From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

Zhang Zhixuan led Shen Yanqiu away from the Wuhe Ferry. The two walked along the riverbank for half a mile before turning into a bustling street.

After passing through the bustling streets, Zhang Zhixuan arrived at the entrance of Guihoutang and went straight inside.

Behind the counter, Manager Wu was sitting idly, yawning. When Zhang Zhixuan suddenly walked in, he put on a smile and said, "Oh, Little Zhang, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"Manager Wu, how have you been?" Zhang Zhixuan replied with a smile.

Manager Wu looked at Shen Yanqiu behind Zhang Zhixuan with a questioning expression: "Who is this?"

"I just ran into a friend on the street. We're planning to have dinner together later and catch up."

"Oh!" Manager Wu nodded in realization.

"Manager Wu, is Sister Liu here?"

"The boss has gone out on business and won't be back for a while."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhixuan looked helpless: "That's really unfortunate."

Shopkeeper Wu waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's alright. Before the boss went on a long trip, she told me that if you come, take the paper-making order and go directly to the courtyard she left for you. From now on, we'll provide you with food and lodging, and all the materials will be provided. You can do the paper-making in that courtyard."

As he spoke, Manager Wu pulled a bunch of keys from under the counter: "Let's go, I'll take you there."

"Then I'll have to trouble Manager Wu."

"Hey, kid, don't be so polite with me," Manager Wu laughed, telling his men to keep an eye on the shop while he led Zhang Zhixuan and Shen Yanqiu toward the east of the city.

The small courtyard in the east of the city is located in a quiet alley, not far from Guihoutang.

Manager Wu unlocked the door, pushed open the courtyard gate, and said with a smile, "Come in, this is the place."

Zhang Zhixuan walked into the courtyard and looked around. The courtyard was not large. A passageway with blue bricks led straight from the entrance of the courtyard to the main house. There were two main houses. The east wing was the kitchen, and the west wing was piled with some miscellaneous items.

The room was spotless, the bedding was freshly changed, and a white porcelain teapot and several teacups sat on the table.

"I'll have someone bring you some rice and noodles later. If you see anything else you need, just let me know. The owner said all the expenses will be on her tab, so don't be shy," Manager Wu said with a smile.

Zhang Zhixuan said, "Everything is quite complete, and there's nothing we need to add. Thank you so much for your help."

"It's alright, it's alright. You can pack up yourself. I'm going back now. If you need anything, just come to Guihoutang to find me."

"Alright, Manager Wu, take care."

After seeing Manager Wu off, Zhang Zhixuan placed the keys on the table, gestured for Shen Yanqiu to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and then sat down opposite him.

Taking out the notebook again, Zhang Zhixuan and Shen Yanqiu briefly reviewed all the current clues.

After rearranging the events, Zhang Zhixuan pieced together the clues in his mind like a jigsaw puzzle.

All signs indicate that Shen Yanting must have discovered something he shouldn't have known before his death, which threatened the interests of certain people, ultimately leading to his being silenced.

In particular, some of the key points involve certain unorthodox and insidious methods, which inevitably involve sorcerers from certain forces.

"This is certainly not an ordinary case." Zhang Zhixuan frowned, his expression grave.

"Perhaps after the coroner's examination, we can obtain more useful clues."

"By the way, Shen Yanqiu, where is your brother's body kept?"

Shen Yanqiu said, "I asked an acquaintance to temporarily place my brother's body in the morgue of the mortuary and hired a professional coroner to perform an autopsy first thing tomorrow morning."

Shen Yanqiu looked up at Zhang Zhixuan and asked, "Mr. Zhang, could you come with me to the autopsy?"

Although Zhang Zhixuan personally pulled Shen Yanting's body from the Wu River, he was in such a hurry that he didn't have time to examine it carefully.

Just then, Zhang Zhixuan was about to ask Shen Yanqiu if he could accompany them and personally participate in the autopsy, but Shen Yanqiu took the initiative to ask him.

Zhang Zhixuan readily agreed: "Okay, come find me here first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll go to the mortuary with you."

