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

After the door closed, I put on latex gloves and gently lifted the white cloth.

The sight of the remains came into view.

The remains could no longer be described as "dismembered".

The bones were broken so thoroughly that the skin tissue was torn in large areas, like a piece of porcelain that had been repeatedly run over by a heavy truck.

No wonder even a seasoned veteran like Lao Zhang, who had been in the office for so long, couldn't stand it.

But for me now, this is just a small matter.

I took the willow-leaf knife from the toolbox, and with a slight twitch of my fingertips, a murderous aura wrapped around the blade like strands of hair.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Since you've come into my hands, I'll give you a proper send-off."

It had only been a little over an hour when I cut the last stitch.

The body, which had been in pieces, now lay quietly on the bed.

Apart from the fine, almost invisible stitches on her skin, she looked as if she were asleep.

I breathed a sigh of relief and put away the bone needles.

Before I could even step out of the cosmetic surgery room, Director Wang, who was waiting at the door, eagerly squeezed inside.

Less than a minute later, his exclamation came from inside: "Amazing! Xiao Chen, your skills... are absolutely incredible!"

For the next two days, I practically lived at the funeral home.

I completed those backlogged, difficult tasks with astonishing efficiency.

Director Wang was overjoyed and secretly slipped me a thick red envelope, saying it was an extra thank-you gift from the family.

I didn't stand on ceremony and just stuffed it into my pocket.

That evening, after finishing my work at the museum and clocking out, I dragged my somewhat heavy steps to the parking lot.

I opened the car door, plopped into the driver's seat, and instead of starting the car, I lit a cigarette and rolled down the window.

As I watched the sky gradually darken outside the funeral home, my mind went blank, and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep.

Just as I stubbed out my cigarette and was about to turn the key, my phone, which was on the center console, suddenly vibrated.

Two words appeared on the screen: Lu Yan.

I frowned slightly.

Lu Yan should still be in seclusion at Longhu Mountain recuperating. Calling me at this hour is definitely not to catch up.

I answered the phone, and before I could even speak, Lu Yan's slightly hurried voice came from the other end.

"Chen Yang, Zhou Ming has gone missing."

I was stunned for a moment, and my previously muddled mind instantly cleared up considerably.

Zhou Ming, of course I remember.

He was my comrade-in-arms, fighting alongside me during our first trip down the underground palace and later when we wiped out Hong Gu's Jinxiufang.

Although that kid is a bit shy, he never hesitates when it matters.

"Missing? When did this happen?"

I sat up straight and lowered my voice.

"The time of the disconnection was yesterday afternoon."

The last place where his cell phone signal disappeared was in the northern suburbs of Jiangcheng.

If it were just a matter of not being able to contact him, that would be fine, but just now, my senior brother sent a message saying that Zhou Ming's life tablet left in the Ancestral Hall of Longhu Mountain... has cracked.

Lu Yan's voice revealed an barely suppressed anxiety.

The life tablet is cracked.

My heart sank.

As a Taoist disciple, one's life tablet is connected to one's soul. A crack in the tablet signifies damage to the soul or a potentially fatal injury to the body.

This is no longer a simple disappearance; it's a matter of life and death.

"Chen Yang, I'm still in Longhu Mountain... I can't get away."

Even if the others on the mountain use the fastest means of transportation, it will still take them several hours to get to Jiangcheng.

You're in Jiangcheng right now, could you go and see what happened to him?

His current condition... I'm afraid he won't last much longer.

I paused for a second, then didn't hesitate.

"Okay, send me the information and I'll get going right away."

After agreeing, doubts began to arise in my mind.

Besides being a disciple of Longhu Mountain, Zhou Ming was, after all, an official.

How could Lu Yan bypass official channels and call me, an unofficial staff member, so quickly?

"Lu Yan, may I ask you one more question?"

Zhou Ming works for the branch office, so theoretically, the branch office should be able to respond faster than I am.

Why did you contact me directly? Doesn't the Jiangcheng branch care?

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Lu Yan sighed and explained, "Zhou Ming just happened to take a few days off to visit his family."

He was a local resident of Jiangcheng and was at home taking care of some personal matters, so he was not on the branch's real-time monitoring list.

If the sect hadn't discovered the anomaly in his life tablet, the branch office probably still wouldn't know he was missing.

I have already notified the branch office urgently, but as you know, the official procedure requires reporting, verification, and manpower allocation.

"And the cracks in Zhou Ming's life tablet are widening..."

She paused, her tone becoming extremely serious: "You know Zhou Ming's skills; he's one of the best in the special operations team."

The opponent was definitely not an ordinary person; he was trapped in a deadly situation without even being able to send out a distress signal.

Aside from the special operations team, other officers from the branch office might not be of much use.

And your skills... are the most reliable insurance I can find right now.

Chen Yang, please.

"Understood, hanging up."

After hanging up the phone, I didn't foolishly wait for news from the branch office or Lu Yan.

In Jiangcheng, to track down a person, the authorities have official cameras, while underground "eyes" are also on the ground.

I dialed Jin Wanliang's number directly.

"Hey, Brother Chen, what's up? You missed your brother as soon as you got back from your leave?"

Jin Wanliang's greasy voice came through the receiver.

"Old Jin, I need your help with something urgent."

Zhou Ming, a member of the Jiangcheng Branch Special Task Force, went missing yesterday afternoon.

I need his entire movement record over the past few days, especially his last location before his cell phone signal disappeared.

"As soon as possible, it's a matter of life and death."

Although my voice was calm, I spoke very quickly.

Jin Wanliang was a smart man. As soon as he heard my tone, he immediately dropped his joking and laughing manner.

"Zhou Ming? Isn't that Director Lu's right-hand man?"

"Alright, give me ten minutes. In this small corner of Jiangcheng, as long as he hasn't crawled into a hole in the ground, I can dig him out for you."

I hung up the phone and drove away from the funeral home, quickly reviewing Zhou Ming's information in my mind.

Although I haven't had much contact with him, I can tell from our two battles together that Zhou Ming has extremely rich practical experience and is definitely not the kind of rookie who would be tricked by a few petty thieves.

The only things that could cause his life tablet to crack were either a large-scale cult attack or some extremely fierce folk taboo.

Ten minutes later, Jin Wanliang called back on time.

"Brother Chen, I've found it."

Zhou Ming did indeed return to his hometown, Zhoujia Village, in the northern suburbs of Jiangcheng, which is a rather remote mountain village.

The tracking data shows that he returned to the village yesterday at noon, and around 3 p.m., his cell phone signal disappeared near the ancestral cemetery behind the village, and he has not been seen since.