Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 456

Mr. Zhai's phone call was brief, only informing Li Zhuiyuan of his specific arrival time in Yuxi.

This was a perfectly normal scheduling meeting, but the timing of the call was really clever.

After Li Zhuiyuan hung up the phone, Runsheng was tidying up the offering table and cleaning the ashes from the brazier. He noticed that the seal the boy had thrown in earlier had disappeared.

According to Mengmeng's description in Fengdu, this seal should have already appeared on the offering table in the main hall at the top of Hell.

Mengmeng also said that those two lazy, rotten dogs are still there.

To some extent, this also shows that Zhao Yi still "remains in the emperor's heart".

Li Zhuiyuan looked down at the mobile phone in his hand.

I remember that when I first met Mr. Zhai on my way to Fengdu, and when the Fengdu project was officially launched, the Emperor's influence on Mr. Zhai was not that profound.

Elder Zhai was not the Emperor's puppet; the Emperor showed Elder Zhai considerable respect.

But then, the Emperor, using Elder Zhai's identity, began to interact with himself more and more intensely.

Li Zhuiyuan did not believe that this was because the Emperor was increasingly controlling Zhai Lao. If the Emperor wanted to do this, he could have started when Zhai Lao was young, and there was no need to wait until now.

There must be a deeper reason behind this.

If we use the process of elimination, the only remaining influencing factor is ourselves.

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that it was Elder Zhai's own high regard for his student, his genuine desire to cultivate him and pave the way for him, that led to a convergence between him and the Great Emperor in this regard.

In other words, if the Emperor's actions could help him, then even if Elder Zhai himself was unaware of it, he would subconsciously be willing to cooperate with the Emperor, thus allowing the Emperor to gain greater composure.

This old man is kind to me without considering personal gain or loss.

Runsheng tidied up the offering table, turned his head and saw a painful expression on Xiaoyuan's face, and his breathing became rapid.

"Xiao Yuan".

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, took a deep breath, smiled, and said:
"Runsheng, I'm fine."

Runsheng nodded. This kind of expression often appeared on Xiaoyuan's face before, but it would usually pass after a while.

Tan Wenbin: "Ah You, set the table, let's get ready to eat!"

Runsheng also went over to help.

A-Li walked to Li Zhuiyuan's side and handed him a warm towel that had just been washed with hot water.

Li Zhuiyuan took it and wiped his face.

He just had a relapse, but the relapse was different from before.

Previously, his condition would flare up when he forced himself to go against his reason, causing him to feel as if his skin was peeling off.

Previously, he had been trying to understand the relationship between Elder Zhai and the Emperor. Like someone seeing a math problem and instinctively trying to deduce the answer, he began to analyze how to use Elder Zhai's care for him to influence the Emperor in reverse, so as to find an opportunity to achieve greater benefits for himself.

As a result, a feeling of nausea arose.

I was rejecting this way of thinking, and I was disgusted by the idea of ​​scheming against or taking advantage of an old man's selfless love for me.

Just like the steady progress of desertification control projects, although they cannot yet be covered with lush trees, they can already stabilize sand and store water.

As its own skin gradually grew thicker, it also began to help it resist the disease of absolute rationality.

After wiping his face, Li Zhuiyuan pulled at his cheek to savor the moment.

Ah Li pinched her own cheek and smiled at the boy, revealing two dimples.

The steamed buns and mantou were reheated, and the meat and vegetables that Ayou bought were used by Tan Wenbin to make a stew, with the cooled fried dough sticks cut into sections and added to it.

When traveling along the river, this kind of food is a rare and high-standard enjoyment.

At the dinner table, Tan Wenbin praised Lin Shuyou again for his performance inside the Yama Barrier, which made Lin Shuyou feel embarrassed.

He felt relieved when Xiao Yuan said that the praise step would be skipped.

If he hadn't forgotten his talisman needles, he probably would have already charged in and attacked.

Runsheng put down his chopsticks.

Tan Wenbin: "Runsheng, why are you eating so little? Do you have a poor appetite?"

Runsheng: "I've already eaten, I'm not very hungry."

Tan Wenbin: "It seems that Yama is well-nourished."

Runsheng: "Hmm, that pickled radish is also delicious."

Thinking of this, Runsheng felt a little regretful that the last ginseng head was left behind, and he couldn't eat it.

