144: Chapter 144 The Zhou Emperor

"Delivering a letter?"

Lin Ye held Leng Yue's hand, stepping on the smooth marble floor tiles as he unhurriedly walked toward the blind old man.

There was no murderous intent radiating from his body, but the formless pressure of his Pure Yang Dao Body quietly enveloped the entire corridor with every step he took.

The blind old man's hand holding the white cane trembled slightly.

He keenly perceived this terrifying aura.

Not daring to be overconfident, the old man immediately tucked the white cane under his arm, cupped his hands, and made a deep bow.

"Manager Lin, please don't misunderstand. This old man is Blind Chen, the former head of the Southwest Mud and Water Travelers."

"Coming here today is purely taking someone's money to run an errand; there is absolutely no intention of offending the rules of Lins Funeral Shop."

Blind Chen adopted a very humble attitude.

Ever since Second Master Lei and his gang were completely incorporated by Lin Ye on the periphery of the Ten Thousand Gu Demon Cave, and after witnessing Lin Ye's terrifying methods of single-handedly killing the Headless Corpse General, the Mud and Water Travelers had long since issued a strict order internally: It is better to provoke the King of Hell than to touch Lin Ye.

Lin Ye stopped three steps away from Blind Chen.

"The former head of the Mud and Water Travelers is personally running an errand to deliver a letter? It seems this errand fee is an astronomical figure."

Lin Ye glanced at the old envelope pinched between the old man's two fingers.

There were no postmarks on the surface of the envelope, and its edges were yellowed, exuding a faint earthy smell.

"Manager Lin is perceptive."

Blind Chen let out a bitter laugh.

"The sender was very generous, directly tossing out half a piece of top-grade blood jade from a Tang Dynasty underwater tomb, specifically naming and demanding that this old man personally deliver this item into your hands."

"Who sent it?" Lin Ye asked.

Blind Chen shook his head.

"By the rules of the Mud and Water Travelers, we only recognize money and do not ask about the employer's origins."

"Moreover, that person wore a bamboo hat, concealing their face. However, there was an extremely heavy scent of incense ash on their body, and they left a message."

Blind Chen lowered his voice.

"He said, when the blood rain falls in Jiangzhou, the Yellow Springs Underground Palace opens. Manager Lin will definitely find use for what is inside this letter."

Hearing the four words "Jiangzhou blood rain", Lin Ye's gaze flickered slightly.

That crimson blood rain targeting the Funeral Shop last night—could this sender have calculated it in advance?

Or rather, the sender had been hiding in the dark, paying attention to every move in Jiangzhou's situation.

Lin Ye extended two fingers, steadily pinching that old envelope.

Pure Yang True Qi circulated at his fingertips, instantly filtering through the envelope.

There was no toxic miasma, no gu worms, and no hidden yin-energy array.

"I have accepted the letter. Thank you for your trouble." Lin Ye stuffed the envelope into his pocket.

Seeing that the mission was completed, Blind Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

He cupped his hands again, preparing to turn and leave.

"Hold on."

Lin Ye suddenly spoke up, stopping him.

Blind Chen's body stiffened, his white cane tapping on the ground as he asked with a somewhat nervous tone, "Does Manager Lin have any other instructions?"

Lin Ye had one hand in his suit pants pocket, his gaze falling on Blind Chen's right leg.

"Old Leader Chen, there is a clump of chronic black-water corpse poison hidden inside your right knee joint, right?"

"Whenever rainy days come or at the transition of the Zi hour, it feels like tens of thousands of ants are biting inside your bone gaps. When you stood here tapping your white cane just now, it wasn't to put on airs, but to use the vibrations to suppress the toxic qi in your knees."

Blind Chen's expression changed drastically: "Man... Manager Lin can even see this out?"

In his early years, when he went down to a swamp water tomb, he was bitten by a water jiangshi that had attained spiritual essence.

This corpse poison had accompanied him for decades; he had searched everywhere for famous doctors and unorthodox sorcerers, yet all were helpless, and he could only rely on his cultivation to forcibly endure it.

The corners of Lin Ye's mouth curled into a businessman's iconic cold smile.

"Once entering my, Lin Ye's, line of sight, neither human nor ghost can hide their background. Meeting is fate, and when I do business, I value fairness to young and old most of all."

"Your leg will have to be amputated in half a year at most, and if things go wrong, the corpse poison will attack your heart, costing you your life as well."

He fished out a drawn [Three-Yang Poison-Extraction Talisman] from the system space, pinched it between two fingers, and waved it in mid-air.

"A profound-grade top-tier talisman, specifically countering corpse poison and yin-malevolence. Stick it on your knee, and the toxic qi will be completely eliminated in three seconds."

"Considering that Second Master Lei served as my free laborer and you personally came to deliver a letter, I'll give you an internal discount price: 500,000, and this leg of yours is guaranteed."

After hearing this, Blind Chen did not hesitate even for half a second.

Which was more important, life or money? As an old hand in the Jianghu, he knew better than anyone.

