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

I took out the bank card with the 500,000 yuan bonus that I had just deposited and handed it to Lao Ma.

The money comes quickly and goes quickly.

But it's worth it to get such a big guy in return.

……

On my way home in my new car, I deliberately took a detour on a rough road to test drive it.

The suspension is on the stiffer side, but provides excellent support, making it feel like driving on flat ground when traversing bumpy roads.

With a tap of the accelerator, the acceleration is exhilarating, and the engine roars with a deep, powerful sound. It's not as loud as a sports car, but it exudes a robust and confident aura.

I parked the car downstairs and watched its unremarkable appearance blend into the night, nodding in satisfaction.

Over the next two days, Jiangcheng seemed to return to calm.

I went to get off work and came home to cultivate myself as usual.

Until the morning of the third day.

I was stitching up the wounds of a body that had died in a car accident when my phone rang.

It's Lu Yan.

I put down my needle and thread, took off my gloves, and answered the phone.

"Hey, Director Lu, any results?"

On the other end of the phone, Lu Yan sounded somewhat tired.

"Chen Yang, we've come up empty-handed."

Her tone carried a hint of suppressed anger.

"Based on that map, we found an abandoned air-raid shelter in the old town's underground sewer system."

That was indeed a stronghold of the Shadow Sect, and quite a large one at that.

"Where is he?" I asked, though I already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"They ran away. And they ran away completely."

Lu Yan sighed.

"The scene was cleaned up very thoroughly, without even a single fingerprint left."

All important documents and equipment were incinerated, leaving only a pile of black ash. Even the household garbage was taken away.

"That's their style."

I leaned against the dissection table, looking at the incandescent light on the ceiling.

"The fact that the Shadow Sect has survived in the folklore world for so many years must mean they are extremely cautious."

Those three people who came to kill me were probably just expendable pawns, or they came on their own initiative.

The core members who truly came to Jiangcheng probably began their withdrawal after the battle at the City God Temple.

"However, it wasn't entirely without gains."

Lu Yan changed the subject.

"The technical department extracted some special chemical components from the incineration residue, like a certain kind of... dye."

Also, we found a dried-up insect in a crack in the corner of the wall.

"Insects?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's a black beetle that looks very strange. It doesn't seem to be a native species. I've already had it sent to the identification department."

"Lu Yan, if we can't identify that insect, we can take it to Jin Wanliang. He has connections and knows many extraordinary people."

"Okay, I'll let you know when there are any results."

Although we didn't catch anyone this time, I reckon the Shadow Clan won't dare to cause trouble in Jiangcheng for a while.

However, you should still be careful. Although those three assassins are dead, there's no guarantee that there aren't other madmen besides those from the Shadow Clan.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

After hanging up the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief.

After this incident, the conspiracies of the Guardian of the Cauldron and the Shadow Sect were thwarted one after another.

The Shadow Sect, in particular, suffered a severe blow.

And I can finally stop being on edge all the time, lest an enemy suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Just then, the door to the morgue was pushed open.

Director Wang poked his head in, looking anxious: "Xiao Chen, aren't you done yet?"

"We have an urgent job coming in. The family is very emotional and specifically requested the best mortician. What do you think..."

I put away my phone and nodded to Director Wang: "You're here, Director."

The storm has gradually subsided, and life must go on.

Time flies, and the end of the year is just around the corner.

Since the Shadow Sect's stronghold was raided and found empty, the folk customs scene in Jiangcheng seems to have suddenly quieted down.

Jin Wanliang had consulted many experts about the black beetle, and Lu Yan even went to the provincial bureau's biological laboratory, but all to no avail.

It's as if that thing doesn't belong to this biosphere at all, or that it went extinct long ago in the course of history.

Since I couldn't find a clue, I stopped dwelling on it.

During this period, I focused all my energy on spiritual practice.

Aside from handling daily work at the funeral home and occasionally sewing a few ghosts attracted by bone needles at night, I devote all my remaining time to honing my skills in controlling qi.

After the evil energy condensed into liquid, I became increasingly adept at controlling the bone needles.

Now, I can even control the bone needle to precisely pierce a coin tossed into the air from ten meters away, without making any sound.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, I asked the museum for three days off, bought a plane ticket, and went back to Guizhou Province.

After the plane landed, I took two buses before finally returning to Huilongzhai, a place that felt both familiar and strange.

The village seemed even more desolate than it had been a few months ago.

Most of the young people have gone out to work, leaving only the elderly and children behind.

I didn't stay in the village, but went straight to the back mountain.

In winter, the back mountain is covered with withered grass and the cold wind is biting.

Grandpa's grave stood there all alone, the weeds around it were cleared clean, obviously someone came to take care of it regularly.

Beside the tomb, the giant rock shaped like a canine tooth still stands, exuding a chilling aura that keeps the living away.

The White Tiger Carries a Corpse.

This is a dangerous trap set up by my grandfather using his own bones as the core of the formation.

It wasn't just to suppress what was underground; it's also very likely that they left something behind that they didn't tell me.

However, I am not able to understand it at the moment.

After all, I still hid that rattle drum in my rented room in Jiangcheng, and the copper coin sword is still in the hands of that runaway Wan Die Gu Miao girl.

I knelt before the grave, respectfully kowtowed three times, and laid out the wine, meat, incense, and candles I had brought.

"Grandpa, your grandson has come to see you."

I spoke softly, my voice echoing through the empty valley.

"Don't worry, my grandson is doing well now. He has learned some skills and has not brought shame to the Chen family."

A cold wind blew by, and the smoke from the incense and candles rose straight up without scattering in the slightest.

After paying my respects to my grandfather, I went to a new grave not far away.

That's my cousin Chen Gang's grave.

The tombstone, weathered by months of wind and rain, bears the inscription "Tomb of Chen Gonggang".

The grave mound was neatly repaired, and even a few pine and cypress trees were planted there.

Looking at my cousin's name on the tombstone, I felt a mix of emotions.

If it weren't for my second uncle's greed and involvement in this folk custom dispute, my cousin might be at home with his wife and children preparing for the Lunar New Year.

"Brother, I have already avenged half of your death. I will never let the remaining remnants of the Butterfly Valley go."

I sighed and poured the remaining bottle of wine in front of the grave.

……

Lunar New Year's Eve.

I returned to Jiangcheng.

I originally planned to just grab a quick meal in my rented apartment by myself.

After all, for someone like me who does funerals, holidays don't really feel special; in fact, they feel even more desolate.