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

Gu Zhao and his group left Jingyuan Cave.

The stable owner lamented, "Having come this time, I wonder if I'll ever have another chance in my lifetime!"

The sky gradually brightened.

We walked along and arrived near the Yinshui River.

Along the way, we encountered a group of corpse retrievers from the T-zone who had come to work, including many familiar faces.

Upon seeing them, the other person immediately stepped forward to greet them and asked, "Where did you go yesterday?"

"The Red-Eyed Demon and the Ugly Dragon searched everywhere for you, but they did not see a single person until almost midnight."

"They also said that you encountered misfortune, lost your money, and even your lives."

He bombarded the group from the stables with a barrage of questions!

There were also corpse retrievers who watched coldly or curiously as the men in the stables gathered.

Along the way, it attracted a lot of attention.

Suddenly, someone's nose twitched, their expression changed, and they exclaimed in surprise:

"Wait...where is this rich aroma of wine coming from?"

"It smells so good."

The stable and others then began to patiently explain.

"How did you know we went to Jingyuan Cave and drank the spirit wine?"

The group of corpse retrievers were completely bewildered, hearing about "five kinds of spiritual fruits," "Shezi fruit," "longevity peach fruit," and "Ziju flower," brewed over forty-nine days.

They only remembered the last few words.

He exclaimed in shock, "Six thousand magic coins!"

One of the body retrievers repeatedly said, "How much is the ritual fee? Six thousand ritual fees!"

"Damn it, let me smell it, what does it smell like?"

The stableman puffed out his chest. "Six thousand coins, that's just a few bites."

then!

The four men from the stable recounted their experiences at Jingyuan Cave the previous night, while a group of corpse retrievers followed closely behind, listening with great interest.

"The maids there are so beautiful, their skin is so delicate you could almost squeeze water out of it!"

"Old Ma, how does it compare to the ones in the earthen kiln?"

The stableman waved his hand, "It's incomparable; to compare would be vulgar."

Gu Zhao followed behind without making a sound.

Inside the two-story pavilion of the large ship used for retrieving corpses.

Cen Pan was staring intently at the transfer order issued by the Zhenhe Division in his hand. The vermilion official seal on the document was clear and conspicuous, and a wisp of pure precious energy slowly drifted between the seal lines.

We must rely on solid evidence; there can be no falsification whatsoever.

The document clearly states in black and white:

Gu Zhao, a handyman at the morgue, is promoted to supervisor effective immediately to fill the vacancy left by Jiang Xiubao and will be placed under Cen Pan's command.

This was a document issued by the Zhenhe Division, and Cen Pan, a mere steward, dared not interfere in the slightest.

Cen Pan slowly rubbed the steel ball between his fingertips, his eyes were deep and his face was dark and unreadable.

Beside him stood a man, thin as a bamboo pole, with a long, narrow donkey-like face and a deliberately ingratiating expression.

This man was Zhao He, the other supervisor on the ship besides Jiang Xiubao.

He and Jiang Xiubao were cut from the same cloth, both looking down on the lowly corpse retrievers, and frequently beating and scolding them, with mistreatment being commonplace.

It should be understood that those who can secure a position as a supervisor invariably rely on powerful backers or have extensive connections.

Zhao He's backer is none other than Cen Pan, who is standing right in front of him.

The two were uncle and nephew. Zhao He's job as a supervisor was something Cen Pan had personally secured for him by spending a lot of money and using his connections.

Zhao He stood aside, his face full of indignation. "Uncle, that Gu Zhao has no connections whatsoever, he has no backing whatsoever."

"Why did he get appointed to the position of supervisor so easily?"

Back then, in order to get this job, he first begged his uncle in every way, and then went home to ask his mother for help. After going through many twists and turns, he finally got the position of supervisor.

Gu Zhao is just a peasant. What merit or ability does he have to rise to the top in one step?

Cen Pan's gaze turned slightly cold as he said in a deep voice, "Remember, this is a corpse retrieval ship. Do I have to teach you how to address it again?"

Zhao He's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly changed his words: "This subordinate knows his mistake, Steward Cen."

He had always held a certain amount of awe for this uncle.

Cen Pan gave a faint "hmm," and said, "Yesterday he performed a great service in front of Commander Gong Yuzhou, and in addition to the reward of eight thousand coins, he also received a substantial reward."

"This position of supervisor is a reward personally promised by the envoy of the guard."

"He was favored by a guard, and that was his greatest backer."

Zhao He remained unconvinced, "If that's the case, and you have powerful backers, why did we take action last night?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cen Pan frowned abruptly.

Zhao He immediately realized that those secrets from yesterday shouldn't have been brought up on this corpse-retrieval boat, and hurriedly bowed his head to apologize:

"Uncle, I know I was wrong!"

Cen Pan's face darkened, his anger surging, yet he was helpless and had to suppress his rage.

"Yesterday, I had planned to take advantage of those servants to seize Gu Zhao."

"Well, it was done without anyone noticing."

Cen Pan's tone was cold and stern. "As for backers, the bigwigs in the Zhenhe Division are always arrogant and haughty. How could they possibly care about a mere servant?"

"Let's just assume he died in vain."

"I didn't expect this..."

Yesterday, Cen Pan had secretly instructed Zhao He to gather a group of capable men and ambush Gu Zhao on his inevitable route.

They planned to wait until the Red-Eyed Demon and the Ugly Dragon made their move before reaping the benefits.

But to everyone's surprise, both groups ended up empty-handed.

Zhao He snorted coldly, his eyes filled with jealousy: "Gu Zhao and his group are really lucky."

"Last night they went to Sui Beifeng for a leisurely time. Someone sent back news that they and their group even drank some spiritual wine at Jingyuan Cave and had a great time."

"All this money spent on the ritual should be mine!"

"I've worked in the morgue for many years, but I've never tasted what spirit wine tastes like."

At this point, a ruthless glint flashed in Zhao He's eyes, and he lowered his voice to probe, "Uncle, why don't we try another opportunity tonight..."

Cen Pan slowly shook his head. "No."

"Now that Gu Zhao's promotion order has been issued, from now on he will be a proper supervisor, his status will be different, and he will no longer be a low-level servant."

"His mysterious death will surely be thoroughly investigated by the Zhenhe Division. Every clue will be traced back to the bottom, and we will be implicated."

What Cen Pan truly coveted was never the money Gu Zhao possessed.

What he truly desired was the unpredictable opportunity hidden within Gu Zhao.

He survived encountering water monkeys, repeatedly retrieved black zombies, and even made great contributions to the Zhenhe Division.

Gu Zhao, what kind of extraordinary opportunity do you possess?

In Cen Pan's mind, Gu Zhao was already his prize, a piece of meat in his bowl, and he would never allow anyone else to interfere or take away even a fraction of the benefits.

The steel ball slowly spun in his fingertips. Cen Pan gathered his chaotic thoughts and solemnly instructed:

"Zhao He, you are not allowed to lay a hand on Gu Zhao without my orders."

"Yes, Uncle."

Zhao He bowed in agreement, but his lowered eyes secretly flickered.

On the second floor of the body retrieval boat, Cen Pan leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance at the riverbank.

A group of corpse retrievers, surrounding several people from the stables, were slowly walking towards the large ship.

No need to search deliberately.

In the vast crowd, the young man's figure stood out.

Cen Pan narrowed his eyes.

The boy seemed to sense something and looked up.