The gazes of everyone were fixed on the woods. Zhou Huan turned his head and gave Shi Bingyuan a look. Shi Bingyuan moved with swift agility, bounding into the thicket.

Zhou Huan casually pulled out his compass, spun it in his hand. Although it was the dead of night, the compass showed no sign of underworld beings nearby: "Hmph, the ghosts dare not come, but people dare to provoke us!"

"Master, I think someone is faking a haunting. Watch me." Li Tianxiong also charged out after Shi Bingyuan.

Less than ten minutes after the two rushed out, they came panting back: "Heavens above, that fellow runs too fast! I only heard sounds after entering the woods, chased for nearly two li but never saw a shadow. Did we run into a master?" Shi Bingyuan muttered incessantly.

Zhou Huan remained calm and untroubled, simply stating coolly, "Relax. We have so many people here, and guards on duty—no need to fear. If things get loud, we'll all move together."

"Alright, Master, you guys go sleep first. Dongzi and I will handle things here!" Tianxiong puffed out his chest, which immediately rekindled Dongzi's desire to be a senior apprentice brother.

"Oh, right, Dongzi, go prepare some food too. That group must be starving. Let's just make do with the mourning shed for now. Come on, Shi Bingyuan, the three of us will get some sleep first. You bodyguards can sort out your own resting arrangements." After giving instructions, Zhou Huan went to sleep. He slept until dawn broke, filled with the birdsong and the scent of flowers from the woods, with the faint sound of a stream audible in the distance. Checking his watch, he saw it was past four o'clock, so Zhou Huan got up, ready to take the next shift.

Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun were on the second watch. The two were adjusting the mourning shed the bodyguards had erected. Zhou Huan looked at the remaining people; some were sleeping in the cars, others outside. He strode up to Shi Bingyuan. "Apprentice, no need to keep working on things. This mourning shed is flawless. It’s just waiting for the families of the two remains to arrive at dawn. You two go back to sleep; I’m enough here by myself."

Shi Bingyuan glanced at Zhou Huan, then returned to the car with Hong Kun to sleep.

Zhou Huan placed the large paper yuanbao offerings neatly, followed by a string of firecrackers, and then the remains of the two elders, all placed upon the altar table. Next, Zhou Huan ambled over to inspect the grave Shi Bingyuan had dug. He slowly shook his head. It wasn't that Shi Bingyuan had dug the grave poorly, but rather that placing the Plum Blossom formation here had a few flaws. However, the problems needed to be resolved; what was destined to happen would happen. Zhou Huan wasn't unwilling to intervene, but he was considering his apprentices and the employer's family first. Thus, he suppressed the urge to speak, settling his mind only to wait for events to unfold and deal with them before mending the gaps.

Time passed quickly. The fiery sun was already rising slowly above the horizon. Several bodyguards lazily stretched, climbing out of their cars. They saw Zhou Huan sitting cross-legged before the altar, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly watching the direction from which the others were emerging, yet Zhou Huan remained motionless, not uttering a single word.

The bodyguards patted their stomachs; they were hungry again. But at this moment, they felt too embarrassed to ask Zhou Huan for food. They had already eaten one meal courtesy of him; asking for more would seem improper. These bodyguards seemed genuinely awed by Zhou Huan's charisma.

"Beep! Beep!" A burst of car horns sounded from outside the mountain hollow, and several top-tier sedans slowly pulled up to the mourning shed Zhou Huan had prepared.

The first to exit the cars was the man as thin as dry firewood, whom everyone found unacceptable, followed by the delicate Xiang Jiao, seemingly on the verge of death, whom he supported.

Xiang Jiao walked in front. Behind her followed a retinue of bodyguards, carrying wooden poles over their shoulders from which boxes swung and swayed, suggesting they held weighty items. Further behind were several people dressed in sackcloth and mourning weeds, clearly identifiable as Elder Sun's close relatives.

"Master Zhou, how are the preparations coming along?" Xiang Jiao approached Zhou Huan, who did not rise but remained seated cross-legged.

Zhou Huan's apprentices descended from a vehicle and flocked around him. Li Tianxiong helped Zhou Huan by replying, "Sister Xiang Jiao, everything here is ready. We just need your golden basins and your family's relatives, plus one more crucial thing..." Li Tianxiong fixed his gaze intensely on Xiang Jiao as he spoke. This stare made people uncomfortable; even the wealthy Xiang Jiao was momentarily silenced by Tianxiong's look.

"What's wrong? What about me?" Xiang Jiao had no idea what was happening. Zhou Huan opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet.

"Sister Xiang Jiao, haven't all of Elder Sun's close relatives put on mourning attire? Are you less dutiful than them?" Zhou Huan’s tone was harsh.

Xiang Jiao’s face showed a flicker of discomfort, "This... this, are there any mourning clothes left?" Xiang Jiao felt awkward and quickly called out to her subordinates. Her bodyguards promptly brought two relatively large mourning robes. The lean man helped Xiang Jiao put one on, and then he put on the other himself.

