Zhou Huan drove fast; after all, the car had a large engine displacement, capable of easily handling over a hundred kilometers per hour. Coupled with the fact that the roads leading to the cemetery were nearly devoid of traffic, Dongzi kept exclaiming, "It feels like flying! This is absolutely exhilarating!"

"Master, slow down a bit. We're almost there!" Tian Xiong said from the back seat, fiddling with two small magnets in his hand.

The car pulled up to the foot of the mountain and parked. This road was a narrow village lane, so at night, virtually no one came up the mountain; even the closest village was a good fifteen-minute drive away.

"Get out, all of us are going this time. Dongzi, make sure you bring the tools!" Zhou Huan killed the engine, slung his bag over his shoulder, and got out.

Dongzi was rummaging frantically in the car. Li Tian Xiong was already waiting outside, but Dongzi was still flipping things over, muttering to himself, "Strange, where did I put it?"

Zhou Huan stepped forward and asked, "What are you digging around for in the car? Hurry up and bring those tools up the mountain!"

"Brother, you don't know. I left a treasure in your car, haha! You'll see when I pull it out," Dongzi said to Zhou Huan with great confidence.

Zhou Huan and Li Tian Xiong stood with their arms crossed outside the car door, waiting. In the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Dongzi finally stopped his frantic search. He let out a shout as if he’d just found a million dollars: "Brother, I found it! Hahahaha!"

When Zhou Huan and Tian Xiong looked over, they saw Dongzi jumping out of the car, holding up an iron rod, and in his left hand, he was also carrying a large, military-style duffel bag.

"Brother, look! Haha, a complete set of wilderness survival gear from the army." As he spoke, he started counting the tools in his hand: "Military shovel, pickaxe, searchlight, infrared night vision goggles, and a micro-tent."

"Alright, alright, alright!" Zhou Huan snatched Dongzi’s bag, opened it, glanced inside, and asked Dongzi with a sigh, "You actually like these things?"

"Of course, this was a gift from Xiao Mo at the supermarket," Dongzi replied, looking extremely happy as he hugged the bag and swayed it back and forth.

Zhou Huan glanced at Tian Xiong, who chuckled softly. Then Zhou Huan said, "Hurry up, carry the stuff you like and let's go up the mountain!"

Dongzi hoisted the bag onto his back and took up the rear. Tian Xiong walked at the very front, with Zhou Huan in the middle. The three of them slowly ascended the small path. Because they were trying to be stealthy in retrieving whatever they were looking for, they didn't turn their flashlights up to full brightness, only using a very faint glow to keep from stumbling on the mountain.

As Tian Xiong walked, he began to slow his pace, sweeping his flashlight back and forth, searching for the item they needed.

Dongzi was about to speak, but Zhou Huan looked back and shook his hand, silencing Dongzi. Zhou Huan then used the faint light to gesture toward Tian Xiong. Tian Xiong understood what he meant, signaled back that they were close to the spot, and that he was about to start searching.

Zhou Huan nodded. Fortunately, the moonlight that night was quite bright, and the light filtering through the trees was enough to clearly make out the objects before them. Suddenly, there was movement in the grass, a rustling sound.

Zhou Huan gestured again, and all three dropped to the ground simultaneously. With a flurry, a wild pheasant took flight.

Tian Xiong was the first to stand up, quietly circling the spot in the woods. Then he let out a breath of relief and whispered in a low voice, "Master, it's clear here. We need to hurry; they might come back these next couple of nights."

Zhou Huan used his compass to sweep the surroundings: "Dongzi, get ready to work. Let's see what they buried here, and once we find it, we leave immediately."

"Aye!" Dongzi’s reply was curt. He pulled out the pickaxe and shovel, one in each hand, and started digging alongside Tian Xiong.

The three of them worked hard for nearly an hour but found nothing.

Zhou Huan grew anxious. "Are we in the wrong place? Why haven't we found anything yet?"

Tian Xiong rubbed his head, deep in thought. "That can't be right? Look at this tree—I scored the bark right here when I left last night. See? The mark is still here."

Zhou Huan looked at the tree trunk Tian Xiong was pointing to, feeling equally puzzled. They had dug over a dozen pits in an area roughly twenty square meters, yet found not a single trace.

"What is going on? The whole ground has been turned over. I clearly saw them burying a lot of things here yesterday, but..." Tian Xiong insisted on his assessment.

Zhou Huan rested his chin in his hand and said calmly, "They must have been here. Look, these footprints aren't just ours. Did they move the items during the day? It doesn't make sense. Why would they?"

"Could they be deliberately testing us? Or did they discover our movements?" Tian Xiong speculated.

Zhou Huan said cautiously, "Let's fill the dirt back in quickly and level the ground. We stop here for tonight. Hurry!"

Dongzi and Tian Xiong immediately filled the dozen or so pits, smoothing the earth perfectly. They hastily scrambled down the mountain and got into the car, driving until they parked deep within a cornfield.

"Master, what do you make of this? The more I think about it, the more confused I get," Tian Xiong pondered.

