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

At this moment, at least Grandpa can finally rest in peace.

Once everyone had descended the mountain and the noise subsided, Huilongzhai returned to its usual tranquility.

But beneath this tranquility, unseen undercurrents seem to be surging.

Back in the empty old house, I sat in the armchair, looking at the white banners that hadn't been taken down yet in the mourning hall, and playing with the rattle drum in my hand.

My parents have indeed lost contact; every call I make seems to disappear without a trace.

Hearing a sound outside the door, I put away the rattle drum and looked outside.

It was my second uncle who pushed open the door.

"Yoko, dinner's ready."

"They're here."

I responded and followed my second uncle into the kitchen.

The dishes on the table were plentiful, mostly leftovers from the large breakfast feast, including chicken, duck, fish, and meat, as well as two bowls of steaming hot rice noodles.

After I sat down, I looked around the kitchen and found that it was just me and my second uncle.

"Second Uncle, where's my cousin?"

My second uncle picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, a hint of annoyance on his face: "That little brat insisted on going back to the city after lunch, saying that the boss only gave him two days off."

"Tell me, his grandfather's body is barely cold yet... It's outrageous!"

After saying that, he slammed his chopsticks down heavily, lit a welding torch, and started puffing away at the smoke.

I didn't touch my chopsticks, but instead comforted him, saying, "Young people these days are like that, they have a lot of work pressure, Uncle, don't be too angry."

Uncle Er exhaled a puff of smoke: "That little brat has been messing around outside for so many years, and he hasn't made a name for himself at all. He even rushed through his grandfather's final moments. Look at you, there's no comparison!"

After saying that, my second uncle glanced at me through the smoke.

I just smiled and didn't say anything.

Seeing my silence, my second uncle took another puff of welding smoke and changed the subject: "Let's not talk about him anymore, it just makes me angry. By the way, Yangzi, how's work over there? Your boss isn't pressuring you to go back, is he?"

I picked up two pieces of stir-fried vegetables with my chopsticks: "I'm very free. There are other morticians at the funeral home over there besides me. This time, I want to stay until the seventh day after Grandpa's death before going back."

"Look! You're so filial!" Uncle tapped the table with his pipe. "Let's not talk about that. Here, try the rice noodles I made for you with chicken broth, extra spicy! See if it's the flavor you loved when you were little?"

I squinted at the rice noodles in front of me, which were covered in chili oil, and took a bite with my chopsticks.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

They then wolfed it down.

Seeing me eat, my second uncle's face broke into a smile. "Eat more Yangzi. It's been a long time since you've tasted the flavors of home, hasn't it?"

After the storm had passed, my second uncle was cleaning up the dishes, while I returned to my room.

I sat at my desk, flipping through a yellowed, thread-bound book that I had found by my grandfather's bedside under the dim light.

Those were Grandpa's notes, densely filled with various ways to die, how to deal with them, and all sorts of folk remedies.

I already know the contents of the book by heart, but every time I take it out to read it again, I feel like I'm reading something new every time.

As I watched, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.

The drowsiness came on very strangely and was overwhelming. Before I could even put down my book, I fell completely asleep at my desk.

Shortly after, a figure crept into my room in the dark.

The man first rummaged through my suitcase for a while, but apparently didn't find what he wanted, so he persistently searched my body.

A moment later, the man muttered, "Damn it, the rattle drum isn't on him either! Oh well... let's go to the back mountain first!"

Shortly after the figure left, I suddenly opened my eyes.

"Second Uncle..."

Behind the mountain, the Chen family ancestral graves, the site of the new graves.

The sound of shovels digging into the soil was particularly jarring in the quiet of the night.

In front of Grandpa's grave, a figure was frantically digging at the soil with a shovel.

The newly filled loess soil was already loose, and he dug a large pit in no time.

I stood in the shade of an old locust tree, quietly watching this scene, my heart growing colder and colder.

The figure was my second uncle. At this moment, he seemed to realize something, stopped what he was doing, and stared sharply in the direction where I was standing.

I stopped hiding and slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Second Uncle, it's late, let Grandpa rest."

My voice was very soft, but in this quiet environment, it was deafening.

"Yoko?! It's you? No way... I watched you eat that bowl of rice noodles with my own eyes!"

My second uncle looked on incredulously.

"Second Uncle, don't forget, I was personally trained by Grandpa." I spoke, my voice calm. "A little corpse oil and a little Gu powder, and you think you can knock me out? I have nine ways to break free, nine ways."

Upon hearing this, Uncle's face calmed down. He leaned on his shovel, his tone casual, "Heh, that's true. But I'm curious, when did you start being wary of me?"

"During the day, when we're filling in the graves."

"Hmm... I think it was around that time. I almost forgot, you've always had a keen ear since you were little."

"Yoko, you really resemble your older brother, both in personality and methods."

Uncle put down the shovel in his hand, took out a welding torch from his waistband, struck a match and lit it: "Now that you're here, I reckon you already understand a lot of things. If there's anything else you want to know, ask away, and Uncle will answer your questions."

I asked calmly, "The poison in Grandpa's body last night, was that the one you planted?"

Uncle Er exhaled a puff of smoke, flashing his pearly white teeth: "Not bad, it's my doing. The purpose was to test your skills."

I frowned: "After more than twenty years together, you've always acted like an ordinary person. When did you learn these things?"

"Hey!" Second Uncle chuckled. "It's not your fault. The old man really didn't pass on any skills to me. I learned all of these things myself in the Southern Frontier. Not to mention you, even the old man didn't know I knew these things."

No wonder, all they used were Gu worms and the like, showing no trace of what a corpse-stitching craftsman should be like.

I asked in a low voice the question I most wanted to know: "Was Grandpa's death related to you?"

My second uncle pondered for a moment, which was unusual for him. "It seems that the letter he left you didn't tell you what he was doing. But his death really has nothing to do with me."

The old man went to southern Xinjiang half a month ago and died from his injuries after returning. Before he died, I asked him to tell me the whereabouts of the "Chen Family Heavenly Garment Strategy," but the stubborn old man actually said that this thing should not be passed down to the world and that he wanted to take it to his coffin!

I intended to use the Gu poison to force him to speak, but who knew he would die so quickly! Humph! That old stubborn man had too much malevolent energy; he actually used his last breath to create some kind of Arhat sitting in a malevolent posture!

My Gu poison is trapped inside my body, and other Gu worms can't get close. I can't break this situation, so I have no choice but to call you and ask you to come back.

I was burning with anger, but my tone remained calm: "Second Uncle, you're still lying even now."

"First, you only mentioned the 'spinning gu' in your words, but deliberately omitted the talisman wrapped around it. If I'm not mistaken, that should be the method of the corpse-driving people of the Xiangxi lineage."

"Secondly, you drugged me tonight, weren't you? You haven't mentioned anything about this thing you crave so much. Are you afraid I'll find out something?"