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

As I listened to Director Wang's rambling, my mind was rapidly processing this information.

Six months ago, my luck suddenly changed; my personality changed drastically; I stopped going out during the day; I consulted a master…

All these clues point to some kind of evil magic that depletes one's fortune by worshipping evil objects.

The string of coffin-wood prayer beads in Li Hongmei's hand, and her nervous reaction to the malfunctioning pendant, suggest that she not only knew about it, but may even have been the one who orchestrated it.

"That's pretty ruthless."

I stubbed out my cigarette and made a casual comment.

However, I don't intend to get involved in this matter.

Set aside your desire to help others and respect their fate.

Lin Tiantian chose this path of borrowing luck herself, and she should bear the consequences.

Ultimately, I'm just a mortician. I get paid to do my job, and sewing up the body is my duty.

Whether Li Hongmei and her daughter prayed to gods or attracted evil spirits, it was their own karma.

If I were to intervene rashly, I would not only break industry norms, but I might also get myself into trouble.

My job is done, which is to ensure that the deceased has a dignified final journey in the mortal world.

I asked Director Wang about this purely because I felt her death was suspicious and wanted to understand the deceased's background in order to avoid violating any unnecessary taboos.

"Alright, let's not talk about these unlucky things anymore."

Director Wang stood up, patted his backside, and said, "Xiao Chen, now that you've finished your work, you should go back and rest early."

"You'll get perfect attendance today, and I'll have the finance department transfer your bonus to your account later."

"Thank you, Director."

I nodded, picked up my toolbox, and said, "I'll be going now. Call me if you need anything."

After leaving the funeral home, I drove my old, eight-times-deal Santana back to my rented room.

I tossed the toolbox aside in a corner and collapsed onto the sofa.

The room was quiet except for the humming of the old refrigerator.

I thought for a moment, then took out the black card that Lei Zhenshan had given me from my pocket.

This thing is quite heavy, with the national emblem and the four gold-stamped characters "Special Advisor" printed on it, and a complicated number on the back.

Besides that, there wasn't even an address, let alone a phone number.

"That Captain Lei is really unreliable..."

I looked at it over and over again, and sighed helplessly.

I was originally thinking of reporting it to that so-called folk customs bureau so they could handle this kind of trivial matter that they are professionally qualified for, but now it seems like that's out of the question.

Since we can't get in touch, let's just let things take their course.

I sat cross-legged on the bed, closed my eyes, and began to circulate the evil energy within my body.

With each breath, a cool current rises from the dantian and travels throughout the body along the meridians.

The malevolent aura of the corpse stitcher is different from the true qi of Taoism; it is sharper, more domineering, and carries a chilling intent.

In the previous battle, I forcibly used the Demon-Slaying Technique, which caused considerable damage to my meridians.

At this moment, the killing energy was circulating. Although there was still some stinging sensation, the feeling of abundant power was gradually returning.

After cultivating for an unknown amount of time, drowsiness overcame me, and I lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

……

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

In my dream, it was raining, and the cold raindrops hit my face, feeling like some kind of viscous liquid.

I found myself standing in front of the autopsy table in the morgue, holding a needle and thread.

Lying on the platform was the girl named Lin Tiantian.

But at this moment, her face, which I had stitched up, was still bleeding.

"Waaaaah..."

A heart-wrenching cry rang in my ears.

The girl suddenly opened her eyes; there were no eyeballs in her eye sockets, only two dark, bloody holes.

"It hurts so much... Mom... It hurts so much..."

She cried as she raised her hand, trying to scratch her face.

"Don't touch it!" I instinctively tried to stop him.

But her hand had already grabbed the stitches and yanked hard.

collapse!collapse!collapse!

That was the sound of a thread breaking, and the sound of flesh tearing.

The face that was just a moment ago flawless was instantly torn to pieces.

"Help me... Master Chen... help me..."

She sat up abruptly, her shattered face looming right in front of me, blood spraying all over my face...

……

"Ring ring ring—!!!"

A sudden, piercing telephone ring shattered my dream.

I suddenly opened my eyes, jumped out of bed, and my heart was still pounding in my chest.

Just as dawn broke outside the window, the dim light filtering through the curtains created a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

I picked up my phone and saw the words "Director Wang" flashing on the screen.

An ominous premonition instantly welled up in my heart.

"Hello, Director..."

"Xiao Chen! Something's happened! Something really bad!"

The moment the call connected, Director Wang's choked, roaring voice came through the phone: "Come to the funeral home right now! That...that Lin Tiantian's body...it's been blown up!"

"What do you mean by 'exploded'?"

I frowned, holding the phone between my fingers as I quickly put on my clothes. "Director, calm down and explain yourself clearly."

"It...it cracked! It's completely cracked!"

Director Wang's voice trembled violently, "When Old Li went to check on the patients this morning, he found the body... Oh, I can't really explain it, but the scene was too horrifying!"

"Our family is on their way! If they see this, we're all doomed! You have to come and save us!"

"Don't panic, cordon off the area, don't let anyone in, I'm coming right away."

I hung up the phone, grabbed my coat and toolbox, and rushed out the door.

……

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the funeral home.

The second basement level was eerily quiet. The lights in the corridor flickered on and off, and the air was filled with a fishy stench even stronger than yesterday.

Director Wang was huddled in a corner by the morgue entrance, his face deathly pale, clutching a string of Buddhist prayer beads tightly in his hand, muttering incantations.

When he saw me arrive, it was like he'd seen a savior; he almost lunged at me and hugged my leg.

"Little Chen! My dear ancestor! You've finally arrived!"

"Stop talking nonsense and open the door."

I pushed him away, took a deep breath, and flung open the morgue door.

Despite being mentally prepared, the sight before me still made my pupils shrink sharply.

On the dissection table, the corpse that I had restored to near perfection yesterday had now turned into a pile of rotten flesh.

All the wounds I had stitched up burst open.

It wasn't a natural break in the thread; it was as if something had forcibly pried open the body from the inside.

Especially that face.

The facial features, which had been pieced together, were once again shattered.

On the corpse's chest, there was a fist-sized hole, and the internal organs inside... were gone.

"this……"

Director Wang, hiding behind me, peeked out and immediately covered his mouth, gagging. "What on earth happened? Everything was fine yesterday..."

I ignored him and focused my gaze on the empty chest cavity.

When I was stitching it up yesterday, I checked the internal organs. Although there was some damage, they were all intact.

Overnight, his heart disappeared.