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

"Gentlemen!"

Lan Manshan picked up a bowl of wine, his voice booming and echoing throughout the entire square.

"Tonight, our Lan family welcomes two extremely distinguished guests!"

Thirty years ago, Mr. Chen Xuan saved our Lan family.

Thirty years later, his grandson Chen Yang, carrying sincerity and skill, returned to our village!

A murmur of discussion immediately arose in the square.

Although only a few people know what happened in the main hall during the day, the name Chen Xuan is absolutely well-known among the older generation of the Lan family.

Ignoring the murmurs below, Lan Manshan raised his wine bowl and loudly proclaimed to me:

"Young friend Chen Yang, on behalf of the Lan family, I toast this first bowl of wine to your grandfather, Chen Xuan!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the strong liquor in the bowl in one gulp.

I stood up, picked up the bowl of wine in front of me that smelled strongly of medicine, and smiled: "Grandpa, you're too kind."

"Grandpa's grudges are his own business. Now that we're here, we'll do our best."

I tilted my head back and drank the bowl of wine.

The liquor went down my throat, and it felt like a raging fire exploding in my chest.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely powerful medicinal force began to rampage through his body.

I frowned almost imperceptibly.

This wine has been spiked.

It's not a poison, but an extremely potent tonic.

This tonic is extremely potent; a person with a weak constitution would likely bleed from all seven orifices and die after just one sip.

Even ordinary cultivators must immediately sit in meditation to refine it.

This was clearly a test from the Lan family.

Perhaps they wanted to see if I, the successor of the corpse-stitching master, truly possessed the skills.

I sat down without changing my expression, and the murderous aura within me only swirled slightly.

That domineering medicinal power was like a mud ox entering the sea, instantly swallowed up by the evil energy without even a ripple.

Moreover, after absorbing the medicinal power, the malevolent energy became even more solid.

A gaunt elder sitting next to Lan Manshan stared intently at me.

When he saw that I drank the bowl of wine without changing my expression or even losing my breath, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Excellent composure! Excellent self-cultivation!"

Lan Manshan burst into laughter, clearly extremely satisfied with my performance.

The atmosphere at the banquet quickly reached its climax.

The Miao men began to dance around the bonfire, while the young Miao women, holding bowls of wine, sang melodious folk songs and weaved through the crowd to offer toasts.

Jin Wanliang was truly thriving.

Although he didn't understand cultivation, when it came to social interaction, no one present could compare to him.

Before long, he was already fraternizing with several Lan family leaders around him, drinking until his face was flushed.

I sat quietly in my seat, my bowl already filled with tea, occasionally offering toasts to members of the Lan family who came to offer them drinks.

My eyes were always secretly observing those elders.

Aside from Lan Manshan, the other four elders had different attitudes towards me.

The gaunt elder always looked at me with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

A plump elder always had a smile on his face, like a Maitreya Buddha, but the occasional glint of shrewdness in his eyes made him someone not to be underestimated.

The other two seemed rather indifferent, offering only a perfunctory toast before saying nothing more.

I know in my heart that the Lan family is probably not a monolithic entity.

The Gu King has been asleep for thirty years, and during those thirty years, the power structure of the Lan family has long been solidified.

Now that the Gu King suddenly has hope of reviving, it may not be a good thing for some people.

The banquet lasted until late at night.

Jin Wanliang was carried back to the bamboo house by two men from the Lan family.

The fat man was completely drunk, still muttering something about "a multi-million dollar deal".

I returned to my room and had just closed the door when I heard soft footsteps outside.

"Mr. Chen." A clear female voice rang out from outside the door.

I opened the door and saw a young woman dressed in Miao ethnic clothing standing outside.

She was carrying a tray with a wooden barrel on it that smelled strongly of herbs.

"Mr. Chen, Grandpa instructed that you will need to spend a lot of time and energy tomorrow."

He specially asked me to bring you the finest herbal bath from the village, which can relax muscles and improve blood circulation, and nourish the spirit.

The woman lowered her head and spoke respectfully.

I looked down at the wooden barrel.

Inside, dark green medicinal liquid churned, and several tiny, leech-like worms could be faintly seen swimming around.

This medicinal broth contains extremely potent medicinal and life-giving properties; I can clearly feel it even when I'm two steps away.

Clearly, this is an extremely precious medicinal bath for the Miao people.

But I shook my head.

"Please thank Grandpa for his kindness on my behalf."

I said calmly, without the slightest fluctuation in my tone.

"However, I don't need this medicinal bath."

The woman paused, seemingly surprised that someone would refuse such a good thing: "Mr. Chen, this medicinal bath was personally prepared by my grandfather; it's very beneficial to the body..."

"The Dharma I practice is rather special; I cannot tolerate things that are too full of vitality."

I made up a lie on the spot to interrupt her.

"Forcing its use will only cause a backlash. Take it back and tell Grandpa that I can meditate and regulate my breathing for one night."

It's not that I can't use it, but the medicinal wine at the banquet just now gave me a heads-up.

The Lan family is currently facing a complex internal situation, and their attitude towards me is rather ambiguous.

As for Gu magic, I know absolutely nothing about it.

Therefore, it's best to avoid contact with anything sent by the Lan family.

Even if the other party may only have good intentions.

Seeing my firm stance, the woman dared not try to persuade me any further and could only retreat with the wooden bucket in her arms.

I closed the door, walked to the window, and pushed open the bamboo window.

The night breeze carried the unique, moist scent of the mountains and forests.

The campfire in the distance had gone out, and the entire Lan family village was once again plunged into darkness and silence.

……

The mornings in the mountains of southern Xinjiang are always accompanied by thick, impenetrable white fog.

I stood in front of the window of the bamboo house and took a deep breath of the air, which was slightly cool and moist.

After a whole night of meditation and breath control, I have now reached my peak condition.

Even more so because of the medicinal power of the bowl of medicinal wine he had consumed last night, the evil energy within his body had become even more solidified.

In the next room, Jin Wanliang's snoring was still loud.

That fat guy was definitely drunk last night. Plus, all the fear and anxiety he'd been carrying for days was finally released. He probably won't wake up until late morning.

I didn't wake him up.

He couldn't get involved in what happened next.

After straightening my clothes and making sure the black bone needles and willow-leaf dagger I kept close to my body were in the most convenient place, I pushed open the door and walked out of the bamboo house.

Lan Manshan was already waiting downstairs.

This elder of the Lan family did not wear the elaborate formal attire of last night, but instead changed into an extremely neat black Miao costume.

The cuffs and trouser legs were tightly bound with leg wraps, and a palm-sized black gourd was tied around his waist.