However, according to the theory that you are what you eat, it would be a waste to eat the ginseng head, so I felt relieved.

Runsheng got off the table first, picked up a broom and began cleaning the guesthouse.

While cleaning the cobwebs in the corner of the room, Runsheng noticed that his brother-in-law's eyelids were starting to tremble, a sign that he was about to wake up.

Tan Wenbin said that he wanted his brother-in-law to see Lin Shuyou first thing when he woke up, but at that moment Lin Shuyou was still eating in the kitchen.

Runsheng then extended a finger and flicked his brother-in-law's forehead.

"Snapped."

My brother-in-law fainted again.

After the meal, Tan Wenbin began assigning tasks and directing everyone to set up formations in the guesthouse.

I was busy fishing last night and busy frying fish this morning, so this matter has been delayed until now.

The "Code of Conduct for Walking Along the River" regulates all aspects of life, and modularizes as much as possible where possible.

Based on different geographical environments and response needs, Li Zhuiyuan improved and decomposed a number of representative formation templates.

The partners knew what to do but not why, and by rote memorization and formulaic cramming, they were able to set up the formation.

In the afternoon, the formation was completed, meaning everyone had a stable and safe place to stay in the area.

After taking a shower, Lin Shuyou dried his hair and went into the house to check on his brother-in-law.

My brother-in-law, who had taken another nap, started trembling again.

He woke up.

Ayou: "You're awake?"

Chen Lang's first reaction upon opening his eyes was a distorted face, with the angry spirit of his servant appearing on his face like a frightened tiger tearing forward.

Lin Shuyou's vertical pupils opened.

Unable to withstand the pressure, the spirit shrank back, trembling violently.

The fierce look in Chen Lang's eyes faded, and he returned to his usual disheveled and melancholic self.

"You are...I am..."

Chen Lang was trying hard to recall, and finally pieced together a logical possibility:
"You saved me?"

Lin Shuyou: "Hmm."

"Why did you save me? No, that's not what I meant. I'm grateful to you, but I can't understand why you would take such a big risk to save me in that situation."

Boy: "For the Cuju team!"

Lin Shuyou: "Do you know Chen Lin?"

"My sister?" Chen Lang seemed to grasp the key point. "You know my sister?"

"Yes, I know you."

"What is your relationship?"

"We...we...are dating."

“I remember now, when I asked you to predict your marriage, you wrote the character ‘琳’ for me. No wonder.”

Then, the two fell silent for a while.

The relationship between a brother and sister's partner is often initially fraught with resistance and awkwardness.

Chen Lang broke the silence first: "Is she... Linlin... alright?"

Lin Shuyou: "That's good. You can go to Jinling to see her yourself."

Chen Lang shook his head and said, "I can't go back. I can't see her, or even hear her voice. Otherwise, I won't be able to control myself and I'll do something... Anyway, I've encountered something very complicated and embarrassing. It's a long story."

Lin Shuyou: "I know, you've been turned the tables by Samurai Shodown."

Chen Lang turned his head away, looking dejected, and said self-deprecatingly, "As an Onmyoji, being controlled by my own servant spirit, isn't that incredibly useless and worthless?"

Lin Shuyou nodded: "Mm."

Chen Lang pursed his lips, intending to change the subject: "Are you and Linlin really just dating?"

The boy said, "It's much simpler than you think."

Lin Shuyou: "Hmm."

Chen Lang: "Doesn't it involve other things? What I mean is, after she leaves the family with me, she might encounter some things, it might be quite difficult, so she might suffer some grievances. Our family has enemies in the martial arts world..."

Lin Shuyou: "The enemy has been wiped out."

Chen Lang: "By you?"

Lin Shuyou: "Hmm."

Chen Lang smiled bitterly, "Hehe, I can't take care of my own sister, and I can't handle the family affairs either. I often doubt myself, what value do I have in living in this world?"

Lin Shuyou: "Hmm."

The spirit medium said, "Spirit medium, you don't actually need to cater to your brother-in-law like this from beginning to end."

Chen Lang was in a bad mood. He didn't know how to continue the conversation. He had a vague feeling that he should adjust his position as soon as possible.

It's not about positioning him as the brother-in-law, but rather as the savior and his power and background.

