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

They were treated like mere weeds, mercilessly wiped out by Qiu Feng for the sake of the so-called treasure map.

The blacksmithing skills of the Huo family, which had been passed down for countless generations, were completely severed along with this bloodshed.

This act of wantonly trampling on life for personal gain has crossed the bottom line deep within my heart.

I am usually easygoing and don't like to argue with people, but that doesn't mean I don't have a temper.

When this nameless fire ignites, the only way to quell it is to make the person who started it pay the price.

Having known Li Qing for so long, he could naturally tell the truth from my words and sense the determination hidden beneath my calm demeanor.

Upon hearing this, he could only shake his head helplessly and smile.

"Alright, since you've made up your mind, then we'll wade into these muddy waters."

Li Qing stepped forward and patted my shoulder heavily.

"This bastard dares to act so arrogantly in Jiangcheng. It's time someone taught him a lesson."

He withdrew his hand and glanced at the dimly lit corridor leading to the inner room:

"Let's go see the reward that Old Man Huo promised."

"Now that we've taken this life-risking job, we should at least see what good things our employer has left us."

I nodded, threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground, and stubbed it out with the sole of my shoe.

Then, I picked up the alloy box and followed him into the inner room deep inside the blacksmith's shop.

The light in the corridor was dimmer than in the outer room, and the smell of blood in the air was even stronger.

We pushed open the half-closed wooden door and entered the room where Old Man Huo usually rested.

The room was small and the furnishings were very simple.

But upon entering the room, the first thing we saw was the child's corpse lying on the floor.

At this moment, his burly body was curled up like a boiled shrimp, with a shocking indentation on his chest.

Blood was flowing from his seven orifices, and his face turned a horrifying bluish-green.

His eyes were wide open, staring intently at the ceiling, as if questioning why he had suffered such an undeserved calamity.

I stopped and stared at the child's body for a moment.

However, I didn't say anything. I just slightly circulated the evil pill in my body and suppressed the nameless fire again.

He then stepped over him and came to Old Man Huo's single wooden bed.

According to Old Man Huo's dying instructions, the hidden compartment was under this bed.

Li Qing stepped forward first, reached out and grabbed the edge of the bed, and pulled outward with force.

With a creak, the bed was moved more than a meter away, revealing the ground underneath that had been hidden.

In the corner of the wall, there is a blue brick that looks no different from the rest of the bricks.

I crouched down, extended my right index and middle fingers, and carefully felt along the edge of the blue brick.

Soon, I felt a tiny bump in the grime between the bricks.

I took a deep breath, applied pressure with my fingertips, and pressed three times to the left in the order Old Man Huo had instructed, then slid half an inch to the right.

"Click".

A crisp click of a mechanism echoed in the quiet inner room.

The blue brick bounced up a bit, revealing a crack.

I reached out and pinched the edge of the blue brick, lifted it up completely, and set it aside.

Below the blue bricks is a dark, deep compartment, about half a meter square, with its inner walls lined with moisture-proof tarpaulin.

The space inside the hidden compartment wasn't large; you could see everything inside at a glance.

At first glance, there are only three items inside, arranged in an orderly manner.

At the very top was a small square package tightly wrapped in oil paper.

You can tell from the gap peeking out from the edge that it's a bank card.

Beneath this bank card lay a roll of parchment, its edges somewhat tattered and its color a dull yellow.

Clearly, this was the treasure map that led to his death.

In the deepest part of the hidden compartment, a long, narrow wooden box lay quietly.

The surface of the wooden box is carved with very intricate and rustic patterns. Although it is covered with some dust, you can still tell that it is made of extraordinary material.

Li Qing and I stood by the hidden compartment, our eyes sweeping over the three items.

We both tacitly avoided touching the bank card.

That was the money Old Man Huo had saved up from a lifetime of blacksmithing; it was also the deposit he used to buy Qiu Feng's life.

Holding this money is like holding a hot potato until things are settled.

Moreover, whether or not to accept this kind of blood-stained money is another matter entirely.

At this moment, all our attention was focused on the intricately patterned wooden box.

I reached out with both hands and carefully lifted the long wooden box out of the hidden compartment, placing it on the table next to me that was piled with miscellaneous items.

The wooden box felt quite heavy and had a slightly cool touch.

Li Qing leaned closer, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

After all, Old Man Huo had said that this contained a magic sword passed down from his ancestors, which was once the personal item of the Maoshan sect leader in the late Qing Dynasty.

I unfastened the exquisite brass clasp on the wooden box and slowly lifted the lid.

It wasn't as dazzling as I had imagined, nor was there any blinding light.

What came into view was a long sword about three feet long.

It appears to be made of some kind of metal that I don't recognize at all.

The sword blade has a dark bluish-gray color, and its surface is not smooth, but covered with forging marks that resemble cloud patterns, exuding an ancient and solemn aura.

The blade was not sharpened on either side, making it appear somewhat heavy.

However, in the center of the sword, there are intricate Taoist runes.

The moment the wooden box was fully opened, a pure and powerful Taoist aura, mixed with a metallic coldness and sharpness, burst forth from the longsword.

This aura was extremely pure, without the slightest hint of evil, as if it were born to slay demons and monsters.

Seeing this, I frowned slightly.

Because I cultivate the malevolent inner energy of the Corpse Stitcher lineage.

Although I have been tainted with a trace of thunder and fire energy after breaking through to the Sha Dan realm, and my Sha Qi has embarked on the path of extreme Yin generating Yang, it is no longer the pure Yin cold.

However, when faced with this pure Taoist magic sword, the evil core within my body still produced a slight instinctive rejection reaction.

This sword doesn't feel right to me.

On the contrary, Li Qing, who was standing next to me, suddenly lit up after sensing this Taoist energy.

Although the method he practiced differed from Maoshan magic, they both belonged to the same Taoist lineage, and their auras were naturally similar.

"This is good stuff!"

Li Qing couldn't help but sigh in admiration and reached out to touch the magic sword, but he withdrew it halfway through, as if afraid of offending this relic of his predecessor.

"It's definitely a good product."

I smiled and casually put the lid of the wooden box back on, shutting out the Taoist aura.

"This sword is better for you, or for Lu Yan to use, than for me to keep it."

I pushed the wooden box in front of Li Qing and said.

"I have too much malevolent energy on me, and I'm incompatible with this thing."