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

In my perception, a wisp of gray mist lingered at the center of the stone tablet.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was a mixture formed by forcibly kneading together fragments of the souls of three or four different people.

At this moment, these fragments of souls were struggling painfully in the mist.

What forcibly held these fragments together were strands of black, malevolent energy.

These black threads, like coarse sewing thread, brutally pierced through those fragments of souls.

They tie a knot at the edge of the soul, forcibly stitching together and piecing together the originally mutually exclusive soul forces into a deformed whole.

Seeing the direction and knots of these black threads, my heart skipped a beat, and my steady breathing involuntarily paused for half a second.

I'm very familiar with this technique.

From the starting point of the stitch, to the angle when interlacing the soul nodes, and finally to the knot at the end.

This logic is exactly the same as the basic technique of the Ghost Needle that I learned from the masked man!

Ghost needles are a secret technique used to sew up spirits and soothe souls.

I've used it to stitch up broken ghosts, and I've also used it to stitch up living souls.

The feeling is like repairing a precious piece of porcelain with the finest silk thread, emphasizing following the texture of the soul, nourishing it subtly and silently.

However, although the stitching technique used on the stone tablet has the shadow of the Ghost Needle technique in the skeleton, the actual operation is extremely crude.

That person had no idea how to soothe the soul.

He merely imitated the path of the thread in a crude manner, and then used the most savage force to tear, pierce, and forcibly bind the souls together.

The knots were very rigid, and the stitching was discontinuous, completely lacking the seamless continuity of a traditional needlework.

This is like someone holding a peerless sword manual, but only learning the basics of a few moves, and then randomly hacking and slashing with a rusty woodcutter's knife.

"Incomplete version..."

I silently muttered a sentence to myself.

This is definitely a poorly made imitation created by someone who mastered some of the incantations or fragments of the Ghost Needle technique, combined with some kind of evil magic.

Although it is a low-quality counterfeit, this method of forcibly sewing together the soul is still extremely insidious.

The stitched-up soul cannot be reborn and can only endure the pain of being torn apart day and night inside the stone tablet, thus continuously generating enormous resentment.

I slowly withdrew the jade-colored malevolent energy I had projected and opened my eyes.

The cool sensation between the eyebrows also subsided.

"So, what do you think? Did you figure anything out?"

Tian Gong had been standing to the side, fiddling with his pipe. When he saw me open my eyes, he immediately asked me a question.

There was a hint of expectation in his eyes.

I turned around, looked at Tiangong, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Senior Tiangong, your prediction was very accurate."

The contents inside the stone tablet were indeed "sewn" together by someone.

I paused, gathered my thoughts, and continued:

"And I can tell you with absolute certainty that this method of forcibly piecing together fragments of the soul is definitely the work of our Corpse-Stitching lineage."

Tiangong's brows immediately furrowed.

His hand holding the pipe paused in mid-air, and his eyes sharpened.

Are you sure?

Although the lineage of corpse sewing masters is unorthodox, in the General Bureau's records, they have always been craftsmen who are paid to do their jobs and follow the rules.

Such insidious methods of manipulating souls are not like your style.

"The senior is right. A proper corpse sewing master would never do such a heinous thing."

I explained gently.

"That's what I find strange."

The stitching technique used on this stone tablet is very similar to a method I have mastered specifically for dealing with spirits.

Both share the same fundamental logic regarding the starting stitch and the stitching process.

I didn't say the words "ghost needle".

That was something the masked man left me, and to this day I still don't know who he really was.

I must keep this a secret until I fully understand how deep the waters run.

Using "one method" as a substitute is the safest way to refer to it.

"but,"

I changed the subject and pointed to the black stone tablet.

"The person who created this stone tablet used very crude methods."

He only grasped the basics of that spell, or rather, what he had was only an incomplete version.

He had no idea how to appease and soothe the soul; he simply used brute force to piece it back together, thereby fueling resentment.

After listening to my analysis, Tiangong fell silent.

He put the pipe in his mouth, took two puffs of the unlit cigarette, and paced back and forth in the testing room.

"An incomplete version... a technique from the same source..."

Tiangong muttered to himself, a shrewd glint in his cloudy eyes.

"It seems this matter is more complicated than I imagined."

That low-level underground cult in northern Hebei was just a front.

The real big fish is the one hiding behind the scenes, the one who has mastered part of the legacy of you corpse-stitchers.

Tiangong stopped and looked at me, his tone becoming serious.

"Boy, this is not a good omen for your lineage of corpse stitchers."

Someone is secretly collecting and even trying to restore your forbidden techniques.

Moreover, judging from this method, the other party is unscrupulous in their actions.

You need to be more careful when you're out and about in the future.

"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I will pay attention."

I nodded.

Even without Tiangong saying it, I had already been warned.

I originally thought that the Ghost Needle was hidden inside the black bone needle, which was a rather secretive inheritance.

But now a guy who can use the incomplete version of "Ghost Needle" has suddenly appeared, which means that the truth behind this method is not as simple as I thought.

"Alright, now that we've figured out where this broken stone came from, let's leave the rest to the General Administration to worry about."

Tiangong waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further.

He walked to the array plate, took out a pale gold talisman from his waist, and stuck it on the top of the stone tablet with a "snap".

The stone tablet, which had been emanating a slightly chilly aura, instantly fell silent.

Then, just like an ordinary stone, no more energy leaked out.

"Consider this a favor I owe you."

Tiangong turned around, looked at me, and smiled.

"You're not only skilled and have a keen eye, but what's most valuable is your honesty."

If it were anyone else, seeing their family's secret techniques being learned by outsiders, they would probably be furious or would have kept them hidden.

I grinned but didn't reply.

Honesty depends on the situation. I told you what I needed to tell you, but I also kept some cards hidden. That's the way to survive.