But despite his efforts, he could never get clear feedback from Lin Shuyou. He could either sit, stand, or kneel, but the feeling of not being able to sit or stand and only being able to squat was agonizing.

Lin Shuyou was also somewhat upset. When it came to matters of the heart, he was habitually reserved and shy, not good at expressing himself, and even less good at making things happen.

Tan Wenbin, who was standing in the courtyard, was also extremely upset by what he heard, so he simply came in with a cigarette between his fingers.

Lin Shuyou looked at Brother Bin and felt relieved, then silently stepped back.

Tan Wenbin exhaled a puff of smoke at Chen Lang, who was sitting up in bed.

Chen Lang immediately felt relieved and relaxed.

Tan Wenbin: "Are you Chen Lin's brother?"

Chen Lang: "Yes, my name is Chen Lang."

Tan Wenbin pointed at Lin Shuyou and said, "He violated our team rules by taking it upon himself to save you, putting our entire team in a passive position. He was severely punished by our boss for this."

Chen Lang swallowed hard, then, kneeling on the bed, he turned to face Lin Shuyou, preparing to bow respectfully.

Tan Wenbin: "A mere, insignificant gift can be worth your life?"

Chen Lang had no choice but to stop: "I..."

Tan Wenbin: "You just need to keep this in mind."

Chen Lang: "Please rest assured, I, Chen Lang, will never forget your life-saving grace."

Tan Wenbin pointed at Lin Shuyou again: "He knelt down and begged in front of our boss for a long time before he finally relented and agreed to help you solve your problems."

Chen Lang: "...Can the problems I have be solved?"

Tan Wenbin: "In order to avoid the backlash of cause and effect, you need to light the lamp a second time."

Chen Lang: "To be honest, for some reason, the intensity of the river water has increased rapidly recently."

I've wanted to turn the lights back on for a while, but it won't allow it.

Tan Wenbin: "You don't need to worry about it."

Chen Lang: "I'm willing to light the lamp a second time!"

Tan Wenbin bent down and stared into Chen Lang's eyes:
"After your problem is solved, you can go see Chen Lin and stay by your sister's side, but you will lose your Soul Servant forever and become a cripple. Are you willing to do that?"

This can be seen as Tan Wenbin testing Ah You's brother-in-law to see what kind of person he really is.

Chen Lin is scheming, but she genuinely likes Ayou.

If this brother-in-law is the kind of person who is very stubborn, then it's not advisable to have too much contact with him in the future.

Chen Lang: "I'm not even as good as a cripple now, I'm a slave."

Tan Wenbin: "Okay, light the lamp. Ah You, get him a candlestick."

Lin Shuyou took the candlestick and placed it in front of Chen Lang.

Tan Wenbin: "Keep the vertical pupils open."

Lin Shuyou activated his vertical pupils.

This is a threat and a deterrent.

In the past, Chen Lang had tried to light the lamp a second time, but the spirit within his body always prevented him from doing so.

This time, Samurai Shodown didn't dare to come out.

The lights were successfully turned on a second time.

Chen Lang burst into tears of joy: "I'm ashore! I'm ashore!"

He initially roamed the martial world by lamplight only because of the circumstances; he was not a ruthless and ambitious man, and was far inferior to Xiong Shan in his time.

Tan Wenbin: "Meditate and adjust yourself, get ready, I'll go invite our boss."

Chen Lang immediately sat cross-legged and began to regulate his breathing.

Tan Wenbin went and invited Li Zhuiyuan over.

Chen Lang looked puzzled when he saw the boy.

“You…you are…”

Li Zhuiyuan stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion towards Chen Lang.

"come out."

"what!!!"

Chen Lang immediately let out a scream, his whole body curled up on the bed, rolling and convulsing.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't stop, but continued to pull his hand backward, and gradually, a soul was forcibly pulled out.

The spirit looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a look of terror on its face, and then began to plead.

Li Zhuiyuan clenched his fist.

"boom!"

The soul exploded, turning into a crystalline mass.

The boy's fist loosened, transforming into a palm, and he pushed forward. The scattered crystalline substance did not dissipate but was compressed back into Chen Lang's body.

His spirit servant is gone, but Li Zhuiyuan has preserved it as the foundation of an Onmyoji. This means that he can continue to select and control new spirit servants and will not become a useless person in the Xuanmen sect.

