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

"Third Master, at the auction just now, that coiled snake skin..."

I put down my teacup and got straight to the point.

Putting everything else aside, the timing of Master Liu's appearance was just too perfect.

The ambergris had just been auctioned off, and Li Qing and I had barely stepped out of the auction house when we were ambushed by the men sent by Master Liu.

I don't believe there's nothing fishy going on here.

Upon hearing this, Master Liu laughed heartily and waved his hand: "That's right, that thing was indeed taken away by my disciples."

That was the old skin that my great-grandfather shed. For the Liu family, it was ancestral property and could not be left to wander outside.

As for the life-extending herb, it was merely a fortuitous encounter I had years ago. Exchanging it for my own belongings isn't a bad deal.

He spoke of it casually, but the wealth and resources he mentioned made Li Qing's teeth ache.

"I know that Brother Chen and Brother Li have traveled all the way to Fengtian because of the Dragon Vein and the Breath of Soil."

Master Liu put down his teacup and stared intently at me.

"I invited you two here halfway through the journey not to show off my wealth, but because I have a deal that I want Mr. Chen to agree to."

He changed his form of address, from "Brother Chen" to "Mr. Chen".

My grip on the teacup tightened slightly, but my voice remained calm: "Please speak, Third Master. If I can offer my assistance, I will certainly do so."

Although I spoke eloquently, I didn't make any definitive statements.

The words of the blind man still echoed in his ears. Although this Master Liu seemed approachable and courteous now, he was actually an old fox who had lived for countless years.

Facing this kind of person... this fairy, I dare not be careless in the slightest.

Whether I help more or less is entirely up to me.

Instead of speaking immediately, Master Liu took out a dark wooden box covered with countless talismans from his pocket.

He carefully opened the box, and an extremely deathly still atmosphere instantly filled the entire pavilion.

Inside the box, a snake egg, about the size of a fist, lay quietly.

The eggshell had a sickly grayish-white color and was covered with fine cracks.

But those cracks are not a sign of breaking open; they are more like some kind of dried-up wound.

"This is my only bloodline in this life."

Liu Sanye's voice became somewhat hoarse, and a trace of sorrow appeared in his deep eyes.

"In my younger days, I had many enemies. This child was ambushed while still in my womb."

After being born, it couldn't hatch, and this stalemate lasted for seven years.

He stretched out his withered fingers and gently stroked the eggshell with tenderness.

"Over the years, I have traveled between the Yin and Yang realms, seeking help from the spirits of Changbai Mountain, visiting the shamans of the Southern Frontier, and even shamelessly asking the old Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion for a life-extending pill."

Master Liu sighed.

"But the old celestial master bluntly told me that the spirit inside the egg had been shattered and was only kept alive by my demonic energy."

If it doesn't hatch within ten years, it will be a stillborn fetus.

As I looked at the snake egg, the malevolent energy within my body spontaneously surged.

In my perception, there was indeed a very faint red light flickering inside the eggshell, like a flickering lamp that could be extinguished at any moment in a storm.

"Now, there are only three years left until the ten-year deadline mentioned by the old Celestial Master."

Master Liu raised his head, his eyes filled with a resolute determination, as if he were making a desperate gamble.

Three months ago, I spent half of my fortune to hire that shrewd fortune teller, Zhang Banxian, from the north.

That was the last divination of his career.

After finishing the calculations, he immediately vomited a large amount of blood, the divination plate shattered, and he left only five words for me.

He said, slowly and deliberately, "Jiangcheng, the corpse-stitcher."

"Mr. Chen." Master Liu suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to me.

"If you can save my child, the entire Liu family will treat you as if you were me from now on."

At this moment, the pavilion fell into a deathly silence.

The water in the pond was dark and still, without even a ripple.

Only the occasional rustling of bamboo in the distance serves as a reminder of the world's constant flow.

Looking at the grayish-white snake egg in the wooden box, I felt not ecstatic, but rather a sense of unease.

To be honest, I was really at a loss at that moment.

I slowly exhaled, my fingers tightening slightly as I gripped the teacup, the cold touch of the porcelain returning to my fingertips.

"Third Master, you flatter me."

I spoke slowly, my voice still calm, yet carrying an indelible bitterness.

"I, Chen Yang, am just a corpse stitcher, doing the ghostly job of sending the dead on their final journey."

Sew up corpses, sewing up the mutilated body, mending the last vestiges of life after death.

To put it bluntly, I deal with the dead, not living saints.

I paused for a moment, looking directly into Master Liu's eyes: "Even the old Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion is helpless against your bloodline, so how dare I presume to ...

This child is your only bloodline. If anything happens to him in my hands, this deal will likely turn into a blood feud between our two families.

"I cannot bear this responsibility, and I am even less willing to jeopardize this little one's last chance of survival."

I put it very tactfully, but also very firmly.

In the folklore world, the biggest taboo is taking on a job that you can't handle.

Especially when dealing with a powerful demon like Master Liu, if you agree to something but mess it up, it's not something that can be resolved by paying money; it's something that will cost you your life.

Li Qing sat to the side, and although he didn't say anything, I could feel that all the muscles in his body were tense.

Clearly, he was afraid that Master Liu would suddenly lash out after hearing my refusal.

However, Master Liu did not get angry.

After hearing what I said, he let out a long sigh.

He slowly sat back down on the stone bench, his once straight back now appearing somewhat hunched.

"Mr. Chen, I understand your concerns."

Master Liu picked up a jade pipe, but did not light it; he simply rubbed it between his fingertips.

"I have lived for more than two hundred years and have seen all kinds of deceit and treachery, as well as people seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune."

"If I hadn't truly reached a dead end, I would never have gambled this child's life on a vague and uncertain prophecy."

He raised his head, his eyes revealing an almost frantic sincerity: "If this child stays by my side, even if I use all my cultivation to nurture it, it won't last more than three years."

I have tried all the miraculous medicines and consulted all the famous doctors, but the result is the same.

In my hands, it is certain to die.

Master Liu pointed to the snake egg and said in a low voice, "But Master Zhang's last divination was correct."

Throughout his life, he calculated every possible development beyond the Great Wall and never made a mistake.

The five words he obtained after risking his life and breaking the divination plate were the only way for this child to survive in this world.

I don't believe in Buddhism or Taoism, but I believe in destiny.

Since destiny has pointed to the corpse-stitching man of Jiangcheng, it means that you possess something that even the Old Celestial Master doesn't have—something capable of bearing this karma!