Joining Tiandao Company: Starting by mending a zombie world

The hot pot restaurant is located on the main street outside the school.

The three of them ate very quickly, finishing in less than an hour.

The most discussed topics during that time were antiquities and large tombs.

Using his slightly richer experience, Chu Sheng explained the rules of tomb exploration to the two women.

"I didn't expect you to know about the Mountain Moving Sect." Dai Ran said in surprise, "I only heard about it from my mentor."

"Brother Chu, Senior Sister Dai is amazing! She's even been to tombs!"

Cai Ningning looked at Dai Ran with longing.

She hasn't graduated yet, so it's unlikely she'll have the opportunity to go on a tomb raiding trip with the team.

"They're all old tombs, utterly boring." Dai Ran shook her head, clearly resistant. "Actually, what I really want is to excavate a new tomb, like in the movies."

"What if there really are zongzi?" Cai Ningning asked, her eyes full of curiosity as she ate her sliced ​​meat.

"What can we do? Run away." Dai Ran rolled her eyes at her, then looked on expectantly, "If only Zhang Qiling were here."

Chu Sheng joked, "What if there really is a master like Zhang Qiling?"

Dai Ran chuckled, "Then I'll repay him with my body and give him a baby!"

Upon hearing this, neither Cai Ningning nor Chu Sheng took it seriously. They smiled and moved on to other topics.

After the meal, Chu Sheng went to the library to look up information as usual.

As the saying goes, perseverance pays off, and he finally found some records about the Lesser Pure Yang Body in a few ancient books.

One of the books clearly records the solution to the problem of exploding body – dual cultivation.

"It seems that, just as Master said, the power of the Little Pure Yang Body is too great, and it is necessary to use it to bring rain to people from time to time."

Chu Sheng smiled wryly, never expecting that wanting to cultivate would become such a troublesome thing without a woman.

The book also says that it needs to be combined with a medicinal bath to be effective.

"Never mind, there's always a way out."

He copied down a prescription for a medicinal bath, put the ancient book back on the bookshelf, glanced at his phone, and then went to the 200th Hospital again.

After leaving messages at several shops offering to sell Yuan Shikai silver dollars, he returned to his rented room.

He plans to take advantage of these few days of rest to sell the items he brought back and earn his first pot of gold.

Putting everything else aside, the medicinal materials alone in the prescription would probably cost a lot of money.

only…

Chu Sheng hadn't expected that selling antiques wouldn't be as easy as he'd imagined.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

As if by prior arrangement, none of the antique dealers contacted him, not even making a single phone call.

Instead, Dai Ran called him.

"Feed?"

"Chu Sheng? This is Dai Ran." A capable female voice came from the other end of the phone. "I forgot to get your number that day, so I asked Ning Ning for it."

"Is there something you need, Miss Dai?" Chu Sheng sat up.

"I checked the information about the rules for tomb raiding that you mentioned the other day, and I'd like to confirm some details with you." Dai Ran paused. "Also... I told my mentor about this, and he's very interested in some of the runes you mentioned. He'd like to arrange a meeting with you."

"tutor?"

"Professor Liu from the Institute of Religious Studies at Nanjing University is also a leading authority on folklore in China," Dai Ran said earnestly.

Chu Sheng was taken aback, never expecting that a professor would contact him one day. He smiled and said:

"It's an honor, but I can't guarantee that what I say is correct."

"Understood, just an academic exchange," Dai Ran said with a smile. "How about 3 PM at the 'Guanshan Tea House' near Nanjing University?"

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Chu Sheng read for a while longer before going out.

……

Guanshan Tea House is located on the back street of Nanjing University. Its decor is simple and elegant, and it is frequented by professors and students.

When Chu Sheng arrived, Dai Ran was already waiting at the door.

Today she changed into a beige knit sweater and jeans, which made her look less formal and more casual.

"You're right on time," Dai Ran said with a smile. "My advisor is already here, in the 'Listening to the Rain' private room on the second floor."

The two went upstairs.

Inside the private room, an elderly man with silver hair and gold-rimmed glasses was making tea.

