From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

Shen Yanqiu stood frozen in place, her expression one of painful struggle, her eyes fixed on the disfigured corpse on the ground, as if the blood in her body had frozen.

He lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his older brother, Shen Yanting.

When he was a child, he was frail and sickly. His older brother often had to carry him for miles to see a doctor. When he couldn't afford to pay for his school fees, his older brother went to the docks to carry heavy loads and worked as a newspaper boy. He did the work of four people. As long as he could earn money, his older brother would do anything.

He had never really suffered much hardship growing up because his older brother had endured all the hardships for him, carrying the burden for him and supporting him.

His older brother, Shen Yanting, was his only relative in the world and the greatest pillar in his life.

Now, the sky has fallen, the pillar has collapsed, leaving him all alone to suffer the pain of this world.

Shen Yanting stood motionless, the greatest sorrow being that there was no more pain to feel, no more grief to be felt.

He remained silent for a long time, finally taking a deep breath and saying firmly, "My brother deserves to die with dignity! He shouldn't have turned into that terrifying thing after death!"

"Mr. Zhang, please do it, burn it!"

"Okay." Zhang Zhixuan nodded in response, and the coroner Meng brought out a bucket of tung oil.

The group worked together to place Shen Yanting's body on a makeshift pile of firewood, poured tung oil on the body, and then threw out torches to set the firewood ablaze.

A raging fire instantly erupted, engulfing everything in its path. The orange-red flames licked at Shen Yanting's corpse, crackling and popping, while wisps of black smoke rose, carrying a foul, acrid smell.

The coroner, Meng, took out an incense burner, lit the incense sticks, and respectfully bowed towards the burning body of Shen Yanting, chanting prayers for his soul's salvation.

"The fire burns away the filth and cleanses the corpse."

Three refinements and nine transformations, returning to the original state.

Skin and flesh turn to ash, tendons and bones turn to soil.

The soul leaves the body and is no longer restrained.

Riding on this firelight, we ascend straight to the pure void.

May they be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, forever freed from delusion.

As soon as the incantation was finished, Shen Yanting's body suddenly convulsed in the fire, his limbs spreading out and then suddenly retracting. The group watched as his mouth opened to its widest extent, emitting a sharp howl that was not human.

The next second, black threads once again gushed out from the seven orifices of Shen Yanting's corpse.

Zhang Zhixuan frowned slightly and threw the golden light talisman he had just used into the fire. In an instant, the golden light turned into fire, burning away all evil.

The black threads twisted and writhed wildly in the flames, curling up, charring, and finally turning to ashes along with Shen Yanting's corpse.

A pale blue light screen popped up in front of Zhang Zhixuan's eyes: [Successfully suppressed the zombie resurrection and exorcised the evil spell, Coroner Proficiency +25]

Shen Yanqiu knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to the corpse burning in the fire.

The fire in the pyre burned for quite a while before gradually dying down. Once the flames were gone, only grayish-white ashes and charred debris remained.

The coroner, Meng, placed Shen Yanting's ashes into an urn, then sealed it tightly with a black cloth bag before handing it to Shen Yanqiu.

Shen Yanqiu took the cloth bag, hugged it to his chest, and clenched it so tightly that his fingers turned white.

Coroner Meng patted Shen Yanqiu on the back and comforted him, "Young man, please accept my condolences."

Shen Yanqiu gave a faint "hmm" and nodded silently.

With the matter at the mortuary settled, Zhang Zhixuan bowed and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Counselor Meng, saying, "Master Meng, you've worked hard. We'll take our leave now."

Coroner Meng nodded and watched Zhang Zhixuan and Shen Yanqiu leave.

After leaving the mortuary, Zhang Zhixuan followed Shen Yanqiu to settle his brother's ashes. By the time everything was settled, it was already dusk.

After a long day, Zhang Zhixuan had only eaten two steamed buns for breakfast, and his stomach was rumbling loudly: "Let's go find a place to eat first."

"Mr. Zhang, you can go ahead. I'll go home first and have some peace and quiet by myself."

"You can't go a day without eating. You look terrible. This isn't good. Come on, listen to me, let's eat first."

Shen Yanqiu was pulled by Zhang Zhixuan into a lively little restaurant. The restaurant was small, but it was full of life. Zhang Zhixuan could smell the aroma of food wafting from the restaurant from afar.

