Corpse Recovery Diver

Li Zhiyuan nodded, "It's necessary."

The method of obtaining it was a bit off. Hiring "skilled people" to perform rituals for exorcism and peace on construction sites isn't unusual, but you really can't write this expenditure down in black and white, and no one dares to.

Moreover, if such a matter isn't clarified beforehand, it becomes even more difficult to resolve afterward.

The old man underestimated the situation at first.

Li Zhiyuan: "If what you say is true, then in terms of compensation, I will help you fight for it."

The old man waved his hand: "It's not just about the compensation funds. There's a problem with that place. If the problem isn't solved and the construction continues, more incidents will occur. Even if that hydroelectric station is finally built, it'll only trigger a greater disaster."

Li Zhiyuan: "Is this also the reason you came to stop the construction?"

The old man: "Half and half. The compensation is necessary, but I'm also afraid this problem will grow. If you build the hydroelectric station, you can just leave afterward. Any disasters that happen there due to it will have to be borne by us locals.

I'm not inflexible or unreasonable, but some problems, if not resolved properly, will indeed continue to cause deaths."

Li Zhiyuan: "Can you describe the problem in more detail?"

The old man stood up, "Let me take you to meet someone."

Under the guidance of Mr. Wen, Li Zhiyuan and Run Sheng walked into another household in the village.

At the door, sat an old couple. Upon seeing outsiders, they immediately widened their eyes, filled with anger.

Mr. Wen rebuked them in the local dialect, and only then did the old couple turn their heads away, no longer obstructing them.

As they walked inside and pushed open a room, the room appeared somewhat small, its wooden walls seemingly newly added.

Inside, there was a large water jar, in which a young man was soaking.

The young man looked listless. When he heard the sound, he opened his eyes, but his eyes were cloudy, clearly lacking much self-awareness.

Soaking in the jar were herbs, and a few snakes swam within.

However, on the outside of the jar, dense gray fungal hairs had grown.

"I only have three disciples. He was the only one who survived that night, and now he can barely maintain this state."

Li Zhiyuan asked, "Can he speak now?"

"Occasionally, he becomes lucid and mutters nonsense." The old man reached into the water jar, grabbed a snake, and pressed his thumb against its belly.

The cloudiness in the young man's eyes slightly receded, and his body began to thrash around in the jar, while he shouted continuously, his expression alternating between terror and sycophancy.

Whatever he was saying, Li Zhiyuan couldn't understand, but one sound repeated continuously—Old Transgender.

The old man translated: "He's begging, asking her not to eat him; he also said his brother was clean, so after eating his brother, she shouldn't eat him."

Li Zhiyuan asked, "The old one he's shouting about..."

The young man noticed the old man's expression change and immediately rephrased his question, "You can't even say the name?"

The old man nodded, "If you say it, she can hear it and will come after you."

After saying this, the old man reached out and removed a side of the wall.

It turns out, the reason the room appeared smaller when they opened the door earlier is that an additional layer of wooden planks had been added around the room, including the floor and ceiling.

Once these new planks were removed, claw marks were visible all over the original walls of the room.

She had been here more than once, observing this prey.

She intentionally didn't kill him, purposefully letting him live a life worse than death, even intentionally leaving marks of her presence.

Ordinary evil spirits don't behave so brazenly. They rarely appear in populated areas, especially in a village with obviously competent people.

The old man led Li Zhiyuan and Run Sheng out of the house.

Li Zhiyuan knew it was probably useless to say, but he still had to voice it:

"I might have a way to restore him to normal."

"Thank you." The old man nodded, "But can you save our entire village?"

Li Zhiyuan knew this would be the response.

The old man sighed and said, "This is her warning. On the night the person was rescued, she left marks in the house."

Li Zhiyuan: "I will try to deal with her."

The old man: "I won't help you."

Li Zhiyuan: "I understand, but can you give me a little more information?"

The old man hesitated briefly but eventually nodded.

He led Li Zhiyuan back to his own house and sat down in the place where they had previously chatted.

The old man instructed his granddaughter to fetch paper and a pen and wrote a few words on it:

Tooth-changing woman.

Xiong Gapo.

Old Transgender.

The old man covered the words with his hand, pushed the paper in front of the young man for fleeting inspection, and then immediately folded and burned it afterward.

"In different places, she has different names. Her story is spread throughout Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

When I was very young, my grandfather told me her story, and when my sister was young, I also told her.

But I really didn't expect her to actually appear near my home."

At this point, the old man gave a bitter smile.

This was originally a scary story used by elders to scare children into behaving and sleeping early.

Just like "if you don't behave, we'll call the police officer to take you away."

Seeing the children frightened, the adults would find it amusing.

However, upon discovering that the background of this horror story was right at their doorstep, they could no longer laugh.

Li Zhiyuan also appeared slightly solemn.

An evil spirit that could become a tale spread across a vast region denotes two traits: one, a long history; and two, it was once very active.