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

Master Simu slammed his hand on the Eight Immortals table.

The shock caused the water in the teacup to splash out.

"Fight! We must fight!"

He stood up cursing, "Lin Fengjiao is usually stingy and miserly. If he dares to back down this time, I'll tear down his mortuary!"

Lin Chen sat down beside him, already starting to plan.

With over a hundred warriors nearly turning into zombies, if a real fight broke out, their combined magical power would be far too much for them to handle.

He touched the fire mark left by Zhao Tianlei between his eyebrows.

How many whole roasted lambs and how many butter hot pots would that take?

It seems that those ten gold bars haven't even been warmed up yet, and most of them will already be spent.

"Uncle-Master," Lin Chen asked.

"You just said that the Yin-gathering array was drawn with human blood and cinnabar, and what exactly is the method of the Yin energy backlash at the array's core?"

Chizuru thought back for a moment.

"The Yin Sha took human form, covered in scales, and was about ten feet long."

"I just used my peach wood sword to pry open a corner of the array flag, and that black aura started to coil around the sword. It was so cold and chilling that if I had been even half a step slower, my entire arm would have been ruined."

Lin Chen nodded.

The fact that they can use Yin Sha to transform into form and protect the formation suggests that the evil cultivators behind them are quite powerful.

Master Simu stuffed the packet of purple-gold sand into his pocket and turned to look at Qianhe's four disciples.

"Dongzi, although the corpse poison in the four of you has been cleared, your vitality has not yet recovered. Don't go with us to join the fun this time. Stay here and guard the house for me."

The apprentice, Dong, quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Don't worry, Master Uncle, we will definitely take good care of the temple."

Master Si Mu turned his head again and stared at Jia Le, who was huddled by the door.

Jiale was peeking into the neighbor's yard when he was suddenly spotted by the Four-Eyed Taoist, which startled him.

"Master, can I stay and watch the house too? My arm has just healed, and I can't lift the knife." Jia Le said with a bitter face.

Master Si Mu walked over and grabbed Jia Le's ear.

"Stop staying! If you stay a few more days, are you planning to climb over the wall and become an apprentice to the old monk next door? Hurry up and pack your things, take the glutinous rice and yellow paper, and come with me to Renjia Town!"

Jiale begged for mercy repeatedly, covered his ears, and ran to the backyard to get something.

Half an hour later.

The four of them got ready and stood outside the gate of the dojo.

Lin Chen changed into a black short-sleeved shirt, over which he wore a blue Taoist robe.

On his back was a lightning-struck wooden sword wrapped in coarse cloth.

He kept a purple bamboo pen, top-grade cinnabar, and several Five Thunder Talismans, Fiery Talismans, and Corpse-Suppressing Talismans close to his body.

The Four-Eyed Taoist carried the fifty-pound Crimson Flame Copper Greatsword on his back, with the Three Pure Ones Bell hanging at his waist.

Master Qianhe carried a newly replaced peach wood sword on his back.

Jiale carried a large bamboo basket filled with raw glutinous rice, ink, cinnabar, and several stacks of yellow paper.

On the wall of the neighboring courtyard, Master Ikkyu peeked out halfway, with Jingjing standing beside him.

"Amitabha, fellow Daoist, this journey is fraught with danger. Remember not to act recklessly and commit many acts of killing," Master Ikkyu said with a smile.

Master Four Eyes rolled his eyes.

"Old monk, mind your own business! Don't steal the chickens from my yard while I'm not looking!"

Jingjing leaned over the wall and waved at Jiale.

"Jiale, be careful on your way, and stay away from zombies."

Jiale blushed, puffed out his chest, and patted it twice forcefully.

"Don't worry, Jingjing, I'm very strong now. A few zombies can't hurt me."

Master Simu kicked Jiale in the butt.

"Stop talking nonsense and get going! If you keep looking, your eyeballs will pop out of someone's yard!"

The four of them hurried along the mountain road toward Renjia Town.

It takes about half a day to travel from Qingshan Town to Renjia Town.

On the way, Daoist Qianhe would occasionally ask Lin Chen for details about how he dealt with the royal zombies that day.

"Junior Nephew Lin, how exactly did you practice your summoning technique?"

"Our Maoshan's invocation technique can only summon a wisp of divine thought from our ancestor. Your commotion is practically the work of a true god descending to earth."

Chizuru asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time.

Master Simu walked ahead, his ears perked up.

Lin Chen remained expressionless and gave a perfunctory reply.

