Chapter 77: The Lowest Depths
Mu Lichuan had to admit that the young man opposite him was quick, before the other party could even prepare, he had pulled them down in one swift move, leaving no room for recovery. As for the subsequent issue of "dragon energy," that would naturally be left to the Taoists to resolve.
"Indeed, but if it hadn’t been discovered, all the fortune on your body would have been stolen," Mu Lichuan retorted coolly. "Your father was implicated too, wasn’t he?"
The two of them were brothers. Without Mi Shen’s father, Mi Rong would never have had such smooth sailing all these years. This would have a major impact on the next generation.
"As long as a thorough investigation proves he had nothing to do with this, a minor influence is better than being completely framed." Decisiveness had always been Mi Shen’s principle when handling matters.
When he first learned that his uncle had been placing curses on him, he hadn’t believed it. After all, the man had concealed it too well, even Mi Shen himself hadn’t been able to see through his malicious intentions.
Mu Lichuan understood. Facing such an enemy, Mi Rong had no chance of turning the situation around. As for the hospital’s formation, without the endless stream of resentment and yang energy from patients, it could no longer function properly. Compared to before, it had weakened significantly. The master beside Mi Rong, upon realizing this, would surely withdraw immediately.
"Leave the rest to you and the masters from the cleaning company," Mi Shen said after glancing at the young man.
"Cleaning company? Masters?" Mu Lichuan was particularly interested in the latter part of that sentence. Wasn’t this guy the leading figure in opposing superstition? Since when had he established a cleaning company? At first, he thought it was for ordinary cleaning, but then he remembered the "masters"—those who dealt with unclean things.
"Yes. I’m formally inviting you to join. You’ll enjoy civil servant benefits, carry out missions when there’s work, and do as you please when there isn’t." Mi Shen’s expression was sincere.
"Civil servant benefits? Do you think cultivators grow on trees? Besides, Young Master, do you really think I lack money?" Mu Lichuan scoffed at the offer. Did this guy really believe such a petty incentive would sway him? Had he forgotten Mu Lichuan’s background?
"You don’t lack money, but you lack authority. If you want to deal with certain things, without government orders, you often can’t even enter the necessary locations." Mi Shen clearly understood the young man’s circumstances. "Right, Young Master Mu of Chuan City?"
Though he didn’t know how Mu Lichuan and his grandfather had escaped death, he had no intention of prying, as long as it didn’t threaten the current rulers.
"You—" Mu Lichuan’s face showed surprise, but then he relaxed. If the Young Master had no skills, he wouldn’t have earned the reputation of being the "King of Hell" in the flesh.
"You don’t have to join the cleaning company, but you’ll serve as a consultant. When they encounter something they can’t handle, you’ll step in," Mi Shen added.
Having witnessed Mu Lichuan’s strength firsthand, he knew the young man was far more capable than the others.
"Do I have a choice?" Mu Lichuan rolled his eyes unceremoniously. The man had already laid out the pros and cons, there was no room for refusal.
"No." Mi Shen’s smile was gentle, as if there was nothing unreasonable about his words.
Mu Lichuan stood up. "Fine. Notify me when you can’t clean up the mess yourselves."
Ren’ai Hospital had already been sealed. With Mi Shen around, there was no chance of it reopening. Besides, this place was no longer suitable to be a hospital—if it remained, it could easily become a gathering place for yin energy. In that case, the consequences wouldn’t just be illness, something far worse could happen.
Mi Shen didn’t stop Mu Lichuan from leaving. As for Gu Xiao, she was under protection for now. Once everything settled, she would be sent elsewhere to continue her studies, the capital was no longer a safe place for her.
All of Ren’ai Hospital’s past incidents were being investigated, and Mi Rong’s misdeeds were being exposed one by one. However, his elder brother, the next leader, was proven uninvolved. Though rumors swirled outside, insiders knew the truth. Once it came to light, no one could stop the Mi family’s rise, it was an unstoppable trend.
Mi Shen was publicly known as the leading figure against superstition - but secretly, he was also the head of the metaphysical world. Whenever something unexplainable happened in the capital, the "cleaning company" would be dispatched. This quickly boosted the company’s reputation, though only within certain circles. Ordinary people continued their lives unaffected, even as leadership changed hands.
