Standing before Zhou Huan was a man of ordinary build, unremarkable in every way, yet his murderous intent caused Zhou Huan to draw a sharp, cold breath. Just as Zhou Huan was focusing to get a better look, he suddenly saw a gleaming, cold blade, its edge clearly stained with fresh blood, slicing directly toward his neck.

It was a killing blow. Zhou Huan instinctively threw his body backward. The moment he started to right himself, the blade was upon him again. He narrowly dodged it once more. After several evasive maneuvers, he finally straightened up, beads of sweat prickling his forehead.

“Stop! Who are you?” Zhou Huan demanded, his voice strong and carrying a shocking resonance.

The assailant paid no heed to Zhou Huan’s question. He raised the knife high and brought it down viciously toward Zhou Huan’s head. This time, Zhou Huan finally had an opening to counter. He raised his hand, forcefully parrying the attacker’s wrist, simultaneously striking the attacker's wrist with his other hand before spinning around and delivering a powerful kick that sent the man flying a considerable distance.

“Speak! Just who are you?” Zhou Huan had barely finished asking when he felt a strange sense of familiarity about the man. He felt certain he had seen this person somewhere before, yet he couldn't place him.

Old Sun, who had just departed, suddenly reappeared from nowhere, sneaking up close to Zhou Huan: “Hey! Master Zhou, I just finished investigating these fellows. They are distant relatives of my Sun family. They were the ones who carried my coffin. Alright, I’m off!” With a swish, Old Sun vanished again.

Old Sun’s abrupt return left Zhou Huan deeply perplexed. Why had he come back now? Could it be…? He suddenly recalled the rules of the Underworld: once a deceased soul returns to the living world, if it chooses not to reincarnate and remain on earth, it must first settle its earthly affairs, including resolving the relationships between souls. Perhaps Old Sun was truly repentant for the sins committed in the mortal realm…

While he was still contemplating this, the sudden attacker scrambled back to his feet and lunged at Zhou Huan again. At that very moment, a clamor erupted from outside, and the wail of police sirens tore through the quiet night. Zhou Huan braced his legs, lunged forward in one swift movement, and landed a solid punch squarely on the assailant's face. The man staggered, dazed, and collapsed to the ground.

Zhou Huan had expended all his strength; even as he pulled his fist back, his fingers ached faintly.

He saw Xiao He, his beloved, rush in first. Eager to show off in front of her, Zhou Huan knelt on one knee over the unconscious assailant, gripping the man’s hair with one hand and pressing down on his neck with the other. “Speak! What is your background?” His tone carried the undeniable authority of a hero.

“Brother Huan…” Xiao He gasped, clearly having run a great distance. “Brother Huan, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. This guy started killing the moment he entered. Old Xu was killed by him. Damn it, he even tried to kill me! How could I let him get away? Besides, I have a policewoman wife; it would be too humiliating if he succeeded!” As he spoke, Zhou Huan pressed his thumb firmly onto the man’s Renzhong pressure point. The assailant gasped nervously, slowly regaining his senses.

“I’ll curse your ancestors, Zhou Huan, you ruined my fortune…” The assailant finally spoke. He truly was a bastard; even pinned down so severely, his mouth wouldn't stop jabbering a string of nonsense.

Zhou Huan fiercely gripped the back of the attacker's neck. “Speak! Why did you come here?”

“Hahaha, look how stupid you all are. After so many days—the Funeral Master, the police—if I hadn't come here today to retrieve my property, you lot would never have caught me.” The murderer was utterly vicious; he strained with all his might, struggling desperately to break free from Zhou Huan’s iron grip.

A pair of ice-cold handcuffs clicked onto the assailant's wrists. Two officers took over from Zhou Huan, securing the suspect behind his back before escorting him into the waiting police car.

Dongzi, who had arrived with Xiao He, was overjoyed to see Zhou Huan apprehend the killer. He clapped his hands and shouted, “As expected of my Brother Dongzi’s Big Brother—truly formidable!” Just before the suspect was loaded into the car, Dongzi raised his hand and slapped him hard. “Bastard! I chased your ass across seven streets, you almost worked me to death! And you had to choose this place to run to? You really know how to pick a spot.”

“Dongzi, come here!” Zhou Huan secretly rubbed his aching striking hand. When Dongzi approached, Zhou Huan lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Don’t make a scene. There are too many bodies here. Today, Big Brother is giving you a chance to get some real experience. Deal with all of them properly. Remember to take Old Master Sun’s ashes and that severed hand with you when you leave.”

“Huh?” Dongzi broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the scene before him. “Brother… this… there are so many corpses here. If you all leave, I… I won’t be able to handle it alone!”

“That’s why I’m giving you a chance to train. I need to interrogate this fellow with your Sister Xiao He back at the hall; I think he can unravel the whole mystery,” Zhou Huan said, gently stroking Dongzi’s head as if comforting a child. “Good boy, don’t be afraid. If we Funeral Masters are scared of corpses, how can we make a living? Go on, be bold! Brother will be cheering you on from outside!” As he spoke, Zhou Huan bolted out with leopard-like speed, primarily because he absolutely did not want anyone to see his hand, injured from striking so forcefully.

