist.

Li Zhuiyuan looked around and a possibility came to mind.

On the way back, Tan Wenbin stretched:
"Ah~"

Xiao Yuan's red thread unexpectedly connected with himself.

After a while, Tan Wenbin put his arm around Lin Shuyou's shoulder and said, "Brother Xiaoyuan, since we're just going to lie around sleeping anyway, I'll take Ayou to experience the local bathhouse culture." "Okay."

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng returned to the hotel.

With Tan Wenbin not around, Runsheng stayed in Li Zhuiyuan's room.

It was already dark outside. Li Zhuiyuan said to Runsheng, "Let's go, Runsheng, let's go to the rooftop."

"Ah."

"Take your backpack."

"it is good."

Once they reached the hotel rooftop, Li Zhuiyuan asked Runsheng to set up the small altar. Only then did Runsheng understand what Xiaoyuan wanted him to do.

Li Zhuiyuan sat on the platform at the edge of the roof and pulled his collar up.

Runsheng burned the yellow paper, squatted on the ground, picked up paper and pen, and prepared to record.

It contains a lot of words, but they are all meaningless ramblings.

Runsheng remembered it with great relish.

After finishing, Runsheng tidied up the place and looked at Li Zhuiyuan:

"Xiao Yuan, let's go back to our room."

"Ah."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, glanced at the distance again, and left the rooftop with Runsheng.

In that direction, in a place so far away that it was almost invisible, Lin Shuyou had also set up an offering table and was burning paper money, while Tan Wenbin held a small compass in his left hand and three incense sticks in his right.

When the red thread was connected earlier, Brother Xiaoyuan told him to stay away from the hotel first, and then call Zhao Yi. If he couldn't get through, he should use this primitive esoteric method to sense it. If he could sense it, then they could decide what to do.

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, did you sense it?"

Tan Wenbin: "It had no effect at all; the compass needle didn't move an inch."

Lin Shuyou: "So you're saying the three eyes aren't here?"

Tan Wenbin shook his head: "Since Brother Xiaoyuan told us to look for him here, Zhao Yi should be here right now, but he's still quite far from us as the crow flies. How about we drive to another area and set up a ritual to sense him again?"

Lin Shuyou responded and took the incense and compass from Tan Wenbin so that Tan Wenbin could use the keys to drive the car over.

As soon as Ah-you took over, he noticed that the compass needle had changed.

"It moved, Brother Bin, it moved, it moved."

Seeing this, Tan Wenbin sighed and said, "It seems that you and Zhao Yi are still the most deeply connected."

Lin Shuyou: "It's probably because I hate him the most."

Tan Wenbin: "I'll drive the car over, you give me directions, and I'll drive."

Lin Shuyou: "Great!"

After getting in the car, Lin Shuyou sat in the passenger seat, stretched out his hand, and pointed out the direction to Tan Wenbin according to the compass.

However, the car had been driving for quite some time and had already traveled a considerable distance, but it still hadn't reached its destination.

"Ah You, how could you sense Zhao Yi from such a distance?"

"I never imagined I would hate him so much."

"No, what directions are you giving me? I've driven here before. We've already circled around the perimeter of this area."

"That's right, I pointed out the way to you, Brother Bin, based on the compass pointer."

“Ah You, this is the compass that Brother Xiao Yuan made himself.”

"I know, it must be very accurate."

"Did you forget to correct that fixed error?"

……

The old, dilapidated gymnasium is no longer in use. There are rumors that once the latest municipal plan is implemented, this gymnasium and the surrounding old residential area will be demolished.

At this moment, yellow miasma filled the small gymnasium.

From the outside, nothing is apparent, but once you step into the core area, it will instantly captivate your senses.

A sprightly old man, dressed in a long black robe, cloth shoes, and sporting a tuft of yellow goatee, stood in the stands high up in the stadium.

The old man waved his hands incessantly forward, controlling the yellow miasma and causing it to constantly change its state.

In the audience opposite the old man stood a stylish and beautiful middle-aged woman with a mole on the corner of her mouth, which added to her charm.

She must have been incredibly beautiful in her youth, and even at her current age, she still exudes charm.

The middle-aged woman held a fan and fanned it every now and then toward the yellow miasma in front of her. Each fanning motion would envelop a faint pink wisp in the miasma, like adding seasoning to a large pot of yellow soup.

"Uncle Lu, why are these guys so tough to deal with?"

"The tougher the problem, the less we should let them get out easily."

Ran Yarou nodded in deep agreement. She and Lu Yu had been trapping that group of people here for almost four days.

Although the opponent was unable to escape their predicament, our side was also unable to break through. What should have been a thrilling battle turned into a stalemate.

At this moment, three people came out backward from below the stadium, all of them bearing serious injuries, some caused by sharp weapons, and others with bite and claw marks.

They had just launched another offensive, but despite having the advantage of timing, location, and popular support, they were still unable to overcome their completely disadvantaged opponent.

Lu Yu said in a deep voice, "Let's all bleed a little. Since the feud has already become so big, we can't just give up and end it in a muddled way."

After speaking, Lu Yu took the lead, and strands of yellow hair grew from his body. He was neither evil nor had any demonic aura. If you got close, you could smell a refreshing fragrance.

Thicker wisps of yellow miasma were injected into the sports field below, the yellow fog now resembling thick porridge.

Ran Yarou's eyes became both clear and alluring. A soft, illusory tail swayed out from behind her. As she continued to fan herself with her fan, illusory images of pink and red skulls appeared, emitting seductive laughter as they collectively rushed into the miasma.

The three people below also showed obvious changes, their auras becoming stronger. When the time was right and the conditions were right, the three of them rushed in again without prior arrangement.

