What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

On the street downstairs, breakfast stalls have already been set up, and the aroma of steaming hot buns wafts up.

Sanitation workers are sweeping up fallen leaves, and occasionally a few early morning buses drive by.

When I arrived at the funeral home by taxi, I was surprised to find that my old, eight-times-used Santana was already parked in a parking space inside the funeral home.

Without a doubt, it must have been Lu Yan who arranged for it to be sent back.

This woman, despite her seemingly cold exterior, possesses a delicate heart.

After making a sigh, I clocked in, changed into a white coat, put on a mask, and walked into the morgue.

Today is relatively quiet; only two bodies that died of natural causes need to be dressed.

One was an elderly woman who died peacefully in her sleep, and the other was a middle-aged person who passed away due to illness.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the busyness, and just as I finished adjusting the middle-aged man's tie, my phone suddenly started vibrating wildly in my pocket.

I took off my gloves, took out my phone, and my lips twitched involuntarily.

Group name: Jiangcheng Ghost-Catching Squad.

At this moment, the screen was flooded with messages about Li Qing.

Li Qing: @ChenYangLaoChen! You son of a bitch! You're not being fair!

Li Qing: Last night there was such a big commotion, even the bigwigs from the General Administration came, and you didn't even call me?!

Li Qing: I treated you like a brother for life, and you actually ate alone behind my back! My compass was practically smoking from spinning so fast last night!

Li Qing: [Kitchen knife][Bomb][Poop]

Looking at this screen full of accusations, I can almost see Li Qing's furious face.

I shook my head helplessly and typed a reply.

"Last night's operation was an official operation with a very high level of secrecy. And it happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to inform you."

Li Qing: "Excuses! All excuses! I've heard about it all. It was a grand undertaking by the Guardian of the Cauldron, and even the Heavenly Craftsman showed up!"

I can't believe I missed such a big event! Ugh! I'm so mad!

At this moment, Jin Wanliang, who had been diving, surfaced.

Jin Wanliang: "Alright, Master Li, stop wailing. If you had actually gone to see what happened last night, your master would probably have broken your legs by now."

Li Qing: "Old Jin, whose side are you on? Why are you boosting others' morale while belittling your own?"

Jin Wanliang: "I'm telling the truth. Moreover, as far as I know, Brother Chen made a great contribution last night. The Shouding people's plan in Jiangcheng has been completely ruined."

As I looked at the screen, a slight thought crossed my mind.

Jin Wanliang's information network was indeed excellent; he already knew the general outline of what happened last night.

However, what happened last night was actually something I deliberately didn't tell Li Qing about.

The guards came with great force; the scene last night looked like a life-threatening job.

I already owe Li Qing enough, and I don't want him to get too deeply involved in some things.

I sighed and put my phone away.

Just then, another crisp notification sound rang out.

"bite--"

It's a bank transfer notification.

「您尾号5678的储蓄卡于01月25日10:35分存入人民币500，000.00元，附言：特别劳务费。[江城民俗文化研究所]」

Five hundred thousand.

I raised an eyebrow. Lu Yan's move this time is quite extravagant.

Although this amount of money is not a huge sum for me now, it represents the official attitude.

I feel at ease holding this money.

……

The day went by quickly.

Apart from dealing with the two bodies, I spent the rest of my time slacking off in the lounge.

Before I knew it, the sky outside the window had completely darkened.

I packed my things and got ready to leave work.

I started the car and drove out of the funeral home, merging into the tail end of the evening rush hour.

The night view of Jiangcheng is beautiful, with neon lights flashing and cars and people bustling about.

After driving for about ten minutes, the car turned onto a cement road with weeds growing on both sides.

Because of the construction of the overpass, half of the streetlights here are broken, making the place look particularly eerie.

"Clang—"

The car drove over a pothole, and the chassis emitted a teeth-grinding screeching sound.

I frowned, preparing to slow down, when suddenly, a strange chill ran down my spine and straight to my head.

This feeling...

It feels like being locked in!

Before I could react, a dark figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the previously empty road ahead.

It was a person dressed in a black bodysuit, holding a black dagger, standing straight in the middle of the road, staring intently at my car.

"court death?"

I instinctively slammed on the brakes.

But the brake pads on this beat-up car were already badly worn, and the ground seemed to have been tampered with, making it as slippery as if it had been oiled.

The car didn't stop; instead, it swerved and crashed into the dark shadow on the side!

Just as they were about to collide, the dark figure suddenly twisted strangely, as if it had melted away, sliding along the ground to the bottom of the car.

Immediately afterwards—

"Bang!"

A loud bang.

A tremendous impact came from under the car, and the entire Santana was overturned as if by an invisible hand, tumbling twice in the air before crashing heavily into the roadside weeds.

The glass shattered on the ground, and the airbag deployed, hitting me hard in the face.

"Cough cough..."

I coughed a few times from the smoke and dust, kicked the car door, and climbed out of the deformed driver's cab.

Apart from a minor scrape on my forehead, I wasn't seriously injured.

With the protective aura surrounding me, this level of physical impact wouldn't kill me.

But a fire suddenly ignited within me.

Although this car is old and worn out, it's still my means of transportation to shelter me from the wind and rain.

"Shadow Sect?"

I brushed the shards of glass off my clothes, my tone icy.

There was dead silence all around.

Only the overturned Santana was still emitting white smoke, its headlights flashing, illuminating three figures slowly emerging from the tall grass ahead.

Two men and one woman.

They were dressed in black and wore masks that covered half of their faces.

Although his expression was unclear, the sinister aura emanating from him could be smelled from a great distance.

"Chen Yang..."

The leader, a man with a hoarse voice, twirled two Emei daggers in his hand.

"You destroyed our Shadow Sect's foundation in Jiangcheng and caused the tragic death of our elders. Today, we will use your head as a sacrifice!"

As expected, they were escaped members of the Shadow Sect.

Last night, the guardian of the cauldron was severely injured, and as his partner, Shadow Sect will certainly be under close scrutiny in this operation by the Bureau of Folklore.

Adding to the three elders I sent in before, I estimate that a large portion of the Shadow Sect's power has been lost at my hands.

I didn't expect them to dare to cause me trouble.

Looking at the group of people in front of me, I guessed they were either those who hadn't had time to leave, or die-hard loyalists harboring resentment and wanting revenge.

"Just the three of you?"

I didn't even touch the scalpel in my sleeve; I just stared at them quietly, as if I were looking at three dead men.

I shook my head. "He doesn't even deserve to make me draw my sword."

"Arrogant!"

The woman screamed and raised her hands, sending more than a dozen black darts hurtling towards me with a whooshing sound.

At the same time, the other two men blurred into two afterimages and attacked me from the left and right sides respectively.