"Zhong Clan's Secret Manual of Corpse Driving"

Chen Miao breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the ashes on the ground rapidly cool.

Chen Miao checked his Peach Wood Sword Blank. Fortunately, he had pulled it out in time, leaving only a few soot-blackened marks on the blade.

"My name is Zhong Cai. Thank goodness you stepped in, young man. Otherwise, there's no telling how many people this Leaping Hopping Corpse would have harmed."

Zhong Cai cupped his hands in greeting to Chen Miao.

Chen Miao had been about to return the gesture, but upon hearing Zhong Cai's name, he frowned and asked, "Who is Zhong Fa to you?"

Zhong Cai froze.

"You know Zhong Fa?"

Chen Miao sneered.

"Take a guess where this hopping corpse came from."

Zhong Cai's expression darkened.

"Zhong Fa is my Senior Brother. But after our master passed away over twenty years ago, he and I went our separate ways. I never imagined he would sink this low, much less that he could refine a Leaping Hopping Corpse!"

Despite Zhong Cai's explanation, Chen Miao remained wary.

"You haven't seen each other in over twenty years?"

Zhong Cai shook his head.

"I went to see him a couple of days ago. I wanted to invite him to witness my disciple initiation ceremony, but he refused."

Only after Zhong Cai admitted that he had recently visited Zhong Fa did Chen Miao's expression ease considerably.

"What should I call you, young man?"

"Chen Miao."

"Brother Chen Miao, was that the Incense-Burning Method you used just now?"

Chen Miao paused. The Incense-Burning Method?

Looking at the Peach Wood Sword in Zhong Cai's hand and recalling the Zhong Family Talismans, Chen Miao felt that he might finally have encountered a genuine practitioner of that unknown world.

After some thought, Chen Miao made no attempt to hide the fact that he was a novice. "I don't know whether it's the Incense-Burning Method. Everything I know was taught to me by an old beggar when I was little."

The corner of Zhong Cai's eye twitched at that.

Could someone really acquire something like this so casually?

The Incense-Burning Method was one of the few upright, dignified arts in the Yin Gate profession, unlike the corpse-driving lineage's techniques, most of which involved dealing with corpses and were steeped in eerie yin energy.

"Chen Miao? Is that you?"

Tang Rui's voice suddenly came from the refrigeration room, interrupting their conversation.

Chen Miao walked over.

"It's me. Brother Tang, are you all right?"

Through the security door riddled with punctures, Chen Miao saw Tang Rui inside, pale and drenched in sweat.

"Chen Miao, it's really you! Call the police! There's a hopping corpse! A hopping corpse!"

Hearing Tang Rui's frantic cries, Chen Miao reassured him. "Brother Tang, it's all right now. Come out."

"No, no! I'm not coming out! There's a hopping corpse! I'm waiting for the police! I'm waiting for the police!"

Tang Rui's words left Chen Miao worried.

Although no one had died tonight, news of a hopping corpse at the Tianmen Funeral Home could have an even greater impact than a death!

Ghosts were intangible, invisible, and untouchable. Even their killings could be ruled sudden deaths.

But hopping corpses had physical bodies!

A funeral home dealt with corpses. Who knew whether rumors would spread that the Tianmen Funeral Home had created the hopping corpse?

If that happened, the Tianmen Funeral Home would be in trouble.

Chen Miao could delete the funeral home's recordings, but he couldn't erase footage from cameras outside. Who knew how many cameras had caught this hopping corpse before it reached the funeral home?

With the police arriving shortly as well, Chen Miao felt that Elder Uncle might never get the chance to hand the funeral home over to him.

"Brother Chen Miao, is something troubling you?"

Zhong Cai's words drew Chen Miao's attention.

Looking at Zhong Cai, Chen Miao had an idea.

Zhong Cai had been in this line of work for so long. Surely he couldn't smooth over every consequence every time?

Yet before acquiring that book, Chen Miao had never heard any definite reports of supernatural incidents.

He immediately explained his concerns.

After hearing him out, Zhong Cai finally began to believe what Chen Miao had said earlier. He might really be a novice.

"Brother Chen Miao, have you never dealt with anyone from the Emergency Affairs Administration?"

"The Emergency Affairs Administration? What's that?"

Chen Miao shook his head.

"Although I learned what you call the Incense-Burning Method, I hardly ever encountered supernatural incidents. It's only recently that they've started happening one after another."

Zhong Cai frowned.

Only recently?

On his way through the Tianmen Funeral Home just now, he hadn't noticed any substantial accumulation of yin energy.