Seeing Chu Sheng enter, he stood up and extended his hand:

"Liu Wenyuan, head of the Institute of Religious Studies at Nanjing University."

"Chu Sheng." Chu Sheng shook hands, feeling that the other's palms were rough and calloused, unlike those of a pure scholar.

"Sit down," Professor Liu gestured. "Xiao Dai said you're very knowledgeable about folk arts, especially... Maoshan Taoist magic?"

Chu Sheng's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged: "I know a little bit."

Professor Liu adjusted his glasses, took a document out of his bag, and pushed it in front of Chu Sheng.

"This is an archaeological briefing on the Princess Tomb in Gantian Town, the contents of which have not yet been made public."

Chu Sheng took it and quickly glanced at it.

The briefing detailed the structure of the Princess Tomb, the burial objects, and some inexplicable phenomena—

For example, there are many rune-like patterns carved on the walls of the tomb. In the main tomb, there is a mummified corpse dressed in Japanese military uniform with a peach wood sword stuck in its chest.

Furthermore, abnormal residual energy was detected on the unearthed bronze mirrors…

"Most scholars would just dismiss this as superstition or coincidence," Professor Liu said, staring at Chu Sheng.

"But I know that some things... cannot be explained by science."

Chu Sheng put down the briefing and asked politely, "What would Professor Liu like to ask me?"

"I'd like to know what these runes mean?" Professor Liu pointed to one of the photos.

The photo shows a rubbing of the tomb wall, with a line of distorted Japanese characters engraved on it.

Chu Sheng glanced at it and frowned slightly. "This is a soul-summoning incantation from the Nine Chrysanthemums sect. It must have been someone who came after to try to summon the soul of this Tartar princess."

Professor Liu's eyes lit up: "What about this peach wood sword?"

Another photo shows the peach wood sword on the chest of the mummified Japanese soldier.

The sword blade was rotten, but the runes on the hilt were still barely legible.

"A corpse-suppressing talisman," Chu Sheng said, "and a high-level 'Five Thunder Corpse-suppressing Talisman,' specifically designed to counter zombies."

Professor Liu took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.

"Mr. Chu, to be honest, our research institute... has some cooperation with a special department of the country, but not much."

He paused, then lowered his voice:

"His main responsibility is to investigate some paranormal phenomena in the tomb and assess their threat level."

"But don't worry, we're just assessing the situation; we don't need to resolve anything," Professor Liu emphasized, worried that he might frighten Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng was not surprised.

Since World War II, capable countries have had similar institutions, only with different names.

For example, he himself was a member of Special Forces 749.

"The discovery of Princess Tomb in Gantian Town has made us very uneasy," Professor Liu continued, "because similar tombs have been discovered in seven other locations across the country."

"Seven places?" Chu Sheng frowned.

"Yes, they are distributed across different provinces, spanning from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China era, but they all have something in common—"

Professor Liu said slowly and deliberately, "The tomb owners were all women, and the tombs all contained traces of Japanese sorcery."

Chu Sheng's heart sank.

According to the company, Aisin-Gioro Huiji should have died at his hands long ago, so how could she be connected to other places?

Could this be the latest move by the Nine Chrysanthemums faction?

Or is it just a simple coincidence?

"Classmate Chu, this old man of mine has recently secured some funding and wants to organize a team to excavate one of the princess tombs."

Professor Liu spoke sincerely, "I'd like to hire an advisor to accompany me and provide guidance. I wonder if you have any free time recently?"

Chu Sheng was taken aback: "You want me to be your consultant?"

Professor Liu nodded: "That's right, it will probably take two or three months."

Chu Sheng opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Dai Ran spoke first:

"Don't worry, you'll get paid."

Professor Liu also laughed and said, "Yes, yes, the consulting fee is calculated on a daily basis, 500 per day."

Chu Sheng was secretly pleased—who wouldn't go if there was a salary? After clarifying the departure date and seeing that there were still a few days left, he agreed.

After I finish my work at the company tonight, I'll set off with these guys.

……