Finally becoming the director

Reduced presence?

Chen Miao couldn't figure out what reduced presence actually meant.

He walked over to the mirror, looked at himself, and willed himself to hide.

But his reflection neither turned invisible nor changed in any way.

"It doesn't work on myself?"

Book in hand, Chen Miao headed to the cafeteria.

Since he intended to test it, he kept willing himself to hide after entering the cafeteria.

Inside, he encountered the mortuary cosmetologist Shi Manman and several sales staff waiting in line for food.

Chen Miao walked over and joined the line behind Shi Manman.

After buying her food, Shi Manman walked away with her tray.

Although Chen Miao had been right behind her, she hadn't so much as glanced at him.

Chen Miao raised an eyebrow.

She still hasn't noticed me?

As he pondered this, he heard the cafeteria cook speak.

"What would you like?"

"You can see me?"

The cook looked at Chen Miao as though he were an idiot.

"You're standing right here, big as life. Do you think I'm blind?"

A little embarrassed, Chen Miao bought breakfast and carried it away.

He then tried milling around near a few other people and finally reached a conclusion.

Reduced presence meant that as long as he wasn't out in plain sight or doing something right in front of someone, there was a good chance people would overlook his presence.

But once someone noticed Chen Miao, Hide-and-Seek would no longer work on that person.

For instance, whenever Chen Miao turned his head now, he could still see the cook who had served him watching him.

The solution was simple, though: leave the other person's field of vision for a short while.

Chen Miao hid behind a pillar for barely ten seconds before the cook stopped paying attention to him.

Having figured it out, Chen Miao no longer felt any need to keep testing.

He immediately stopped willing himself to hide.

"Huh?"

Beside him, Shi Manman held a spoon in one hand and stared at Chen Miao, looking somewhat stunned.

Chen Miao immediately added another conclusion.

Different people had different levels of perceptiveness.

With someone naturally oblivious, he might remain unnoticed even while standing right in front of them.

After breakfast, Chen Miao returned to his office.

Lin Ziyang's memories from the previous night had reminded him of something, but his recollection was vague, so he needed to look it up.

Searching for "fire" and "child" brought up a pile of results, so Chen Miao added "within the past year" to the search filters.

This time, he soon found what he was looking for.

"Fire in a home at Tianlan Residential Community in Shannan City brought under control; one dead."

"Couple's argument sparks fire, killing their own child!"

The news had sparked widespread discussion, and Chen Miao had read a little about it at the time.

Apparently, an argument between a married couple had caused a fire.

Unaware that their child was home, they had fled on their own. By the time the fire was extinguished, the child was dead.

The incident had caused quite a stir, but Chen Miao hadn't followed any subsequent developments.

Now, as he searched and read, Lin Ziyang's photograph appeared before his eyes.

Soon, Chen Miao finished reading about what had happened afterward.

When firefighters found the child's body, they discovered something clutched tightly in his arms.

Two gifts!

After the gifts were opened, his parents read the letter inside and learned why their child had hidden in the cabinet. His mother fainted on the spot.

Many people online had broken down in tears, grieving over how thoughtful the child had been. Both internet users and relatives urged Lin Ziyang's parents to fulfill his last wish and stay together, but things hadn't turned out as they hoped.

After spending another month together, his parents ultimately divorced, unable to bear the fact that their child had died because of them.

Chen Miao didn't know what happened after that.

He sighed as he finished reading.

In a sense, Lin Ziyang's obsession had been resolved.

The cabinet door had been opened.

Sadly, however, the surprise he had prepared hadn't prevented his parents' divorce.

Chen Miao closed the search window and leaned back in his chair.

One question still lingered in his mind.

How had Lin Ziyang's body ended up in Zhong Fa's hands?

That was something he couldn't make sense of.

The incident had taken place in Shannan City, and neither Zhong Fa nor the Fushou Funeral Center seemed to have any connections there.

Unable to figure it out, Chen Miao stopped dwelling on it.

After all, Zhong Fa was already dead.

Over the next two days, the Cold Storage was repaired, and the Funeral Home's body storage services returned to normal.

However, they were once again without a Cold Storage attendant.

Chen Miao took on the role of Cold Storage attendant yet again.

Fortunately, Elder Uncle had raised the pay for the position this time, and they soon recruited a new attendant.

He was a little old man of fifty named Li Fu.

He had over ten years of experience, though in guarding a mausoleum rather than looking after cold storage.

But that wasn't the real reason Elder Uncle had chosen Li Fu. What Elder Uncle valued was the strength of his birth chart!

In just one month, two people had already come and gone from the Cold Storage attendant position.

One had died, and the other had been scared off.

Chen Weiyi feared that unless he found someone with a strong birth chart, he would have to replace the attendant again.

Chen Miao reserved judgment.

He didn't know whether birth charts had any effect on ghosts.

But if something really happened, Chen Miao would certainly put more faith in his Peach Wood Sword and incense.

In the days that followed, all was peaceful at the Tianmen Funeral Home.

Of course, there usually wasn't much happening at the Funeral Home anyway. It was just that recent events had made this peace all the more precious.

Chen Miao also accomplished a great deal over those days.

First, he carved several more Peachwood Talismans and gave three to Elder Uncle.

Chen Weiyi didn't refuse the items Chen Miao gave him.

As for the Peach Wood Sword Blank, Chen Miao had considered asking Zhong Cai how to turn it into a Peach Wood Sword. After all, the sword Zhong Cai carried looked like a finished product.

But because of Zhong Fa, Chen Miao kept his distance from Zhong Cai.

Second, because he now had the "Yin Gathering" status, Chen Miao made talisman drawing part of his daily routine.

After several days, he could smoothly trace an entire talisman design in a single stroke.

Now, he only needed to wait for the supplies Xiang Shang had arranged for him to arrive before he could try drawing talismans with actual yellow talisman paper, cinnabar, and chicken blood.

In addition, Chen Miao made sure to practice reciting incantations every day.

The battle with the zombie had exposed many problems, and the speed of his recitation was one of them.

If he could recite each of the Six Jiangzhen Secrets within a single second, he would be able to handle emergencies with greater composure.

Then, of course, there was learning more about folk culture.

The more Chen Miao learned, the more he felt that those folk traditions might hold something deeper.

Although he still couldn't find what he wanted amid that vast sea of folklore, once the knowledge was in his head, it might help him escape danger when he encountered something related to it in the future.

Even if it didn't, that knowledge of folklore would help Chen Miao better understand the mystical knowledge he had acquired.

Aside from ordinary folklore available online, Chen Miao also reviewed the accounts and biographies recorded in the Zhong Clan's Secret Manual of Corpse Driving in his mind.

Those accounts not only broadened Chen Miao's horizons but also taught him a great deal about the trades within the Yin Gate.

Information that seemed useless now might well help Chen Miao at some point in the future.

Of that, Chen Miao was certain.

Finally, daily inspections were another task Chen Miao never neglected.

Checking the Funeral Home for trouble was his top priority. He couldn't afford to be careless!

Time flew by.

That day, Chen Miao had just received the talisman-drawing supplies Xiang Shang had sent and was eagerly about to open the package when Elder Uncle summoned him to his office.

Only after arriving did Chen Miao learn why Elder Uncle had called him over.

The month was up. He was going to become the director!