“*Shuipiaozi* (water drifter)?” the fair-skinned man asked in a low voice, his face showing confusion.

The old man looked at him in surprise. “What? Isn’t that what you all call them, masters? Those… those floating corpses in the water?”

After receiving a stern glare from one of his own, the fair-skinned man didn't dare speak. Jiang Cheng guessed this was likely a newcomer, who had at most only participated in one mission. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a basic mistake.

Hearing this, the man leading the way also explained, “Masters, that river not far from our village is really… alas, I really don’t know how to tell you. In the past few days, several more *shuipiaozi* have appeared, all from our village.”

“If you know it’s ominous, then you should stay away from that river,” a short, stocky middle-aged man replied cautiously.

“Oh, you say that, but do you think we don’t know? But… but it’s no use!” The man grew anxious, slapping his thigh hard, his face turning fierce. “Those who drowned hadn’t even been near the river. Everyone in our village stays far away from it, but it’s no use. They still die. One moment they’re fine, tucked in bed before blowing out the candle at night, and the next… the next they’re gone! How can you defend against that? Then, a few days later, they’re found in the river, floating on the water!”

“Could they have been killed first, then thrown into the river?”

“No! Absolutely not!” the man insisted. “Masters, some people in our village saw with their own eyes that the corpses floated up from the bottom of the river, covered in mud and sand!”

“Yes, we can confirm this. The corpses did float up from the bottom of the river. There’s no doubt about it!” The old man became emotional as he spoke, starting to cough violently.

At this moment, a sallow-faced woman hiding not far away spoke softly, “These people were taken by the River Goddess to be married, so they floated up from the bottom of the river.”

Hearing this, the old man and the man’s faces changed. The old man glared at the woman, trembling, pointing at her with his cane, unable to utter a word.

Clearly, he was furious.

The man was even more direct, rushing over in a few strides and slapping her across the face. “You long-tongued woman, what nonsense are you spouting! River Goddess getting married? If you dare say another word, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

The slap reddened the woman’s cheek, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. But the woman seemed to feel no pain, sneering before lowering her head and saying nothing more.

Seeming to feel he had lost face in front of the guests, the old man put away his fierce attitude and became even more respectful towards Jiang Cheng and the others. The man leading the way signaled to the others to take the woman away, not wanting her to stay there and be an eyesore.

“Masters, you all possess true skills. Our village is counting on you,” the old man said in a low voice, his attitude very cooperative. “As long as you can help us solve this strange matter, we will give you the agreed-upon reward, not a penny less!”

“The reward is negotiable,” Jiang Cheng said, taking the teacup the old man offered and taking a small sip before replacing the lid. “But there’s one thing we need to clarify first: what exactly is going on in that river?”

“We must go to that river and see for ourselves. Sitting here, we can’t see anything, and we can’t be sure if what you’re saying matches reality.” The old man with the goatee narrowed his eyes, looking at the old man with interest before shifting his gaze to the man leading the way.

The two of them felt uncomfortable under this gaze. The old man cleared his throat and laughed awkwardly. “Master, what are you saying? We wouldn’t deceive you about our own village’s affairs. Besides… besides, what good would it do us to deceive you?”

“Yes, yes, we’re relying on you masters to help us solve the problems in our village.” The old man made a gesture to offer tea again, but this time, the goatee-wearing old man stopped him.

Seeing this, the man changed the subject, directing it towards Jiang Cheng, who seemed easier to talk to, flattering him. “Master, I’ve heard that people like you have supernatural powers, with very strong *bazi* (astrological birth chart). I heard that even little ghosts avoid you.”

Jiang Cheng had been sitting on by the ghost bride just now, and the coldness hadn’t completely dissipated. Hearing this, Jiang Cheng felt even colder, as if he had lost all feeling in his lower body.

“That’s just outsiders giving us face.” Not knowing his current identity, Jiang Cheng didn’t dare to take it too far.

However, after talking for so long, Jiang Cheng was indeed very curious about his current identity. It sounded a bit like a Taoist priest, but not quite.

After all, if they were hiring Taoist priests, they wouldn’t have let them enter the village in the dark.

They also mentioned their strong *bazi*, that little ghosts avoid them, which sounded like someone from the underworld.

In other words, the kind of person who made money off the dead.

The most important thing now was to figure out their current identities. Jiang Cheng remained calm, continuing to probe these two men. Fortunately, some of his other teammates were clever, and after some back and forth, their identities were finally revealed.

The fair-skinned man who spoke earlier was actually trembling. But you couldn’t entirely blame him. After all, even Fatty couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this identity.

They were corpse捞尸人 (*laoshiren*, corpse retrievers).

That’s right, one of the unorthodox professions since ancient times. Corpse retrievers in the rivers, specifically responsible for retrieving corpses from rivers and lakes. And those corpses are even more gruesome than those on land.

Jiang Cheng didn't know if a strong *bazi* was needed for this line of work, but one had to be brave. It was common for a corpse to suddenly float by in the murky water and bump into someone.

Jiang Cheng had read a news story a long time ago about a corpse retriever. After retrieving a female corpse, the person who retrieved the corpse went crazy a few days later because he saw a long hair on his pillow.

And he didn't have a girlfriend; he lived alone.

He was scared out of his mind.

“It’s too late today. Let’s talk about everything tomorrow,” the old man with the goatee said with a smile to the old man and the man. He felt very uncomfortable being with these people late at night, and discussing these things at night, who knew if it would attract trouble.

On this point, Jiang Cheng and the old man with the goatee agreed.

But unexpectedly, this simple request was rejected. The old man wrung his hands with some difficulty and said in a low voice, “That really won’t do, masters. Tonight… tonight we have arrangements for you.”

“What arrangements?” Fatty asked, with a bad feeling.

“That…” The man forced a smile, hesitatingly saying, “Didn’t those *shuipiaozi* get dragged back? We want you masters to go to the temple and help them keep watch tonight.”