Xiao's Funeral Supplies Shop

"Buzzz... Chii~~~"

"Zhuangyuanhong Road is here. Passengers alighting, please exit through the rear door."

Stepping off the last bus, the cool night breeze blew away most of the drowsiness Xiao Ran had felt during the ride.

He stretched and checked his phone, seeing it was almost 11 PM.

"Good thing I made it. It would've cost a fortune to get a taxi this late!"

Carrying his backpack, Xiao Ran crossed the empty intersection and turned south into a small alley. The dim streetlights cast a stark contrast against the red "Demolish" signs occasionally appearing on the old walls beside him.

On the street, several elderly people with white hair sat around a worn wooden table, engrossed in a game of chess under the lamplight. The crisp sound of chess pieces hitting the board was barely noticeable in this quiet neighborhood.

The further he walked, the livelier it became.

Various stalls lined both sides of the road, with the tempting aroma of fried, grilled, and boiled snacks filling the air.

Occasionally, couples dressed in Hanfu could be seen walking hand-in-hand between the food stalls.

After ten minutes of winding through the alley, a single-story shop, four meters long, appeared before him.

A sign hung under the eaves, black with white characters, bearing four large words: [Xiao's Funeral Supplies].

To the right of the sign, occupying two-thirds of the storefront, was a rolled-down shutter door, completely closed. To the left, occupying the remaining third, was a similarly closed glass display window.

Inside the window, an A2-sized colored paper was taped up. The content was faintly visible under the streetlights.

"Service List"

Funeral Host: 200-500

Embalming & Restoration: 400-Negotiable

Body Cleansing: 500

Divination & Dream Interpretation: 50-1000

Lost Item Recovery: 200 - 10% of item's value

Investigation & Other Services: Price Negotiable.

(A 50% deposit is required for all services. If the agency fails to complete the work within the agreed timeframe, the deposit will be fully refunded after deducting work costs.)

(Losses incurred due to agency error during the work process may be negotiated for compensation, with a maximum compensation limit of 100,000 yuan.)

Xiao Ran stood inexplicably in front of the display window, admiring the contents of the paper for a while. These were changes he had made a year ago after his grandfather passed away and he officially took over the shop.

He had added some services, like investigation and other matters. His grandfather had been a laid-back man, generally unwilling to trouble himself, but Xiao Ran didn't mind. Perhaps it was because he was still young and restless, always looking for interesting things to do, or perhaps, it was just the way of life.

Taking out his key, he opened the shutter door and walked straight through the shop. He turned back to close the shutter and headed directly upstairs.

The house wasn't large, but it was the business his grandfather had worked hard to build. The first floor was the shop, and the second floor was where he lived.

He summoned his backpack from the Lost City space and left everything inside. He only placed his change of clothes and the backpack on the sofa.

With the ability to summon a special space, this backpack would likely be useless from now on.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face and hands, then took out needles, thread, and tweezers. Looking in the mirror, he examined the wound on his back.

To his surprise, when he tore off the bandage, the wound on his back had already scabbed over.

"Could it be due to the increase in my physique?"

Xiao Ran thought of the 5 points of physique added by the [Corpse Stitcher]. He had initially thought it would just improve his physical fitness and stamina, but it turned out to be better than he had expected.

However, with this natural healing, his back would likely be left with a scar.

Xiao Ran decided to let nature take its course and stopped dwelling on it.

He lay on the bed and played with his phone for a while. Xiao Ran intended to sleep, but his mind was inexplicably buzzing with energy, tossing and turning restlessly. Every time he closed his eyes, he thought of his cousin's family being tormented by relatives that day.

He turned onto his side and thought of what he had encountered in the Lost City. The diary was blank, or rather, it had writing before, but someone had torn it out. Flipping to the end, only the words "Go Home" were written in blood.

He also remembered the Old Woman, as she was being struck down by a group of people, looking at him. She didn't blame him for smashing her Golden Toad, but instead, with all her might, said, "Run!"

"Sigh, people's hearts..."

After a sigh, Xiao Ran realized he couldn't sleep at all. He got out of bed, walked to the front of the shop, and pulled out a drawer beneath the display window.

Inside the drawer lay an envelope. This was specifically for customers to submit their requests when he wasn't at the agency. Some familiar clients or those in a hurry would directly place their requests and deposits in envelopes or paper bags and drop them in.

Xiao Ran hadn't left his phone number on the promotional flyer outside the display window because he didn't want to be bothered by phone calls (harassment) all the time.

He casually pulled it open and was surprised to find a slip of paper inside.

The paper looked like it had been torn from a notebook. Inside were two photos and a hundred-yuan bill.

Xiao Ran picked up the paper first. It was neatly written.

"Dear Mr. Xiao, Greetings! We are fifth-grade students from Zhuangyuanhong Elementary School.

We heard from our classmates that you offer item recovery services here. We found an injured white cat near the pavilion in Cuiyun Park. One of its ears was unfortunately bitten in half, and its hind leg also seemed injured. We felt very sorry for it and discussed whether we could take it to a pet hospital for treatment.

