Chapter 86: with translation of chapter title

86 The strongest?

Xiang Yichu glanced at the two of them, then announced his name: "I am the young sect master of the Xiang family, Xiang Yichu. Our Xiang family lost a corpse; I want to borrow a knife from you to divine the corpse's location."

Tushan Jiu is not one to waste words; she went straight to the point and said:

"The rules of the knife‑borrower: the weapon must be borrowed face‑to‑face. I am not in Yun Shi; I have already come to Nan Cheng. Come find me here."

Before Xiang Yichu came, his father told him, "This knife‑borrower must not be offended at all; he instructed him to be extremely polite."

Also, Xiang Qilong and Xiang Baihu standing nearby had looks of relief on their faces.

Xiang Yichu lowered his eyes, a hint of uncertainty flashing in his gaze.

He didn't know whether this knife‑borrower was really as divine as they said.

Some even said that Tushan Jiu was the strongest generation of the Tushan family.

The strongest?

But there was no choice; the corpse was his loss, and he had to personally come to borrow the knife.

"Alright, then may I ask where you are now? We'll set off for you right away."

"The Xie Family in Nan Cheng."

Xiang Yichu paused slightly, "The Xie Family in Nan Cheng?"

"That isn't the richest family in Nan Cheng, is it? Does this knife‑borrower have some connection with them?"

"Okay, I got it." Xiang Yichu replied.

After the call ended, Xiang Yichu thought for a moment, still feeling unwilling, and asked the two beside him: "Uncle Long, Uncle Hu, what places have we not yet searched?"

The two said several place names: "Xin Cheng, Hu Cheng, Li Cheng, Nan Cheng."

Xiang Yichu opened his phone again, pulled up the map, observed for a while, pursed his lips, and said: "I think only these four cities remain, and they lie on the same line; why don't we just search them one after another?"

On the left, the tall, beard‑streaked Xiang Qilong wondered: "Why? We've already contacted the knife‑borrower; this isn't just taking off pants......"

Xiang Yichu looked at him.

The thin, tall man on the right immediately stepped forward, clapped a hand over his mouth, and whispered in his ear: "Ah Long, shut up; whatever the young sect master says goes."

Xiang Baihu turned, smiled at Xiang Yichu, and said: "We'll follow the young sect master's lead; then I'll go book tickets now—are we leaving today?"

Xiang Yichu expressionlessly nodded, "Book the earliest flight; we're heading to the airport now."

Having said that, Xiang Yichu turned and went inside to pack his things.

Because they had come on short notice, when they arrived yesterday it was already dark, so they could only stay at a villager's house.

This morning they went up the mountain, only to find that the Tushan family's residence was empty.

They went back down the mountain, then managed to get her phone number, and only then were they able to make contact.

Xiang Qilong bumped Xiang Baihu, who was covering his mouth, with his shoulder and said, "Let go!"

The moment Xiang Baihu let go, he couldn't help asking, "Why won't you let me speak? The young sect master's comment is just like taking off one's pants to fart—crude but reasonable."

Xiang Baihu gave him a white-eyed look:

"You're an idiot; our young sect master is the Xiang family's genius corpse‑chaser. Losing this corpse has dealt him a major blow."

"He's so stubborn and proud that agreeing to have the sect master seek the knife‑borrower for divination is already his limit, yet you keep chattering on with no sense of propriety."

"I'm telling you, if the young sect master loses evaluation points from the Underworld because of this, he'll surely become despondent—so keep your mouth shut!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Qilong suddenly understood: "Yeah, my lousy mouth—our young master, since reaching the eligible age last year and signing up for the Underworld Civil Servant assessment, scored full marks in just one year, outscoring second place by twenty points, basically a crushing landslide."

Although this year's assessment system has changed, his steady first‑place performance guarantees he'll have no trouble passing the civil service exam.

But if he really loses points over this, it would be a loss not worth the gain.

Xiang Baihu nodded in agreement: "Yeah, mainly our young master's talent stands out—who else among corpse‑chasers can draw talismans and catch ghosts? Our young master is only a bit weak in divination; the rest of his spellwork he knows inside out, so calling him an occult genius is no exaggeration."

Xiang Qilong put his hands on his hips, face full of pride, and shouted loudly: "Our young master is simply the strongest—hehe, just ask, who else is there!"

Xiang Baihu was startled by his sudden outburst.

People passing by outside the courtyard also turned to look at them, with expressions as if they were looking at fools.

He helplessly covered his face, then quickly moved two meters away from Xiang Qilong.

Can he choose not to know him?

He's quite old—really embarrassing!

Actually, losing the corpse this time really isn't the young master's fault.

It's clearly the problem of that corpse‑inn; they were lucky they didn't sleep too soundly, otherwise they might have ended up having to chase themselves!

When corpse‑chasers arrive at the corpse‑inn, the bodies are usually placed leaning against the wall.

As it happened, the wall of that corpse‑inn, old and dilapidated, collapsed, and the talismans on the corpse fell off.

Then, when they came out and dragged the body out, a check revealed that one male corpse was missing.

We don't know if that corpse was a 'flying‑leg' type, but in the end they couldn't find it no matter how they searched.

Xiang Baihu collected his thoughts, took out his phone, and went to book tickets.

There's no helping it; their young master, at heart, is just too obsessed with winning and losing.

Who knows whether this is a good thing or a bad thing; after all, he knows deep down that in this world there are always people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens.

In the evening, after dinner, Tushan Jiu returned to her bedroom.

A stick of soul‑summoning incense lit, and she formed hand signs and chanted the incantation.

Not long after, the incense smoke swayed twice, and a 'person' appeared in the bedroom.

Upon seeing the visitor, Tushan Jiu recognized her father, Tushan Sheng, and asked: "Dad? Why are you here? Where's Grandfather?"

Tushan Sheng tapped her head and said: "All you ever think about is Grandfather; have you forgotten your father, me?"

"Hehe, no, no—I'm not trying to delay you from helping Mom with work, by the way. A few days ago I actually wiped Mom's bottom; tell her not to be forgetful, lest she forget to give someone the Meng Po soup."

Tushan Sheng blinked in surprise: "Ah? There's also this?"

Yeah, what a coincidence—I just happened to bump into them. But it's fine, I've already taken care of it.

He pulled over a chair, wearing a full suit of armor, and Tushan Sheng sat down boldly.

The armor clanged, and Tushan Jiu looked disgusted. "No, isn't the Underworld modernized now? Why are you still wearing armor?"

Tushan Sheng spread his hands and shook his head helplessly.

Other departments have modernized, but the Nether Troops Department can't—its image has been set since ancient times, can't be changed lightly; the higher-ups say they want to preserve historical culture, so they chose the Nether Troops Department. As a junior general, what can I do?

Tushan Jiu: "......"

Thinking of her purpose for summoning someone today, she leaned forward and asked Tushan Sheng: "Dad, why did those 'monkeys' run up to the mortal realm?"