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

I reached for the scalpel from the bedside table and examined it closely in the morning light.

I thought I knew this knife well after having it with me for so long, but now it seems that the story behind it is far more than I imagined.

I got up, washed up, and went downstairs.

The Qian family mansion is already bustling with activity.

Today is the auspicious day for the official opening of Liuxian Temple. Qian Dafu invited a dragon and lion dance team and also set up a banquet. The whole Qianjia Village was bustling with activity.

Li Qing and Jin Wanliang were sitting in the living room drinking porridge. When they saw me come down, Li Qing teased, "Oh, up so early? How did you sleep last night?"

I heard noises coming from your room in the middle of the night. Were you dreaming about a beautiful woman?

"No beautiful women, but there is a snake."

I casually replied, then sat down and picked up a bowl of plain porridge.

Li Qing was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening and asked in a low voice, "That thing... contacted you?"

I nodded without saying anything more.

This kind of thing involves too many people and too much attention, so it's not appropriate to discuss it in detail.

After breakfast, our group went up the mountain again.

Today, Liuxian Temple is brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful ribbons.

Villagers from all around came to see the spectacle, crowding the small hilltop to the point of being impassable.

When the auspicious time arrived, firecrackers were set off.

As the chief priest, Li Qing donned a brand-new bright yellow Taoist robe, held a magic sword, and performed the ritual steps in front of the statue while chanting scriptures.

As he moved, streams of energy, barely perceptible to the naked eye, were drawn towards and converged on the emerald-eyed snake statue.

I stood at the back of the crowd, quietly watching this scene.

In my perception, the statue seemed to come alive, with a faint golden light flowing around it.

That is the power of incense offerings and vows, and it is also the foundation of its cultivation.

The ceremony lasted for more than an hour until the last talisman burned out. Li Qing shouted "The ceremony is complete!" and the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

While everyone was rushing to offer the first incense, I quietly went around to the back of the shrine.

Sure enough, in an inconspicuous corner, there was a small brocade pouch.

The brocade pouch was blue, and felt cool and slippery to the touch, unlike silk; it felt more like the skin of some kind of creature.

I opened the brocade pouch and took a look. Inside was a palm-sized, semi-transparent piece of thin leather with faint, fine patterns on it, resembling either characters or talismans.

This is what Chang Tianqing called "Snake Molding Brocade".

I put the brocade pouch into my inner pocket, patted it, and felt reassured.

"Chen Yang, what are you doing over there?"

Jin Wanliang's voice came from behind.

He was taking pictures around with his phone when he saw me hiding behind him and curiously came over.

"It's nothing, just checking if the statue is stable."

I turned around without changing my expression.

"Let's go, things are settled here, it's time to go back."

Jin Wanliang didn't ask any more questions, he just chuckled and said, "Okay, Boss Qian just gave me a big red envelope, this trip was worthwhile."

"When we get back, I'll treat you two to a nice meal at Haiyanlou Restaurant."

As I descended the mountain, I glanced back at the Liuxian Temple.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the statue still stood silently.

But I could almost see a glimmer of gratitude in those emerald eyes.

Changbai Mountain outside the Great Wall...

I touched the brocade pouch on my chest.

It seems that one day in the future, I am destined to travel north.

It was already noon when we got back to the city.

Jin Wanliang had to go handle business, and Li Qing also needed to go back to catch up on his sleep.

I got out of the car at the entrance of the funeral home, looked at the familiar gray building, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Little Chen's back?"

Grandpa Qin was still guarding the gatehouse. When he saw me, he smiled and handed me a package.

"A local courier just delivered this, saying it was for you, but I didn't dare open it."

I took the box, somewhat puzzled.

Who will send me something?

I glanced at the sender field, and it was completely empty.

Back in the duty room, I found a pair of scissors and carefully opened the box.

There was no bomb or threatening letter in the box.

There was only one black invitation card, with the following words written in large gold lettering:

[Jiangcheng Spring Underground Antiques Appreciation Event]

Beneath the invitation was a slip of paper, its handwriting messy yet exuding a wild spirit:

"I have something good, come quickly. — Ten thousand taels."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Why didn't this fat guy say anything in the car? Why did he have to pull this mysterious stunt?

Looking at the black invitation card with gold foil stamping in my hand, I chuckled irritably, then took out my phone and dialed Jin Wanliang's number.

The phone was answered after two rings, and Jin Wanliang's sly laughter came from the other end, along with the clattering of abacus beads in the background.

"Hehe, Boss Chen, did you get my surprise?"

"Old Jin, what are you doing?"

I leaned back in my chair and lightly tapped the invitation with my fingers, making a crisp sound.

"You wouldn't give me anything the whole way in the car, but you had to go through all this trouble by sending a same-city courier service."

Anyone who didn't know better would think it contained a time bomb.

"Oh, you don't understand. Life needs a sense of ritual!"

Jin Wanliang spoke eloquently on the other end.

"Besides, if I give it to you directly in the car, that kid Li Qing will definitely pester me with all sorts of questions."

These invitations are really precious. I only managed to get three, and I sent one of them to that kid Li Qing too.

Hearing this, I shook my head helplessly: "Alright, stop joking."

Let's get down to business. What's the background of this underground antique appreciation event?

Also, what kind of good stuff are you talking about?

"Hey, to put it bluntly, it's just an anonymous auction, like a black market, but the stuff inside... is a bit more legitimate than a black market."

After speaking, Jin Wanliang suddenly lowered his voice a few decibels.

"I asked you to go because I've seen the list of items for this auction, and there's one thing in it that's practically tailor-made for you."

"What is it?" I sat up straight.

"Mysterious Yin Sha Crystal," Jin Wanliang uttered four words.

My pupils contracted slightly.

Mysterious Yin Sha Crystal!

This is something I'm familiar with.

Of all the rewards specially approved by the provincial bureau after the battle in the underground palace, the one that benefited me the most was the Xuan Yin Sha Crystal.

It was thanks to that Xuan Yin Sha Crystal that I was able to completely stabilize my liquid Sha Qi realm, and even improve it considerably.

"How big?" I asked in a deep voice.

"I've seen it; it's probably about the size of an egg."

Jin Wanliang chuckled and said, "In the eyes of the righteous path, this thing is a scourge. It's only of interest to evil cultivators who raise ghost children or unorthodox practitioners who practice corpse cultivation."

But as you know, in Jiangcheng, ever since Director Lu's last major purge, any slightly notorious evil cultivators have either been imprisoned or fled.

The remaining kittens and puppies can't afford this thing.

Therefore, this item will most likely fail to sell at auction or be sold at a low price.

"Let's go there, we're going to find some bargains!"

Upon hearing this, I touched the space between my eyebrows.

The Xuan Yin Sha Crystal, about the size of an egg, is not as big as the one I exchanged last time, but it's still quite large.

If I can acquire this evil crystal, it might allow me to take my strength to the next level.

In this treacherous industry, strength is the key to survival.