Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 33: Bullying the Master and Destroying the Ancestor
Chapter Two - Epilogue - The Little Devil

"After the zombie in the cold storage was eliminated, I wondered where it came from, so I checked the surveillance footage."

"I saw a familiar face!"

"That was the triangular-eyed man I met by chance when I went to the twins' house. I think his name was... Zhong Fa?"

"I think it's necessary to confirm if it was him, and why he would do this. This is important to me and to the funeral home!"

"I left the funeral home and arrived at my destination at 4:35 a.m.

"Just as I approached Zhong Fa's shop, someone I never expected came out—it was Zhong Cai, the one who fought alongside me!"

"What happened next shocked me. When I followed Zhong Cai into the shop, I discovered that Zhong Fa was dead!"

"Zhong Cai said that Zhong Fa died at the hands of that zombie!"

"I marvel at the cyclical nature of karma, yet I still have doubts."

"Zhong Fa, why are you treating Tianmen Funeral Home like this?"

"I don't understand!"

Looking at Zhong Fa's corpse, I suddenly felt a chill.

"What if Zhong Fa turns into a zombie too?"

"To prevent my guess from coming true, I took out incense sticks and recited the 'Incantation for Subduing Evil Spirits' that I had been using recently, intending to help it pass on to the afterlife."

"As expected, after I finished reciting the incantation, the incense smoke underwent an astonishing change, but its target wasn't Zhong Fa, but rather Zhong Fa's room!"

"Following the smoke, we found Zhong Fa's secret room."

"Inside, Zhong Cai discovered the jar where Zhong Fa kept the little ghost, but... the little ghost was gone."

Zhong Cai said that my mnemonic was not ordinary.

"After trying hard to recall, I felt somewhat lost."

"It seems I can't even remember where this mnemonic came from!"

"This world, Tianmen County, where I have lived for many years, seems to have become somewhat unfamiliar."

"It seems that something belonging to me has become heavier than before."

[Chapter Two - Epilogue - The Little Ghost is finished. Gained Yin Virtue (two coins) and Lin Ziyang's memory fragments.]

……

Another fragment of memory?
Click!

Chen Miao looked up at the location of the bed.

The machine's loudspeaker sounded, accompanied by the sound of the chain.

Zhong Cai found the switch to Zhong Fa's secret room, just as described in the book.

"Be careful, my senior brother has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I'll go down and take a look first."

As Zhong Cai spoke, the spirit-suppressing talisman in his hand was already activated.

After peeking down at the situation below, Zhong Cai didn't climb the stairs but jumped down directly.

Chen Miao put away his book and climbed down the escalator without waiting for Zhong Cai to call him. Compared to Zhong Cai, Chen Miao had more faith in his book.

As soon as he stepped down, Chen Miao's gaze was drawn to the jar on the altar.

This is the jar mentioned in the book for raising little devils.

What could be inside the jar?

When Chen Miao walked over, Zhong Cai had already arrived at the jar, his face looking rather grim.

"what happened?"

The little devil has been eliminated, so why does Zhong Cai's face look so grim?
Zhong Cai didn't say anything. He reached out and tore off the two spirit-suppressing talismans from the jar, put them in his pocket, and then walked away.

Chen Miao peered into the jar.

Inside the jar, which was less than a meter tall, was a brown, mummified corpse curled up in a ball—the mummified corpse of a child!

Chen Miao turned his head away, his expression also turning unpleasant.

He didn't grasp the meaning behind the words "little devil" just by reading the text. Only after seeing it did he realize the cruelty behind it.

Chen Miao realized something.

Because of the existence of "Notes on Becoming a God in the Mundane World," although he encountered many supernatural events, apart from this zombie incident, he did not actually confront the true horror of supernatural events.

What would he be like without this book?
What will happen at Tianmen Funeral Home?
Compared to Zhong Fa and Zhong Cai, who have been on this path for decades, Chen Miao has surpassed them later due to the existence of "Notes on Becoming a God in the Mundane World," but in some aspects, he is still far behind.

At the very least, he couldn't bring himself to place such a mummified corpse in a jar under his bed just to cast a spell!
Stopping thinking about it, Chen Miao turned to look at Zhong Cai.

At this moment, Zhong Cai was holding a small white porcelain jar in his hand, from which he pinched out a little white powder.

"what is this?"

Chen Miao looked at the shelf in front of him and asked.

"Ashes".

"Ok?"

Chen Miao suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhong Cai.

Ashes? Whose?

"do not know."

Zhong Cai shook his head. After his master died, he and Zhong Fa parted ways due to their differing beliefs.

Over the years, he has gained some opportunities outside, and Zhong Fa has probably gone further down the wrong path.

There was no clue as to what the ashes were used for, and he couldn't guess either.

After examining the ashes, Chen Miao became even more certain of his previous vague guess.

This level of fineness in cremated remains is not something that can be achieved by simply burning them.

The crematorium at Tianmen Funeral Home is not suitable because it lacks the function of machine crushing.

In the surrounding counties and towns, only the Fushou Funeral Center, a modern funeral home with complete facilities, has such a capacity for cremation.

Of course, it's possible that Zhong Fa brought the ashes from a more distant place, but in any case, it's more likely that they came from Fu Shou Funeral Center, which also explains why Zhong Fa targeted Tianmen Funeral Home.

Bell~
A slightly dull ringing sound rang in Chen Miao's ears. He turned his head and saw Zhong Cai take a long-handled copper bell out of a box on the ground.

The Corpse Control Bell?
Chen Miao thought of the description of the corpse-controlling bell in "The Secret Records of the Zhong Family Corpse Transport".

The bell is shaped like a bell, with cinnabar engravings inside the bell wall. A three-pronged handle extends from the top of the bell, with a red cloth tied to the handle. Because the bell tongue is thick and heavy, the sound is dull when it is shaken.

While Chen Miao was mentally comparing the options, Zhong Cai had already put the Corpse Control Bell into his bag.

Seeing Chen Miao's gaze, Zhong Cai's eyebrows furrowed, and his tone revealed barely concealed anger.

"These were supposed to be my master's burial items..."

Zhong Cai's expression at this moment was beyond just ugly.

When Zhong Cai saw the jar, he just felt that Zhong Fa had gone astray and was beyond saving.

But when he saw the Corpse Control Bell, he wished he had killed Zhong Fa himself!
This traitor who desecrated his master's grave deserves to die!
Just then, footsteps sounded overhead.

The two exchanged a glance. Chen Miao quietly walked to the entrance and stood sideways. After Zhong Cai stuffed a thread-bound book from a box into his bag, he and Chen Miao stood guard at the entrance, one on each side.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance.

The suffocating silence lasted for more than ten seconds. Just as Chen Miao was about to open the book to take a look, a sound came from the entrance above his head.

"Zhong Cai?"

Chen Miao looked at Zhong Cai, who had already put down the slightly charred peach wood sword in his hand.

Chen Miao knew that the person who came was a friend, not an enemy.

Soon, Zhong Cai and Chen Miao climbed out one after the other.

This was also the first time Chen Miao had met people from the special department.

……

(End of this chapter)