On the bed, Chen Lang was panting heavily, staring at the ceiling. Sweat soaked not only his clothes but also the bedding beneath him.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Apply the medicine to him."

Tan Wenbin: "After applying the medicine, let him hurry up and leave this troublesome place."

Lin Shuyou: "Okay, I understand."

During the application of the medicine, Chen Lang gradually regained consciousness.

He checked his own state, first feeling relieved, then pleasantly surprised, and finally returning to peace.

He glanced at Lin Shuyou several times, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

After applying the medicine, Chen Lang left the room. Just as he was about to leave through the door, he turned around, knelt down, and bowed.

After the ceremony, he stood up and walked out the door.

As soon as Chen Lang stepped out, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Lin Shuyou chasing after him.

Lin Shuyou handed the money in his hand to Chen Lang:

"You forgot to bring your travel expenses."

After taking the money, Chen Lang mustered his courage, reached out and grabbed Lin Shuyou's arm, and asked very sincerely:
"Although we haven't known each other for long, I can tell you're a good person. Can I...can I call you brother-in-law?"

Lin Shuyou: "Yes...yes."

Chen Lang opened his mouth several times, even making the lip movements, but he still couldn't utter the sound.

Finally, he gave up, patted Lin Shuyou's arm, and said:
"Forget it, your relationship with Linlin is between you two. Let's discuss this separately, okay?"

Lin Shuyou: "That's...okay."

As Chen Lang backed away, he waved to Lin Shuyou and laughed:

Goodbye, brother.

……

"puff!"

Tan Wenbin, who was drinking tea with Li Zhuiyuan, turned his head away and spat out the tea in his mouth.

Li Zhuiyuan also shook his head.

Tan Wenbin wiped his mouth with his sleeve and joked, "Our Ayou's status in the family is really high."

After a pause, Tan Wenbin continued:
"If the old lady knew about this, she would probably be happy. The old lady really likes Chen Lin."

From the old lady's perspective, giving kindness is more reliable than bestowing favors.

The Dragon King's faction will definitely need to be rebuilt in the future, and Li Zhuiyuan's current team will form the foundation of the new faction.

The old lady initially preferred Zhou Yunyun, but gradually developed a liking for Chen Lin.

Just like the melodramatic female protagonists that are popular on TV now, the villainous women in these dramas are often cunning, scheming, and adept at flattery. If you remove their villainous nature, they are actually more likable than the melodramatic female protagonists.

Just then, the chirping of small animals came from outside.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, the intelligence has arrived. I'm going to receive it."

"Ah."

Tan Wenbin walked out of the guesthouse and came to the outer wall.

Puffs of smoke of various colors rose up in front of him. Following the intelligence, Tan Wenbin used his fingernail to make marks on each identity tag to record their contribution.

After receiving the gift, Tan Wenbin returned to the guesthouse and sat down in front of the boy again.

With a specific goal and a predictable route, the abilities of the mountain spirits and wild demons can be fully realized.

Unlike the past method of casting a wide net and carefully identifying targets, which could easily give away information, now you can simply follow the target from a distance and ask various animals in the vicinity for specific information. This method virtually eliminates the possibility of being detected by the target, because the various animals encountered along the way will not know that they are being followed.

Tan Wenbin first summarized the intelligence, and then sighed:
"Brother Xiaoyuan, they're really efficient at chasing the waves."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Old Zhai said on the phone that he would come earlier, but he won't arrive in Yuxi for another two days."

Tan Wenbin: "Then we might not be able to feed them enough artificial bait."

Xu Mofan, Feng Xionglin, and Zhu Yiwen were three acquaintances chosen by Li Zhuiyuan.

They handed over the distorted waves to them, letting them lead the rest of the group towards their target, Lujiazhuang.

The three people each traveled along a separate line, with others following them at a distance.

The problem now is that these three people are progressing too smoothly and too quickly.

The same applies to those who follow them.

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Xiaoyuan, my concern is that the fake waves we're creating won't last long before they discover we're wrong."

Secondly, even if they successfully instigated conflict with the Lu family village and achieved the desired outcome, the conflict would have started too early. Elder Zhai hadn't even arrived in Yuxi yet, so we couldn't use the Emperor's intervention to slap the forces behind the Lu family village.

