Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

Bang bang bang!

Bang Bang Bang!

As night deepened, a series of loud knocks sounded at the door.

Is Lin Xuan here?!

"Lin Xuan! Is Lin Xuan here? Open the door quickly!"

The voice coming from outside the door was urgent and flustered, with a slight crack in its tone.

In the back room, Qiu Sheng rolled over, buried his head in the blanket, and mumbled, "Who is it... so late at night, can't a person get any sleep?"

Wen Cai, who was also groggy from the noise, was curled up in a ball, clutching his blanket, his eyes still closed. "Senior brother, go open the door..."

"Why should I go?" Qiu Sheng kicked him through the blanket, saying irritably, "You're closer to the door, you go."

"I'm afraid of the dark..." Wen Cai's face was scrunched up from sleepiness, and his voice was drawn out.

"Bullshit! You're afraid even during the day!"

After finishing his rant, Qiu Sheng turned over, ready to go back to sleep.

But the knocking on the door didn't stop; instead, it got even louder.

Bang bang bang!

"Lin Xuan! Let Lin Xuan out quickly! Something's happened in Bei Qinghe!"

Qiu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, which he had just closed.

That sound...

"Awei?"

He propped himself up and sat up, his drowsiness instantly dissipating.

The news had already spread throughout the town during the day that a Taoist priest named Chen from Lushan had exorcised the water ghost in the Beiqing River, and that Awei had even personally led the security team to lift the river blockade.

Logically speaking, Awei should be sleeping soundly at home right now.

He came to the mortuary in the middle of the night to find his senior brother...

Qiu Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and his expression changed.

"Wencai, rise!"

Wen Cai trembled at his shout, sat up clutching the blanket, and groggily asked, "What is it now?"

"Awei's here; something must have really happened in Beiqinghe!"

Qiu Sheng grabbed his coat and draped it over his shoulders, then strode out.

Upon hearing the words "Beiqinghe," Wen Cai immediately shrank back, becoming more alert.

After hastily putting on his clothes, Wencai followed Qiusheng into the courtyard.

squeak-

The mortuary was opened.

Awei, who was frantically banging on the door from outside, clearly did not expect the door to open suddenly. Unable to stop, he lurched forward and almost fell into the threshold.

"Ouch!"

He flailed his arms wildly in the air, but luckily his teammates caught him in time, preventing him from falling flat on his face.

Qiu Sheng carried the oil lamp and shone it forward.

The light flickered, and he almost burst out laughing.

Awei was wearing a security team uniform that was clearly two sizes too small, with the buttons taut and the fabric at the chest stretched as if it were about to burst open.

The sleeves were even shorter, revealing half of her chubby wrists.

The teammate next to him was in an even worse situation!

The other person was only wearing a thin undershirt, and at that moment, he was shivering like a leaf in the night wind, his arms wrapped around his body.

Qiu Sheng's gaze swept over the two of them, and his eyebrows gradually rose.

"Hey~~ Captain Wei, are you... conducting drills in the middle of the night?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Awei's face. He quickly coughed twice and raised his hand to straighten his collar.

He was in such a rush that he only realized he was wearing pajamas halfway there.

But at that moment, he couldn't go back to change, so he could only take the uniform of the teammate next to him and put it on.

The clothes fit the team members well, but on him, they looked like he was wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

Awei braced himself, forcibly straightened his belly, and barely managed to strike a captain's pose, but his voice clearly lacked confidence.

"Stop talking nonsense! I don't have time to waste on your banter! Where's Lin Xuan? Is he here?"

As he spoke, he peered into the mortuary, his eyes darting around the courtyard, trying to find something.

Wen Cai rubbed his eyes and stood behind Qiu Sheng, yawning. "Our senior brother isn't here."

"He's not here?!" Awei's face stiffened, and he turned to stare at Wencai. "Where did he go?"

Qiu Sheng crossed his arms, leaned against the doorframe, and said slowly, "I went to Qingmu Town to perform a ritual for Boss Zhang."

"They're not back yet?!"

Awei was so anxious that he spun around halfway on the spot, sweat beading on his forehead.

He remembered that in the morning, his uncle had brought a boss over to ask Lin Xuan for help.

Presumably, Lin Xuan went to handle matters for that person.

"When will he be back?" Awei couldn't help but ask.

Qiu Sheng spread his hands: "Who would know? Our eldest brother goes out on errands and doesn't tell us the time."

