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

I sat up straight, and although my tone was calm, the murderous aura within me was still circulating rapidly.

Lan Manshan looked at me with a wistful look in his eyes, like an elder looking at a younger person.

He didn't rush to answer, but instead waved to the four men below him.

Although the four men looked suspicious, they still bowed respectfully and left the main hall, slowly closing the heavy wooden door behind them.

The hall fell silent instantly, with only the faint crackling sound of the ever-burning lamp wick popping.

"Chen Yang, I know that the Corpse Stitcher lineage cultivates evil energy, does not practice Gu techniques, and is not proficient in medical skills."

Lan Manshan walked to a chair next to me and sat down, his voice echoing in the hall.

"I sent you to treat the Gu King not to deliberately make things difficult for you, nor to send you to your death."

Because this was something your grandfather personally instructed you to do back then.

"Did my grandfather give the order?"

My face stiffened, and a deep sense of doubt arose in my heart.

Lan Manshan nodded and continued to recall.

"After the civil war ended thirty years ago, the entire Lan family village was simply a living hell."

After a pause, he continued:

"At that time, I wasn't qualified to enter the core decision-making level."

All I know is that although the Gu King was seriously injured by your grandfather, he managed to survive and didn't die on the spot.

Your grandfather... has a very eccentric personality.

He helped us quell the chaos and beheaded that mad patriarch, yet he didn't ask for a single penny of thanks, or even a sip of water.

The morning after the battle, he disappeared into the thick fog of southern Xinjiang.

I listened silently.

This was indeed my grandfather's way of doing things. He often said that the person who stitches up the corpse does the work of the underworld and is accumulating good karma.

If one desires too much wealth in the mortal world, it will shorten one's lifespan.

"When the elders finished dealing with the mess in the village and had time to carefully examine the Gu King's condition, they discovered that the situation was far more serious than they had imagined."

Lan Manshan gave a bitter laugh, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"The Gu King has fallen into an unprecedented deep sleep, and its life force is extremely weak."

The elders used all the rare and precious medicines that the Lan family had kept hidden away, and even used secret methods to forcibly generate Gu Qi.

But the Gu King is like a stubborn rock; no matter what method is used, it cannot be awakened.

"This situation lasted for a whole year."

Lan Manshan continued.

"It wasn't until a year later that an exceptionally talented elder sat in the forbidden area for three months before finally establishing a very weak connection with the Gu King."

It was at that moment that we discovered the truth.

Within the Gu King's body, at its very core, a domineering and incomparably malevolent aura constantly lingered.

My eyelids twitched slightly; it was Grandpa's menacing aura.

"That malevolent aura was extremely vicious. It not only sealed off the Gu King's life force, but it had also become entangled with the Gu King's essence, with each being intertwined with the other."

Lan Manshan's tone carried a hint of a sigh as he spoke.

"The Lan family tried to use the gentlest Gu worms to guide the flow, but as soon as the Gu worms got close, they were crushed into powder by the evil energy."

They tried using highly yang herbs to counteract it, but the evil energy only grew stronger with the help of the herbs, almost causing the Gu King to collapse on the spot.

Only then did the Lan family realize the truth.

This malevolent aura might be the key to the Gu King's slumber.

I couldn't help but ask, "Since you discovered it was a problem with malevolent energy, why didn't you go to my grandfather back then?"

Lan Manshan sighed deeply: "Find? How do we find them?"

The only elder who had a past with your grandfather was wounded in the civil war and died that winter.

He left in such a hurry that he didn't leave any trace of your grandfather, nor any way to contact him.

Since leaving the southern border that time, your grandfather Chen Xuan has vanished as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth, his whereabouts unknown.

The Lan family sent countless skilled fighters out of the mountains, but they couldn't even touch a shred of his clothes.

My heart was filled with complex emotions as I listened.

Based on what I know about my grandfather's experiences, once he reached that level, if he really wanted to hide, there would probably be very few people in the world who could find him.

"Until ten years ago."

Lan Manshan's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"That is, two days before your grandfather forcibly entered the forbidden area of ​​Wandie Valley, he suddenly appeared at the gate of Lan Family Village."

At that time, I had already become one of the leading elders of the Lan family.

A slight thought struck me: it was ten years ago again!

"The whole clan was in an uproar at the time."

Lan Manshan recalled, "Several of us elders practically knelt before him, begging him to dispel the evil energy within the Gu King's body."

But your grandfather, that old madman, he just squatted on the steps smoking his pipe and glanced at us sideways.

He simply said two words—"No help."

Hearing this, the corner of my mouth twitched.

This is something only a grandfather would do.

"When we asked him why, he said he had something very important to do soon and couldn't afford to waste his cultivation here."

Lan Manshan looked at me and repeated his grandfather's words from back then, word by word.

He said that the malevolent energy was the life he left for the Gu King, and also an opportunity for the Lan family.

If it is removed now, the Gu King will surely die.

He told us to wait, saying that one day his descendants would come here and awaken the Gu King of the Lan family.

As Lan Manshan uttered his last word, the hall fell silent.

I just felt a little dry in my throat.

Future generations... someday in the future...

Did Grandpa foresee my arrival in southern Xinjiang ten years ago?

Did they predict I would step into the Lan family's gate?

This feeling of being pulled along by the threads of fate gave me a strange sense of oppression.

Grandpa, what kind of scheme are you setting up?

What is it that you want to leave me?

"The Lan family waited for ten years."

Lan Manshan stood up, bowed slightly to me, and performed a very deep bow.

"Chen Yang, I originally thought I would have to wait for decades, or even never see him again in this lifetime."

Even today, the younger generation outside says that Boss Jin brought a young mortician into the village.

I knew it; the person Chen Xuan mentioned had arrived.

Jin Wanliang listened with his mouth agape.

He looked at Lan Manshan, then at me, clearly shocked.

He probably never dreamed that by hiring me as his "bodyguard" to save his life, he would unexpectedly learn such a secret.

I remained silent for a long time, the image of my grandfather in my dream replaying in my mind.

"Grandpa, since my grandfather said so, then I really have to take a look at this Gu King."

I spoke softly, my tone even.

"But it's too early to say what kind of evil aura he left behind, or whether I can dispel it."

I need to check on the Gu King's condition first.

"That's natural." Lan Manshan was overjoyed.

He originally thought I would refuse, since the matter sounded extremely risky.

But what I was really thinking was that Grandpa wouldn't hurt me.

If this is truly a scheme my grandfather orchestrated ten or even thirty years ago, I must see it for myself, no matter what.

Furthermore, if Lan Manshan really wanted to harm me and Jin Wanliang, he would have done so long ago.

He had no reason to tell such a lie to deceive us.

It's a waste of breath, and there's no motive whatsoever.