The Soul-Stitching Crone

After the meal, when the group returned to their squad tent, the sky had already gone completely dark.

The electric lights inside the tent came on, though they cast a somewhat dim glow and flickered now and then. The voltage was clearly unstable.

Yue Shan walked to the table and spread out a map. Several new marks and arrows had been drawn on it in charcoal.

"This mission is at an abandoned dye works deep in Rat Alley."

"We're not sneaking in. We're coordinating with the troops to encircle and wipe them out."

He pressed his finger hard against a mark circled three times in charcoal. "According to our informants and preliminary investigation, the Soul-Stitching Crone has turned the dye works' back courtyard into a base. At least three to five people will meet there tonight."

"The Soul-Stitching Crone's sect uses sinister methods. They do far more than just stitch corpses back together."

"They believe that any appearance can be altered and any soul can be stitched. They often engage in live grafting and the dissection and alteration of souls."

"Given the current situation in Linhe County, having these people gather together poses far too great a risk. We have to eliminate them."

Only after finishing did Yue Shan turn his gaze to Zhao Tie on his left.

Zhao Tie took several sheets of yellow talisman paper from his cloth bag. Complex runes had been drawn on them in cinnabar, and a few were stained with dark brown smudges.

"I tested the aura around the dye works during the day. Aside from the stench, there was also a rotting smell, like wet mud."

"There could be Corpse Carriers and people from the Yin-Retrieval Sect there," Zhou Ling said softly, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the pouch that held her concealed weapons. "Or they might be raising something."

Wu Tong snorted. "Whatever it is, we'll just chop it down."

"It's not that simple." Yue Shan shook his head.

"Battalion Commander Liu will send an reinforced platoon to support us."

His gaze swept over Chen Mo and the others. "We'll break in simultaneously through the front gate and the abandoned well in the back courtyard, then charge straight for the core and kill or capture the main targets as quickly as possible."

"Wu Tong, you'll lead the troops in a feint at the front gate to draw their attention. Since this is Chen Mo's first mission, he'll stay behind and use his Paper Dolls to support us. Don't get bogged down in a fight. If anything seems off, withdraw immediately."

"Zhou Ling, choose a sniping position farther away and prioritize your own safety. I'll infiltrate through the back courtyard."

He looked around the group. "Remember, our primary goal is to eliminate the threat. If things go south, put your own safety first."

"Is that clear?"

As he spoke, Yue Shan walked over to a wooden crate and lifted the lid. Several Mauser pistols and matching leather ammunition pouches lay neatly inside.

Chen Mo stared, dumbfounded. They were even issuing guns? The Inspection Bureau had benefits this good?

He had lived two lifetimes and had never held a real gun.

"For your safety, everyone gets one for self-defense, along with three full magazines. Ten rounds per magazine."

Yue Shan picked up a Mauser and expertly checked the bolt. "These are Evil-Breaking Bullets specially made by the Ordnance Bureau. The bullets are mixed with silver powder and red copper shavings, which makes them somewhat effective against sinister entities. But don't expect them to solve everything."

"Remember, this is a last resort. It might work on ordinary people, but it won't do much against things with thick hides or no physical form."

He handed out the Mausers and ammunition pouches to everyone.

Besides her pistol, Zhou Ling carried an almost one-meter-long Type 1888 rifle. Her main duty was to pick off targets from a distance.

Chen Mo took the heavy pistol.

The gun's body was cold, and its wooden grip was worn in places. A strong smell of gun oil clung to it.

He tried to grip the handle, his fingers searching for the trigger. His movements were unmistakably awkward.

He was clearly a novice.

Watching Chen Mo fumble with the pistol, Yue Shan asked, "You've never used a gun before, have you?"

"No." Chen Mo nodded honestly.

Though firearms were sold on the civilian market, a price of dozens of silver dollars per gun had been an unaffordable luxury for the Chen family.

Even after he had money, it had never occurred to him to buy one for self-defense.

Yue Shan said nothing. He simply walked over, took the Mauser from Chen Mo, and demonstrated the basic operations.

He showed him how to remove the magazine, check the chamber, insert the magazine, cock the hammer, and switch off the safety.

"This is a German-made Mauser C96. We call it a Mauser pistol or a box cannon." Yue Shan's voice took on the air of an instructor. "Its effective range is about fifty paces. At that distance, if you hit a human-shaped target, one shot should be enough to drop it."

"Beyond that range, accuracy falls off quickly, and so does its power."

"Remember, we're using specially made Evil-Breaking Bullets. They're lightweight and have a slightly lower muzzle velocity than ordinary rounds, but they carry an added evil-breaking effect."

He paused and glanced at Chen Mo. "Use it to save your life when your blade can't reach and you don't have time to cast a spell. Understood?"

"Understood!" everyone replied.

Yue Shan handed the gun back to Chen Mo. "After the mission, if there's time, you can practice at the camp's makeshift shooting range. You don't need to become a crack shot, but at the very least, you need to know how to make it fire and hit what you're aiming at within ten paces."

"For now, you have half a quarter hour. Go over the steps I just showed you until you've got them down. When you need the gun later, I don't want it jamming or you shooting one of our own."

"Yes, Captain."

Chen Mo took the gun and stepped aside. Following Yue Shan's demonstration, he practiced loading it, chambering a round, and switching off the safety.

His learning ability was exceptional. His movements quickly went from clumsy to smooth and precise.

Wu Tong finished checking his own gun and glanced at Chen Mo practicing. The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch, but he said nothing.

Zhao Tie remained silent. He tucked the Mauser into an easy-to-reach spot behind his waist and went back to sorting his talisman papers and wooden stakes.

Half a quarter hour later, Yue Shan gave the order, and the team set out.

Deep in Rat Alley, at the abandoned dye works.

Contrary to the ruined, cluttered mess one might expect, the dye works' back courtyard had been completely transformed.

Tattered brick walls were hidden behind canvas soaked in dark red stains, while the ground was covered in densely packed, dark red runes.

In the middle of the dye works stood a waist-high stone platform. Its surface was not flat but carved into a trough, which was now filled with slowly flowing black slime.

A pulsing, tumor-like mass clung to the edge of the stone trough.

Suture marks covered its surface, and underneath it was a tiny, opening orifice that made a faint sucking sound.

The air reeked of decay.

Three figures stood around the stone platform.

At their head was a hunched old woman, the wrinkles on her face cut deep as knife marks. Her drooping eyelids nearly covered her eyes.

A necklace of eyeballs hung around her neck. In the dim lamplight, the shriveled eyes seemed to turn faintly, reflecting the dancing flames.

"The appointed hour is almost here."

The old woman stared at the tumor-like mass by the stone trough, her voice feverish. "The Divine Child needs more fresh flesh and blood to fully stabilize its form. Why hasn't the Red Moon Blood that the Moon-Worship Cult promised to send arrived yet?"