Li Zhuiyuan: "My first concern is a bit unnecessary. Brother Binbin, how can you be sure that the clues we gave you were false?"

Tan Wenbin began to think, and combining the content of the "Code of Conduct for Walking the River" in his mind, he realized that Brother Xiao Yuan had proposed this concept in the early stages:

"Brother Xiaoyuan, I understand a bit. Before the results are officially revealed, the answer is dynamic."

Xu Mofan had a wanted poster. The suspect's household registration on the wanted poster had been changed by Tan Wenbin. However, the wanted criminal was originally from Yuxi. It was common for people to register their household registration incorrectly when they were children or to register it with relatives for some reason. So, what if Tan Wenbin had actually changed it to the correct one?
Zhu Yiwen was holding draft paper from Haihe University. Liangliang's group hadn't arrived yet, but the person in charge of preparing to receive them was probably from the vicinity of Lujiazhuang.

The red envelope that Feng Xionglin was holding contained the birth date and time of the old man's mother who had hosted the last vegetarian feast. Who could guarantee that the old man's mother's hometown wasn't near Lujiazhuang?

Li Zhuiyuan: "We are on the river, and they are on the river too. The eyes of Heaven will watch over us and will not overlook them. I don't know what the original correct answer was."

But since they're so efficient, I suspect the river water really did come in through the fake channel we dug, and it's modifying the answers, making us all get them right by accident.

Tan Wenbin: "Why is Jiang Shui doing this? Isn't he helping us? No, he's only helping us in name, but in reality, he's tripping us up."

The sheep were lured to Lujiazhuang too early, and before the project could be finalized, they had already lost their official status advantage.

Before Mr. Zhai even arrived, he had already missed his chance to win the grand prize.

Most importantly, Lu Family Manor is a front for many top forces in the martial arts world. Although it was once used to target the orphans and widows of the Qin Liu family, its reputation in the martial arts world is not that of a heinous and universally condemned evil sect.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, there must be a sect or family among the sheep, which is one of the top martial arts forces behind Lu Family Manor.

Therefore, if things continue to develop smoothly like this, the sheep may arrive before we even have time to plant the powder. In the end, it might turn into Lujiazhuang opening its gates to welcome guests from all directions!
Li Zhuiyuan: "The river is trying to break my plan."

Tan Wenbin remained silent, waiting for Xiao Yuan to provide a solution.

Li Zhuiyuan drank the tea in his cup in one gulp and toyed with the teacup in his hand:
“Brother Binbin, have you noticed? Before, we were always the ones who countered each move, but this time, it's Jiang Shui who's countering our moves.”

"This is because we are stronger, and the relative strength has increased. Just as you said, Brother Xiaoyuan, this time, we have the confidence to sit at the table and play our cards slowly."

"Then we'll continue with our moves and let the river find its own way to resolve the situation."

First, since these three leading sheep are causing the flock to move too fast, let's slow them down and make the flock stop temporarily.

We have to stop at least until Old Zhai comes over.

I know my master too well. That phone call was essentially a promise, but if he arrives and the matter is already over, he won't feel like he did nothing. Instead, he'll assume he's fulfilled his promise to me and demand that I keep my word.

Secondly, let the news spread.

A divine deer has been bred in Lujiazhuang. Those who obtain its fur can forge superior artifacts, those who eat its flesh can rebuild their martial arts physique, and those who drink its blood can elevate their soul.

Once this news gets out, even if they realize something is wrong and know there's something wrong with the wave, they'll actively protect the fake wave and make it seem even more real than the real one.

I will make these sheep willingly become a pack of hungry wolves!

……

After nightfall, it started to rain heavily.

Zhu Yiwen lay on the donkey cart, with a strong man driving in front, an old servant holding an umbrella for him beside him, and a beautiful woman peeling grapes for him.

The beautiful woman offered a grape to Zhu Yiwen's lips, but Zhu Yiwen kept his mouth shut and refused to eat it.

The beautiful woman put the grape in her mouth and held it there, as if she wanted to offer it to him.

Zhu Yiwen lifted his fan and placed it against the beautiful woman's chest to keep her at a distance.

"If you insist on feeding me, fine, I'll kill you right now, then I can enjoy eating this grape in your mouth."

