In Old Sun's morgue, several skeletons had already straightened up, still clinging to scraps of unrotted flesh, clicking and clacking as they shuffled toward Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan muttered under his breath, "This is way cooler than Resident Evil—this is the live-action version. Fine then, let me show you what Zhou Huan is capable of!" With a flick of his wrist and a swift incantation, the stiff, unmoving skeletons were smacked apart, scattering in pieces across the floor.

Then Zhou Huan looked at the hand emerging from Old Sun’s grave, noticing it was covered in dark spots. Could it be…? A terrible premonition gripped Zhou Huan. He felt more death was coming. Things had been happening too fast lately; Zhou Huan was truly exhausted, but he had to summon his courage and strength to fulfill his meager duty as a Master of Longevity—to calmly resolve these vengeful spirits and release the hatred boiling within them.

“Master Zhou, Master Zhou, it’s terrible!” Old Xu came scrambling and stumbling to Zhou Huan’s side, gasping for breath, his hands clutching Zhou Huan’s robes. “Master Zhou, someone is at the door. He… he said he wants to go home. And home is apparently here? Could it be…” Old Xu swallowed hard repeatedly.

Zhou Huan followed the direction of Old Xu’s frantic gaze. A wave of intensely damp, cold wind howled in through the morgue door, preceding the slow entrance of a tall, imposing figure. The man appeared stiff, his long hair hanging loose, green viscous fluid constantly dripping from his mouth. He clutched the upper half of his face with both arms. His clothes hung in tatters, unsure if they were burned or ripped, and a long intestine trailed out, dragging on the floor, crawling with clusters of yellow maggots.

“Master Zhou, save me…” As soon as the words left his mouth, the figure collapsed onto the floor.

Zhou Huan and Old Xu saw clearly: as the man fell, his head rolled toward Zhou Huan, passed Old Xu’s feet, and stopped directly behind him.

Old Xu was too terrified to turn around; his entire body was numb, nearly wetting himself. Despite seeing motionless corpses all day without fear, he could tolerate animated dead bodies up to a point. But a man dying right in front of him—that truly frightened him.

Zhou Huan calmly ushered Old Xu aside, found him a stool, and then bent down to examine the rolling head. Although the flesh was partially decayed and scarred, the man’s features were still discernible. As he looked, Zhou Huan felt the face was strangely familiar, like someone he had seen somewhere before, but he couldn't place him.

Tick-tock, tick-tock! The funeral home was equipped with an old-fashioned grandfather clock, its pendulum swinging incessantly, emitting that ancient, eerie sound from within its wooden casing.

“Gasp!” Old Xu drew a sharp breath. “Master Zhou, this…” By the time Zhou Huan looked over, Old Xu’s face had turned ashen, gradually taking on patchy, bluish-green hues.

Zhou Huan immediately picked up the severed head and placed it on an empty stainless steel gurney. He then personally wrote a talisman and handed it to Old Xu. Zhou Huan spoke in a low voice, “Master Xu, hold this charm. Afterward, you won’t be afraid, and those specters won't bother you anymore.”

After speaking, Zhou Huan retrieved a full set of protective gear from the morgue—the suit was mainly to guard against corpse toxins, utterly airtight except for two small holes near the nose. He walked to the body that had entered, grabbed it, hoisted it onto his shoulders, turned, and entered the back room. He placed the body onto the same empty gurney, repositioned the head onto the neck stump, then formed the necessary hand seals and began chanting the incantation.

The environment fell into a deathly silence. Though it was the seventh day of Old Sun’s return, he had not arrived on schedule. Unhurriedly, Zhou Huan used his specially mixed insect repellent powder to clear the deceased's body of any crawling pests. He then wiped the corpse down with yellow wine, groomed the hair, and finally pulled a thick thread and a long needle from his kit, binding the head to the body.

When Zhou Huan prepared to attend to the teeth, he froze, utterly stunned by what he saw inside the deceased’s mouth—he remained motionless for a full ten minutes.

The mouth was packed with gold teeth, and every single one was set with a diamond. He estimated that just one tooth could support an ordinary family for a year or even longer.

“This… this fellow was this wealthy?” Zhou Huan thought it over. Among the people he knew, only Old Sun and Mr. Wang possessed such wealth to afford such extensive dental work, an entire mouth full.

A soft breeze brushed past Zhou Huan, and suddenly a gentle voice spoke, “Master Zhou, thank you for attending to me all these days. I truly don't know how to express my gratitude.”

Zhou Huan felt no fear at the sudden voice, but Old Xu jolted, clutching the talisman Zhou Huan had given him tightly, cowering against the wall.

