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

"Old man, you're in such a hurry, you might leave something behind."

I muttered something to myself, took out a black bone needle from my pocket, and with a little force from my fingertip, forced out a drop of blood and smeared it on the needle tip.

[Attracting evil spirits to track down]

This technique was originally used to find those lost "gods of happiness" (corpses), but as long as the person has the smell of death, this needle can lead the way.

The bone needle spun twice in my palm, and the tip, as if attracted by a magnet, pointed stubbornly towards the southeast.

I casually took off my white coat and threw it on the bench, put on my own jacket, and walked quickly out of the funeral home with my head down.

Lu Yan called again. I answered, my voice steady: "Director Lu, there's no need to rush to the funeral home. The person has already passed away."

I'm following him now. Keep an eye on the satellite positioning for me. If I stay in one spot for more than ten minutes, bring your men to close the net.

"Chen Yang! Are you crazy? Those are high-ranking members of the Shadow Sect, and you're all alone..."

Lu Yan was so anxious on the other end of the phone that she kept stamping her feet.

"Don't worry, I'm a coward and I won't fight head-on. I just want to see where they're hiding in Jiangcheng."

I hung up the phone and hailed a taxi.

"Driver, head towards the old town, drive slowly, I'm looking for someone."

The car drove through the wet streets, and the bone needle trembled slightly in my palm, guiding the way.

The old man was clearly very confident. He didn't even bother to conceal his aura. Perhaps in his opinion, no one in Jiangcheng could track down the Shadow Sect.

About half an hour later, the taxi stopped in an old tiled-roof area on the east side of Jiangcheng.

This is an area slated for demolition, filled with ruins and dilapidated walls. Utility poles strung haphazardly with their wires, and the air reeked of household garbage.

I paid the fare and got off the bus. The bone needle began to vibrate violently, its tip pointing directly at a dilapidated storefront with a sign that read "Zhou's Shadow Puppet Theater".

This theater looks quite old; the red paint on the wooden door has almost completely peeled off, revealing the blackened wood underneath.

Two white lanterns hung at the entrance; although they weren't lit, they stood out starkly against the overcast sky.

I put away the bone needles, adjusted the willow-leaf scalpel in my sleeve, and slowly walked to the door.

"Is anyone there? I'd like to see a show."

I stood at the door and called out, my voice not loud, but it carried far in the quiet alley.

There was no movement inside the room, only a strong smell of tung oil wafting out from under the door.

I recognize this smell; my grandfather used to like to brush this oil on old objects when he repaired them.

I pushed open the door, and the wooden hinges made a grating creaking sound.

The room was very dark, with the light completely blocked by the heavy curtains.

Directly opposite the door was a shadow puppet stage, with a faint yellow light shining through the white curtain, and several shadow puppets were quietly hanging on the frame.

The shadow puppets were made with such fine detail that even the individual eyelashes were clearly defined, but in this environment, I always felt like those little figures were staring at me.

"Master Chen, you're faster than I expected."

It seems Yinshan's defeat was not unjust; the tracking technique of the Corpse-Sealing lineage is indeed quite interesting.

The old man's voice came from behind the curtain, still in that unhurried tone.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of the erhu rang out.

The melody was mournful, like someone was wailing at a funeral in the middle of the night.

At that moment, the light behind the curtain flickered, and one of the shadow puppets moved.

It was a human-shaped shadow puppet, its movements stiff yet strangely coordinated. It danced on the screen, holding a thin walking stick in its hand, a perfect miniature of the old man from before.

"Old sir, you acted very well."

However, I'm a bit of a country person; I need tea to enjoy a play. It's rather impolite of you not even to offer me hot water, isn't it?

As I spoke, I took a few steps forward, my eyes fixed on the shadows beside the stage.

There, I sensed at least three chilling internal energies.

"There's plenty of tea, but I'm afraid you won't live to drink it all."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the erhu melody suddenly changed, becoming rapid and sharp.

The shadow puppet on the screen suddenly let out a sharp shriek, and then a dark shadow actually "jumped" out of the screen!

That's when they really jumped out.

A shadowy figure, entirely black and as thin as a cicada's wing, clutching a dark dagger, silently slashed towards my neck.

I didn't back down. I pushed with my right thumb, and the willow leaf blade slid out of my palm. I then executed a backhand upward flick.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing was particularly jarring in the empty theater.

The dark figure was forced back a few steps by my shock, and then quickly disappeared into the shadows on the ground.

I felt a chill under my feet and almost instinctively dodged to the side.

With a soft thud, the floor where I had just been standing was pierced through by a black spear.

"Shadow puppets? The Shadow Sect's methods are indeed underhanded."

I brushed the dust off my sleeves, my eyes turning cold.

Now that I've found my way to the hideout, I'm not going to pretend to be polite anymore.

I made a hand seal with my left hand, and the evil energy in my Shaoze acupoint surged wildly, flowing down my arm and into the willow-leaf knife in my right hand.

The original silvery-white light on the blade was instantly covered by a layer of dark blue-green aura.

"Sir, the play is over, it's time to wrap it up."

I took a sudden step forward, and like a blue phantom, I crashed directly into the shadow puppet stage.

Since you're the one operating from behind, I'll just dismantle the platform for you!

"Arrogant!"

The old man snorted coldly, and the curtains on both sides of the stage were suddenly pulled open.

Two young men dressed in black robes, their faces pale, rushed out.

Their movements were exactly like those of shadow puppets, with thin steel wires twirling between their fingers, gleaming with a bloodthirsty light in the dim light.

This is the Shadow Sect's ultimate move—the merging of man and shadow.

I remained calm, took a deep breath, and a muffled boom came from my chest.

【Evil Aura - Tremor】!

An invisible wave rippled outwards from me, causing the two young men who had rushed over to freeze in their tracks, clearly their souls being struck by my powerful killing aura.

Taking advantage of this opening, I slashed with the scalpel in my hand.

There were no screams, only the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground.

I cut the two steel wires cleanly at the root, and the two young men also had deep, bone-revealing cuts on their wrists.

I stopped in front of the stage, the tip of my knife pointing at the blurry figure behind the curtain.

"Come out. If you keep hiding, I'm going to set the mountain on fire."

As I spoke, I had already gripped the black bone needle in my other hand.

The erhu music in the theater suddenly stopped.

The old man, leaning on his walking stick, slowly walked out from behind the curtain.

His expression was rather unpleasant; he clearly hadn't expected me to be able to deal with his two disciples so quickly.

"You are a promising young man. It seems I won't be able to keep you here unless I show you some real skills today."

He stomped his walking stick on the ground, and the entire theater floor began to shake violently.