The beautiful woman sighed and said, "You should at least eat something fresh."

Zhu Yiwen: "Fresh food doesn't taste good."

The beautiful woman said nothing more and began to eat grapes.

Zhu Yiwen took out a ginseng root from his pocket and examined the remaining teeth marks on it closely.

He brought the ginseng root to his nose, took a deep breath, and then looked utterly captivated.

The draft paper wrapped around the ginseng root led him to the guesthouse that was about to host the Haihe University delegation.

The guesthouse manager just received a call saying that a landslide had occurred in his hometown village, destroying the ancestral graves, and now a deceased relative of the village was "sleeping" in a large dormitory.

The manager's parents were buried there. Upon hearing the news, he was extremely anxious, but he also had to arrange important reception work and couldn't leave to go back to his hometown to deal with the matter.

Zhu Yiwen introduced himself as a bone examination expert.

We can help the manager go home, find his parents' remains, and rebury them.

The manager was very grateful and gave him his hometown address, saying that he would be richly rewarded if the matter was resolved.

Actually, the manager was anxious, but he didn't have much hope of finding the exact remains. After all, his parents had been buried for so many years, even if he, their own son, went to see them in person, he wouldn't be able to recognize them.

But if an "expert" points to two skeletons and says that these are his father and mother, then he can deceive himself into thinking that his parents have been found and he can rest easy.

For Zhu Yiwen, unfolding clues like these is nothing new.

The paper wrapped around the ginseng root was meant to allow him to make contact with the manager and thus travel to his hometown.

"Xu~~~"

The donkey cart stopped.

Zhu Yiwen sat up. There was a dilapidated temple by the roadside ahead, with a bonfire burning at the entrance. A person was sitting in front of the bonfire.

Upon seeing Runsheng, Zhu Yiwen smiled.

The beautiful woman next to him felt a pang of jealousy; he had never looked at her like that before.

Despite her undeniable charm, she was far less attractive than a cold corpse in his eyes.

Zhu Yiwen began by saying:

"My intuition tells me that there's a big problem with you showing up here to wait for me."

Runsheng nodded: "Yes, there's a problem."

Zhu Yiwen: "My stronger intuition tells me that I shouldn't ask you what the question is, but should move on."

Runsheng nodded again: "Yes, that's right."

Zhu Yiwen: "Ignore him, let's keep going."

The donkey cart continued its journey.

As Zhu Yiwen passed by the entrance of the dilapidated temple, he looked at Runsheng, who was almost face to face with him, and the hairs on his body began to stand on end.

Runsheng touched his belly and asked:
"I'm hungry, do you have any meat?"

"Have!"

Zhu Yiwen picked up the bamboo basket that the old servant had been carrying, got off the carriage, went to the campfire, and sat down next to Runsheng. He excitedly opened the bamboo basket lid, as if showing off his treasured possession:
"Look, these are all good cuts of meat. Which one do you want?"

Runsheng pointed to a piece.

Zhu Yiwen was overjoyed: "Good eye! This piece of 'meat eye' has been buried in the saline-alkali land of the Yin gathering place for more than 30 years. It has its own flavor and is dry-aged."

Runsheng reached out to take it.

Zhu Yiwen immediately pushed Runsheng's hand away and then beckoned to the old servant to bring his frying pan.

"You're just wasting this meat by grilling it like this. Let me pan-fry it for you. First, you need to heat the pan thoroughly..."

……

"Why isn't this rain going to stop? My new hairstyle is going to be ruined again."

Bald-headed Feng Xionglin cursed the weather with great dissatisfaction.

The man and woman following behind him exchanged a glance and smiled wryly.

Despite having no hair on his head, this hairstyle has always been Feng Xionglin's obsession.

The three of them, each holding an umbrella, walked along the mountain path.

The red envelope contained my uncle's stubbornness.

Feng Xionglin held onto this tendon, weeping bitterly, crying out, "Uncle, how could you just leave like this without saying a word? What am I supposed to do all by myself?"
After crying, Feng Xionglin put the tendon in his mouth, chewed it many times, and then swallowed it.

"Hiccup~ Uncle's chewy bits can't be wasted."

As for the birth date and time on the red envelope, Feng Xionglin found an old fortune teller on the street to take a look.

