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

So, facing this powerful punch, I quickly withdrew eighty or ninety percent of my strength.

I deliberately pretended to be caught off guard, raising my arms to protect my face and taking the punch head-on.

"Bang!"

A dull thud was heard.

The man in the baseball cap slammed his fist hard into my forearm.

Just then, I took advantage of the force of his punch and deliberately took a few steps back.

After retreating outside the security door, I even leaned against the wall in the hallway to "barely" steady myself.

My retreat, though seemingly a defeat, actually cleverly created a wide escape route for him.

The man in the baseball cap was also very decisive.

Seeing that his punch had forced me back and achieved his goal of breaking through, he showed no reluctance or hesitation in continuing the fight.

At that moment, he burst out of the passage I had cleared and ran wildly toward the stairwell, like a whirlwind.

Moreover, the instant he stepped out the door, he swung his hand backward to prevent me from chasing him.

"call--"

A handful of dark green powder was sprinkled from his palm, spreading throughout the narrow stairwell.

The powder instantly formed a pungent, poisonous fog, blocking my vision and pursuit route.

Watching the dark green poisonous powder flying everywhere, I stood still and did not rush to chase after it.

With a thought, the evil pill in my dantian began to rotate slightly faster.

A surge of pure malevolent energy instantly burst forth from my body, clinging tightly to my skin and forming a thin protective film.

The moment those dark green poisonous powders came into contact with my protective aura, they were instantly corroded and dissolved, unable to get even a fraction closer to my body.

At the same time, my eyes narrowed slightly, and my immense mental power instantly locked onto the man in the baseball cap who was running wildly around the corner of the stairs.

"go."

I gave a low shout in my heart and activated my Qi.

The black bone needle that I had been holding between my right fingers instantly transformed into a silent beam of dark light, piercing through the pervasive poison powder.

It shot straight toward the back of the man in the baseball cap at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

"Pfft!"

A very faint tearing sound of fabric rang out.

The bone needle pierced precisely into the left shoulder of the man in the baseball cap.

This time, I didn't use the bone needles to inflict any damage; I merely manipulated them to prick him once.

The man in the baseball cap only felt a slight stinging sensation on his shoulder, like being bitten by a mosquito.

He was currently fleeing for his life and had no time to check his injuries.

After I stabbed him, he actually started walking even faster.

However, what he didn't know was that the moment the bone needle pierced his flesh, I had silently injected a stream of malevolent energy into his meridians through the bone needle.

I left this malevolent energy very discreetly, and it was of extremely high quality.

Given the man in the baseball cap's level of internal energy cultivation, it would be difficult for him to detect its existence, let alone force it out of his body.

As long as this malevolent energy remains within his body, no matter where he flees to, as long as he is within a certain range, I can clearly perceive his exact location, just like having a GPS tracker installed.

Everything's ready.

After doing all that, I had a change of heart.

The black bone needle, having completed its task, traced an arc in mid-air before silently flying back into my hand.

After that, I put it back in my pocket.

I stood at the door of room 402, quietly listening to the increasingly distant, hurried footsteps in the hallway.

I only slowly withdrew my gaze after the man in the baseball cap had completely disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.

The bait for casting a long line to catch a big fish has already been cast.

Now, let's see where this fish will take me.

I turned around and faced the still-lingering dark green poison powder in the hallway.

These things, if not cleaned properly, can be a hidden danger and could potentially injure someone.

So I took a deep breath and then suddenly activated the evil energy within my body.

A powerful gust of air burst forth from my body, like a whirlwind sweeping across, instantly blowing away all the poison powder suspended in mid-air.

After confirming that there were no residual toxins in the air, I gripped the dagger and stepped into Old Zhang's house.

Upon entering, the sight before me made me frown.

Old Zhang's home is a typical old-fashioned one-bedroom apartment; it's not large and the decor is quite outdated.

But at this moment, the entire room was a mess.

The sofa cushions in the living room were overturned on the floor, and the water glasses and ashtray on the coffee table were broken all over the floor.

An old-fashioned wooden storage cabinet against the wall had all its drawers violently pulled out, with miscellaneous items scattered everywhere.

I went into the bedroom, and the situation was even worse.

The wardrobe door was wide open, and the clothes inside had been turned inside out.

Even the mattress on the bed was lifted halfway up, revealing the wooden board underneath.

To see for myself, I quickly checked the room.

But no one could find Lao Zhang in the living room, bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom.

There was no blood or signs of fighting or struggle.

This further confirms that Lao Zhang was indeed not at home.

Moreover, judging from the chaotic scene of the ransacked place, it's clear that the man in the baseball cap who was lurking here wasn't just there to deal with Lao Zhang.

If it was for revenge or to silence someone, he wouldn't have needed to ransack the room so thoroughly.

This almost digging-three-foot-deep search method is more like looking for a small object that is very easy to hide.

"What exactly is he looking for?"

Looking at the mess on the ground, I pondered to myself.

Old Zhang was just an ordinary mortician who lived a frugal life and could not possibly have any valuable gold or silver treasures at home.

If the man in the baseball cap wasn't after money, then what he was looking for...

It's highly likely that it's related to the body that was pulled from the reservoir yesterday.

Could it be that when Old Zhang was dealing with the corpse, he was not only struck by the evil spirits of the water, but also discovered something he shouldn't have found on the corpse and secretly took it home?

The thought flashed through my mind, and it immediately made things seem even more confusing.

If that's really the case, then Lao Zhang's current situation is extremely dangerous.

Judging from the brief exchange just now, that guy in the baseball cap is definitely a desperate criminal.

I stood in the middle of the messy living room, took out my phone, and glanced at the time.

It is 10:10 a.m.

The "fish" bearing my ominous mark has already swum away; I can't linger here any longer.

I must catch up with him as soon as possible and see where he will take me.

I turned and walked out of Old Zhang's house, closing the dark red security door behind me and locking the mess inside.