At most, the yin energy was slightly denser than outside, nowhere near enough to qualify as a yin site.

Suddenly, he recalled Zhong Fa's earlier actions.

Why had he insisted on luring this Leaping Hopping Corpse all the way here?

An answer seemed to take shape in his mind, and Zhong Cai felt ashamed of his Senior Brother's actions.

He immediately said, "I know someone. You don't need to worry about what happened today. The public will only be told that the Tianmen Funeral Home was broken into. As for the man inside, you'll have to talk him around."

"Of course, if you really can't persuade him, you can leave him to the people handling this incident."

"Don't worry. The Emergency Affairs Administration steps in to handle incidents like these. They have their own methods, though you'll probably be called in to register your details after this."

"There's no need to worry about that either. People like us aren't numerous, but we're not all that rare. If they actually restricted our freedom, they'd only be forcing us into the shadows."

"So at most, if something happens in your area, they'll come to you first. If you aren't responsible, they might enlist your help in resolving it."

Chen Miao nodded without concern.

He wasn't opposed to being brought into the fold or placed under supervision. What worried him now was whether the Tianmen Funeral Home could stay in business.

"Then thank you, Brother Zhong."

Zhong Cai smiled at the way Chen Miao addressed him.

"Let's exchange contact details. I'll speak to my acquaintance over there shortly. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

After exchanging contact details, Zhong Cai left.

Chen Miao glanced at Tang Rui, who was still crouching in the refrigeration room and refusing to come out, then walked over to where he had dropped the book and picked it up.

After that fight, Chen Miao realized he should get a shoulder bag like Zhong Cai's. Otherwise, whenever a fight like today's broke out, he would have no choice but to set the book aside first.

Opening the book, Chen Miao turned to the afterword of Chapter 2.

"Chapter 2 · Afterword · Hopping corpse"

"On the seventh night after the twins' memorial service, at three forty in the morning, I was suddenly awakened by a disturbance outside."

"With a little curiosity and apprehension, I decided to take a look. After all, the funeral home was our family business."

"Before leaving, I took some incense sticks and the unfinished century-old peach wood sword I had carved myself. Going out so late at night, these things would give me a little courage."

"The moment I left the dormitory building, I saw flames. By the time I sprinted over to put them out, the fire had already died."

"But by then, none of that mattered."

"Because I saw something pounding on the cold storage door... a hopping corpse!"

"I don't know how to describe how I felt upon seeing it, but I knew I couldn't let it get inside. Tang Rui was still in there!"

"Perhaps the sword and incense in my hands gave me courage. I charged over."

"But only after entering the cold storage room and facing the hopping corpse alone did I realize that courage alone could not serve as my blade. Just as I was about to die in its jaws, a savior descended!"

"A man holding a Peach Wood Sword rushed past me toward the hopping corpse and engaged it in battle!"

"His arrival filled me with surprise and relief."

"I was no coward. Once I recovered my composure, I recited a passage of the Descending the True Evil-Subduing Incantation and joined the battle, wreathed in incense smoke."

"Seizing an opening, I stabbed the hopping corpse. The sword I had originally brought to bolster my courage now truly proved useful."

"The incense smoke swirling around me seemed to find its target, burrowing into the hopping corpse through the skin pierced by my wooden sword."

"My attack gave the other man an opening. He too stabbed the hopping corpse, but lost his weapon in the process."

"Losing his weapon did not make him retreat. After a brief exchange, he was willing to risk his life to create an opening for me by grappling with the hopping corpse!"

"The situation was urgent. There was no time for me to refuse! Standing outside the fight, I focused my mind and waited quietly!"

"The opportunity arrived without a sound!"

"As the man pressed a talisman onto the hopping corpse, I drove my unfinished sword into its back."

"My thrust pierced straight through its body!"

"The sudden, grievous wound left the hopping corpse exposed. The man seized the chance to retrieve his sword. Weaving and dodging, he swept his sword upward, striking straight at its vital point!"

"To leave nothing to chance, I burned incense and recited the incantation once more."

"Smoke appeared and surged toward the hopping corpse like a ravenous tiger pouncing on prey. With a roar, the hopping corpse burned into a heap of ashes."

"Looking at those ashes, I felt as though I were dreaming."

"This world was slowly revealing its hidden side to me."

"Somewhere beyond my perception, something that belonged to me seemed to have grown five qian heavier."

[Chapter 2 · Afterword · Hopping corpse complete. Obtained Yin Virtue (five qian), obtained Wang Dong's memory fragment, obtained "Zhong Clan's Secret Manual of Corpse Driving".]