Shen Shuzhen's attitude towards Yan Shouyi had improved. Hearing Yan Shouyi speak up for Xu Qian, she said,
"Let Xu Qian come in."
"Yes."
The person who had come to announce immediately retreated to call Xu Qian. Meanwhile, Shen Shuzhen introduced the two middle-aged men beside her:
"Yan Shouyi, these two are my husband's disciples, Master Ying Jiu, a makeup artist, and Foreman Duan Mu, an incinerator."
Ying Jiu was the middle-aged man with heavy white makeup, and Duan Mu was the man in work clothes with stubble.
Even without Shen Shuzhen's introduction, Yan Shouyi had some idea of their identities, as their attire already indicated a lot.
Shen Shuzhen continued, "Ying Jiu, Duan Mu, I once owed the Yan family a favor. Today, Yan Shouyi beat Xiao Yu and trespassed into the crematorium. This matter is now closed. No one is to hold grudges, understand?"
With Shen Shuzhen's personal decree, who would dare disobey? Although the two had no good feelings towards Yan Shouyi before, they nodded and accepted the order.
Cui Yu, however, was a bit depressed.
So, it turns out you're all family, so you're not going to hold grudges, but I took a beating for nothing!
At this moment, Cui Yu was still very unconvinced by Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng. After all, they were only a few years older than Cui Yu, yet they always acted like adults lecturing him, and the slap he received earlier had been quite resounding…
Xu Qian soon walked in. His first instinct was not to notice Yan Shouyi and the others. He seemed to be in a hurry to finish speaking and leave:
"Grandma Shen, I have two things to tell you. The first is, I met a group of people yesterday, and they wanted to see you… Yan Shouyi?! What are you guys doing here?!"
Xu Qian spoke extremely fast, and only when he was almost done did he notice Yan Shouyi and the others were also present.
In an instant, Xu Qian's eyes almost popped out.
"Hi, surprised, aren't you?" Long Feicheng waved and greeted with a smile.
"What's going on here?" Xu Qian was utterly bewildered.
Yan Shouyi gave an awkward smile, "Coincidence."
"Brother Xu, you know these two?" Cui Yu asked, astonished.
He had a very good relationship with Xu Qian and had always admired Xu Qian the most. It was just a pity that Xu Qian rarely came to the crematorium, so he had few opportunities to interact with him.
Now, thinking that his Brother Xu also knew Yan Shouyi, Cui Yu felt even more disheartened.
Xu Qian finally remembered his purpose for coming and quickly explained, "Grandma Shen, I only met Brother Yan last night."
Shen Shuzhen asked, "Are you here to introduce him?"
"This… is only one of the matters," Xu Qian said awkwardly. "Last night, while I was on my night watch in the old city of Qiantang, I encountered a female ghost from the Yu family attempting to harm ordinary people. I intervened and happened to run into Brother Yan and his group. Brother Yan and his group, not knowing the situation in Qiantang, struck and scattered the soul of that female ghost…"
Duan Mu exclaimed, "A ghost from the Yu family died. I heard the Yu family's Ghost King was furious. So, you guys were responsible for this?!"
Xu Qian quickly said, "They are outsiders and don't know the rules here."
Ying Jiu shook his head and said with disappointment, like a teacher lamenting a student's lack of progress,
"Xu Qian, we've been advising you for a long time not to meddle in Qiantang's affairs. You know everyone's current predicament. The Yu family's Ghost King is coveting us. If they harm ordinary people, we don't even dare to intervene casually. Why must you disobey and get involved in this mess?"
Xu Qian frowned, his complexion not as good as before, "This is how my master taught me."
"But your master has been missing for a long time, why are you still adhering to his broken rules?" Foreman Duan Mu asked.
"Although my master is missing, his teachings from so many years are still present."
"You and your master are alike in character, never listening to advice!"
"My master is not wrong, why should I be persuaded otherwise?"
"Sigh! I can't explain it to you!"
Judging by the tone of both sides, they were on the verge of arguing. Only now did Yan Shouyi understand why Xu Qian did not visit Shen Shuzhen often.