Within the yellow miasma.

Xu Ming sat cross-legged next to Zhao Yi, with vines rising up around him and his boss, enveloping them both.

Outside, Liang Yan, Liang Li, and Chen Jing faced off against the three who had rushed in. Although their opponents had become stronger, they were not at a disadvantage.

As for Zhao Yi, he lay there, unconscious.

A golden maggot, about half the size of a palm, was wriggling on Zhao Yi's chest.

No one dared to forcibly remove it from the leader, because the maggot's wriggling frequency was synchronized with the leader's heartbeat.

Zhao Yi had already figured out that the man surnamed Li had been collecting vegetables the whole way.

He was envious and jealous, but other than that, he had no other thoughts and never considered trying to take the credit ahead of time.

Doing this would result in short-term gains far outweighing long-term risks; only a fool would do such a thing.

But some things, just because you don't want to do them doesn't mean you'll never encounter them.

The main reason was that Zhao Yi kept a very close pace throughout the journey.

Li Zhuiyuan made a trip to the capital midway, and then encountered a major traffic jam on the way out of the pass.

Zhao Yi didn't go anywhere else. He went straight from the outskirts of Tianjin to Dandong. He encountered a huge traffic jam, but he got out of the car and led his men to run through the traffic jam and then pay to flag down another car ahead.

He was afraid of falling behind Li's progress, but he didn't expect that he would actually surpass it.

Upon arriving near that location, Zhao Yi was preparing to lead his men to hide and lie in wait. He chose a decent bathhouse.

Take a bath, get a back scrub, and then relax on the sofa in the rest area, enjoying a cup of tea.

With Liang Yan and Liang Li both around, going upstairs was out of the question.

Just as he was fully relaxing his exhausted body, the door between life and death suddenly opened rapidly.

There is something!
Zhao Yi gave a shout and immediately rushed over; the specific location was in the boiler room.

When Zhao Yi entered, he happened to see a woman whose body looked like a honeycomb briquette, riddled with holes from worms, crawling out of the coal pile.

The two of them stared at each other through the holes.

The woman let out a sharp shriek and darted out through a broken window in the boiler room roof.

Zhao Yi then chased after him.

He could sense that the woman had a powerful aura, but her presence was very weak, and that she was following the path of evil Gu poison.

In Zhao Yi's previous team, there was a one-time use Miao witch doctor.

From her, Zhao Yi gained a deeper understanding of the Gu Dao. Those who specialize in refining evil Gu are like evil cultivators. If you want, you can shout "Everyone has the right to kill them" if you see them.

The pursuit proceeded smoothly, and Zhao Yi even took the clothes that Liang Li had thrown to him from behind—clothes he had previously stored in a locker at the bathhouse.

When the woman fled into the dilapidated little gymnasium, Zhao Yi successfully intervened and subdued her.

Then, without saying a word, the woman gave Zhao Yi a fierce look.

"boom!"

It self-destructed.

In an instant, blood and flesh filled the air, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.

Zhao Yi hadn't expected her to be so decisive, and he certainly hadn't anticipated that her self-destructive move would be so ruthless.

Zhao Yi immediately took precautions to protect himself from the poisons that the Gu Master was skilled at using. However, the woman did not release any poison when she self-destructed. Instead, she gave away her life essence as a gift and blasted it directly at Zhao Yi.

It was that large patch of tiny maggots.

That's right, they are not poisons, they are the storage of a woman's vitality.

The precautions against poison were rendered ineffective in the face of this gift. Zhao Yi's body was immediately covered with swarms of maggots, which immediately began to transfer their life force to him.

If she were to use poison, even if Zhao Yi were caught off guard, he could withstand it thanks to the protection of his dragon skin, though he would have to pay a price.

But this kind of direct, highly nourishing treatment is impossible to handle. Zhao Yi was too weak to handle it, and his body and consciousness were so sluggish that he fainted.

Just then, a group of highly skilled shamans appeared, and Liang Yan and Liang Li followed at the same time.

Both sides immediately assumed the other was on the side of the evil sorcerer, and with their eyes meeting, they quickly completed the prelude of "What are you looking at?" and "What's it to you if I'm looking at you?" and started fighting.

Because Zhao Yi was unconscious, only the rough younger brother and sister remained in the team.

No one could cope with the yellow miasma and powdery fog; they could only endure it, trapped within it, unable to escape.

Fortunately, the remaining people were all very strong, and even in this unfavorable situation, they were still able to maintain their defenses and protect Zhao Yi in the central area.

The two sides remained deadlocked until now. During this time, the dense maggots on Zhao Yi's body gradually gathered into the largest one. Not only did Zhao Yi show no signs of waking up, but his aura also grew weaker and weaker.

At that moment, a yellow pickup truck with a Jinling license plate stopped at the entrance of the stadium.

Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou got out of the car together and came in.

Upon entering, I was taken aback by the sight before me.

Lin Shuyou activated his vertical pupils and vaguely saw the figures of Zhao Yi and his group amidst the yellow miasma.

Without saying a word, Ah You pulled out his double maces, ready to save that damned three-eyed man.

Tan Wenbin's snake-like eyes swept over the old man and the beautiful woman above him. He sniffed the air and found no demonic aura, but rather a peaceful and pure one.

"Ah You, wait a minute!"

Tan Wenbin reached out and grabbed Lin Shuyou's shoulder, pulling him back. Then he stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, there seems to be a misunderstanding here. I am willing to mediate between the two parties!"

At this moment, Lu Yu, who was above, looked down at Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou and asked:

"Who are you? And what is your relationship with this evil Gu practitioner?"

Tan Wenbin answered loudly:
"I am Zhao Yi from Jiujiang!"

(End of this chapter)