Dongzi stood there stunned as Zhou Huan, Xiao He, and the others left the scene, feeling utterly abandoned. Suddenly, he remembered something important, pulled out his phone, and dialed Li Tianxiong. “Tianxiong, Senior Brother, hurry up and save me! I’m in the morgue at the Funeral Home. If you don’t come, I won’t survive!”

Li Tianxiong had just finished sorting out matters underground at the Sun residence and was preparing to return to Fushou Hall for rest. When he received Dongzi’s frantic call, he knew Dongzi probably needed something, but he didn't dare refuse. If something truly happened to Dongzi, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Zhou Huan. So, he changed direction, pulling Hong Kun and Shi Bingyuan along with him toward the Funeral Home. By the time they arrived, the entrance to the morgue was deserted. Dongzi stood at the door, holding an electric baton, shining it up at the sky as if counting stars.

Seeing Hong Kun’s car approach, Dongzi felt a surge of relief, believing he had succeeded. He eagerly ushered the three men inside, quickly explained the situation, and then quietly slipped away to a car to fall asleep.

“Bastard, he calls me over, and I knew it wasn't going to be good. Turns out he left us this whole mess,” Shi Bingyuan muttered, though none of the three genuinely resented Dongzi. They were simply acting in the capacity of protective older brothers, helping him clean up the morgue situation.

Zhou Huan and Xiao He brought the murderer directly to the interrogation room. The first thing Zhou Huan did upon entering was summon two malevolent ghosts from the underworld. With spectral guns pointed at the killer’s forehead, the sight alone was enough to distract the suspect. Zhou Huan, having somehow procured 'Phantom Powder' from Xiang Jiao, liberally dusted the killer’s face with it, then shouted, “Confess everything you know now, or this Magistrate will not spare you today!”

“Lord Bao, I confess! I confess!”

Zhou Huan was thoroughly confused by the killer's address. Why had he been called Lord Bao? Was he Bao Zheng? Xiao He stood by, struggling to suppress her laughter, until she finally couldn't hold it in and burst out of the interrogation room to laugh to her heart's content.

Seeing this, Zhou Huan decided to play along. “This Magistrate asks you, why did you commit murder? For what purpose?” He deliberately drew out his tone, adopting a rhythm reminiscent of Peking Opera.

Unexpectedly, the killer was terrified into a complete breakdown by Zhou Huan’s amateur operatic elongation. “I confess! We are distant relatives of the Sun family. We stole Old Man Sun’s golden basins. Later, due to unfair distribution, we had an internal conflict. I killed two accomplices, and one, Zhao Si, killed another. But he has fled, that’s all.”

“Is that all? No other murders?” Zhou Huan pressed urgently.

The killer panicked, suddenly remembering the murder of Old Xu just now. “And that old man… I…”

“Then this Magistrate asks you, where are your golden basins?”

“They are with Zhang San. He monopolized five golden basins and sold them. As for where he hid them, I’d like to know too, or I wouldn’t have chased him to the Funeral Home.” With this confession, everyone present understood: the entire incident was comprised of two separate matters—one concerning the Sun family’s internal affairs, and the other involving the Sun family and their distant relatives.

After several twists and turns in the investigation, the police finally tracked down the fugitive Zhao Si. Zhang San, the half-dead man who had begged Zhou Huan for help at the Funeral Home, was found to have five golden basins melted down into the diamond-studded gold teeth filling his mouth. Under Zhou Huan’s direction, all his gold possessions were stripped away. A new golden basin was forged for Old Man Sun, which was placed with him when he was re-interred. Following this, Zhou Huan organized a funeral procession led by Dongzi to arrange a proper burial for Old Man Sun’s entire family in that same auspicious location.

Meanwhile, Zhou Huan also located the ashes of Xiang Jiao’s mother and had her interred not far from Old Man Sun’s tomb, establishing a family plot, undisturbed by outsiders or lingering attachments. This was because Xiang Jiao, her husband Li Guang (who had gone mad), and several engineers and workers who had served the Sun family were found to have committed serious crimes against national security. Xiang Jiao and her husband were executed, and their properties were auctioned off. The proceeds were entirely donated by Zhou Huan, in the names of the deceased, to impoverished mountainous regions and those struggling with medical costs.

As for Zhou Huan’s two arch-rivals—one, his wayward disciple, and the other, the soul of his past-life adversary, the Yunnan Poison King—their whereabouts remained unknown. However, Zhou Huan had obtained a unique manual from Xiang Jiao: The Compendium of Poison Alchemy, created by the Yunnan Poison King years ago. Knowing your enemy is winning half the battle; Zhou Huan, undeterred by the awkwardness and the sidelong glances of other funeral directors, dedicated himself to studying this manual. At times, he even began mixing his own compounds, yet he felt that the elixirs he produced were, if anything, even more potent than those of the Poison King.

Thus concluded the incident of the Golden Basin Blood Hand. Xiao He’s belly was beginning to show signs of pregnancy, much to the delight of Zhou Huan and his several bachelor apprentices, who eagerly looked forward to the arrival of a child to bring joy to them all!