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

I made no attempt to dodge the swarm of paper bats that were rushing towards me.

The murderous aura within me erupted instantly, and with a flick of my right hand, the willow-leaf blade traced an arc in my palm.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss—"

A series of sharp, tearing sounds rang out.

Those fierce-looking paper bats were instantly shredded into pieces the moment they touched the malevolent energy emanating from my blade, and they fell to the ground in a flurry.

The skinny man clearly hadn't expected me to be so strong, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

He didn't care about the paper figures; he slapped his hands on the offering table, used the momentum to roll backward, and at the same time, his toes hooked a red rope under the table.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a huge paper net covered with red runes fell from the roof and enveloped me.

This was a trap that had been set up long ago.

If it were an ordinary sorcerer, being covered by this net would probably instantly have their hands and feet bound by the power of the runes, leaving them at the mercy of others.

But I am a corpse stitcher, and the malevolent energy on my body is the nemesis of these fancy spells.

"break!"

Instead of retreating, I advanced, my left hand forming a claw, the tips of my five fingers spewing out intense black evil energy, directly grabbing at the paper net.

"Sizzle!"

The seemingly sturdy paper net was torn open in the middle by my grab.

I darted through the crevice and instantly closed in on the man.

The man had retreated to a corner, with nowhere left to go.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, and a sharp pair of scissors appeared in his hand, which he viciously stabbed at my throat.

The scissors shimmered with a ghostly blue light, clearly indicating that they had been poisoned or consecrated as magical artifacts.

But in the face of absolute speed and power, technique is meaningless.

I turned my head to avoid the scissors, and reached out with my right hand to grab his wrist.

"Snap!"

I showed no mercy and crushed his wrist bones.

"ah--!"

The man let out a scream, and the scissors in his hand clattered to the ground.

I kicked him in the knee, making him kneel down, then grabbed his throat and pinned him against the wall.

"Shh..."

I moved closer to his face, and gently pressed the scalpel in my other hand against his eyelid.

"Say it again, and I'll sew your eyelids up."

The man's screams stopped abruptly. He looked at me in terror, trembling all over.

He never expected that his mere test would result in the nemesis arriving at his home in less than half an hour.

"Papermaker?"

I glanced at the furnishings in the room and asked casually.

The man nodded with difficulty, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"Yes...yes...please spare my life, sir! I'm just someone who does things for money..."

"Who gave you the money?"

I loosened my grip slightly so he could speak, but the blade was still pressed against his eyeball.

"I...I don't know my name..."

The man, panting heavily, said urgently, "I really don't know! That person was wearing a mask and a hat, gave me five gold bars, and told me to test your abilities."

They said it would be best to get some of your blood...and if I succeed, there will be a big reward later.

"Don't know the name?"

I sneered, and the tip of the knife lightly pierced a small part of his skin, drawing blood.

"Looks like you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin."

"No, no, no! I remember! I remember!"

The man was terrified and shouted, "He's wearing a green thumb ring on his left thumb!"

The thumb ring has a cauldron pattern engraved on it!

He is indeed the guardian of the tripod.

And judging from his appearance, he seems to be someone of some status.

"Where is he?" I pressed.

"At... Jubaozhai! That's an antique shop, and he's the owner! That's where I got the job!"

Jubaozhai.

I silently memorized the name.

"very good."

I put away my scalpel and looked at the paper craftsman who was terrified.

Keeping this kind of person around is a menace, but killing him would be a waste of your time and would also attract the attention of the police.

"Since you like playing with paper figures, I'll give you a gift."

I took the black bone needle out of my pocket.

The man's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing the bone needle, clearly sensing the chilling aura emanating from it.

"What are you trying to do? I've already told you! You can't..."

I ignored his pleas for mercy and flicked my finger.

The bone needle pierced his brow instantly, then quickly flew back into my hand.

The man froze, his eyes glazed over, and then he collapsed limply to the ground.

I didn't kill him.

I simply used the malevolent energy from the bone needle to leave a mark on his Shen Ting acupoint.

This malevolent energy will slowly erode his mind, making him unable to concentrate on casting any spells in the future.

For a warlock who makes a living through his craft, this is worse than death.

From then on, he was a useless person.

I stood up, glanced at the room filled with scraps of paper and a gloomy atmosphere, turned around, walked to the window, grabbed the drainpipe again, and slid down.

The night was still dark.

As I walked out of Dashiqiao Village, I glanced back at that tenement building.

Jubaozhai.

Now that we know where the hideout is, things will be much easier.

However, I don't plan to rush over there now.

Since the person guarding the cauldron has opened a shop there, he must have set up heavy defenses, and there may even be experts stationed there.

If I go in alone now, my chances of winning are slim.

I took out my phone and dialed Lu Yan's number.

The phone was answered after two rings. Lu Yan sounded surprised: "So late? Something happened?"

I guess so.

As I walked, I said calmly, "I just caught a mouse and got some information out of it."

The owner of Jubaozhai in the north of the city was a man who wore a green jade thumb ring; it was probably a small stronghold of the guardian of the tripod.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Lu Yan's voice came through: "You're going to arrest them? Do you know how dangerous that is? What if they've set up an ambush?"

"Fortune favors the bold."

I smiled and said, "Besides, I didn't lose out either; I've already crippled that paper craftsman."

I've given you the message; you decide how to proceed.

However, I suggest we don't rush to arrest anyone. Keep an eye on things; we might catch a big fish.

"...You bastard."

Lu Yan seemed somewhat helpless, but her tone was more one of admiration. "Okay, I understand. I will immediately arrange for the special operations team to set up surveillance."

Be careful, now that you've taken out their informants, they'll definitely notice.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

I breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up the phone.

By passing this hot potato to the Folklore Bureau, we can both leverage official power to strike at the guardian of the tripod and divert some of the attention away from me.

Next, it's time to go back and get a good night's sleep.

I did a lot of exercise tonight, and my energy was depleted quite a bit.

On my way home, I passed a convenience store that was still open.

I went in and bought a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of iced cola.

Standing under the streetlight, I lit a cigarette and took a big gulp of cola.