Running A Cemetery in North America

"Any discoveries?"

Following the Centipede Bee, they arrived at a mountain stream. Without the Bee's guidance, Sun Yan would never have found this place on his own.

Shi Langfei stood beneath a massive rock in the gorge, where there was a triangular entrance beside the rock. It was dark inside, the depth unknown.

"Lin Wan must have been captured and brought here. There's no mistake. My Centipede Bee has picked up her pheromones here."

Shi Langfei pointed cautiously at the cave entrance, speaking apprehensively.

"Did you send the Centipede Bee inside to explore?" Sun Yan asked.

"I did, but a strange thing happened: once inside, they experienced strong resistance and wouldn't follow my commands. I couldn't make them do much more, so Sun Yan, if you're going in to find Lin Wan, it will have to be you." Shi Langfei said, looking troubled.

"No problem, I'll go take a look."

Sun Yan nodded and immediately walked into the cave, wielding the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade.

The interior was pitch-black, but to his Celestial Eye, everything was as clear as day. Sun Yan ventured deep into the cave and soon discovered several bird carcasses on the ground.

All the birds had been plucked, gutted, with bite marks left on their bones, resembling the means of some wild beast feasting.

As he ventured deeper, the entrance was no longer visible, and Sun Yan keenly heard some commotion in the distance.

As he approached, he caught the sound of whispering.

"You don't know, none of you know. I took you for your own good. Do you know what kind of people are in that village? Lunatics, they're all mad. They've completely lost it. You didn't notice a thing. If I hadn't saved you, you'd be dead by now."

"Miss, I'm telling you, I'm not a bad person. You have to believe me. If I were bad, would I even let you stay alive? I just want to tell you to stay far away from Chai Family Village, or you'll be doomed."

"Who are you? You brought me here, and you think I would believe you?"

"Miss, this is for your own good. You don't know what will happen if you stay in that village. You'll go mad."

Sun Yan gradually reached the source of the voice, seeing Lin Wan sitting on a rock with a bald, frail man waving his hands anxiously in front of her.

The man's expression was frantic, drooling from his mouth, trying desperately to change Lin Wan's impression of him, but the more he spoke, the more chaotic he became.

In his agitation, he instinctively reached for Lin Wan's shoulder. Lin Wan, terrified, retreated, only to hit the rock wall behind her. As the man's hand was about to touch her, a sudden cold gleam flashed.

The startled man quickly drew back, angrily shouting: "Who are you? How did you get here?"

"Sun Yan!"

Seeing Sun Yan appear, Lin Wan quickly called out in surprise, feeling much more at ease.

All of them knew of Sun Yan's formidable skills. With his intervention, there was no longer any need to worry about danger.

"What do you know about Chai Family Village? Tell me, I'm very interested."

Sun Yan rested the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade on the ground, looking at the mysterious man and asking calmly.

"Leave, you must leave that village. You don't know what those guys believe in. They're truly insane."

The man clutched his head, his pupils trembling as he spoke: "My wife and child were killed, supposedly as offerings to the Immortal. If you stay there any longer, you'll end up just like them. It's terrifying, utterly terrifying."

As he spoke, tears welled up uncontrollably in his eyes, dripping like beads onto the ground.

He covered his face with his hands, breaking down into sobs, appearing to be in a deeply distressed state.

Sun Yan and Lin Wan exchanged a glance, realizing that this man might know a lot about Chai Family Village. He could very well be the key to completing their mission.

Sun Yan sheathed the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, allowing the man to vent his emotions. Once the man had calmed down, Sun Yan stepped forward and helped him up.

"Tell us about Chai Family Village, everything you know. Maybe we can help avenge your wife and child." Sun Yan said earnestly.

The man sat slumped on the ground, holding his head in anguish: "It was half a year ago when I brought my wife and child to Chai Family Village. Our family has always been in the business of trading goods, traveling across regions and selling commodities from one place to another, profiting off the margins.

I heard that Chai Family Village had a kind of pearl that was very popular. The merchants of the northern noble families were particularly fond of southern pearls, so I brought my family here to purchase them.

But pearls required going out to sea for harvesting, and the yield wasn't guaranteed. To make more money, I decided to stay in Chai Family Village. But over time, I began to notice that something was off about the village.

Every half-month at midnight, a group would set sail, and no one knew where they went. But each time they did, someone would go missing from the villages near Chai Family Village. People said it was the work of Japanese pirates, but soon enough, the disappearances shifted to Chai Family Village.

Many foreigners in Chai Family Village began disappearing. By the time I realized it, my wife and child had already... something had happened to them."

The man punched the ground mercilessly, his knuckles breaking open, blood oozing out.

"I regret it. I should have left earlier. I should never have kept my wife and child there. They suffered because of me. It's my fault for failing as a husband and a father."

The man sobbed hysterically, his words becoming somewhat incoherent. But Sun Yan and Lin Wan gleaned useful information from his account.

"What do you think?" Lin Wan asked Sun Yan.

"At first, we thought the fishermen's disappearance at Chai Family Village may have been due to something from the depths of the East Sea, but now it seems the real issue is with the village itself—someone might be killing those fishermen."

Sun Yan said gravely: "This is a crucial clue. Let's get out of here and inform Shi Langfei and Gu Xing, then discuss the next steps."

"Alright." Lin Wan nodded in agreement, "What about this man?"

"Take him with us. He seems like a victim. Maybe he should know what's really going on behind Chai Family Village."

...

When Sun Yan emerged from the cave with Lin Wan and the mysterious man, Shi Langfei, who had been waiting outside, excitedly approached them.

"Lin Wan, you're safe. That's great. Is this the guy who took you?"

Shi Langfei glared at the mysterious man menacingly. If it weren't for Lin Wan holding him back, he'd have charged forward to beat the man.

Lin Wan quickly explained the mysterious man's situation to Shi Langfei, who then calmed down.

At that moment, Sun Yan noticed that even after so much time had passed, only Shi Langfei was outside the cave. Gu Xing was nowhere in sight, prompting him to ask in confusion: "Where is Gu Xing? Didn't you call him over?"