He lowered his body and looked down.
Although the Wang Family is not a grand mansion, it is a well-organized courtyard with three courtyards.
On the blue-tiled gatehouse, the words "Cultivate Good Neighborhoods" are carved, and in front of the shadow wall, a blue-and-white fish tank is placed, where a few red lionheads swim happily, showing so elegance.
The mourning hall is set up in the front yard, the coffin covered with an endless geotric-patterned quilt.
Three children dressed in mourning are kneeling on the futon, a filial son burning paper money in the fire basin beside them, while a monk is invited, knocking on the wooden fish, eyes slightly closed, reciting scriptures.
It looks no different from how ordinary families hold funerals.
However, Li Yan could clearly detect a problem.
In front of the coffin, three golden lacquer chopsticks are inserted into the inverted rice on the Eight Immortals table.
Li Yan had handled many funerals with Wang Daoxuan, understanding many of the customs.
This is a common custom during funerals, so-called "Incense and candle offerings and fruits for the deceased souls, grains stored with the mourning basin. The Five Emperors bestow inverted head rice, with three pillars standing in the middle."
Three chopsticks inserted in the inverted rice represent the three talents of heaven, earth, and man, symbolizing the end of food from the Mortal World.
But typically, the chopsticks in the inverted rice should be wrapped in cotton.
The taboo for this practice is "inverted three sticks of incense, chopsticks not touched by gold."
Anyone with a little knowledge wouldn't do this.
Moreover, the arrangent of the coffin and Eight Immortals table doesn't resemble a mourning hall, but rather an illustration of a Yin Bureau trial in woodblock prints.
And those filial children and grandchildren show no signs of sorrow on their faces, only fear and worry.
"Big brother, do you think this matter is over?"
"How would I know? The old man is already dead; those people should have quieted down."
"Just afraid they won't keep their word."
"No fear, I have plans. After burying the old man, we'll imdiately take a boat to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, live there for a few years, and co back when the situation calms down."
"What about the properties in the city..."
"At this point, how can we care about those? Anyway, the old man left more than just these."
Listening to their conversation, Li Yan thought deeply.
Indeed, the Wang Family has problems; were they being targeted?
Thinking of this, Li Yan imdiately activated Yang Jue.
Sll Superpower and ear divine power were simultaneously activated for sensing.
As soon as he slled, he frowned deeply.
Inside the coffin, a strong, unpleasant stench of decay emanated.
This is not a body that has recently died; although li and many spices were used to mask it, the scent is still clear to him, along with a strong stench of urine.
This scent only cos from elderly people bedridden for a long ti, suffering from incontinence.
Living dead!
Li Yan imdiately understood the reason, and his gaze beca icy.
The old man had returned to life, perhaps awakening so divine skills, bringing wealth to the Wang Family, but the mortal body was old and had decayed long ago, requiring a large amount of preservative.
This is a kind of desperate pain, watching one's flesh rot step by step.
An ordinary person would likely have already collapsed and committed suicide.
The old man managed to survive for five years, likely due to the actions of these "filial children and grandchildren."
The question is, who taught them these techniques?
At this mont, Li Yan frowned and looked outside the wall.
Under the moonlit street, three n swaggered along, swinging their arms.
The leading stout man wrapped in indigo coarse cloth short clothes, with a crooked collar revealing a tattoo of a wave, his waist belted with a grass rope randomly tied to a Black Wood pipe, the Six Harmonies Hat on his head stained yellow by oil and sweat.
Li Yan had seen many on the road; this is the most typical attire of Jinn's "Kettle Gang."
"Kettle Gang" is Jinn dialect, aning "sharing als from the sa pot."
The city rogues and vagabonds of Jinn who live and eat together are called "Kettle Gang."
Tianjin Guard, as a hub of Cao Yun and comrcial center, has drawn a large mobile population over the years.
Porters, laborers, bankrupt farrs, deserters, and others abound; they are too lazy to endure hardships and suffer for a few coins and gather to commit evil, extortion, and blackmail.
Thick-skinned and difficult to deal with, yet brave and fearless — this is their characteristic.
Bang!
The trio kicked open the Wang Family gate, swaggering into the courtyard.
"What... what's going on here?"
The stout ruffian spoke with a stutter, craning his neck and glaring, "With... with so broken prayer beads, dare... dare to eat for free in our Jinghai Gang's territory?!"
The monk was just a common monk and shivered in fright.
He looked for help towards the back, but the Wang Family mbers already had pale faces, retreating continuously.
Jinghai Gang? Interesting...
Li Yan narrowed his eyes, sensing sothing amiss.
On the way here, a Cao Gang disciple said that Jinghai Gang has the biggest influence in Jinn, not only controlling the docks but also recruiting all the "cooks" of the Tianjin Guard.