Shen Yanqiu nodded upon hearing this: "Mr. Zhang, then it's a promise. I'll come back to see you again first thing tomorrow morning. It's getting late, so I'll head back now."

"Okay," Zhang Zhixuan replied.

Shen Yanqiu stood up, bowed deeply to Zhang Zhixuan, and turned to leave.

After seeing Shen Yanqiu off, Zhang Zhixuan returned to the room and sat down. He vaguely felt that the various methods used in this matter seemed somewhat familiar.

In particular, the "wooden dolls and strange symbols" recorded in the notebook seem to be somewhat similar to the methods of the sorcerers they had encountered before.

"If you have the chance, you'll know once you find these things and see them for yourself."

As Zhang Zhixuan was thinking, there was a knock on the door outside the courtyard. He went out and saw that the rice and noodles had arrived.

After tidying up his things, Zhang Zhixuan wasn't in the mood to cook for himself, so he decided to go out and grab something to eat.

When he returned to the courtyard, it was already late at night. As usual, Zhang Zhixuan meditated to improve his Taoist skills.

After finishing his meditation, Zhang Zhixuan composed himself, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhang Zhixuan stared blankly at the dark rooftop, occasionally reminiscing about things that were long ago. His thoughts drifted away, and finally, he fell asleep in a daze.

The next day, before dawn, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Zhang Zhixuan opened the door and saw Shen Yanqiu standing there, his eyes were dark and his face was pale, as if he hadn't slept all night. He was carrying a bulging cloth bag, and it was unclear what was inside.

"Mr. Zhang, we've received word from the mortuary that the coroner is ready. Shall we head over now?"

"Okay, let's go."

Zhang Zhixuan went back inside, put on an outer garment, locked the door, bought two steamed buns to eat on the way, and then followed Shen Yanqiu toward the mortuary.

The mortuary was located on a barren piece of land in the east of the city. It was a solitary courtyard with walls made of broken bricks. Some parts of the walls had collapsed due to years of disrepair and had been hastily repaired with wooden planks.

When the two arrived at the entrance of the mortuary, they saw that the black paint on the door had faded to grayish-white, and the iron door knocker made of the mythical beast Jiao Tu was also covered in rust.

Shen Yanqiu walked ahead and pushed open the door, the hinges creaking.

The gate opened, and the two walked into the courtyard, where they saw several thin-skinned coffins.

The air was filled with the stench of formaldehyde and decay, a mixture of sourness and foulness.

A thin old man was squatting in the corner of the yard smoking. Hearing the noise, he tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, then stood up and looked up at Zhang Zhixuan and Shen Yanqiu.

At the same time, Zhang Zhixuan also sized up the old man in the courtyard of the mortuary.

The old man was at least in his sixties, wearing a gray cloth jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a section of his thin forearm. His face was covered with wrinkles, full of vicissitudes, but his eyes, though small, were bright and piercing.

Shen Yanqiu stepped forward, bowed, and said respectfully, "Master Meng, this is Mr. Zhang, whom I invited to help investigate the cause of my brother's death. May we see my brother's body?"

The coroner surnamed Meng nodded, turned around, pushed open the door to the main room of the mortuary, and said calmly, "This way."

Zhang Zhixuan and Shen Yanqiu followed the coroner into the morgue.

There were no windows in the room, only a little light coming in through the doorway. There were two wooden tables against the wall, covered with oilcloth. There was a layer of dark red stain on the oilcloth, and it was hard to tell if it was blood or something else.

Several knives, a saw, an iron hook, and a large enamel basin were hanging on the wall.

Shen Yanting's body lay on the wooden table on the left, covered with a white sheet.

The coroner, Meng, walked to the table, took a stick of incense from the wall, lit it, and placed it in an incense burner by the door. He muttered a few words, burned a stack of paper money, then turned around and slowly said:

"Gentlemen, I must mention some rules beforehand. Respect for the deceased is paramount, so please forgive me before proceeding."

Zhang Zhixuan nodded.

Coroner Meng then reached out and slowly lifted the white sheet.