Xu Qian's and Shen Shuzhen's philosophies were completely different.
Now, Shen Shuzhen and the others only wanted to protect themselves and no longer cared about the lives of ordinary people. If sacrificing a few ordinary people could prevent the Yu family from causing further trouble, they would certainly turn a blind eye.
But Xu Qian was different. Although Xu Qian was close to Shen Shuzhen and the others, he never stayed out of it. He even insisted on patrolling the streets and alleys of Qiantang, driving away ghosts every night. Even if he saw a ghost from the Yu family, he would intervene and drive them away.
Perhaps Shen Shuzhen and the others were once like the current Xu Qian, but the reality now was that they had embarked on completely different paths.
Shen Shuzhen, who had not spoken, had already placed her hand on her forehead, starting to get a headache.
Cui Yu quickly said, "Stop arguing for now, Great-Grandmother is getting a headache again!"
Xu Qian immediately quieted down.
Shen Shuzhen, holding her forehead, said, "The Yu family has provoked us repeatedly. I'm afraid they've been looking for an excuse to attack us for a long time. Whether you killed that little ghost or not, they would have found a reason sooner or later."
Cui Yu also said, "The Yu family's wicked spirits have become increasingly presumptuous today. They are picky about the corpses and residual souls we provide, and they always complain it's not enough."
Seeing Shen Shuzhen and the others looking troubled, Yan Shouyi began to understand Shen Shuzhen's predicament.
He stepped forward and said, "Senior Shen, one man's actions are his own responsibility. If you don't wish to go to war with the Ghost King, hand me over, and I will deal with them!"
Cui Yu quickly chimed in, "That's right, that's right! Just hand them over! Who told them to meddle in other people's business?"
"Hey, you brat…" Long Feicheng shot Cui Yu the middle finger. This kid was seeking personal revenge!
Just as Shen Shuzhen was silently contemplating, the person who had announced earlier rushed in again in a panic:
"Shen, Grandma Shen! Something terrible has happened!"
"What happened?" Ying Jiu asked.
The person replied, "The Yu family… the Yu family and the Zhou family's Ghost Kings have come looking for us!"
"Two Ghost Kings have come simultaneously?" Ying Jiu and the others' faces changed drastically, as they seemed to have guessed their purpose.
Everyone looked at Shen Shuzhen in unison.
Shen Shuzhen said coldly, "Lock Yan Shouyi and his accomplices, as well as Xu Qian, here. They are not allowed to go anywhere!"
Xu Qian's face changed, "Grandma Shen, you…"
"Enough nonsense!"
Shen Shuzhen rolled up her sleeves and walked out of the room. Ying Jiu and Duan Mu blocked Yan Shouyi's path and said coldly, "Forgive us."
Long Feicheng couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, this place is truly a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. We wasted half a day's effort for nothing!"
Xu Qian said guiltily, "It's all my fault for not explaining things clearly last night. Now I've implicated you both."
Yan Shouyi appeared very calm and composed. He gave up resisting directly, "The matter has only just begun. Don't be in a hurry to apologize."
"How can the situation possibly be reversed?" Cui Yu said with a grin. "My Great-Grandmother will definitely arrest you two and hand you over to the Yu family's Ghost King as compensation!"
"Pah! You are gloating over others' misfortune!" Long Feicheng said fiercely. "You brat, just you wait. If we are truly sent away, we'll beat you up first!"
Cui Yu, accustomed to being afraid of Long Feicheng, took a few steps back reflexively. Then he came to his senses, realizing that Long Feicheng was just putting on a show, and therefore, he no longer paid attention to him, swaggering out the door.
Seeing this, Xu Qian could only sigh deeply, "Xiao Yu wasn't like this before."
Yan Shouyi said faintly, "He's quite good now."
"Good? How is he good?" Xu Qian disagreed with Yan Shouyi's statement and was ready to retort.
Unexpectedly, Yan Shouyi continued, "I believe after Senior Shen sees Cui Yu's demeanor just now, she will know what step to take next."
Xu Qian was stunned for a moment, then began to ponder the meaning of his words. His gaze towards Yan Shouyi gradually became filled with immense admiration.