Qingjiang Town

Chen Miao left the shop and, after walking around briefly, got his bearings using the information from Liu Zhan's memories: "The Paper Effigy Shop is in the southwest corner."

Then he followed the edge of town northward.

That was the direction of the mortuary, Qingjiang Town's other Yin Cultivation site.

Although he was following the outskirts, he was really only circling the town's central district.

A little farther out, Chen Miao could still see houses scattered in an orderly pattern.

As the sky grew brighter, he also saw people emerging from those farmyards, carrying tools over their shoulders or hauling various things on carrying poles. Some headed farther out, while others made their way into Qingjiang Town.

Chen Miao's outfit did not attract much attention. Most of the farmers merely glanced at him before ignoring him.

Chen Miao saw little numb resignation on their faces. Mostly, they simply looked hurried, perhaps still harboring hopes for their lives. Was it because they lived near town and had more, and more flexible, ways to make a living?

That was what Chen Miao thought.

Since this was his first time exploring the town, Chen Miao did not activate the "A Little Faster" state. Instead, he observed everything carefully.

Walking from the southwest toward the northwest, he mostly saw residential houses, with no recreational establishments. Chen Miao guessed that the Paper Effigy Shop and the mortuary might be why none had been set up on the western side.

Half an hour had passed by the time Chen Miao spotted the mortuary.

It was indeed in the town's northwest corner, but it was not connected to the main settlement. A gap of roughly a hundred meters separated them, and there were no farms nearby.

The mortuary was large, far more than a single room for