Lin Shuyou took out water and compressed biscuits, feeding some to the four people one by one.

The girl who had pleaded earlier refused to eat and continued to beg for mercy.

Lin Shuyou skipped her and fed the next person.

Finally, he took out tape and sealed the mouths of all four again.

Lin Shuyou stood up and said:

"By tomorrow morning, this end will be burned off, and you'll regain your freedom. We have other matters to handle, so you can't leave for now to avoid alerting the enemy.

This might not be very nice, but after all, we're the ones who saved you, and we don't need your gratitude, so let's call it even."

After explaining, Lin Shuyou left. Soon after, he returned, placed some money beside the candle, and thoughtfully divided it into four.

When he came out again, Lin Shuyou ran into Tan Wenbin, who was setting up an isolation array outside.

"Brother Bin, what if the array you set up keeps them from getting out in the morning?"

"It's fine. With my array skills, an array set up this quickly can only last until morning at most."

"Uh, then why set up this array...?"

"To prevent Yin Zhiping from possibly dropping by."

Actually, leaving someone to watch them and letting them go at the right time would suffice.

But the problem is, we're here during our time off, and no one wants just a guard duty assignment.

Therefore, we have to do a bit more preparation in this area.

Lin Shuyou: "Will they be okay by then?"

Tan Wenbin: "What could happen? This father and son are helping the Lu family transport people; they're not trafficking them into villages. So, there's no chance villagers would help capture and hide them.

Besides, we might finish our tasks early and return before morning."

Lin Shuyou sighed a bit helplessly, "Three-eyed people really make things complicated; going in guns blazing would be simpler."

Tan Wenbin: "Why not use an easier method if there is one? Using less power and reducing the chances of getting hurt facilitates better handling of the next wave. Three-eyed's arrangement isn't wrong."

At this moment, a man wearing gray-white clothes with a full beard walked into the courtyard.

Lin Shuyou opened his shuping instantly, exclaiming, "Not alive!"

The bearded man spoke, "Nonsense, of course I'm not alive!"

Zhao Yi emerged from behind and asked, "Why are you taking so long?"

Tan Wenbin: "Four living people require proper arrangements. How did you finish so quickly?"

Zhao Yi patted the bearded man he'd turned into a puppet beside him: "Because I'm escorting three coffins here, all dead people."

Lin Shuyou asked in surprise, "Even dead people are needed by the Lu family?"

Zhao Yi chuckled, "Heh, do dead people lack a life chart? Then how do those conducting ghost marriages pair them? And it's not just ghost marriages; swearing an oath, adopting a godfather or son, brotherhood—all are feasible."

Lin Shuyou: "They're so unscrupulous."

Zhao Yi: "It's normal. Your family's temple is still too small. Larger families and sects have a lot more dirty laundry."

Lin Shuyou retorted, "Does the Zhao family have such things too?"

Zhao Yi: "Of course."

Lin Shuyou: "Uh..."

Zhao Yi: "Once I'm done roaming the Jianghu, I'm going back home for a major cleanup."

During the earlier conversation with a person named Li, Zhao Yi had a vague intuition. After Old Mrs. Liu's guidance, he finally saw a clear path.

Keeping those jars and engaging in menial tasks, ha, it's no wonder the Zhao family hasn't produced a Dragon King since Zhao Wuyang. If they can't tidy things up at home, how can they hope to produce a Dragon King destined to cleanse the seas?

Even if a descendant with the Dragon King's potential was born, this fortune wouldn't fall upon the Zhao family; it would be better given to a rising hero in the Jianghu.

Tan Wenbin pointed at the corpses of two big smokers and asked, "Should these two also be made into puppets?"

Zhao Yi shook his head: "It can be done, but I can control at most two at a time. Three would be pushing it and might give us away."

Lin Shuyou: "What about Brother Xiao Yuan?"

Zhao Yi: "Am I teaching you? Do I need to give examples?"

Lin Shuyou: "I'm just curious..."

Zhao Yi: "I'm hungry. Let's have dumplings for a late-night snack."

Lin Shuyou: "..."

Zhao Yi squatted in front of the big smoker, covering its face with his right palm, and began forming seals with his left hand.

Soon, the big smoker's corpse started to tremble.

Its face first blurred, then became clear again, returning to its original appearance.

Not needing to pinch the face saves time and effort.

Soon, the big smoker sat up and then stood.

Lin Shuyou: "If it were Brother Xiao Yuan, it definitely wouldn't have taken this long..."

The big smoker spoke, "Hungry, let's eat dumplings, eat dumplings!"

Lin Shuyou immediately shut his mouth.

They really did have dumplings for their late-night snack.

Zhao Yi had specifically bought them on the way, and they could just heat them over a fire in the evening.

When the time was about right, under Zhao Yi's allocation, those going into the coffin went into the coffin, and those going into the sack went into the sack.

Zhao Yi: "I mean, how hard is it to undo a knot, why show off your power and break the sack?"

Lin Shuyou didn't retort this time.

Thankfully, sacks for storing grain are not hard to find in the village. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

With everything ready, two tractors started moving.

One driven by the bearded man, with three coffins at the back; the other driven by the big smoker, with four sacks at the back.

The two tractors stopped by a small river.

After a moment, a light appeared over the river, and a previously non-existent wooden bridge manifested.

The two tractors drove one after the other across the wooden bridge, and the scenery on the riverbank changed dramatically: what used to be farmland turned into an ancient manor.

Though it was night, the eerie atmosphere was quite overwhelming, silently resembling a large-scale mortuary.