Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

"Xiao Chen, how dare you talk like that..."

Liu Shoucai was about to say something more when Chen Mo interrupted him.

"Manager Liu, I'm going home now. We can talk later."

Chen Mo was too lazy to chat with him, so he picked up his luggage and turned to walk towards the back door of his house across the street.

Du'e Zhai was also closed at this time, with many emaciated refugees huddled at the entrance, completely blocking the already narrow entrance.

He ignored the probing gazes directed at him and, instead of heading towards the closed front door, turned and entered a narrower alleyway on the side of the shop.

The alleyway was only wide enough for one person to pass through, with high walls on both sides. The base of the walls was covered with slippery moss and emitted the faint, fishy smell unique to sewers.

As he approached his own back door, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the back door of the neighboring house, which was usually tightly closed, was now wide open.

The clutter that had been piled up in the courtyard seemed to have been cleared away, and a dozen or so strong men were sitting on the open ground, cooking some kind of meat around a large pot.

Chen Mo's heart stirred slightly. The place next to his house on the right used to be a poorly managed pottery figurine shop. The owner had moved out before the new year and the shop had been vacant ever since. Now it had been sold.

Or was it temporarily occupied?

Judging from the appearance of these men, they don't seem to be ordinary residents.

He hesitated only slightly before reaching out and pushing open the back door of his house, without stopping to investigate.

With a creak, the door hinge turned.

Inside the gate was his family's courtyard, which, compared to the mess it was in before he left, had now been tidied up very neatly.

In a corner of the yard, Chen Dachuan, his back hunched, was intently planing a piece of wood.

A little girl, about five or six years old, with two braids, was squatting a few steps away from Chen Dachuan, her hands supporting her cheeks, staring blankly at the flying wood chips.

The sound of the door hinges startled her.

She turned her head, revealing a thin face with large eyes. When she saw the unfamiliar Chen Mo, she shrank back slightly but remained silent.

The middle-aged woman cooking in the corner still had a spatula in her hand. She subconsciously wiped her hands with her apron, her lips moved but she didn't say anything. Her eyes turned to Chen Dachuan anxiously.

At this moment, Chen Dachuan also stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around.

Chen Mo's heart sank suddenly.

However, after only a few months, the father's hair had turned mostly white, and his complexion had an unhealthy yellowish-white tinge.

"You still know to come back?" Chen Dachuan said bluntly, his tone revealing little joy at the long-awaited reunion, but rather a suppressed anger.

Chen Mo placed the luggage at his feet and, following the original owner's habit, called out, "Father."

Chen Dachuan didn't respond to him. He glanced at the man's face and body, as if to make sure he wasn't missing any limbs, then gestured with his chin toward the mother and daughter: "This is your Aunt Liu, and Yuanyuan. They are descendants of an old friend. Their family has suffered misfortune, so they are staying here temporarily."

The introduction was extremely brief, with no further explanation.

Chen Mo looked at the mother and daughter as instructed and nodded slightly: "Aunt Liu." After asking, he turned his gaze to the thin little girl, who was still looking at him timidly.

He didn't say much, but simply placed his luggage on the stone bench next to him, untied the straps, and took out a brown paper package.

The paper package was small, carefully tied, and showed some oil stains.

These are jujube paste sesame cakes and a small bag of spiced broad beans that he bought from a time-honored shop on his way back, originally intended to stave off hunger on the journey.

He took the paper package, walked up to Yuanyuan, squatted down, smiled at her, and said, "Here, have some."

The child shrank back, clutching his patched trouser leg with his little hands.

Chen Mo handed over the paper package, "Bought in Jinshi, it's sweet."

Yuanyuan didn't dare to answer immediately, and first looked up at her mother.

Aunt Liu's eyes showed both unease and gratitude, and she finally nodded gently: "Quickly thank Brother Chen."

"Thank you, brother."

With her mother's permission, Yuanyuan reached out her thin hand and carefully took the paper package that seemed to have some weight to her.

The faint sweet scent emanating from the oiled paper made her involuntarily sniff.

"Open it and eat."

Chen Mo stood up, no longer looking at the child, and turned to Chen Dachuan. "Dad, your hair..."

"It's alright, you won't die for now."

Chen Dachuan interrupted abruptly, glancing at Yuanyuan who was taking small bites of a sesame cake. His expression seemed to soften slightly, but when he turned back to Chen Mo, it hardened again. "Come with me for a moment."

After saying that, Chen Dachuan turned around and walked straight towards the shop, his back view carrying a heavy anger.

Chen Mo didn't say anything and silently followed.

Upon entering the shop, Chen Dachuan closed the door behind him, shutting out the faint sounds from the courtyard.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the doors and windows.

Chen Dachuan turned around abruptly, his lips barely moving before a rebuke was about to burst out.

Then they saw Chen Mo take out two stacks of things from his bag and gently place them on the table in the main room.

Those were two reams of Yin talisman paper.

Chen Dachuan's angry curse, which was on the tip of his tongue, suddenly caught in his throat. His face turned somewhat embarrassed, and he lowered his voice, "Where did those five hundred silver dollars in the cellar come from?"

"I made the money by wiping out the Black Tiger Gang," Chen Mo calmly confessed, there was no need to hide it from him.

Even if he didn't say it, Chen Dachuan should be able to guess.

"It really was you!" Chen Dachuan squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth, his chest heaving. "Black-faced Tiger is no pushover, he has dozens of ruthless thugs under his command... and you're all alone?"

"Our family's secret technique has reached the third level?" He looked his son up and down again, his brows furrowed.

He himself has only reached the second level after all these years, which can only scare ordinary people.

"Did you spare any survivors?"

"No." Chen Mo recalled for a moment, then added with a hint of worry, "Everyone in the courtyard that night died, but the paper puppets were stopped on the road by the inspection bureau."

Chen Dachuan took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "No wonder the inspection bureau came knocking on our door again three days ago."

He turned around and took out a black wooden token from a hidden compartment at the bottom of the altar, gently placing it next to the two pieces of Yin talisman paper.

The token is simple and unadorned, with the character "镇" (zhen, meaning town) engraved on the front and intricate cloud patterns on the back.

"Back then, your grandfather handed over the complete first volume of 'The Art of Paper Making in the Underworld' to the Zhenyi Division, along with our family's ancestral finishing touch brush."

Chen Mo's pupils contracted slightly.

Why?

"The condition is that after his death, the Zhenyi Division will ensure the safety of my father and me, and will not get involved in any feuds or killings in the martial arts world, nor will it disturb our ordinary livelihood."

Chen Dachuan looked at the token with a complicated expression, "But it only protects us to this extent."

"All these years I've kept it a secret, only teaching you the basics, because I didn't want you to get involved in these underworld matters."

"I didn't expect this... sigh." He sighed deeply, "With this badge, the Investigation Bureau should stop pursuing the Black Tiger Gang matter. It can allow you to participate in the Zhenyi Bureau's assessment as a prospective member, which was agreed upon by your grandfather back then."

He handed the sign to Chen Mo, saying, "The original of 'The Art of Netherworld Paper Making' isn't with me. Your grandfather left it in Jinshi, under the locust tree in the backyard of Longfa Temple."

"As for the assessment by the Bureau of Suppressing Strange Things, it's on the eighth day of next month. Whether you go or not is up to you."