Since the cat is too timid, we couldn't catch it. We hope you can lend us a hand and help us catch the cat.

Wishing you a happy life and all the best!"

Urgency: As soon as possible, Requester: Young Pioneer Zhang Xiaofang, Young Pioneer Hu Shaohua, Member Xu Da

Contact: 150399*****

The clients were actually a few kids... And shouldn't they be asking an animal rescue organization to catch a stray cat?

Looking at the note, Xiao Ran was speechless. He put down the paper and picked up the two photos the three elementary school students had printed out.

The phone's pixel count wasn't high, and since they were rushed shots, the quality wasn't great, but it was still clear enough to see an adult white cat that was covered in wounds, dirty, emaciated, and had fierce eyes.

It really was a pitiful sight. He wondered if its hind leg could still be saved, and if these brats could even afford the treatment fee...

He had nothing else to do anyway, and he couldn't sleep, so he might as well take a stroll.

He went back to the shop, found an empty box, and as he was leaving, Xiao Ran casually grabbed a handful of spirit money and yuanbao from a nearby shelf and tossed them into his Lost City space.

He closed the door, hopped on a shared bike, and rode off. Cuiyun Park was very close, only a five-minute ride away.

With his enhanced physique and strength, riding this kind of bike didn't feel strenuous at all.

Zhuangyuanhong Road bordered North Mountain, and Cuiyun Park was a free park built on North Mountain in recent years.

They say "born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, buried in North Mountain," but nowadays, North Mountain can no longer be used for burials.

Xiao Ran parked his bike at the park entrance and leisurely walked in with the box. The park wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. There was only one pavilion, so it didn't take long for Xiao Ran to find the spot.

Inside the pavilion, several figures were sitting.

In the dark, these figures were quite interesting. Some were holding books, some were strumming empty erhus, and some were pouring tea while sitting on a table. However, upon closer inspection, all they were pouring was sand.

The remaining two simply sat there in silence.

Xiao Ran didn't come to this place often. He walked up and greeted them, "Excuse me, I'm looking for a cat. It's missing an ear and has a broken leg. If any of you have seen it, please point me in the right direction."

As soon as Xiao Ran finished speaking, the figures in the pavilion all looked up. He couldn't see their faces, but Xiao Ran could feel them staring at him, seemingly surprised that someone could see them.

After a moment, the figures averted their gaze and ignored Xiao Ran.

However, the shadow sitting at the stone table, fiddling with the teapot, beckoned to Xiao Ran and pushed all the teacups and the teapot on the table towards him.

Anyone else would have been bewildered by this, but Xiao Ran grinned and thought to himself, So, he's an old ghost from the jianghu.

He sat down, lined up the teapot and teacups on the table, and poured sand into the first teacup on his left.

This was called a "tea formation." In the past, when people traveled the jianghu and didn't know each other, setting up a tea formation was partly to avoid awkwardness when speaking and partly to prevent information from leaking.

On the other hand, it was also a test to filter out those who were not part of the jianghu.

The old ghosts in front of him were clearly playing with him, but they didn't expect Xiao Ran to actually understand these customs.

In fact, it wasn't just tea formations; he had learned jianghu slang and the Northern and Southern codes from his grandfather since he was a child. Although they were useless, his grandfather believed that having more skills never hurt. Besides, he was in the business of the supernatural, and while many rules could be ignored, they couldn't be unknown.

What Xiao Ran set up was a "Single Whip Formation," which meant a plea for help from fellow comrades. Those who could help would drink the tea, and those who couldn't would spill it.

The old ghost in front of him looked up at Xiao Ran and then inverted a teacup onto it.

This was called "inverting the bowl," and according to the rules, there was a specific set of phrases for it, essentially asking for a favor.

However, the old ghosts in front of him had likely been here on North Mountain for so long that they could no longer speak.

Xiao Ran placed his hand under the table, took out a stack of spirit money from his space, and placed it on the inverted teacup.

The other party looked at the hell money, nodded, removed the inverted teacup, and took the hell money with it.

Then, he pointed towards the woods to the east.

"Thanks."

Seeing that he had a direction, Xiao Ran thanked him and turned towards the small woods.

A few minutes later, Xiao Ran's voice could be heard again from behind the woods, "Excuse me, old man, have you seen... a cat? Yes, yes, thank you very much!"

Half an hour later, carrying the white cat that was yowling piteously, Xiao Ran leisurely rode home, humming a tune.

He put the cat in a pet cage, gave it some dried fish and water, and then took a shower. While drying himself, he checked his phone. It was already two in the morning; he really needed to sleep now.

After going out, although finding a cat was a minor matter with no challenge for him, it had also relaxed the tension in his heart.

He lay down on the bed and fell asleep shortly after.

He slept until late the next morning. When Xiao Ran opened his eyes, it was already 11 o'clock. He made himself a packet of instant noodles and placed it on the counter. As he casually pulled open the rolling shutter door, with a thump, a figure popped up and stumbled in.

Xiao Ran was startled. Before he could get a clear look, the person grabbed his arm, "Xiao Ran, save me, please save me. This time, you're the only one who can help me..."