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

"Have you found out who arrested him? Have you captured him alive?"

After I finished speaking, I immediately followed up with a question.

Lu Yan sighed on the other end of the phone, her voice tinged with helplessness:

"No one was captured alive."

When Fang He led his fully armed team to the abandoned warehouse, there were only two suspects on guard.

After realizing they had been exposed and seeing no way to break through, the two men didn't utter a single word and immediately took poison to end their own lives.

The poison was hidden in their teeth; it was a deadly poison that would kill instantly upon contact with blood, leaving us no chance to save them.

Hearing this, my eyes narrowed slightly, and I blurted out, "An assassin?"

"Yes, they are suicide squads."

Lu Yan's tone also became very serious.

"There's something strange about this whole thing."

We are currently verifying the identities of the two suspects, but there is no doubt that they are not the masterminds behind the scenes; at most, they are just two peripheral pawns.

Moreover, the other party cleaned the site very thoroughly.

Apart from Zhang Zhihe and the two corpses, no fingerprints, hair, or useful intelligence clues were left behind.

Even traces of magical fluctuations were deliberately eliminated.

Lu Yan paused for a moment, then voiced her speculation, which coincided with my own thoughts:

"It's as if... this morning, the other party deliberately removed the shielding array, intentionally revealing Zhang Zhi's whereabouts."

Then they left behind two insignificant assassins, just quietly waiting for us to come and take the person away.

I nodded slightly, looking out the window at the pine trees rustling in the wind in the courtyard of the funeral home, my mind racing.

It seems that Lu Yan has also seen through the trickery hidden in this matter.

The other party went to great lengths to kidnap Lao Zhang and then cover up his tracks, only to release him voluntarily in less than two days. This is completely illogical.

Judging from the other party's experience in handling matters, it is highly unlikely that they concealed Lao Zhang's methods or that the formation could not be sustained, thus revealing their true colors.

This can be ruled out based on what Lu Yan just said about the situation at the scene.

Secondly, it's impossible that the other party deliberately released him because Lao Zhang had lost his usefulness.

In such situations, most people would choose to kill the witness to end the matter once and for all.

Why would the other side bother to do something so pointless, only to lose two assassins for nothing?

Unless, in this short night, some unforeseen event occurs.

Or perhaps some force, too powerful even for the mastermind to mess with, intervened, forcing them to cut their losses and hand over Old Zhang.

Several thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant.

However, due to a lack of crucial information, the complete truth could never be pieced together.

"I'm in the hospital now, what did the doctor say?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and asked into the phone.

"His bodily functions are all normal, and there are no signs of poisoning or being cursed."

The doctor said he was mainly suffering from psychological trauma, and may have been given some kind of potent sedative, which is why he was still unconscious.

Now we can only wait until Zhang Zhi wakes up and then ask him, the person involved.

Let's see if we can get anything useful out of him.

Lu Yan replied.

Upon hearing this, I wholeheartedly agree.

After all, all the leads have now been exhausted, so Lao Zhang, the person involved, has naturally become the only breakthrough point.

However, I didn't intend to get involved any further or go to any more trouble.

Yesterday afternoon's incident at the blacksmith shop, coupled with the subsequent pursuit of Qiu Feng, has already tainted me with a great deal of karma.

Now that Old Zhang has returned safely and without any fatal injuries.

As for the remaining intricacies, interrogations, and investigations, let Lu Yan and the professionals from the Bureau of Folklore handle those slowly.

"Okay, it's good that everyone is alright."

Lu Yan, you can keep an eye on this matter in your department. Let me know when you have any definite results.

If you need any help, just give me a call.

I said something to the person on the other end of the phone, and after receiving Lu Yan's affirmative reply, I pressed the hang-up button.

Looking at the slightly cold rice in my hand, I quickly shoveled down two mouthfuls.

But then I thought, since I've already taken out my phone, I might as well get everything done at the same time.

Yesterday, Old Man Huo died tragically, which caused my plan to forge a scabbard for Black Knife to be put on hold.

That murderous knife is still lying unhappily in its guitar case, which remains a potential threat.

So I pulled out my contacts and dialed Jin Wanliang's number.

The phone was answered after three rings, and Jin Wanliang's voice came through the receiver:

"Hey, Brother Chen, eating in the middle of the day?"

"Just finished eating."

I leaned back in the plastic chair in the cafeteria and asked casually.

"Old Jin, how's the bank card I gave you yesterday that belonged to Old Huo?"

"I dare not neglect the task you two entrusted to me."

After making a joke, Jin Wanliang sighed on the other end of the phone, his tone carrying a sense of感慨 about the impermanence of life.

"I arranged for my people to take care of it first thing this morning."

I had a lot of money in my card, so I divided it into five parts and donated them anonymously to three orphanages and two welfare homes for the disabled around Jiangcheng.

I kept a copy of all the accounts to ensure everything was clean and transparent, so that Old Man Huo could have a great reputation behind the scenes.

This old man was stingy his whole life, but in the end, he did a great act of kindness.

I nodded slightly, inwardly expressing my approval of Jin Wanliang's efficiency.

After a pause, I got to the point:

"Old Jin, I'm here today because I need your help."

With Old Man Huo gone, I don't know any other skilled blacksmiths in Jiangcheng anymore.

"You have many connections; could you help me find a reliable craftsman? I want to have the scabbard for that knife made."

On the other end of the phone, Jin Wanliang was silent for a few seconds, then made a slightly troubled smacking sound.

Then, Jin Wanliang's tone became somewhat troubled: "This matter is a bit difficult to handle; it depends on luck."

"How so?" I asked.

"I've seen that black knife before; it's kind of sinister."

Finding a craftsman who can control that knife is not easy.

Old Man Huo was one of the top masters in Jiangcheng. With his passing, the local area has lost a key talent.

Jin Wanliang explained.

I nodded and said with a smile, "I know all that, but I was just thinking that you have a lot of connections and know a lot of people, right?"

"Oh, my dear Brother Chen, you're flattering me too much."

After saying this, Jin Wanliang pondered for a moment and gave a direction.

"In that case, I'll ask my old connections in the black market to help you inquire in the surrounding provinces."

There used to be a secret sect in Hunan and Hubei that specialized in crafting magical artifacts for corpse-driving craftsmen, and there were also several ancestral forging families in the Central Plains.

I'll go and ask around to see if I can find a few masters willing to offer their services.

However, this will take some time.