Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed into the courtyard of the Marshal's Mansion.

Commander Long personally arranged three jeeps, plus a platoon of guards, to escort Uncle Jiu and the others back to Renjia Town.

Before leaving, Commander Long insisted on becoming sworn brothers with Uncle Jiu, but Uncle Jiu sternly refused.

The convoy drove out of the provincial capital in a grand procession.

Aunt Zhe took the infant spirit back to her Taoist temple.

Lin Chen, Uncle Jiu, and Simu were sitting in the same car, with the box of gold bars and silver notes tightly secured in the trunk.

The road conditions were good, and the jeep bumped along as it drove forward.

Master Si Mu was in a very good mood, humming an unknown Xiangxi folk tune all the way. Uncle Jiu closed his eyes to rest, holding a string of blessed prayer beads in his hand.

Lin Chen leaned against the car window, watching the scenery rushing past outside.

Several hours later, the jeep drove into the territory of Renjia Town.

The town remained bustling, with vendors' cries echoing throughout.

The convoy stopped in front of the town hall, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Security captain Awei, with his sharp eyes, spotted the license plate from afar and jogged over to meet it.

"Oh dear! Uncle Nine! Master Lin! Master Four Eyes! You're finally back!"

Awei nodded and bowed as he opened the car door.

Lin Chen jumped out of the car and glanced at Awei.

"Captain Wei, you've gained quite a bit of weight in just a few days."

Awei chuckled to himself.

"Thanks to the masters, the town has been very peaceful lately, and there hasn't been any trouble."

"It's just..." Awei hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Uncle Nine opened his eyes and frowned.

"What is it? Just say it."

Awei swallowed hard and lowered his voice.

"It's just that Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai have been acting a bit strange these past few days."

"The night before last, the brothers on patrol saw them wandering around the mass grave outside the town in the middle of the night. Moreover, the two men had dark circles under their eyes and dark circles on their foreheads, looking like they had lost their souls."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Nine's face immediately darkened.

"What are those two little brats up to behind my back now!"

Lin Chen patted Awei on the shoulder and handed him a silver dollar.

"Thanks, take your brothers out for tea, we'll handle the rest ourselves."

Awei accepted the silver dollar with a broad smile and then dispersed with his guards.

The three declined the help of Commander Long's guards and headed straight for the mortuary with their suitcases.

As soon as Lin Chen reached the entrance of the mortuary, he sensed something was wrong.

A very faint scent of perfume filled the air, mixed with an almost imperceptible aura of yin energy.

He was all too familiar with that taste.

"The scent of a female ghost," Lin Chen said calmly.

Uncle Nine was furious and kicked open the door of the mortuary.

"Qiu Sheng! Wen Cai! Get out here!"

In the courtyard, Qiusheng and Wencai were squatting in front of the brazier burning paper money.

The two turned their heads, their eyes sunken, their dark circles bigger than pandas'.

"Master...Master? How come you're back so soon?"

Qiu Sheng dropped the ghost money in his hand to the ground, his calves cramping. Wen Cai fared even worse, collapsing to the ground, his face as white as paper.

Uncle Nine strode over and pulled the vine from the corner of the wall.

"Hurry? You think we came back too early and interrupted your rendezvous at the mass grave?"

Lin Chen followed behind, sniffing.

The scent of cosmetics in the air hadn't dissipated yet.

"This smells familiar," Lin Chen said as he walked to the brazier.

Pick up a portrait that hasn't been completely burned yet; the portrait depicts a female ghost dressed in theatrical costume.

"The female ghost Xiaoli from the night of the Hundred Ghosts Parade?"

Master Simu walked in carrying a heavy leather suitcase, chuckling to himself.

"Oh, those two little bastards are really lucky with women, daring to even touch prisoners from the underworld."

Qiu Sheng quickly got up and stood protectively in front of the brazier.

"Uncle-Master, don't talk nonsense! Xiaoli is here to repay a debt of gratitude!"

"Repay a debt of gratitude?" Lin Chen sneered.

"Repaying a debt of gratitude can drain 30% of your yang energy?"

"If you let her repay her kindness for a few more days, you two will be lying in coffins being told your deaths."

Uncle Nine was so angry that he was trembling all over.

