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

These two top-grade Xuan Yin Sha Crystals are cultivation resources that I exchanged specifically to quickly enhance my Sha Qi foundation.

Li Qing stared wide-eyed at the three items in the box.

As a well-informed descendant of a geomancer, he naturally recognized the value of these materials at a glance.

Although he didn't need the two Xuan Yin Sha Crystals, the hundred-year-old piece of evil-infused cold iron and the thousand-year-old lightning-struck yin wood would be priceless treasures on the black market.

"Holy crap..."

Li Qing swallowed hard, pointed at the materials in the box, and looked at me with disbelief.

"Where did you get all this good stuff from without anyone telling you? And someone even delivered it to your door?"

As he said this, his eyes darted around, and he suddenly revealed a somewhat lewd smile.

He moved closer to me and bumped me with his shoulder:

"Tell me honestly, have you been living off Director Lu?"

This kind of product can be obtained on a whim; without strong inside connections, it simply wouldn't get approved.

"If you have such amazing skills for marrying rich women, teach me sometime so I can avoid struggling for twenty years."

I glared at him angrily and snapped:

"Get lost, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."

"These are merit points I earned with my life on the line; they cost me over 200,000."

I picked up the two Xuan Yin Sha Crystals, casually stuffed them into my pocket, and then pointed to the remaining two materials:

"If you could become an advisor to the Folklore Bureau, and do a few dangerous jobs, you could get promoted too."

"Damn, is there really such a good thing?"

Li Qing made an exaggerated expression and patted his chest.

"That's great! I'll go to Lu Yan tomorrow to apply for the job."

With my feng shui skills, I should be able to call myself an expert, right?

Listening to Li Qing's rambling nonsense, I smiled on the surface, but I knew exactly what was going on.

I know that he was mostly joking when he said that.

As a legitimate successor of a geomancer lineage with a complete tradition and a living master, Li Qing couldn't possibly be unaware of some of the internal affairs and rules of the Bureau of Folklore.

While official supplies are easy to obtain, they all come with a price tag.

While serving as an advisor to the Folklore Bureau comes with many privileges and conveniences, it also comes with greater responsibilities and constraints.

Although my position as an A-level consultant was obtained through dubious means, and I have some privileges.

But once you're really tied to the official chariot, you often lose control of your own destiny.

Given Li Qing's carefree and cynical nature, he clearly couldn't stand staying within the rigid framework of the system.

Although this guy is usually very lively and acts like a perpetually immature homebody, deep down he's just like me—a person who really hates trouble.

Several major events that have occurred in Jiangcheng recently could have happened if it weren't for my involvement, or rather, if it weren't for the fact that they were trying to help me.

Given his instinct as a feng shui master to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, he probably would have stayed far away long ago.

They would never get involved in these whirlpools where they could lose their lives at any moment.

"Alright, stop being so sarcastic."

I closed and locked the box again, then carried it in my hand.

"I need to deliver these materials to Old Man Huo as soon as possible so he can start work soon."

Are you going or not?

Li Qing yawned and sat up straight on the sofa.

"Go, why don't you go?"

It's so stuffy staying indoors at midday, I might as well go for a walk.

As he spoke, he walked to the cabinet next to him and habitually took out a palm-sized, exquisite feng shui compass and put it in his pocket.

Since we decided to go together, we split up and went our separate ways.

I carried the alloy case, while Li Qing went to the corner of my room and carefully pulled out the guitar case containing the black knife from under the bed.

As soon as the guitar case left under the bed, the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop by two degrees.

Li Qing couldn't help but shudder, muttering "That's really creepy," before slinging the guitar bag over his shoulder.

We went downstairs one after the other, put our things in the trunk of the Land Cruiser, and then I got into the driver's seat and started the car.

The sun was shining brightly in Jiangcheng at around 2 p.m.

The traffic on the street wasn't too congested. I gripped the steering wheel and headed towards the north of the city.

Soft, soothing music was playing in the carriage.

Li Qing sat in the passenger seat, with the window half-lowered, letting the breeze ruffle his slightly messy hair.

"Chen Yang, you said..."

Li Qing looked out the window at the receding street scene and suddenly spoke, his tone becoming more serious.

"When we were at Old Man Huo's last night, did you notice anything strange about the old man?"

I looked at the traffic light ahead, slowly pressed the brake, and replied:

"You mean when Fang He led his men in to search, and they mentioned that evil cultivator's weapon?"

"Yes, that was around that time."

Li Qing turned to look at me, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Although the old man hid it very well, I am an expert in feng shui and face reading."

At that moment, Old Man Huo's expression was clearly off, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

I nodded, pressed the accelerator again, and the car smoothly crossed the intersection.

"I noticed that too."

I said calmly.

"At the time, I guessed that he must have had some kind of entanglement with that short stick, or at the very least, he should know who the owner of that short stick was."

However, since Fang He had already brought people to investigate, I didn't bother with it anymore.

After all, we only have one goal: to get him to safely draw the scabbard and put the black sword away.

As for the rest, let nature take its course.

After driving for about forty minutes, we arrived once again at that familiar, desolate abandoned industrial area.

Unlike when I came last night, the abandoned industrial area looked even more dilapidated during the day.

The sun beat down relentlessly on the massive, rusty steel pipes and the half-collapsed factory buildings, and the air was thick with the smell of stale machine oil and dry dust.

I skillfully turned the steering wheel and steered the car onto a narrow road filled with coal ash and broken bricks.

The chassis of the off-road vehicle crunched on the gravel, making a slight creaking sound.

Finally, the car came to a smooth stop in front of the familiar red brick building.

This is Old Man Huo's blacksmith shop.

I pushed open the car door and got out, carrying the alloy case.

Li Qing also got out of the car and closed the door behind him.

However, as soon as I stood still, the peaceful expression on my face slightly faded.

At this moment, the entire area around the building was eerily quiet, without the slightest sound of metal being forged.

There wasn't even a whooshing sound from the bellows.

Something's not right.

Li Qing stood next to me, his brows slightly furrowed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a palm-sized compass, glancing down at it.

"The energy field here is chaotic, the yin energy is very heavy, and there is bloodshed."

Almost at the same time Li Qing spoke, the mysterious, cool aura that had been lingering between my brows began to circulate spontaneously.

The five senses are amplified in an instant.

I twitched my nose slightly, and in the instant a breeze blew by, I caught a whiff of an unusual scent mixed with the smell of dry dust.

That was the smell of blood.