Chapter 75: with translation of chapter title: 75

75 "Which corpse-chaser's family?"

When the tall and mighty Qian Hu stood before Tushan Jiu, she was completely stunned.

She turned her head and, rare for her, asked Lin Xiu'er a pointless question: "Are you sure his ghost-power conversion is seafood?"

Before Lin Xiu'er could nod, Qian Hu eagerly nodded and answered her question: "That's right, Daoist Tushan, my hometown is a mountainous area, and we weren't well-off when I was young, so I prefer seafood. My whole family's ghost-power conversion is seafood-related: I am a hairy crab, my mother is a mantis shrimp, my father is a lobster, my grandfather......"

Tushan Jiu listened seriously to Qian Hu's words, then thought it over. She figured this stone spirit of hers could definitely convert into lots of seafood, and with the Mid-Autumn Festival still over ten days away, she might as well get a bit of everything.

However, the "handiwork fee" still had to be paid.

So she asked Qian Hu, "Team Leader Qian, could you ask your family to help too? I want everything you just mentioned; can I pay you two catties of 'handiwork fee' for each?"

Qian Hu quickly shook his head and said earnestly, "You kid, such a spirit is rare; for this little favor, what handiwork fee? Just keep it for yourself. You're all the next batch of fresh talent—growing stronger is never wrong. Although you're very capable, you also need to......"

Another long-winded lecture, and Lin Xiu'er silently took out her earphones and put them on.

Tushan Jiu knew that although he was a bit talkative, he genuinely meant well for them.

So she politely and with a smile listened attentively to the end.

But after he finished speaking, Tushan Jiu bluntly insisted, "No, the handiwork fee must be paid. If Team Leader Qian won't accept it, then I'll just find someone else to help."

"..." Qian Hu thought, "How can this kid be so straightforward? All those previous words were wasted."

"Alright then, but I'll need a few days—I have to go home." Qian Hu agreed. Since she'd pay the fee to anyone else anyway, it might as well be his family helping, at least ensuring quality and variety.

Tushan Jiu: "Hmm, no rush—before Mid-Autumn is fine; I'll use it then."

Qian Hu held back from saying anything else, picked up that stone, and went to handle the matter.

When the office door closed, Lin Xiu'er finally took off her earphones and exhaled a stale breath: "Team Leader Qian really can talk—every time I work a case with him, I could listen to him go on forever."

Tushan Jiu smiled but didn't comment.

"Ah, by the way, I forgot to tell you a piece of gossip—have you heard? Recently, the Huai Cheng corpse-chaser family lost a body, and now they're pulling strings worldwide to find the missing corpse!"

Hearing that, Tushan Jiu's motion of drinking milk tea paused: "Which corpse-chaser's family?"

"Exactly, it's his family—they're an old-line corpse-chaser clan. This is the first time such a 'major accident' has happened. Apparently, the team is being led by their young sect master; corpse-chasers losing a body is practically a big joke in the trade. I bet the old master of the Hu family's beard is flying off in anger, hahaha."

Tushan Jiu also found it unbelievable: "Aren't there people both in front and behind, and they usually string the corpses together in a line to chase? How could they lose one?"

Corpse-chasers, as the name suggests, are people who drive away corpses.

They use witchcraft.

That is, they take the corpses of those who died violently far from home, use sorcery to summon their souls back, then suppress them with talismans, and drive them back to their hometowns to be handed over to their families for burial.

This ensures their corpses don't rot at all, looking just like freshly dead ones.

In this rapidly developing era, most people choose to use specialized hearses to transport corpses, so few hire corpse-chasers anymore.

But few does not mean none.

In the Xiangxi region, this folk custom is still preserved.

It is said that corpse-chasers have a saying of 'three to chase, three not to chase.'

They chase those who died violently, died unjustly, or died in battle.

They do not chase those who died of illness, old age, or suicide.

She has never dealt with corpse-chasers, but she does know a bit about them.

There are a few well-known corpse-chaser families, and the Hu family ranks first.

They're all in the corpse business, and the Hu family dominates, so other families naturally resent it.

Now everyone is laughing at the Hu family, so they're naturally anxious.

After all these years, it's still the first time I've heard of a corpse-chaser losing a corpse while chasing.

How exactly did the young master of the Hu family manage, by his own efforts, to cause such a huge joke?

"Who knows, but I reckon if they can't find it soon, they'll quickly come to you for help." Lin Xiu'er said firmly.

Tushan Jiu moved her fingers, nodded, and said, "You guessed right—they went to Yun Shi."

Lin Xiu'er spread her hands, looking as if to say, "As I expected."

Tushan Jiu didn't mind; any work is work, and as corpse-sellers, they do this kind of trade—who wouldn't want to earn a bit more?

Moreover, it's better if people from the Mysterious Gate owe them a favor—maybe someday they'll actually need it.

But for now, most of the Mysterious Gate still think she's on Yun Shi Mountain; after this, everyone will probably know she's settled in Nan Cheng.

That's fine—it saves them a wasted trip.

The two chatted a while longer, then Tushan Jiu left the office.

Every time she comes to the office, she has the driver drop her off and then drives to the exit to wait.

Everyone is curious, but the people hired by Xie Shiyu have all let her see them.

So she doesn't need to explain why she entered through the main gate but emerged from the far end of the city.

After following them for a long time, they naturally came to know some things.

Of course, to ordinary people, this also seems quite strange.

This place is near the university town in the city; last time she left from here and went straight to find Xie Jingzhou and Xie Jingting.

This time she also messaged Xie Jingting and Xie Jingzhou, but she wasn't looking for them—she was just asking if there were any good desserts around here.

Both of them today—lab work, going out to play—none of them are here.

She had nothing else to do, so she prepared to go for afternoon tea, eat some small cakes, and enjoy a leisurely afternoon—although she'd just had a cup of milk tea, it didn't matter.

Xie Jingting replied first, sending her several shop names along with their locations.

Soon after, Xie Jingzhou also sent her two.

Tushan Jiu picked one with a pleasing name and went to sit there for a while.

It was a good moment to think about who she should go notify to collect a debt.

She chose a seat by the window, scanned the code to order two small cakes and a cup of coconut sugar water.

After she finished ordering, she put down her phone, staring blankly at the crowd coming and going outside, many names flashing through her mind.

She has jade and gold; now she should also acquire a few real estate properties.

After selecting two names, she weighed her options like assigning troops and generals, then finally settled on that person.

The Guo family, Guo Liheng, chairman of Liheng Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.