Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

After the meal, the three parted ways at the entrance of Juxianlou Restaurant.

Yue Shan and Zhou Ling were returning to the Inspection Bureau in Linhe County, so Chen Mo said goodbye to them and went home alone.

Funeral Street is located at the eastern end of the county town, about three or four streets away from here. It's not far, but it's not exactly close either.

Chen Mo walked eastward at a leisurely pace.

Qinglongtan...

He silently repeated the name in his mind, his brows furrowing slightly.

Chen Mo had heard of that place before.

Walking into the mountains from Qingshan Town, after crossing two ridges, the Qili River makes a sharp bend there, rushing out into a deep pool, which the locals call Qinglongtan (Green Dragon Beach).

Legend has it that a green dragon once underwent tribulation here, but failed and perished in the pool. Since then, the place has been considered very eerie.

In recent years, that pool has become increasingly restless.

Hunters and herb gatherers used to disappear in that area every few days, and now it has become a forbidden zone.

Yue Shan and his inspection team also went to investigate, and the casualties were considerable.

Even the dozen or so cases of the dead returning to life that occurred in Jinshi all pointed to Qinglongtan as the source.

He looked up at the bright sun and suddenly had an idea, "How about we go take a look this afternoon?"

Going there now shouldn't be any danger...

Thinking of this, Chen Mo quickened his pace, intending to go home first and tell Chen Dachuan before leaving.

After turning past the Wenchang Temple and walking two more alleys, just as we were about to reach the funeral street, a few people came towards us.

"Chen Mo?"

A clear male voice called out to him.

Chen Mo looked up and saw three men and two women walking towards him, dressed in a style completely different from the people in this county town.

The men were either wearing Western suits or Zhongshan suits, and their hair was neatly combed.

The women wore cheongsams or school uniforms, carried small handbags, and wore shiny leather shoes.

The group of people were chatting and laughing, and they were clearly worldly-wise.

He thought back for a moment, and realized that these people seemed to be his former classmates from the county school.

The child of a wealthy family.

Leading the group was Sun Wenyuan, the eldest son of the Sun family, whose family owned the largest grain store in the county. Next to him was Li Weizhou, the youngest son of the Li family, whose family was in the silk business.

The other man was Zhao Mingde from the Zhao family, whose family owned a pharmacy. He was a year younger than Chen Mo, with a round face and a pair of glasses, looking very refined.

There were two women. One was Sun Wenyuan's younger sister, Sun Wenhui, who was wearing a light blue cheongsam and had her hair permed.

The other was Xu Wanqing, the eldest daughter of the Xu family, dressed in a plain-colored dress and white leather shoes. Her gaze was fixed on Chen Mo with a subtle tenderness.

"Oh my, it really is you!"

Sun Wenyuan looked Chen Mo up and down, his smile carrying a hint of condescending enthusiasm. "It's been years since we last met, hasn't it? We haven't heard from you since you left the school. We've all been wondering where you've gone."

"Helping out at home."

Chen Mo smiled, his tone indifferent.

"Help?" Li Weizhou interjected, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo's clothes. He wore a gray robe that looked quite unremarkable.

"Oh right, your family owns a paper offering shop, right? The one on Funeral Street?"

When he said the words "paper craft shop," his voice unconsciously lowered, as if he was afraid others would hear him.

"Yes." Chen Mo wasn't annoyed.

The group exchanged glances; the original owner recognized those glances very well, having often encountered them during her school days.

With a mix of sympathy, a sense of superiority, and a feeling of relief that I wasn't him.

"It's alright, I guess."

Zhao Mingde pushed up his glasses and comforted him, "Learning a skill is good too; you won't starve. These days, having a skill is better than anything else."

"Exactly, exactly," Sun Wenyuan chimed in. "Those of us who go to university, don't be fooled by our current glamorous lives. After graduation, we might not even be able to find jobs."

"You're just fine the way you are, steady and reliable."

That's what they said, but their sense of superiority was practically overflowing.

Chen Mo didn't respond, he just smiled.

His gaze inadvertently swept over Xu Wanqing. It seemed that the original owner of this body had a crush on her.

I just didn't dare to speak...

Xu Wanqing stood half a step behind Sun Wenhui and hadn't said much since then.

"Oh right," Sun Wenyuan slapped his forehead, "we came back this time because the old master of the Xu family is on his deathbed."

"I wanted to order a set of eight paper-made items, and since you make this kind of thing, I thought I'd stop by and take a look."

A faint look of sorrow appeared on Xu Wanqing's face, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

"Let's go then."

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze. "I'm going back anyway."

The group walked forward together.

Sun Wenyuan and Li Weizhou walked ahead, chatting about things in Beiping, professors, and societies, their voices quite loud.

Zhao Mingde followed beside him, occasionally chiming in with his own words, mostly about the latest happenings in the Tianjin Concession.

Sun Wenhui walked in the middle, arm in arm with Xu Wanqing, chattering about things at school.

Xu Wanqing listened quietly, occasionally responding, but her gaze would drift forward from time to time.

As you turn into the entrance of the funeral street, you can see a black sedan parked in front of the funeral parlor from afar. The car is covered in dust, but it is still shiny.

"Hey, whose car is this?"

Sun Wenyuan's eyes lit up as he stepped closer. "Ford? This car isn't cheap. There aren't many in the entire Linhe County."

Li Weizhou also looked around, his gaze shifting from the car to the faded cloth banner of his house, his tone tinged with curiosity: "Chen Mo, do you have guests?"

Xu Wanqing's gaze lingered on the car for a moment before landing on Chen Mo.

The group stopped and looked at the car, then at him.

"Not a guest, but mine."

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent.

There was a moment of silence in the air.

Sun Wenyuan was taken aback, thinking he had misheard: "Yours?"

"Hmm." Chen Mo nodded, his expression unchanged.

Several people looked at each other.

Zhao Mingde adjusted his glasses and tentatively asked, "Who... are you working as a driver for?"

Upon hearing this, the others all showed an expression of "I see" on their faces.

Sun Wenyuan suddenly realized: "Right, right, driving for someone is pretty good, respectable, and the income isn't low. Which boss do you drive for?"

Li Weizhou chimed in, "This car is quite high-end. The owner of someone who can drive this must be someone important, right?"

The group chatted amongst themselves, their tone filled with relief.

That seems to make sense.

How could a paper craft shop kid afford a car? He must be driving it for someone else.

Chen Mo: "..."

"Yes." He swallowed back the words that were about to come out, "I drive for people."

Since they're customers, it's fine to let them have their way; adding some fake emotional value for them isn't out of the question.

The group exchanged glances, their expressions becoming even more resolute.

Sun Wenyuan patted him on the shoulder, with a hint of comfort from someone who's been there: "It's good, really. Driving is a skill; you won't starve no matter where you go."

"Yes, it's better than making paper figures in a shop," Li Weizhou agreed. "If there's a chance in the future, we can open one in Tianjin. There are many rich people there, and we can earn more money there."

Zhao Mingde nodded in agreement, giving him an expression that said, "You've chosen the right path."

Chen Mo's lips twitched slightly, too lazy to reply...