After resting at home for two days, Mu Lichuan was informed that the team couldn’t descend past the elevator. Everything above the third floor had been dealt with, but whatever lurked in the basement was something they dared not provoke. Instinct told them it was beyond their capabilities.
Their skills weren’t advanced enough. One had tried taking the elevator down—only to be found dead, his head on the second floor and his feet on the third. The rest of his body was never recovered. The gruesome death made many reconsider their involvement.
Though their current situation was better than their previous, furtive existence—no longer forced to endure harsh conditions, they had also lost their freedom. Some missions had to be accepted regardless of their abilities, lest the situation escalate and cause panic among civilians.
"Shall we go take a look? Can’t we use the stairs to reach the basement?" During the day, Ren’ai Hospital’s inpatient building looked no different from any other hospital. But at night, everything changed.
The elderly cultivators exchanged glances, they hadn’t even considered taking the stairs.
"Sometimes, you need to think differently. If the elevator doesn’t work, take the stairs. Just because we’re cultivators doesn’t mean we’re not made of flesh and blood," Mu Lichuan explained calmly.
The members of the "Reformation Bureau" had initially doubted the young man’s capabilities, but out of respect for the Young Master, they kept their thoughts to themselves. Now, his unconventional approach made them wonder, was it because they were too old?
As night fell, Mu Lichuan set out lightly equipped, dragging Mi Shen along. The cultivators were speechless, they could never have gotten the Young Master to come themselves. During the earlier formation-breaking, they had struggled immensely. Fortunately, everything except the basement had been resolved.
"Let’s take the stairs." The basement should have been a parking garage, but there was also a morgue below. Whatever was causing trouble now was likely coming from there.
What could be in a morgue? Anyone with half a brain knew - corpses. If the souls had departed, what use were the bodies?
"By the decree of the Three Pure Ones—" Mu Lichuan didn’t intervene, watching as the others demonstrated their skills. Their methods resembled modern Taoism, likely inherited from ancient traditions - black dog blood still worked on spirits, and ox tears could let ordinary people see the unseen.
Mi Shen remained expressionless throughout, utterly unfazed, as if ghosts were nothing more than ants before him.
The cultivators admired the Young Master’s composure while placing their hopes on Mu Lichuan, what could this young man bring to the table?
"Such strong corpse energy!" A gray-robed elder exclaimed, his face pale with horror.
He knew about the cannibalism in the Ai Village, it had been caused by corpse poisoning. The state had quarantined and purged the village. To this day, it remained abandoned, shrouded in faint killing intent, with no one daring to approach.
"Corpse energy? Have the bodies in there reanimated?" Another elder frowned. "This won’t be easy to handle." None of them had experience dealing with reanimated corpses.
If corpses revived, they weren’t truly alive, more like zombies. But zombies had classifications, whereas these corpses likely had no intelligence, acting purely on instinct to kill, bite, and drink blood to sustain their existence.
"Whether they’ve reanimated or not, the intense corpse energy is definitely coming from the morgue. And the resentment, the yin energy is overwhelming." Mu Lichuan guessed that the "buses" outside the hospital had been transporting resentful spirits.
This connected to his earlier encounter with the Nine Sails Ghost Banner. The two were clearly linked.
By accumulating the resentment of dead spirits into the corpses, it was easy to reanimate them. Once they attacked, they’d be like undying soldiers, capable of turning the living into their tools.
"Seems you’ve figured it out too." Mu Lichuan glanced at Mi Shen.
Perhaps siphoning the nation’s fortune was only part of the plan. The master beside Mi Rong likely intended to use this hospital for his own ends.
With a loud crash, the morgue door burst open, unleashing a flood of yin energy. The elders paled, but Mu Lichuan and Mi Shen remained unaffected.
Mu Lichuan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had soul energy, a natural counter to yin energy. As for Mi Shen, the dragon energy around him repelled the darkness.
Yet even so, when Mu Lichuan saw the reanimated corpses, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
"Just how much hatred went into creating these things…?"