After looking at it, the old sorceress pulled out another old booklet and flipped up to find it.

This was left behind by the old sorceress's grandmother.

In those days, there were many natural disasters, human traffickers, and bandits. Not to mention children, even an adult woman could suddenly disappear while walking on the street.

Back then, finding someone was extremely difficult, and in the end, people would often resort to divination or consulting spirits out of desperation.

The old sorceress had a rule since her grandmother's generation: when searching for missing persons, she would record their birth date and time, as well as their address, and keep a record, just in case the person could be found again later.

This birth date and time is quite peculiar; the old fortune teller actually found one, written down by her grandmother. She exclaimed in surprise:
"This is a girl. Judging by her age, she must be long gone from this world."

Feng Xionglin: "Never mind that. Maybe they just want to return to their roots after they die. Just tell me their address."

The address was in an old-fashioned style, so Feng Xionglin went to the local historical archives. Coincidentally, a local scholar was on duty that day and helped Feng Xionglin translate the address to its current location.

The old fortune teller was chosen randomly on the street, and the old scholar was sitting at the entrance of the museum of literature and history drinking tea. It was all done without any effort.

Feng Xionglin then embarked on the journey home of the person whose birth date and time were indicated by the red envelope.

As they walked, the woman behind Feng Xionglin spoke up: "The rain has stopped!"

Immediately afterward, the man behind him spoke up, "Look, there's a rainbow."

Woman: "Yes, this rainbow is so beautiful."

Feng Xionglin looked up at the torrential rain in front of him.

As for the beautiful rainbow, it's nighttime now!

He reached out and scratched his "hair".

A wary gaze swept across the surroundings.

"Snapped!"

A flashlight turned on.

There was a makeshift shed in front, with two stones inside. On one stone were a comb and scissors, and on the other stone was a white cloth commonly found in barbershops.

Tan Wenbin held up a lump of mud-like substance and said to Feng Xionglin:

"Brother Feng, it's been a long time since we parted ways at the Yu family. I've missed you dearly."

"Brother Tan, me too. Look at me, I've been thinking about you so much that I'm losing my hair."

"Perfect timing, Brother Feng! I have a secret formula for growing hair. I can give it to you and guarantee you'll grow a full head of thick, black hair right away!"

"Is this true?"

"Of course!"

Feng Xionglin walked into the tent, while the men and women behind him were still admiring the rainbow in the sky in the heavy rain.

Sitting down on the rock, Tan Wenbin lifted the white cloth and wrapped it around Feng Xionglin.

"Smack!" A soft, black puddle was flung onto the shiny head by Tan Wenbin.

Feng Xionglin: "Brother Tan, it really is true that a day apart feels like three autumns. For me, it's just one day, but for Brother Tan, it's like three autumns."

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Feng, you flatter me. It was just a stroke of luck, nothing to mention, nothing to mention at all."

Feng Xionglin: "By the way, there's something I asked you last time. When we were at the Yu family's house last time, did you see my old uncle? The short, fat one with short limbs."

Tan Wenbin: "Hey, look at my memory, I really can't remember. Apart from the time when we stood guard together at the end, everything I encountered before that was a demon beast, right? Your uncle should have died at the hands of a demon beast, dying while fighting demons to protect the righteous path."

Feng Xionglin: "Absolutely, absolutely, that's the truth."

Unwrapping the white cloth around his neck, Feng Xionglin prepared to stand up: "Brother Tan, I have other matters to attend to..."

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Feng, touch your head. Does my secret formula work?"

Feng Xionglin reached out and touched the top of his head, and surprisingly, he could feel a thick layer of hair.

His gaze sharpened, his smile widened, and he sat down again.

Road:
"Brother Tan, please continue. Nothing is more important than your hair!"

……

"boom!"

The door was kicked open.

Xu Mofan walked in.

"Who is it?! Are you looking for death?!"

A man with a cleaver in his hand and a fierce-looking face walked out of the house.

Xu Mofan held up the wanted poster in his hand, confirming that this person was a member of the kidnapping and murder gang, and asked:
Where's your boss?

"My boss went to his old home in the mountains behind his house... Hey, who are you? Do I need to tell you?"

Upon realizing that the other person was holding a wanted poster, the man began to approach, his grip on the knife tightening.