"Heh heh, a good son-in-law, willing to wear mourning clothes for his own father-in-law. Quite filial," Zhou Huan said deliberately, trying to provoke the lean man. In truth, he simply wanted to converse with the man to gauge his true nature.

However, the man seemed extremely cautious, acting as if mute. He merely nodded and behaved very politely.

"Alright, Master Zhou, I see the coffin lid hasn't been sealed yet. Hurry up, don't tell me your skills aren't up to par!" Xiang Jiao stepped in to smooth things over, immediately diverting the topic.

Zhou Huan smiled faintly. "That's easy. Bring out your golden basins!" Immediately, the security guards carrying boxes set the containers down before the coffin. They then used iron bars to pry open the lids. In the morning sun, a flash of gold dazzled the eyes of the onlookers.

"Master Zhou, let me tell you, you asked for golden basins. These are all pure gold basins, each weighing over one kilogram. You know how valuable they are, so I hope you handle them carefully, lest our descendants suffer," Xiang Jiao said, plopping down onto a chair brought by a bodyguard.

Zhou Huan smiled and instructed, "Apprentices, set up the formation!"

Shi Bingyuan, following his initial idea, set up the Golden Basin Plum Blossom formation with Hong Kun’s assistance. Then, Zhou Huan placed the remains of the two elders into the coffin, with Elder Sun Patriarch’s bones on top, the golden basin plum blossom formation in the middle, and Elder Sun's ashes at the bottom.

"Tianxiong, go chant the Soul-Soothing Incantation, write and burn two Soul-Soothing Talismans, and then prepare the large paper offerings!" After instructing Li Tianxiong, Zhou Huan and Dongzi sealed the coffin lid, then inserted a partition in the middle of the coffin. This was to prevent the bones from shifting back and forth and also to stop the golden basins from displacing.

"Shi Bingyuan, you go up the slope. Sprinkle the yellow wine over the plum blossom formation petals you dug out and inside the burial spot. Remember, you must use realgar and Shiliuxiang powder around the grave area—make sure to scatter it evenly!" Zhou Huan sent Shi Bingyuan to manage the grave site.

Everyone was busy that morning, except Dongzi, whom Zhou Huan hadn't assigned a solo task to. He scratched his head looking at Zhou Huan: "Brother, what task do you have for me?"

"Nothing for now, but your task will be very important later. Don't worry," Zhou Huan replied while driving nails into the coffin lid. He then personally inscribed several large characters on a piece of white paper: "Depart Peacefully, Reincarnate Smoothly!" After finishing the long strip of paper, the onlookers praised Zhou Huan's calligraphy; he truly was an artist. Zhou Huan casually pasted the paper onto the coffin.

"Dongzi, your job starts now. When they lift the coffin, you just watch from the side. No one is allowed to stop; they must carry it to the grave and set it down in one go. Also, the coffin is absolutely not allowed to touch any other soil," Zhou Huan instructed, leaving Dongzi confused.

"Brother, how can I enforce this? If they can't lift it, are we going to force them? Besides, you said no touching the soil, but hasn't your coffin already touched other soil?" Dongzi had quite a few questions.

The rare look of exasperation on Zhou Huan's face was pulled out by Dongzi once more: "If they can't lift it, you must find a way, whether it's coercion or threats, just make them keep carrying. And look carefully yourself—has the coffin touched any soil yet?"

Hearing Zhou Huan's words, Dongzi lowered his head to look. Zhou Huan had done something very discreet: under the coffin, Zhou Huan had preemptively placed several wooden blocks, one at each corner. The entire coffin was untouched by mud.

"Brother, you are too magical. How did you even think of that? You wouldn't notice it without looking down!" Dongzi praised incessantly.

Zhou Huan cut short Dongzi's rambling: "Alright, go prepare quickly. This is crucial."

Li Tianxiong had finished chanting the Soul-Soothing Incantation over there. Zhou Huan led Tianxiong and spoke to Xiang Jiao, "Sister, call out all six members of your family to carry the coffin. But I think before lifting it, you all should perform the Great Kneeling Rite. After burning the yuanbao, they can rise."

Xiang Jiao, with her robust physique, was unhappy to hear she had to kneel. However, in front of so many people, she couldn't refuse. She turned around and called out, "Strong men of the Five Blessings family, kneel down for the Great Rite!"

Those dressed in mourning weeds looked to be about a dozen people, but there were a few elders and women among them. At Xiang Jiao's command, they all knelt down. Zhou Huan presided, "Perform the Great Rite!"

Everyone knelt down and kowtowed.

"Perform the Weeping Rite!" After Zhou Huan said this, everyone was stunned. What kind of rite was this? At this moment, someone from among the Five Blessings group shouted out.

"Master, what kind of rite is this? None of us know it; can you explain it to us?" The person speaking looked shifty-eyed.

Zhou Huan followed the sound of the voice and saw a man craning his neck, half-kneeling near the coffin, shouting at him.

Xiang Jiao was momentarily frozen, secretly suppressing a smile.

But Zhou Huan’s attention was drawn to something else at that moment; he found the speaker vaguely familiar.