Upon hearing this, Awei couldn't help but sigh, his face scrunching up in frustration.

Seeing his appearance, Qiu Sheng's ominous premonition grew stronger.

"Awei, what exactly happened in Beiqinghe?"

He stared at Awei's face, his tone turning somber.

"Didn't you hire a Taoist priest from Lushan to clean up the filth in the river during the day? Why are you here looking for my senior brother now?"

"Could it be... that someone has died again?"

Awei's chubby face twitched; he didn't want to talk...

after all,

During the day, he stood by the river and told the townspeople that the water ghost had been exorcised and the river was safe.

Only a few hours later, such a huge mess broke out in Beiqinghe.

That was a resounding and brutal slap in the face.

But he also knew in his heart that Boss Wang's boat had sunk and the bodies were floating on the river, so this matter could not be kept secret.

Tomorrow at daybreak, the entire town of Renjia will know.

After a long pause, Awei finally nodded with a grim face, "Someone died."

Qiu Sheng frowned slightly.

"How many died?" Wencai asked in a low voice.

Awei's throat bobbed, and his voice lowered, "A whole ship died..."

"What?!"

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai's expressions changed simultaneously.

The night wind at the entrance of the mortuary suddenly picked up and howled loudly!

The oil lamp flame flickered violently, causing even the shadows of the three people on the threshold to sway wildly, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

"First, everyone on the ship is dead?!"

Wen Cai felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and his scalp tingled.

"Boss Wang, and all his men... they all died in the river. The boat sank too."

Awei gritted his teeth and nodded.

Qiu Sheng gasped, his lingering sleepiness completely gone.

"If something in the water can kill a whole boatload of people, it must be a very dangerous creature!"

You take men and blockade the Beiqing River now. Boats cannot leave, and no one can get close to the riverbank!

That thing can capsize boats and kill people, and it can also drag people off the shore to be their scapegoats!

Qiu Sheng spoke with a heavy expression.

Wen Cai sighed and muttered, "My senior brother told you during the day to seal off the Beiqing River, to seal off the Beiqing River, and not to lift the seal recklessly. But you wouldn't listen, and now look what's happened!"

Awei's face flushed red and then turned pale after Wencai's sharp rebuke; he wished he could disappear into the ground.

He opened his mouth as if to refute, but the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back.

Lin Xuan had indeed reminded him during the day.

They even made it very clear that the thing underwater wasn't that simple.

But at the time, he was only thinking about establishing his authority by using the name of Taoist Chen, and he had also accepted benefits from Boss Wang, so he couldn't listen to any advice.

Now that Boss Wang is dead and Taoist Chen has disappeared, the blame has been placed entirely on him.

Awei grew increasingly panicked and quickly changed the subject, "What's the point of saying all this now? Can't you contact Lin Xuan and tell him to come back immediately!"

"How can we contact our eldest brother when he's out on business? It's not like he can fly back from Qingmu Town just by burning a talisman." Qiu Sheng shook his head.

Wen Cai thought for a moment and added, "Logically speaking, Senior Brother should be back after he finishes dealing with things over there. Probably tomorrow at the latest."

"tomorrow?"

Ah Wei muttered those two words under his breath, his face instantly contorting into a bitter expression.

He wished Lin Xuan would stand before him immediately.

Who knows if more people will die in Beiqinghe tomorrow?

Seeing that he was completely lost, Qiu Sheng sighed and softened his tone.

"Awei, don't linger here. Hurry back and get some men to block the river. First, persuade everyone on the riverbank to leave, then send men to guard the ferry. We'll tell our senior brother about this when he returns."

"Okay!" Awei gritted his teeth and finally nodded. "I'll go seal off the river right now!"

With that, he turned and left.

He had only taken a couple of steps when the small-sized uniform on his chest tightened so much that he could hardly breathe.

Frustrated, Awei tugged at his shirt, and with a "pop," a button was gloriously sacrificed, flying into the grass.

The teammate next to him, wearing only his undershirt, twitched his face upon seeing this, inwardly feeling bitter: "If only I had asked someone to inform the captain tonight! My clothes..."

Soon, the two figures disappeared into the night.

The area in front of the mortuary fell silent again.

Qiu Sheng stared at the end of the street, his expression unusually solemn.

Wen Cai huddled by the door, arms crossed, gazing at the darkness in the direction of Qingmu Town for a long time, muttering to himself.

"Senior Brother, please come back soon."

"The mortuary really can't function without you..."