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

"right."

Lu Yan nodded. "The layout of the entire underground palace is designed according to the stage of the play 'Zhan Jing Tang'."

Those kneeling, dried corpses included not only his entire family, but also soldiers and servants who died fighting the enemy.

And the one sitting in the middle wearing armor is General Zuo himself.

After his defeat and the fall of the city, he committed suicide on the stage, making a solemn vow before his death to continue performing this play there for all eternity, until the return of the royal army.

I was silent.

No wonder the resentment accumulated in the underground palace over the past few hundred years has never dissipated.

It is because of those wronged souls who died that they are trapped in the obsession of this mad general.

The tragedy was repeated over and over again.

This place is practically a "pressure cooker of resentment" that has accumulated for hundreds of years.

"Now that we've figured it out, why don't we just blow it up?" I asked.

In such extremely dangerous places, physical destruction is often the most direct and effective method.

Moreover, I don't believe that since the General Administration sent people over, they wouldn't have a way to deal with the resentment.

Although the amount of resentment is quite large.

Lu Yan gave a wry smile: "If it could be blown up, the General Administration would have done it long ago. The problem is that the structure of this underground palace is very special."

It not only connects to the underground water system of Jiangcheng, but more importantly, experts detected a high-energy reaction source beneath the stage.

She pulled a red drawing from the pile of documents and pointed to a conspicuous black dot on it.

"The frequency of this energy source's fluctuations is very similar to that of several 'national first-class sealed artifacts' recorded in our bureau."

Violent destruction could trigger a chain reaction, instantly turning all living beings within a ten-mile radius into idiots, or even causing an earthquake.

"So, what's the current plan?" I asked, frowning.

It seems things are not as simple as I thought.

"seal."

Lu Yan uttered two words, "Several experts sent by the General Administration have already set up a large-scale formation around the ancient town."

This formation can not only seal the underground palace, but also dissipate and resolve the resentment within it.

The archaeological team has now withdrawn, leaving only monitoring equipment behind. The ancient town is now a restricted area.

I nodded; this is indeed the safest approach at present.

As long as we don't touch that core issue, the resentment there might gradually dissipate over time.

"Now that it's sealed, you're in such a hurry to find me, it can't be just to tell me a story, right?"

I looked at Lu Yan, and my intuition told me that things weren't that simple.

"The Guardian of the Cauldron"

Lu Yan paused for a moment, her gaze sharpening.

"Intelligence from the General Administration indicates that this group has been frequently active in the vicinity of Jiangcheng recently."

Moreover, their goal was very clear: they were after the underground palace in the north of the city.

It might even be... aimed at you.

"Targeting me?" I pointed to myself, feigning surprise.

"I'm just a mortician, what does it have to do with them?"

Stop pretending.

Lu Yan sat back down in her chair, her gaze intense. "The wooden plaque you handed over during the last underground palace operation has been confirmed by the bureau's appraisal department as a token of the outer members of the Guardian of the Cauldron."

You killed their people, do you think they'll let you go?

I was silent.

Indeed, in the world of martial arts, one never knows when one will be entangled in karma.

"Well, I didn't expect that evil cultivator to actually have some background."

I shrugged. "Should I apply for a witness protection program?"

"I'm not in the mood for jokes."

Lu Yan glared at me. "The terrifying thing about the guardians of the cauldron is not their martial prowess, but their ability to track 'qi'."

"As long as you bear the scent of that token, or have come into contact with anything related to the 'cauldron,' they will come knocking on your door like sharks smelling blood."

"The energy source beneath the underground palace is very likely one of the legendary fragments of the 'Nine Cauldrons' or some kind of associated artifact."

Now that the guardian of the tripod has sensed something amiss, he's not going to let it go easily.

"I called you here to give you a heads-up."

Lu Yan took a black communicator out of the drawer and tossed it to me.

"This is the bureau's encrypted communicator, and it only uses this frequency band."

If you notice anything unusual, or feel like you're being watched, contact me immediately.

Try to avoid going out alone these days, especially at night.

I took the communicator; it felt heavy and had a high-quality feel.

Thank you.

"There's one more thing."

Lu Yan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Among the experts sent by the General Administration, there is one who is very interested in you."

He read your action report, especially the way you stitched up the body.

He asked me to tell you that he would like to meet you if he has the chance.

"Who?"

"He didn't give his name, only a code name—Tiangong."

Heavenly craftsmanship?

I quickly searched my mind for information about the code name, but to no avail.

In folk culture circles, there are all sorts of names, but those who dare to call themselves "Tiangong" are definitely not ordinary people.

"Let's talk about it later."

I put the communicator away, stood up, and said, "Right now, I just want to live a few peaceful days."

As for those who guard the cauldron... they'll meet force with force, and water with water.

While this statement might sound like a sign of giving up, it's not entirely unfounded.

The Guardians of the Cauldron are an incredibly mysterious organization; even the Bureau of Folklore has no concrete clues about them.

Besides, I don't have anything that can attract them, and using the same methods I used against the Shadow Sect won't work.

Instead of living in constant fear, it's better to live your life well and steadily improve your own abilities – that's the key.

After all, you can only be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days.

Lu Yan looked at me, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end she just waved her hand, giving me the order to leave: "Alright, Chen Yang, I've given you the information."

Remember to keep your communication channels open.

Also, be careful in everything you do.

I nodded and left Lu Yan's office.

When I left the Folklore Bureau, it was already very late at night.

The streets were deserted, with only a few cars occasionally speeding by.

I stood under the streetlight, hands in my pockets, leaning against the car.

General Zuo, from the "Zhanjing Hall," is the guardian of the cauldron and is suspected to be a fragment of the Nine Provinces Cauldron...

All of this seems chaotic, but there seems to be an invisible thread connecting them.

Was that mad general Zuo really killing his wife as a sacrifice to the flag because of superstition?

Or perhaps he also came into contact with the power of the "Nine Cauldrons" and was trying to activate something through that extreme ritual?

The wind blew, swirling up the fallen leaves on the ground.

I tightened my collar, got into the car, and slowly drove towards the rented house.

Whatever the truth is, since we've already been dragged into this, we can only keep going.