"Uncle-Master, I'm not very bright, and I can't memorize all those complicated incantations for summoning gods."

"I thought that since it was a matter of inviting the gods, sincerity would be key. If we offered enough offerings, the people above would naturally be more willing to put in more effort."

Chizuru was stunned.

"Enough offerings? Are you treating the heavenly gods like gluttons? This is against the rules!"

Lin Chen smiled confidently.

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. The gods in Heaven usually eat immortal peaches and jade nectar, and they rarely come into contact with the mundane affairs of the mortal world."

"I supply beggar's chicken, roast suckling pig, and top-quality Shaoxing wine. People are bound to be grateful for what I offer, so they will naturally work harder."

Chizuru shook her head as she listened.

The Maoshan Taoist practice emphasizes purifying the mind and reducing desires, but this nephew of mine went and directly bribed the heavenly generals with worldly wine and meat.

Master Si Mu coughed twice, interrupting Qian He's words.

"Qianhe, don't listen to this kid's nonsense. He has a special constitution, which makes him naturally attractive to the gods. You can't learn that."

Chizuru was skeptical, shook her head, and didn't ask any more questions.

As evening approached, the sun was about to set.

The four of them, weary from their journey, finally arrived at the territory of Renjia Town.

At the west end of the town, the gate of the mortuary was tightly closed.

Master Simu walked at the front, stepped up the stairs, and knocked on the bronze door knocker.

"Lin Fengjiao! Open the door! Big work is here!"

The courtyard was quiet and still, without a sound.

Master Simu frowned and patted twice more with increased force.

"Why are you locking the door in broad daylight! Qiu Sheng! Wen Cai! Come out and greet the guests!"

With a creak.

The main gate opened a crack about two fingers wide.

But it wasn't Uncle Nine who emerged, nor Qiu Sheng or Wen Cai.

Instead, it was a paper effigy with thick white powder and round, red cheeks painted on its face.

The paper figure's eyes rolled around mechanically, and its mouth opened and closed, emitting a trembling sound that Wen Cai deliberately suppressed.

"Stop knocking... Let's go..."

Master Simu glared and pushed open half of the door.

"What the hell are you doing!"

The gate was pushed open, revealing the scene inside the courtyard.

Wen Cai was wearing a tattered straw hat, holding up the paper effigy in front of him, his legs trembling.

Lin Chen stepped across the threshold and glanced around the courtyard.

The altar, which was usually neatly arranged, was overturned on the ground, yellow paper was scattered all over the ground, and the lids of several coffins in the corner were also crooked.

"What happened?" Master Qianhe stepped forward and asked.

Wen Cai peeked half his head out from behind the paper figure, saw that it was Simu and Qianhe, and with a shout, threw down the paper figure and ran over.

"Uncle-Master! You've finally arrived!"

"My master... has been arrested and thrown into jail!"

Master Simu's hand froze, and he stopped picking his ear.

"Lin Fengjiao is in jail again? Has she gotten used to living in prison?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

The plot has changed. Ye Dawei died in Jiuquan Town, so how did Uncle Jiu get arrested?

"What exactly happened? Has that idiot Awei had another episode?" Lin Chen asked.

Wencai shook his head repeatedly, stamping his feet in frustration.

"It wasn't Captain Wei! Captain Wei also got a beating a couple of days ago and is currently recovering at home!"

"It's the new mayor!"

"A new town mayor surnamed Li has arrived, bringing with him a security team from the provincial capital. Mayor Li claims our mortuary is full of trickery and swindling money from the townspeople. Yesterday, he sent men to arrest the master and is even going to shut down the mortuary!"

Master Simu laughed in exasperation.

"Seal off the mortuary? Those bastards aren't afraid of being gnawed on by zombies in the middle of the night, are they?!"

Master Qianhe frowned, his face darkening.

"We have an extremely urgent matter and need your help, senior brother. The Ghost Festival is approaching, and more than a hundred zombies in Blackwater Town are about to be released. It just so happens that you were arrested at this time. This is too much of a coincidence."

Lin Chen nodded.

There aren't that many coincidences in the world. Why not catch them earlier or later, but they just happened to be caught during the Ghost Festival?

That Mayor Li is definitely suspicious.

"Where's Qiusheng?" Lin Chen asked.

"Qiusheng went to the provincial capital to buy glutinous rice and hasn't come back yet." Wencai sniffed. "Senior Brother Lin, what should we do now?"

Master Four Eyes drew the Crimson Flame Copper Greatsword from his back.

"What else can we do? Let's go! We'll go to the government office and snatch them away!"