The short sturdy man had an opium scent emanating from the pipe on his waist.
And there were mbers of the Wang Family who clearly knew these "cooks" from Jinghai Gang.
"Get...Get out!"
The short sturdy man slapped the monk away, while two henchn blocked the doorway.
The one on the left, with chipped teeth, picked up a copper chi and weighed it in his hand; the one on the right, with a scarred face, wore a tunic that revealed three centipede-like old knife scars on his ribs and touched the hilt of a knife at his waist, full of bad intentions.
Wang Family's leading middle-aged man, with a bitter face, clasped his hands respectfully: "Brother Wu, didn't Mr. Zhou say that once the job is done, we don't owe each other anymore? He..."
Before he finished, the short sturdy man pushed him aside.
The man swaggered up to the coffin, took out the pipe head at his waist, and tapped on the Phoebe coffin plank with a thud, causing the candle flas on the altar table to flicker, speaking ominously, "Old Master Wang, this coffin you're lying in, we helped to get it for you."
He said, picking off a piece of lacquer, crushing it in his hand,
"The wood is Huanghuali, and the paint is from Sanyi Gong, which hasn't been settled yet!"
His words were complete nonsense, but the Wang Family's leading middle-aged man imdiately understood and hurried into the room, bringing out a small black box, which, when opened, revealed ten gleaming silver ingots.
"Brother Wu, here is the settlent."
"Yo, the Wang...Wang Family is indeed wealthy..."
The short sturdy man nodded in satisfaction, giving a signal for his n to pack up the items.
However, after extorting money, he wasn't in a rush to leave; instead, he slapped the Wang Family's middle-aged man's face while saying: "I heard...heard you're planning to leave by boat?"
The Wang Family's middle-aged man trembled, not daring to speak.
"Tsk tsk."
The short sturdy man slapped the middle-aged man's face until it turned red, smirked, and said: "This...this Tianjin Guard is great, don't...don't leave, or you'll end up feeding...feeding the turtles on the way!"
The middle-aged man, full of resentnt, couldn't help but say: "Mr. Zhou promised..."
Smack!
Before he finished, he was slapped hard.
"Trying to scare...scare ?!"
The short sturdy man glared with his eyes, "To be honest...honestly, that Mr. Zhou has been dead for a while!"
After speaking, he left triumphantly with his n.
As they were leaving, the scarred cook suddenly turned around, revealing a sinister smile: "We'll be back tomorrow, your Wang Family is not short on money, so we'll count on you to take care of our als in the future, hahaha..."
After the three left, the Wang Family sat paralyzed on the ground, faces pale and at a loss.
"Big brother, how did they know?"
"No need to say, we've been sold out..."
"What should we do now?"
Before finishing the sentence, everyone widened their eyes.
In the courtyard, mist swirled, revealing a figure, it was Li Yan.
Clang!
A woman was just about to scream when Li Yan stopped her with a blade at her throat.
"I ask, you answer. Dare to hide anything, and none of you will live!"
Li Yan's killing intent was palpable, and the Wang Family dared not hide anything, revealing everything in detail.
It turns out their old master, after returning to life, seems to have awakened Mind Divine Power, often dreaming of being a fish swimming in the Three Forks River.
With Jinn's flourishing Cao Yun, there were frequent floods, and many sunken ships. The old master used this ability to manipulate fish to fetch so gold and silver jewelry from the sunken ships, and the Wang Family, being good at business, bought storefronts and gradually prospered.
However, the old master grew increasingly strange.
He was afraid of light, never seen in public, slled foul, and liked to eat raw flesh.
The Wang Family, scared, wanted to invite a Magician for Evil Exorcism.
Unexpectedly, the Magician Zhou, upon visiting, didn't do anything but taught them a Secret Technique to refine Corpse Oil to preserve the old master's body and then marked a tree fork at the entrance.
What happened inside, they did not know.
All they knew was that since then, Mr. Zhou lived in their house, along with Jinghai Gang people coming and going, lurking nearby, seemingly targeting soone.
"Oh, right!"
The eldest son of the Wang Family suddenly spoke: "Just days ago, Mr. Zhou caught an old fortune teller and locked him in the woodshed, forcing the old man to write a letter to Cangzhou. The old man refused but was tortured for days, and eventually wrote the letter."
"After that, Mr. Zhou left our house, saying it was the last ti."
Hearing these words, Li Yan instantly understood the reason.
This was a trap targeted at the Yellow Springs Organization!
The Yellow Springs Organization had fallen apart, mbers scattered everywhere.
Such a conspicuous target would naturally attract a lot of living Yin ssengers.
Realizing this, Li Yan could no longer contain his killing intent.
"Do you know who he wrote to in Cangzhou?"
"I haven't seen it, but I vaguely heard them ntion soone with the surna 'Wu'..."
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