Corpse Recovery Diver

In the early morning, in the courtyard of the tulou, Run Sheng was cooking breakfast.

The breakfast was simple, throwing handfuls of noodles into the pot first, then adding some vegetables and preserved meat, and that was it.

Ever since coming here, everyone's three meals a day were basically a mix of staple foods cooked together, mainly for convenience.

There was no other choice; out of a house full of men, Run Sheng was the best cook, and though the only woman was willing to help, no one dared to let her near the pot.

"Did you add salt?" Yin Meng asked.

Run Sheng: "I did."

"Oh, okay." Yin Meng put the small spoon back into the salt jar and then placed the jar on the ground.

Run Sheng bent down, picked up the salt jar, and added several more spoonfuls of salt into the pot.

Yin Meng emphasized, "I know this is salt."

Run Sheng emphasized, "I know this is for everyone to eat."

Yin Meng was used to it, sat to the side, and opened her hand. A black Gu worm, like a cockroach, crawled out from her sleeve and into her palm.

As Yin Meng's palm moved and her fingers changed, the Gu worm climbed like a mountaineer, constantly advancing and climbing.

Yin Meng was having a great time playing.

The tulou door was pushed open, and Xue Liangliang led in two people.

One was Cui Hao, the other was Li Ren.

Xue Liangliang had called them down from a dilapidated temple in the mountains.

Li Ren's leg injury, although not completely healed, allowed him to walk with a wooden stick.

The two looked disheveled, with stubbly beards, their arms and legs thinner, but despite their weight loss, they seemed more energetic.

However, their eyes still flickered with fear and caution, clearly showing that their ghost encounter had left a deep psychological impact.

Yin Meng curiously asked Xue Liangliang, "How did you get them to come down?"

Xue Liangliang sat down and replied, "I told them that the construction team would be back in the morning, and if they didn't come down, their absenteeism couldn't be hidden and they'd be fired by the company. So, they came down."

Yin Meng felt like laughing but held it in, continuing to play with the Gu worm in her hand.

Perhaps the hardship in the mountains was too much for them; or perhaps the fear of being fired outweighed their fear of ghosts.

In any case, they accepted their fate.

After washing, grooming, and shaving, the two changed into clean clothes.

When the construction team arrived, seeing their former colleagues now, everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy.

Even the highest-ranking leader began to reflect on whether he had been too harsh, as these two people just had unlikable personalities, but didn't deserve this.

Xue Liangliang kept their absenteeism a secret.

He believed that under such circumstances, it was natural for ordinary people to run away in fear.

Next came the formal work handover and integration.

Actually, there were no technical difficulties, mainly things inappropriate to speak of openly.

Eventually, during a small closed-door meeting, Xue Liangliang patted his chest and guaranteed that he had invited a highly virtuous monk from Guiyang during the New Year to perform a ritual here.

Although everyone still felt a bit uneasy, as they worked and found no inexplicable surprises, they naturally began to accept it.

Like Cui Hao and Li Ren, who slowly, as they interacted with villagers and coworkers, started to believe that they hadn't actually seen ghosts, but instead had consumed poisonous mushrooms that caused severe hallucinations on that day.

Li Zhiyuan, accompanied by Tan Wenbin and Xue Liangliang, wearing safety helmets, also joined in the work.

Having studied this, it was considered a rare internship opportunity, and they had to get on with it.

Watching the previously stagnant construction site change over time, there was indeed a sense of accomplishment.

However, Li Zhiyuan generally stayed with Xue Liangliang, holding blueprints; Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou were more frontline.

The village, due to the return of the construction team, became lively again.

Many people who ran businesses supporting construction sites appeared one after another, like those offering site dining services, who often understood the progress of construction better than ordinary workers.

Once the project here was completed, they would look for the next target, as there was little competition in this line of work, stable patronage, and despite being a bit arduous and requiring frequent travel, the income was quite considerable.

The residential building next to the tulou was rented out by two sisters who set up a sign for "Massage, Cupping" at the door, and their business was bustling.

Many workers would sneak out for a massage halfway through their shift; otherwise, they would have to queue in the evening after work.

After such a stable period, Xue Liangliang began to prepare to leave, as his task was to assist technically and he didn't need to stay until the project ended.

After discussions with the head of the construction unit, they set the departure date, two days later.

Everyone started making their final preparations to leave, as there were indeed things to be done.

Wen Xiushan, supported by his apprentice Acai, came to the tulou to ask Li Zhiyuan to visit the Miao village and check on Ah Mei's situation.

Li Zhiyuan then went with Lin Shuyou.

That night at the village banquet, Li Zhiyuan already realized that the Ah Mei who had been staring at him was fake.

But in that setting, it was inconvenient to expose the fake Ah Mei's identity, as they still had to go to Old Transgender's lair next, and there was no need to alert the enemy.

Afterward, he didn't inquire about the real Ah Mei's situation at the Miao village.

Because there were only two possibilities:

Either the real Ah Mei was fine, or the real Ah Mei had already been harmed.

Regardless of which possibility, he saw no need to further inquire.

But it proved that sometimes you cannot view the world too rationally, especially when it comes to people.