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

"Yes," I replied truthfully.

"I've been out for a few days now. Although I've taken leave from the funeral home, I still have to go back to report back."

Moreover, I also have some personal matters to attend to in Jiangcheng.

Zhang Xuanqing nodded slightly and said, "If you're not in a hurry, you should go back to the guesthouse and get some rest tonight."

I'll finish my business at headquarters tonight, and we can go back to Jiangcheng together tomorrow.

Hearing this, I was slightly taken aback, but I didn't ask any further questions.

After a moment's pause, I smiled and agreed: "Sure, we can travel together tomorrow, that way we can look out for each other on the road."

When are you planning to leave? Let me know then.

"Let's do it tomorrow at noon. I've had the bureau book your plane tickets. You should go and get some rest."

After Zhang Xuanqing finished speaking, he turned around and got into a waiting Hongqi sedan, heading towards the center of Beijing.

Watching the taillights of the sedan disappear into the distance, I stretched and opened the door of the car in front of me.

Even if Zhang Xuanqing hadn't mentioned it, I was planning to leave first thing tomorrow morning anyway.

Although the capital city is incredibly prosperous, I always feel an invisible pressure and rigid rules and regulations.

For someone like me who is used to being free and easy in a place like Jiangcheng, dealing with corpses every day, staying here for a long time always makes me feel uncomfortable.

The air in Jiangcheng still smells the best.

More than half an hour later, the car stopped downstairs at the guesthouse inside the Folk Customs Bureau.

I swiped my room card to open the door, tossed my backpack onto the sofa, and went straight into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower, and warm water poured down, washing away the mud, sweat, and faint smell of blood from my body.

Watching the dark red water flow down the drain, I breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling my tense muscles finally relax a little.

After taking a shower and changing into the clean pajamas provided by the guesthouse, I lay on the bed, turned over, and pulled the covers over myself.

Amidst the faint sounds of Beijing outside the window, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

……

The next morning, I was awakened by a burst of bright sunshine.

The weather in Beijing always seems to be like this: the night before it may be cloudy, but the next morning it will be sunny.

I opened my eyes and watched the sunlight stream through the gaps in the curtains onto the soft carpet of the guesthouse. I could even see tiny dust particles dancing in the beams of light.

I stretched out on the bed, my joints making a soft cracking sound.

After a whole night of deep, unreserved sleep, I feel completely revived.

I closed my eyes and habitually looked inward.

The evil energy in his dantian was rotating steadily and powerfully. The evil energy that had been consumed by nearly 70% had now been fully restored to its original state.

I threw off the covers, got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and washed my face with cold water.

Looking at my bright-eyed face in the mirror, I let out a soft breath.

The gloom of western Hunan has been completely left in yesterday.

Just as I was wiping my face with a towel, my phone, which was on the bedside table, suddenly vibrated.

I walked over and picked it up. The screen displayed Zhao Mingxuan's name.

"Hey, Officer Zhao, good morning."

I swiped to answer the call, my tone as calm as ever.

"Good morning, Consultant Chen. I hope I haven't disturbed your rest?"

Zhao Mingxuan's voice came through the receiver, conveying a sense of competence and politeness.

"I'm downstairs at the guesthouse. I've confirmed you're awake, and I'll be right up."

"No need to disturb me, I've already washed up. Just come up, the room number hasn't changed."

Less than two minutes after I hung up the phone, there was a gentle knock on the door.

I walked over and opened the door. Zhao Mingxuan, dressed in a sharp black suit and holding a briefcase, stood outside the door looking very smart.

Upon seeing me, he immediately gave me a professional yet friendly smile.

"Come in and have a seat."

I stepped aside to let him into the room and poured him a glass of warm water from the water dispenser.

"You've come so early, is there something urgent?"

Zhao Mingxuan accepted the water glass with both hands, thanked me, and then took an envelope from his briefcase and handed it to me:

"The first thing I'll do is send you a plane ticket."

Master Zhang has already made arrangements. He will fly to Jiangcheng in first class at 12:30 pm today.

The car will be waiting for you downstairs at 10:30 AM and will take you directly to the airport.

I took the envelope, glanced at the plane ticket inside, and put it in my pocket. "Thank you for your help. And the second thing?"

Zhao Mingxuan placed the water glass on the coffee table, scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, and showed a hint of apology on his face:

"The second thing is to address my previous oversight at work and apologize to you."

I was slightly taken aback, looking at him with some confusion: "Negligence? What negligence?"

Zhao Mingxuan cleared his throat and explained, "It's like this, Consultant Chen."

According to the rules of our Folklore Bureau, all consultants at level C or above will be issued a dedicated internal network port by the General Administration.

To put it simply, this port is an encrypted app installed on your personal mobile phone.

It's specifically designed for unofficial consultants like you who aren't part of the system.

He paused, then continued, "Originally, after I accompanied you to complete the paperwork and collect the reward from the Class A warehouse that day, I should have set up this port for you on the spot."

But that day... I was in such a hurry that I forgot about it.

Later, you were in a hurry to find a place to retreat into seclusion, so you went to western Hunan, but you never found a suitable opportunity.

I only remembered this when I processed your reward for this task this morning, so I rushed over to give it to you.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

That day, he didn't leave in a hurry at all; he was clearly "driven away" by that strange old man, Tiangong.

I waved my hand and said gently, "It's nothing, no need to be so nervous."

That day was indeed an accident, and you were just following the rules.

It's not too late to do it now. How do you need my cooperation?

Seeing that I didn't seem to blame him, Zhao Mingxuan visibly relaxed, and his expression softened considerably.

"Just give me your phone, it'll be done in no time."

I took my phone out of my pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to him.

Zhao Mingxuan took the phone and took out a small black box resembling a portable hard drive from his briefcase. A data cable with a special interface was connected to the box.

He plugged the data cable into the charging port of my phone and then pressed a few buttons on the small box.

The phone screen went dark instantly, followed by a string of green code that scrolled rapidly like a waterfall.

While waiting for the installation to complete, Zhao Mingxuan dutifully began explaining the app's features to me:

"Consultant Chen, after you log in by verifying your identity through this port, you can directly connect to the secret backend of our Folklore Bureau."

In the future, every time you complete a task assigned by the bureau, or resolve a difficult folk custom incident outside, you will be rewarded.

The system will convert tasks into "merit points" based on their difficulty and your contributions, and these points will be credited directly to your account.