Zhou Huan smiled slightly. "This proves one thing: If they noticed us, they buried something here intentionally to distract our attention. Conversely, if they didn't notice us, it means they are engaged in some other clandestine activity nearby."

"Brother, I think they are just messing with us. Fine, tomorrow I’ll go find them and ask—if they're dishonest, I'll just beat them up!" Dongzi's aggressive nature flared up again.

Zhou Huan suppressed Dongzi. "Shut up and stop talking nonsense. Those two aren't easy to deal with; there must be a secret involved. I feel like everything that has happened from the beginning might be connected to them, but we don't have concrete proof right now."

"Master, what do we do next? We can’t just let them lead us around by the nose, can we?" Tian Xiong worried, as the failure tonight proved all his previous efforts had been in vain.

Zhou Huan smiled. "Here’s the plan: I doubt they'll come tonight. I suspect our movements have been under surveillance. Alright, we’re heading home, and we'll plan our next steps there." With that, Zhou Huan started the car, slowly maneuvering it out of the cornfield. Just as the car began to move, a rustling sound came from within the corn stalks.

Zhou Huan caught sight in the rearview mirror: there were many people in the cornfield, at least twenty or more, and each seemed to be holding something. Seeing this, Zhou Huan sensed trouble. He slammed the accelerator, charging the car out of the cornfield.

Zhou Huan's car swerved wildly as he sped out. Suddenly, nearly thirty bodyguards burst out of the cornfield, all wielding machetes, pursuing the car relentlessly.

"Master, hurry! They’re still chasing us!" Tian Xiong sounded anxious.

Zhou Huan steadied the steering wheel. The path through the vegetable patch was certainly not built for a sports car; only Zhou Huan’s vehicle had decent performance, or they’d have been useless. Zhou Huan hit the gas and finally reached the main road. Seeing that the people in the vegetable patch below had stopped chasing, he parked momentarily. They stood there, hands on hips, pointing their blades at Zhou Huan and shouting, "Zhou Huan, we’re telling you, stop looking for trouble! If you don’t stop, we’ll burn down your funeral home after tomorrow!"

"Hahahaha, I don't care who you work for! Go back and tell your master that no one dictates what Zhou Huan does! We're leaving! Tell him to be more careful next time!" Zhou Huan stepped hard on the gas. After all, it was the dead of night; even if the three of them were capable fighters, they couldn't stand against such numbers—a good tiger can't fight off a pack of wolves.

Zhou Huan drove toward Fushoutang. Halfway there, a thought struck him: why not brazenly try to break into the Sun family villa? Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun were already watching outside; they could provide backup if needed. Immediately, he turned the car's nose toward the Sun family villa.

"Master, we can't go there! Didn't you see the tactics of those guys just now?" Tian Xiong panicked.

Dongzi grinned widely and laughed. "Oh, Tian Xiong, are you really scared of those birds? I’ll go in with the Master later. I doubt those guys would dare openly harm the Master."

"Hmph, Dongzi, your intentions are good, but I'm afraid I’ll have to look after you instead!" Zhou Huan didn't mean to crush Dongzi's enthusiasm, but what he said was unreliable; he was just a brute, hardly capable of looking after anyone else. Still, Zhou Huan wanted to save face for him and made him keep quiet.

As Zhou Huan drove, he noticed two straight lines of people standing along both sides of the road. Each was dressed in a long white coat and holding something resembling a book. Zhou Huan counted about fifteen or sixteen people. He slowed the car down, inching forward cautiously. As the car drew closer to these figures, he noticed that each one had something long protruding from their mouth.

"Master, look at their tongues!" Li Tian Xiong exclaimed, utterly shocked. Such a sight, especially late at night, would startle anyone.

The compass in Zhou Huan's bag began to spin rapidly. Combined with his instinctual reaction, he knew these were not humans; they must be ghosts or specters blocking the way. He just didn't know what kind—were they here to claim lives, demand money, or did they need something from Zhou Huan?

After all, Zhou Huan was a Funeral Master; such sights were not uncommon to him. Before the car even reached the ghosts, he quickly scribbled out several ghost-dispelling talismans. Then, he told Dongzi to retrieve a large stack of Joss paper, gold ingots, red horses, jade boys, and jade girls from beneath the back seat—all items Zhou Huan usually cut out by hand.

"Damn, Brother, this is too scary! Standing by the roadside in the middle of the night with tongues sticking out so long and not putting them away properly—aren't they asking for trouble?" Dongzi rambled while looking at the red horses and jade boys in his hands. "Huh? Brother, why are the red horses and jade boys you usually cut out only coming out now?"

"Didn't you see these fellows can’t even walk? If we don't prepare a horse for them, who will take them back? Besides, if these ghosts can block the road, they must be lazy ghosts, so it's only right to prepare a jade boy and jade girl to serve them," Zhou Huan finished just as a pair of grasping, clawing hands reached toward the windshield. At that moment, Zhou Huan shouted his command: "Disciples, act!"