Chapter 21 "Me?"

"Me?" Jiang Cheng's expression changed instantly. He looked at Du Moyu, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth or lying.

"That's right." Du Moyu nodded and explained softly, "The reason I said it was A Biao was to divert their attention. Also, you saved me, and I don't want to see you isolated. You're a good person."

Jiang Cheng understood the principle – shifting the blame. With Du Moyu's words, even if Yu Chengmu and the others, with their cunning minds, didn't fully understand, they would still harbor suspicion towards A Biao. This would sow seeds of distrust among them.

Jiang Cheng pondered for a moment, considering several reasons why Du Moyu might be deceiving him, such as increasing his sense of crisis to solidify their alliance...

But he didn't think they were plausible. This was no small matter, and he didn't believe Du Moyu would dare to play games on such a serious issue.

Du Moyu's statement immediately changed the way Chen Hao and Lei Mingyu looked at Jiang Cheng. When Fatty noticed this, he quickly vouched for Jiang Cheng, "Don't worry, he's human, not a ghost. We've been together the whole time. Ghosts haven't had a chance to swap him out!"

At that moment, Jiang Cheng wasn't concerned about them, because he suddenly remembered something. The first time the watchman saw him, he had also stared strangely at his face, as if... he had seen him somewhere before.

Chen Hao keenly noticed the change in Jiang Cheng. "Mr. Jiang, are you alright?"

He didn't directly ask what he was thinking, leaving room for both of them.

He couldn't see through Jiang Cheng, and even if he had thought of something, he might not choose to tell them.

As expected, Jiang Cheng looked at him upon hearing this. "I'm thinking about something, but I haven't figured it out yet. I'll tell you when I do."

"That would be for the best," Chen Hao said calmly.

"Tonight, your task is to prepare the bodies. How much do you know about this line of work?" Jiang Cheng asked Chen Hao, impressed by the man's intelligence.

Chen Hao smiled at Du Moyu. "The benefit of having a paranormal author around is that he knows a little about all sorts of odd and esoteric things. Du Moyu, repeat what you told us before."

"Oh, okay." Du Moyu began, "In the past, embalmers were also called corpse stitchers. It's a branch of the yin industry, with many rules."

"For example, the stitching must be done at night, and after the third watch. It's said that orthodox corpse stitchers not only stitch up the deceased's body but can also restore their three souls and seven spirits to their proper place. And souls fear yang energy, so this cannot be done during the day."

"Also, once the corpse stitcher makes the first stitch, no matter what happens during the stitching process, the body must be completely stitched up before dawn, or they will be plagued by misfortune."

Du Moyu explained, "This is because when you make the first stitch, you've implicitly made a contract with the deceased. If the deceased's body is still incomplete after dawn and the souls can't fully return, it will affect their reincarnation."

"Worse still, they could become wandering ghosts, clinging to the corpse stitcher, until one of them dies."

"When facing a body waiting to be stitched, the corpse stitcher must maintain a respectful heart. No matter what happens during the process, they must not laugh, but remain serious."

"It's also taboo to say the word 'stitch' in front of the body. The word 'mend' should be used instead."

"Before stitching the body, incense must be offered first, and it must be three sticks."

"Under normal circumstances, if the three sticks of incense burn safely to the end, it proves that the body agrees to let you stitch it up. But if the incense breaks or goes out..."

"That means the body is unhappy," Fatty couldn't help but interject. Although he and the doctor didn't have to go tonight, just hearing these taboos made the back of his neck cold.

Unexpectedly, Du Moyu shook his head, his expression unusually serious. "That's not the scariest thing. The scariest thing is when the incense burns into 'severed head incense'."

"Severed head incense?" Jiang Cheng was interested. He had heard of this before.

"Yes." Du Moyu whispered, "That's when two sticks are short and one is long."

Jiang Cheng nodded. This was similar to what he knew. People avoid three long and two short, and incense avoids two short and one long, both being ominous omens.

Seeing Fatty's face change, Du Moyu became even more excited. He loved telling stories, especially when he saw the other person scared out of their wits. He felt a great sense of accomplishment. "Brother Wang Fugui, don't be afraid just yet, there's more! Let me tell you about the corpse stitcher's three forbidden corpses and two major taboos!"

Fatty: "??!"

Du Moyu's mind was racing, his face slightly flushed. "The so-called three forbidden corpses refer to the three types of corpses that corpse stitchers will never touch."

"The first is pregnant women, one corpse, two lives, especially the unborn child in the womb, filled with resentment, absolutely cannot be touched."

"The second is fortune tellers, also known as yin-yang masters. Their bodies cannot be stitched either, because people in the yin-yang business reveal too many secrets of heaven, and generally have a hard time meeting a good end. Most of their souls are incomplete."

"The third is corpses who die on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, also known as the Ghost Festival. Such corpses cannot be touched either. On that day, the gates of hell are wide open, and it's hard to say whether the soul inside the corpse belongs to the deceased."

Fatty's face was pale as he listened, and Du Moyu became even more excited when he saw it. "There are also two major taboos, and these are even more important."

"The first major taboo is not to use thread to stitch up the deceased's lips."

"The second major taboo is the most important. Remember, never stitch the limbs of different corpses together, or you will befall a terrible disaster!"

"And about this second major taboo, there is also a terrifying saying." Du Moyu couldn't help but swallow. "Rumor has it that once the wrong limbs are stitched together, the corpse stitcher must personally cut off the corresponding part of their own body and give it to the corpse as compensation, otherwise they will definitely not live to see the next day."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Cheng stared into Du Moyu's eyes and suddenly asked, "How do you know so much?"

Du Moyu raised his head somewhat arrogantly and replied, "I'm a paranormal author, after all. Is there a problem with me knowing this? It's normal, right?"

Ignoring this, Jiang Cheng immediately turned to Chen Hao and said, "I think he's acting strange. Subdue him first."

Du Moyu: "???"

...

The night grew deep. Zhang Junyu was sleepy, his eyelids drooping, because he hadn't slept all night and had been busy all day.

Suddenly, a clapper sounded, startling him.

Yu Chengmu stood up and said in a low voice, "He's finally here."

By the time Jiang Cheng and Fatty arrived, the other three groups had already gathered. The watchman approached slowly, carrying a white lantern.

As the night wind blew, the flame inside the lantern flickered, as if it could go out at any moment.

Everyone felt a sense of desolation, like a dying lamp.

It seemed that after tonight, a few more names would be added to the book of life and death.