The two chose a quiet corner to sit down. The waiter came over with a teapot and asked, "What would you two like to eat?"

Zhang Zhixuan asked the waiter to name a few dishes and casually ordered a few more.

Before long, one dish after another, freshly cooked and stir-fried, was served. Zhang Zhixuan looked at the table full of delicious food, took a deep breath of the aroma, and his stomach rumbled loudly.

Just as he was about to eat, the waiter who had just left returned, stood beside Zhang Zhixuan, and said in a low voice, "Sir, someone in the backyard wants to speak with you alone."

Zhang Zhixuan frowned and glanced at the waiter, but the waiter didn't say anything more and pointed towards the back door.

Zhang Zhixuan looked dejected, ate a couple of bites of food to fill his stomach, and then said to Shen Yanqiu, "You sit here and eat first, I'll be right back."

Shen Yanqiu nodded absentmindedly without saying a word.

Zhang Zhixuan got up and walked through the side door to the backyard.

In the backyard of the small restaurant, there were several empty wine jars and a pile of firewood. Zhang Zhixuan spotted the person squatting in a corner behind the firewood pile at a glance.

The man was wearing a gray cloth short jacket and a straw hat with the brim pulled low, completely covering most of his face.

At this moment, the man heard Zhang Zhixuan's footsteps, immediately stood up, pressed his straw hat down further, looked around, and then turned to look at Zhang Zhixuan.

Seeing that the man was acting mysteriously and trying to hide his intentions, Zhang Zhixuan had some guesses in his mind. When he got closer, he saw that it was actually Captain Lu Bingyi from the Patrol Division.

Zhang Zhixuan leaned against the wine vat, looked at Lu Bingyi, and asked, "Captain Lu, you're hiding your face and acting all mysterious. What do you want with me?"

Lu Bingyi rubbed his hands together, looking troubled, and said in a low voice, "Master Zhang, I have my reasons for being so secretive. There are Japanese people watching our police station. If they find out, I'll be in big trouble."

"I'm not here for anything else, it's because of the case of the person who drifted down the river at Wuhe Ferry yesterday."

"I investigated that case, but I couldn't get through to it. The higher-ups were putting pressure on me, saying, 'There are always people floating in the river every year, we can't keep up with them all.' It's not just that case; there have been many cases lately that I haven't been able to handle."

"Do you know why? Because this involves too many big issues, and it involves foreigners. I don't have the ability to deal with them."

As Lu Bingyi spoke, he cautiously glanced around, repeatedly confirming that no one was nearby, before saying to Zhang Zhixuan, "I came here to remind you that the Japanese involved in this case are ostensibly merchants from a chamber of commerce, but they are actually connected to Japanese intelligence agencies. You should know that the Japanese have already attacked Fengtian, right?"

"Know."

"Since you know about this, you should understand what I mean."

Upon hearing Lu Bingyi's explanation, Zhang Zhixuan immediately understood.

Zhang Zhixuan frowned deeply, thinking to himself: This case is indeed not simple, just as I had thought before. As long as the Japanese are involved, there is bound to be nothing good. I don't know how many shady things and dark things are involved.

"Captain Lu, I'm currently staying in a quiet little courtyard in the east of the city. If you want to find me, you can go to Guihoutang or directly to that courtyard."

As Zhang Zhixuan spoke, he left his detailed address. Lu Bingyi nodded solemnly, fastened his straw hat, and quickly left through the back door.

When Zhang Zhixuan returned to the dining table, Shen Yanqiu was holding a bowl, absentmindedly shoveling a few mouthfuls of rice in and out, but only chewing them twice before swallowing them whole. He didn't touch any of the dishes on the table.

Zhang Zhixuan shook his head and brought up the previous topic again: "Shen Yanqiu, based on all the current clues, it is not difficult to deduce that the last commission your brother accepted before his death was most likely because he found out something about the Japanese that they shouldn't have investigated, so he was silenced."

"And the thing at the bottom of the river, and the strange changes in your brother's body, were not accidental. Someone must be deliberately trying to confuse the public, attract attention, and destroy all traceable evidence."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanqiu, who had been looking utterly lost, instantly snapped out of it, gripped her chopsticks tightly, looked at Zhang Zhixuan, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what should we do now?"