“Old Sun, the consequences you face today are the result of your own wickedness. Have you settled your accounts with the King of Hell down in the Underworld?” Zhou Huan asked, stern yet relaxed—this was, after all, Old Sun’s returning spirit.

“Alas, I thought I could deceive the heavens and rule over all, but in the end, I died by the hands of my own flesh and blood. I am ashamed!” Old Sun spoke, shaking his head continuously as he lowered his gaze. Then, as a returning spirit, Old Sun performed a deep bow to Zhou Huan, kneeling down. He spoke in a sincere yet helpless voice, “Master Zhou, I, Sun, have only one request for you today: help me properly prepare my family’s burial plot, and provide me with a golden basin for my burial. That way, I can be said to have washed my hands clean. Finally, help me find those who stole my golden basin.”

Zhou Huan removed his protective suit and washed his hands in the basin. Resting his chin on one hand, he asked Old Sun, “None of that is a problem, but there are conditions for your cooperation. First, you are forbidden from wandering. Second, I still have many unsettled matters concerning your family, so you must explain them. Third, I require you to return the hand you initially usurped from your son, so that it may be interred in his name.”

“Those unfilial brats! Those distant relatives who coveted my wealth, I could forgive them for stealing my basin, but my own flesh and blood—one killed me, the other scattered my ashes—and they still hate me? I truly cannot comprehend it!” The color of Old Sun’s ethereal form deepened, indicating his spirit was becoming denser. It seemed he had taken an extended leave for his return night, managing to summon all three parts of his soul and seven spirits.

Zhou Huan nodded. “I know all that already. Now, tell me the truth: in your view, why did they kill you? Why were you ground to dust and scattered? And why was your burial treasure stolen?”

“Ah, it’s all because of my folly back then, driving my concubine away from the Sun family villa. If I hadn't desperately wanted a son, I wouldn't have chased them out. Coupled with the news that my principal wife was expecting a boy, of course, I had to side with those giving birth to sons. Though my family isn't royal, I still need to maintain appearances. But that concubine gave me no way out, so I had to expel her from the Sun family, giving them only enough for basic living expenses each month.” Old Sun recounted his history; it sounded quite decadent, yet Zhou Huan could only offer a bitter smile.

“Old Sun, there is something I must say, though I fear it might wound your pride and hinder your cultivation when you return to the underworld.”

Old Sun snorted, “Hmph, what can’t be said? I, Sun, can endure whatever I can endure!”

“As far as I understand, Sun Zhi is not your biological son; his true father was your second younger brother who died early. Your only direct descendant is your daughter, Xiang Jiao. And your daughter Xiang Jiao has never given birth. Her son, your grandson who is now deceased, was borrowed from elsewhere,” Zhou Huan said, feeling uneasy as he spoke, afraid he had deeply hurt Old Sun’s feelings.

But Old Sun paced back and forth in the morgue, hands clasped behind his back. “That wretched whore! I was licentious, but damn it, she was even more wanton than me! Is that why I can’t perform? Ptooey! Damn it all, she even seduced my ruined little brother.” Mentioning his brother instantly changed Old Sun’s ghostly complexion; his face began to glow, turning bluish-green. “That dead brother of mine, he knew nothing, and I spent the money I earned over those years on him. In the end, he actually helped me out—he even fathered a son for me! Damn it all!”

“Old Sun, you must be talking nonsense. Let’s put this topic aside for now!” Zhou Huan wanted to end the conversation because Old Sun was visibly agitated. If he became too emotional, he might not return before daybreak, leaving Zhou Huan with a lot of extra work.

“I will give you, Zhou Huan, my final decision now. All our family assets shall go to charity. You decide the exact recipient. As for my daughter, I won’t say much about her; the police will likely execute her anyway, so she deserves it. My son-in-law suffers from intermittent psychosis, so he probably won’t receive a harsh sentence; just give him some pocket money. If you, Zhou Huan, don’t mind, you can even take him as an apprentice. Once these devils are dead, bury them all together, far away from me—as far as possible. And do not bury any of my wives or women near me. I’ll just stay with my father!”

With that, Old Sun angrily turned and moved toward the hand. He noticed dark spots on that hand too, then he smiled. “These minor ailments are nothing. Damn it, am I fated to be opposed by all of them? Why does everyone come after me?” As the last word fell, Old Sun sighed heavily, turned, and departed. His spectral form vanished completely, and Zhou Huan could not sense any residual soul energy whatsoever.

When Zhou Huan turned to check on Old Xu, he heard a flurry of rapid footsteps behind him.

“Ah!”

Zhou Huan saw Old Xu collapse onto the floor, bright crimson blood spurting from his neck, dyeing the entire surface of the morgue walls red.