Surviving in the Demonic Sect, one begins cultivation by retrieving corpses.

Jiang Xiubao's words surprised everyone present.

"Today, let's do it my way."

The stableman watched from the sidelines, gritting his teeth and muttering under his breath, "That fat pig is going to cut our wages again, the money we corpse retrievers earn for our lives."

The obese monk took three hundred magic coins from the boy's hand, weighed them in his palm, and the coins made a crisp sound as they rose and fell.

Jiang Xiubao had always loved the sound of the magic coins striking each other, finding it incredibly pleasant and delightful.

Looking at the group of corpse retrievers, their faces full of resentment yet unable to speak out, the sense of satisfaction intensified.

He shifted his gaze to the crowd and slowly said, "Gu Zhao, your reputation has been quite impressive lately."

"Your name is being spread all over the other ships."

A young man stepped out; it was Gu Zhao.

Jiang Xiubao stepped forward and looked down at him condescendingly: "Gu Zhao, the rules for today's reward have been changed."

"Whoever is the first to retrieve the black zombie will have to... hand over this money to the jailer."

What do you think?

His face was a mass of fleshy muscles, revealing only a pair of small, slightly narrowed eyes.

The expected resentment and anger did not appear; the boy's face remained calm.

Jiang Xiubao was immediately annoyed, and seeing that the young man had handsome features, he felt a surge of anger rising in his heart for no reason.

"What, you're not convinced?"

The stable boy standing nearby was so anxious his heart was pounding. "Brother Zhao, please don't act rashly. Three hundred coins is nothing."

If we offend this supervisor today, our future days will be difficult.

This supervisor not only controls the number of corpses retrieved daily by the corpse retrievers, but also manages the monthly shifts, leave requests, work assignments, and even the distribution of the ritual money.

Under the stewards, the people who retrieve corpses have the most contact with and the most power are the supervisors.

The people around him had different expressions; some were secretly anxious, some were gloating, and some were watching coldly.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Xiubao frowned. "Gu Zhao, I'll let it slide since you never came to retrieve the body before and didn't know my methods."

"Finally, I'll ask you one last time."

Are you convinced or not?

His tone grew colder. "Think carefully before you answer. This job at the morgue is for seven years. You still have five years left. We have a long road ahead of us dealing with each other."

The stableman was extremely anxious, wishing he could rush forward and stop Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao glanced up, then slowly looked away, and finally spoke:

"Supervisor Jiang, are you saying you have big rules?"

"Are the rules of the corpse retrieval center and the river-suppressing bureau really that strict?"

"I remember clearly that the first person to pull a black zombie out of the Yinshui River each day should receive a reward. This is a rule set by the Corpse Retrieval Office and a law of the River Suppression Bureau."

Jiang Xiubao suddenly swung his long whip, the tip whistling through the air: "Don't bring up things you don't want to talk about!"

"With the steward absent on this corpse retrieval ship, my word is law!"

Gu Zhao laughed and said, "So, Supervisor Jiang, your rules are stricter than those of the morgue, and even stricter than those of the Zhenhe Judicial Bureau?"

Jiang Xiubao was furious and cursed, "Damn it, if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know your place!"

Before he finished speaking, his cultivation at the seventh level of the fetal movement stage suddenly activated, and with a flick of his long whip, the sound of it tearing through the air was piercing and sharp.

Such imposing power sent shivers down the spines of everyone around who was retrieving corpses.

If that lash landed squarely, it would at least tear the skin and flesh, leaving the person bedridden for several days.

The long whip, carrying a fierce gust of wind, struck Gu Zhao's face directly.

Jiang Xiubao's face was contorted with rage as he deliberately slapped him in the face.

He couldn't stand seeing such fair-skinned young men.

Gu Zhao stood there motionless, as if he were frozen in fear.

"Snap—"

The stable was so frightened that it closed its eyes tightly, not daring to look.

The expected screams did not come.

Jiang Xiubao felt someone grab his whip from behind.

"That blind brat..."

He turned around.

Then, I froze.

He stammered, "Gong...Gong Weishi..., what brings you here..."

The newcomer was tall and slender, with long, black hair cascading down his shoulders. He wore a blue robe with cloud patterns, and a white snake was coiled between his left fingers, its head raised and flicking its tongue at Jiang Xiubao.

Gong Yuzhou did not make a move; the long whip was firmly fixed in mid-air by an invisible stream of true qi.

He had handsome features, but his expression remained nonchalant, and his tone was indifferent:

"I heard it all clearly just now."

"This supervisor says your rules are even stricter than those of the Zhenhe Division."

Jiang Xiubao was so frightened that his legs went weak and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

Behind Gong Yuzhou were the same man and woman from before.

The man was thin, with a calm and steady gaze.

The woman had a mole at the corner of her eye and looked at him with disdain, saying, "He's just a prison guard, how dare he be so lawless."

Jiang Xiubao prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, his voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Commander Gong, I know I was wrong!"

"My lord, you must have misheard me. This subordinate... this subordinate didn't dare utter a single word!"

His backer was merely a minor banner officer in the clan, two ranks lower than the guard envoy.

The man before them, Gong Yuzhou, was a favorite of the current deputy director of the Zhenhe Division, wielding immense power.

He knew better than anyone how much power a guard had.

Even if they were killed on the spot, the morgue would not utter a single word.

Even his uncle, far from daring to seek revenge, feared being caught in the crossfire and immediately severed ties with him.

The moment he uttered those words, his life was already in someone else's hands.

This feeling of being on the brink of life and death almost crushed him.

Gong Yuzhou said slowly, "Did I hear that right?"

Jiang Xiubao's breathing became rapid, his obese body trembled uncontrollably, and he pleaded incoherently:

"Commander Gong, please spare my life! My uncle is a flag officer under Commander Sun of the Zhenhe Division... My lord, I just spoke without thinking. Please forgive me, please forgive me this time!"

"A junior officer!?"

The woman with a mole at the corner of her eye spoke up, scoffing, "You're comparing our Senior Brother Gong to a mere minor officer."

"Since when did Senior Brother have to give face to a mere flag officer?"

The thin man next to him also shook his head, thinking that the fat man was utterly foolish.

The crew of corpse retrievers on the boat were so frightened that they fell silent, not daring to even breathe.

Only then did they realize that the fierce and menacing guards in front of them were as insignificant as shrimps in front of the real big shots of the River Suppression Division.

Jiang Xiubao knew he had said something wrong, and his whole body trembled even more violently, his forehead repeatedly hitting the deck, where blood had already seeped out.

Gong Yuzhou simply smiled faintly, then turned his gaze to the young man in front of him.

"I remember you."

"Tell me, did I mishear you, or did this supervisor truly misspoke?"

"If I misheard, then let's drop this matter; if I didn't mishear..."

He said calmly, "This guard knowingly violated the law. As the garrison commander of the Zhenhe Division, I should do my duty."

Gong Yuzhou's expression was gentle. "Gu Zhao, what do you think?"

The woman with a mole at the corner of her eye slightly raised her eyes, a hint of surprise flashing across them. She hadn't expected that Senior Brother Gong would specifically ask about this young man.

I still remember his name.

This is tantamount to handing over to him the right to decide how to deal with this person.

It seems the jailer was about to punish the corpse retriever.

The woman found it amusing, and then the tables turned.

Jiang Xiubao snapped out of his daze and scrambled to Gu Zhao's side, pleading in a trembling voice:

"Gu Zhao, no... Brother Gu!"