"I entrusted you with guarding the mortuary, and what did you do? You summoned a female ghost into your home!"

"I'm going to break your legs today!"

The rattan cane was swung, and screams like pigs being slaughtered echoed through the courtyard.

The two of them ran around the yard.

Lin Chen walked to the eaves and pulled up a grand chair to sit down.

He took the teapot from Si Mu and poured himself a cup of chilled tea.

"Master, do you think my senior brother is tired from fighting?"

Master Simu placed the leather suitcase on the stone table.

"I don't know if they're tired or not, but these two guys seem pretty tough."

Half an incense stick later.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai knelt before the statue of their ancestral master, their faces bruised and swollen.

Uncle Jiu, panting heavily, threw the rattan cane on the ground.

"Kneel until dark! No dinner allowed!"

The two men shrank their necks and nodded repeatedly, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

Uncle Nine walked into the courtyard, picked up his teacup, and took a big gulp.

Still angry, his gaze fell on the black leather suitcase on the stone table.

Lin Chen walked over and unlocked the suitcase.

"Click".

The lid of the box was opened.

Fifty gleaming gold bars, plus several thick stacks of silver notes.

It was so bright in the sunlight that it hurt my eyes.

Master Simu swallowed hard, his hand unconsciously reaching out to touch it.

"The warlords in this provincial capital are damn rich."

Although Uncle Nine didn't say anything, his eyes were glued to the gold bars.

The mortuary usually earns a meager living by consulting feng shui and relocating graves; they've never seen so much real gold and silver before.

"Uncle-Master, this General Qian said it's a thank-you gift for the three of us," Lin Chen said.

"The commander gave Aunt Zhe's share separately."

"Now let's divide the profits."

Uncle Jiu coughed twice, adopting the airs of an elder.

"Lin Chen, you were the one who contributed the most to this trip to the provincial capital."

"You tore even the flying zombies apart with your own hands, so you should rightfully take the lion's share of the money."

Master Simu quit.

"Senior brother, you're wrong about that."

"I withstood several attacks from the flying zombies, and even the Crimson Thunder Sword got dulled. I deserve some credit, right?"

Lin Chen waved his hand and divided the gold bars into two piles.

"Master, Uncle-Master, please stop arguing."

"I live alone, and apart from buying some cinnabar paper, I don't need much money."

"These fifty gold bars, twenty-five for each of you."

Master Simu's eyes lit up.

"Good apprentice! Your master has not spoiled you for nothing!"

Uncle Nine frowned.

"How can this be? We cultivators cannot be greedy for money."

"You risked your life to earn this money."

Lin Chen smiled and took out the remaining five thousand silver dollars.

"This five thousand silver dollars is mine; it's enough for me to treat myself to something nice sometimes."

Uncle Nine tried to refuse, but Master Four Eyes had already pulled the gold bars into his arms.

"Senior brother, this is a gift from your disciple; please accept it."

"If you don't want it, I'll move it all back to my dojo."

Uncle Nine glared at them and carefully put the remaining twenty-five gold bars into his sleeve.

With the money, Uncle Nine's mood visibly improved.

Even looking at Qiu Shengwencai kneeling inside, he wasn't so angry anymore.

"Uncle-Master, we've been traveling all night, and we're getting hungry," Lin Chen suggested.

"Why don't we go to Yingbinlou Restaurant in town for a nice meal, and invite Awei along?"

"Now that the money has been divided, we should celebrate."

Uncle Nine touched the gold bars in his sleeve, showing a rare moment of generosity.

"Okay, it's on me today!"

The Taoist priest with four eyes was amused.

"The sun must have risen in the west! Even a miser like you, senior brother, would actually pluck a feather?"

The three of them tidied up and prepared to leave.

Qiu Sheng turned his head and looked at Uncle Jiu pitifully.

"Master... what should we do?"

Uncle Nine had a stern face.

"Keep kneeling! You won't die from missing one meal!"

Lin Chen walked over and patted Qiu Sheng on the shoulder.

"Alright, stop playing the victim."

"I'll have the waiter pack two roast chickens and bring them back later. You can eat here."

The two immediately beamed with joy.

"Thank you, Junior Brother Lin!"