Xu Mofan nodded.

The house had been uninhabited for a long time, and weeds grew on the ground and in the cracks of the walls.

Xu Mofan reached out and broke off a blade of grass, rubbed it between his fingertips, and rolled it up.

The man continued to approach, deliberately shouting, "Who are you? What do you mean by kicking down my door? Let me tell you, you have to give me an explanation today!"

A voice came from outside:
"Sever his tendons and cripple his limbs, then hand him over to the police."

"Hand him over to the police?" The man suddenly lunged forward, raising the kitchen knife in his hand and slashing at Xu Mofan.

"Buzz!"

The blade of grass in Xu Mofan's hand flew out, piercing the man's chest like a bullet and creating a hole.

"you……"

"Pfft!"

The cleaver slipped from the man's hand, he knelt on the ground, then fell to his side and died.

There are four people on the wanted list.

He had just received the wanted poster and was distancing himself from the others, preparing to buy some dry food in preparation for the upcoming search, when he noticed one of the wanted posters walking out of the massage parlor next door.

Xu Mofan dragged the man into the alley, found out the location of the others, and then broke his neck.

This is the third one he's killed. There's one last boss left, in the village behind that mountain, which happens to be the same place of residence as the boss on the wanted poster.

Xu Mofan walked out of the house, and Xia He stood at the doorway, holding a long cloth bag.

The heavy rain obscured the view, and the sound came from under the old locust tree in front, where one could vaguely see someone sitting to take shelter from the rain.

Xu Mofan walked in that direction, and Xia He quickly opened her umbrella and followed.

The sound came again from under the locust tree:
"You should hand him over to the police and let him be tried in court."

Xu Mofan: "In eliminating violence and maintaining order, why be bound by formalities and act with womanly compassion?"

"Don't you think that killing them so easily is too lenient on them compared to the evil they have done?"

Xu Mofan stopped, frowned in thought, then nodded and said:

"indeed."

“This time he was the one who tried to attack you, and you killed him in self-defense. Next time, remember to report to the police as soon as possible. Don’t resort to torture on your own; that’s wrong.”

Li Zhuiyuan rarely talks so much.

The reason I was willing to say these things to Xu Mofan was because of Mr. Xu Fengzhi.

At the Yu family, the old master took the lead in blocking out evil spirits. At the Luoyang inn, the old master set aside sectarian differences and imparted the true essence of the Xu family spear technique.

Even if Li Zhuiyuan was willing to humbly acknowledge the old man as a generation below him, Xu Mofan, this grandson, was still his junior.

Xu Mofan continued walking towards the locust tree.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I have set up an array on the way forward, with that stone tablet as the boundary. If you go any further, you will enter the range of my array."

Xu Mofan's lips curled into a disdainful smile.

I lifted my foot and stepped over the stone tablet without hesitation, continuing forward.

As you get closer, the scene under the old locust tree becomes clearer.

A boy and a girl sat on a stone bench by the roots of a tree, each holding a can of Jianlibao (a popular Chinese herbal tea brand) and drinking it through a straw.

A young man leaned against the stone table, with a pair of golden maces on either side of him.

The boy recognized him; he was a master at flattering his grandfather.

Moreover, he was also adept at flattering the Dragon King's daughter, Chen.

He recognized the young man; he had been quite skilled with his pair of golden maces when they blocked the Yu family's door.

He had never seen the girl before.

Xu Mofan: "Are you trying to stop me here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The rain is too heavy, and the mountain road is difficult to walk on. It will be safer to wait until the rain stops and the road dries."

Xu Mofan placed his hand on the cloth bag that Xia He was holding beside him and said in a deep voice:

"Anyone who blocks my gun, die!"

Hearing this, Lin Shuyou perked up, shrugged his shoulders, and placed his hands on the golden mace. But after glancing at the stone tablet behind Xu Mofan, he deflated. He probably wouldn't have a chance to make a move. This guy had actually stubbornly walked into the formation that Brother Xiaoyuan had personally set up.

But the next moment, Xu Mofan withdrew his hand from the cloth bag and sat cross-legged in the rain.

Road:
"I promised my grandfather that if I ever meet you on the river again, I will spare your life. This is a one-time exception, and I will never do it again!"

(End of this chapter)