"I'll buy it! Thank you, Manager Lin, for bestowing the talisman!"

Blind Chen tremblingly took out his phone.

"Ding-dong. Alipay account credited with 500,000 yuan."

The crisp prompt tone sounded.

Lin Ye flicked his finger, and the yellow talisman transformed into a streak of golden light, precisely sticking onto Blind Chen's right knee.

With a soft sizzle sound.

A stream of black, foul-smelling thick smoke drifted out from Blind Chen's trouser leg.

The old man let out a muffled groan of comfort, threw away his white cane, and walked two steps right there on the spot.

His steps were brisk as the wind; he was completely cured!

Blind Chen was so excited that old tears streamed down his face. He bowed repeatedly toward Lin Ye, and then walked into the elevator with profuse expressions of gratitude.

Danger averted.

Only then did Leng Yue release Lin Ye's arm.

She cared nothing for others, caring only about the shopping plan that had been interrupted just now.

"Husband, that old man stinks so much. Let's go wash our hands."

Leng Yue pulled Lin Ye's hand, earnestly wiping each of his fingers with a wet wipe she carried with her.

Lin Ye let her fuss over him, turning his head to look at the rest area in the distance.

Frost Star was frantically devouring a chocolate mousse cake larger than her face.

Beside Fatty Wang, dozens of shopping bags from luxury counters were piled up like a small mountain.

"We've bought just about enough. Time to head back," Lin Ye gave the order.

Leng Yue walked by Lin Ye's side, carrying a few exquisite black paper bags containing all the silk pajamas they had just bought.

Her mood today was visibly joyful.

Along with it, the temperature around her body also rose quite a bit, no longer freezing frost out of the mall corridor.

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

The sunlight was just right, and Taiping Old Street exuded a lazy early-autumn vibe.

The door of Lins Funeral Shop was ajar.

Ayugu was squatting by the stone table in the back courtyard, tinkering with a few brightly colored poisonous spiders.

Meanwhile, Frost Star was lying in the ice chamber built from deep-sea dark ice stone, hugging a newly bought plush toy to take a nap.

In the main hall.

Lin Ye sat before the golden-thread nanmu tea table, pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed Dahongpao tea.

Leng Yue sat quietly beside him, her slender legs crossed.

She was using a sharp small silver knife to peel an apple for Lin Ye.

The apple peel formed a long, thin string without breaking at all.

Lin Ye picked up his teacup, taking out the yellowed old envelope with his other hand.

He tore open the seal.

Two items slid out from the envelope.

The first was a thumb-sized black bronze fragment.

Its surface was covered in verdigris, feeling icy and biting to the touch, and carved with a bizarre totem.

It looked somewhat like a bird with its eyes closed, or perhaps a distorted character.

The second was a rubbing paper as thin as a cicada's wing.

Lin Ye placed the bronze fragment on the table, picked up the rubbing paper, and unfolded it.

There were only a few brief words on the paper, written in cinnabar, exuding a sharp, fierce edge.

"King Zhou's Yellow Springs Grand Array has shown signs of loosening; the inner hall of the Ten Thousand Mountains, Ten Thousand Gu Demon Cave is about to open."

"Prepare quickly. There is not much time left for Jiangzhou."

There was no closing and no signature.

But as Lin Ye looked at the familiar brushwork and handwriting structure, his pupils suddenly constricted.

He was far too familiar with this handwriting.

Ever since he was a child, all the handwritten notes in the Funeral Shop regarding talisman drawing techniques and feng shui dragon-seeking were written in this font that mixed sharpness with a touch of unconstraint.

This was his grandfather's handwriting!

That biological grandfather of his who, on the eve of the spiritual qi recovery, left behind a Funeral Shop filled with lightning-struck wood array disks and a dark gloomy-wood coffin containing twin female jiangshi, and then mysteriously disappeared.

"The old man is still alive."

Lin Ye leaned back against the chair, the corners of his mouth curving into a meaningful arc.

Not only was he alive, but he had always been hiding in the dark, and perhaps even personally participated in this game of spiritual qi recovery sweeping across Great Xia.

"Husband, the aura on this copper piece shares the same origin as the scent of the Yellow Springs Pool beneath the Ten Thousand Gu Demon Cave."

Leng Yue cut the peeled apple into small pieces, pierced them with a silver fork, and handed them to Lin Ye's mouth.

Lin Ye took a bite of the crisp apple, his gaze deep.

"Naturally, the old man is pointing the way for me."

The last time he went to Miao territory, Lin Ye only took a turn around the periphery of the Ten Thousand Gu Demon Cave, snatching half of an Unfading Bone, and did not venture deep into the true "Yellow Springs Underground Palace" marked on that human-skin map.

Because he knew that rushing rashly into an ancient malevolent array of that level without adequate preparation was simply courting death.

But the meaning of this letter was very clear.

The underground palace was about to open, and the things inside must absolutely not fall into anyone else's hands.