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

There are too many official rules and regulations, and too many vested interests involved.

Once I put on that uniform, I lost control of many things.

Lu Yan knows my personality and has always treated me with equality, cooperation, and mutual assistance.

The matter of recruitment was never mentioned.

After learning about my parents from Lei Zhenshan, it became even more impossible for me to join the Folklore Bureau.

After all, their identities have never been definitively established over there; they are a taboo subject that no one dares to discuss.

I was silent for a moment, then gently shook my head:

"Director Song, I appreciate your kindness."

But I'm used to being easygoing and can't stand the constraints of the bureau.

Besides, I work as an embalmer at a funeral home now, earning a stable income from the dead, which is pretty good.

As for what tricky troubles the bureau has encountered…

I paused, then spoke calmly:

"As long as the price is right, I, as an unofficial consultant, am ready to make a move at any time."

After all, Jiangcheng is my home, and I don't want to see those filthy things jumping around here.

Upon hearing my refusal, a hint of regret flashed in Director Song's eyes.

But he concealed it well and did not force the issue.

"Since Consultant Chen has made up his mind, I will not force him."

"An unofficial consultant is fine, as long as Consultant Chen still considers the Jiangcheng branch a friend."

Director Song stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket.

"Then I won't disturb Consultant Chen's rest any longer."

The bounty for Yan Shouyi and the reward for this mission will be deposited into your account by the bureau within three days.

We will continue to investigate those two prisoners. I will inform you as soon as there is any new information.

"Take care, Director Song." I nodded slightly.

Zhao Tie waved to me and followed Director Song out of the ward.

As the door closed gently, the ward returned to silence.

I leaned against the headboard, looking at the two sandalwood boxes on the table containing wild ginseng and dark sandalwood heartwood, while my mind kept replaying the intelligence that Director Song had brought and our conversation.

Yan Shouyi seeks out a disgraced disciple of the Dragon Gate, the Breakthrough Pill, and a mysterious employer.

And this extraordinary Director Song.

Lu Yan, Lu Yan, why does it seem like things are about to get turbulent in Jiangcheng now that you're gone?

I sighed and suppressed these chaotic thoughts for the time being.

The most urgent thing right now is to get my health back as soon as possible.

As long as you're strong enough, no matter what kind of monsters or demons they are, you can just chop them down with one strike.

I reached out and took the box containing the dark wood core, and slowly opened it.

An extremely pure and cold aura instantly spread out, causing the parched evil energy within my body to stir with a hint of longing.

Inside the box lay a piece of wood, no bigger than half a palm.

The wood was an extremely deep, jet-black color, with no luster on the surface, and even the wood grain was difficult to see.

But this unremarkable piece of wood, once exposed to the air, seemed to lower the temperature of the entire ward by several degrees.

A long, pure, and chilling aura was continuously emanating from within it.

"The gloomy wood heart... Director Song has really gone all out this time."

I muttered to myself, a rare glint of light flashing in my eyes.

Those of us who work as morticians deal with the dead and yin energy year-round, so we are naturally familiar with all kinds of natural treasures with yin attributes.

My grandfather left behind a notebook in which he specifically recorded this kind of thing.

Everyone knows that ebony is also known as dark wood.

Those were towering trees from ancient times, buried deep in ancient riverbeds or oxygen-deprived mud and rocks due to crustal movements such as earthquakes and mudslides.

Over thousands of years, through high pressure, lack of oxygen, and repeated infiltration and carbonization by minerals in the groundwater, this "Oriental Sacred Tree" was eventually formed.

Ordinary ebony already possesses extremely strong effects in warding off evil spirits, protecting the home, and gathering yin energy. It is often sold at exorbitant prices on the market, sold by the gram.

But the somber wood heart is a different story altogether.

A thousand-year-old piece of submerged wood, as thick as several people could hug, under extremely harsh feng shui conditions, undergoes countless cycles of yin energy erosion and sedimentation. Only in its very core can such a tiny piece of wood heartwood be formed.

It discards all the original impurities of wood, and can be said to be the purest solid yin energy crystal.

For those who practice orthodox Taoist internal energy, this thing is considered to have conflicting attributes.

If forcibly absorbed into the body, it can cause serious illness at best, and demonic possession at worst, resulting in a significant reduction in one's cultivation level.

But for someone like me who practices the art of sewing corpses and cultivates malevolent energy, this dark, gloomy wood heart is an invaluable elixir.

I reached out my left hand and took the dark, gloomy wood core out of the box.

The moment I touched it, a bone-chilling coldness instantly seeped into my veins through my palm.

That feeling was like holding a block of ice with bare hands in the dead of winter.

But at this moment, the malevolent energy within me stirred with an almost greedy urge.

The meridians, which were originally dry and stagnant, began to function automatically due to the stimulation of this external yin energy.

I didn't rush to absorb the Yin energy in the wood's heart. Instead, I reached into my pocket with my right hand and pulled out the black bone needle.

Last night on the top of Zhoujiacun Mountain, this bone needle played a crucial role.

If I hadn't used it to forcefully sew up the three souls of the living dragon corpse with the Ghost Needle, I wouldn't have had a chance to behead it.

At this moment, the bone needle, which usually gleamed with a cold, eerie light, appeared unusually dull.

I know very well that this is just an appearance.

Last night, the moment I pierced the dragon corpse's brow with the bone needle, it not only drew upon my malevolent energy.

In the instant before the living dragon corpse died, it frantically absorbed a trace of the earth vein yin energy that had accumulated over a hundred years in the Zhou family's ancestral grave, as well as the purest wisp of original corpse energy from the living dragon corpse.

The earth's veins are thick and heavy with yin energy, and the Grade A corpse energy is violent and ferocious.

These two forces are currently lurking inside the bone needle, clashing and intertwining with each other.

If I don't quickly find a way to sort out and integrate them, this mysterious artifact might be damaged because it can't withstand the internal conflicts.

And this piece of dark wood heartwood arrived at just the right time.

The ebony, buried deep underground for thousands of years, absorbs the most balanced and peaceful yin energy, encompassing all things.

It's perfect for use as a harmonizing agent.

I took a deep breath and focused my malevolent energy on the fingertips of my right hand.

"go."

I uttered a single word softly.

He held the end of the black bone needle in his right hand and aimed the needle tip at the dark wood core, then pierced it.

There was no resistance encountered.

The hard, dark wood core was like a piece of soft tofu in front of the black bone needles.

The needle tip silently sank into it, stopping only when it was halfway in.

But at the very moment the bone needle pierced the wood core, a strange change occurred.

I could clearly feel that the immense Yin energy contained within the ebony heart was now like a flood bursting its banks, rushing wildly into the black bone needle through the tip.