In the living room, Sosia sat on the sofa, wiping her demon exorcism shotgun.
"You're saying that the graveyard is about to face danger, and you might die?"
Sun Yan nodded solemnly, "That's right. Although I don't fully understand what Bloody Sunday signifies, it's always best to be prepared. Before danger arrives, we must enhance our strength as much as possible."
"Alright, then what do you want me to do?"
Confronted with Sosia's question, Sun Yan took out a notebook from his pocket, where today's daily task was already noted.
——
Daily Task [Urban Legend of the Mississippi River]
Task Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆
Task Description: Residents near the Mississippi River claim that they've seen several floating corpses moving upstream multiple times, and everytime these corpses appear, something ominous occurs.
Task Requirements: Investigate the truth and bring back one of the special corpses
Task Reward: Graveyard member count +1, unlock the profession 'Corpse Collector' in the graveyard
——
"Take my car to the Mississippi River and investigate the local rumor about the upstream floating corpses. Try to bring one back; I have use for it."
Looking at the content of the daily task, Sun Yan said to Sosia.
If Sun Yan were alone, he would have to personally go for this task, but now with Sosia, the reliable member of the graveyard, Sun Yan could delegate the task and avoid being stretched too thin.
Ultimately, as long as the task requirements are met, the reward is attainable, and it doesn't matter who completes it.
"Alright." Sosia agreed without hesitation.
"Take Dahuang with you; its abilities are quite extraordinary and should be able to assist you."
Sun Yan pointed at Dahuang, who was sitting on the ground, drowsy, with eyes glazed, swaying side to side uncontrollably.
Being a vigorous rural dog at its prime age, it's time for Dahuang to venture out; Sun Yan naturally wouldn't let Dahuang idle away at the graveyard.
Currently, the graveyard is lacking personnel, even a dog must contribute its share of strength.
"What are you going to do?" Sosia curiously asked.
Sun Yan took out his phone and opened WeChat to show her, "Chairman Zhou Haidong from the Folklore Association just messaged me, saying he needs my help with something. He's probably already on his way to Gospel Town, so I need to wait for him at home."
...
A Mercedes GLE was driving down a country road, Zhou Haidong held the steering wheel, and beside him in the passenger seat sat a middle-aged man with gray-white hair and round-framed glasses.
"Is this new member Jackson trustworthy? This isn't an easy matter, you dare to ask him for help."
"He's capable, not only does he possess the Ying-Yang Eye, but he also has an exorcism magical artifact. I've personally seen him easily eliminate an Ancient Mantra, so you don't need to worry too much."
"It's not that I'm worried, the problem in that village is quite serious. I just don't want us to be unprepared and incapable of dealing with that when the time comes, and then have to urgently call other association members for help."
"You're underestimating Jackson; despite his youth, according to my knowledge, he's a spiritual consultant for the Shajiao District Police Station in America with a yearly salary, something you haven't achieved yet."
Hearing Zhou Haidong's teasing, the middle-aged man helplessly waved his hand, "Alright, we won't talk about such piercing topics. I concede to the young man's capability."
Once the Mercedes GLE reached Gospel Town, they drove all the way to the graveyard gate.
Looking at the graveyard, which they had never visited before, both Zhou Haidong and Zhao Chuan Yi wore expressions of curiosity.
They didn't quite understand why Jackson, such a young man, would choose to work in a rural and remote area like this.
Could it be a deep love for this profession?
"Jackson," Zhou Haidong walked into the graveyard and knocked on the main house's door.
Very soon, the door opened, and Sun Yan stepped out, warmly welcoming these two unexpected guests.
"Chairman Zhou, come in and have a seat. Who might this be?" Sun Yan politely asked.
"Zhao Chuan Yi, also a member of the Folklore Association. You might have seen him chatting in the group, selling peace talismans," Zhou Haidong casually explained, and upon entering the main house, he scrutinized the layout and décor of Sun Yan's home.
Very ordinary, with no attention to Feng Shui orientation nor Yin and Yang balance.
"Oh! So you're Mr. Zhao, a pleasure to meet you. I've seen you active in the group frequently; I didn't expect to meet you in person today." Sun Yan suddenly realized, quickly shaking hands with Zhao Chuan Yi.
His words weren't mere pleasantries; Zhao Chuan Yi was indeed quite talkative, being the most frequent speaker in the Folklore Association's group chat, known for his high level of engagement.
If WeChat had launched a Dragon King symbol for group chats like QQ, Zhao Chuan Yi would undoubtedly be the Dragon King daily.
Besides his talkative nature, the most distinct impression Sun Yan had of this middle-aged man was that he was a witch, proficient in talisman techniques, and his most renowned skill was the peace talisman.
Sun Yan had never encountered this before, so he was very curious.
"You're too kind." Zhao Chuan Yi laughed warmly.
After the two sat down, Sun Yan went to the kitchen to fetch two cups of water, which was the only drink besides the task reward of Inner Cleanse Herbal Tea he had, as he usually didn't brew anything to drink.
However, it was clear Zhou Haidong wasn't just here for a social visit today, so Sun Yan wasn't too concerned about it.
"Chairman Zhou, you mentioned on WeChat that you needed my help; is it something urgent?" Sun Yan sat opposite Zhou Haidong, curiously inquiring.
After sipping some plain water, Zhou Haidong calmly spoke, "Do you know about the 'Sending Corpse' ritual?"
"Sending Corpse?" Sun Yan quickly searched his mind for some recollection, and then had some impression, "Are you referring to the ritual held by local temples for someone who hanged themselves?"
"Precisely."
Zhou Haidong nodded, sighing deeply, "Recently, a village in San Francisco experienced a bizarre case where a Chinese man hung himself. According to tradition, the temple in Chinatown conducted a ritual fearing the heavy resentment from the deceased might seek a substitute for revenge. This ritual was led by an experienced Master of Yin and Yang from our Folklore Association.
However, unexpectedly, two days after the ritual, he mysteriously died in his home, and apart from him, several other temple personnel involved claimed to have encountered something strange and possibly dangerous."
Sun Yan rubbed his chin, analyzing, "This outcome suggests perhaps the sending corpse ritual wasn't successful."
"That's what I suspect too. The local temple sent a request to our Folklore Association, asking me to investigate the cause. Considering the nature of this incident, it requires someone deeply knowledgeable in exorcism practices to accompany me, so you were the first person that came to mind, hoping you would join me in checking this out. Should we encounter evil presences, the three of us can eliminate it."
Zhou Haidong sincerely proposed, "Of course, we won't expect you to help for free; all travel and accommodation expenses are on me, and we'll evenly split the commission from the temple among the three of us. What do you think?"
Sun Yan fell into contemplation, tapping unconsciously on the coffee table.
With the Ghost Torturing Stick destroyed in the battle against Andros, he now only had the method of divination through the General Sun Mask for exorcism.
Though Sun Yan was confident that with the power of General Sun, he was more than capable of dealing with evil spirits, no one would refuse additional skills in reserve.
Right now, he needed to undertake more tasks to gain another exorcism magical artifact similar to the Ghost Torturing Stick, which would be helpful for the approaching Bloody Sunday.
Feeling the vibration from the notebook in his pocket, Sun Yan decisively responded, "I'll take the job. When shall we depart?"
"As soon as possible."