I can rewind time to prevent death

Tianmeng District, Shuntian City, Rocko Town.

The air is crisp and the climate is pleasant. The pace of life in Rocko is incomparable to the city, much slower.

Living here for a long time gives one a languorous feeling.

But undoubtedly, Rocko's environment, climate, and slow-paced lifestyle are very suitable for rest and vacation.

Especially now, without any strangenesses breaking out, life here is no different from other rural life in Hua Country before Yan Junze's rebirth.

A group of four or five children chase each other in the vehicle-free street while neighbors on either side sit at their doorsteps chatting and visiting each other with a bowl of rice to share meals.

Yan Junze stands on this familiar street, nostalgic memories of his first encounter with Zhang Xiaomo and hiding from Resentful Granny flood his mind.

Although the layout of the street has slightly changed and is neater and cleaner, the overall environment hasn't changed much after the strangenesses outbreak.

The Lin Family's house is just down the next street. Yan Junze strolls over, catching sight of his old landlord Lin Dong, who's heading towards the end of the street with two bottles of wine, likely to meet with drinking buddies.

Yan Junze quickly approaches the Lin Family's house.

The outer wall of the courtyard hasn't yet been marked with the "demolish" symbol and is well-kept, with some vines winding over the top of the wall and the gate looking fairly new.

Yan Junze stands at the gate and knocks using the knocker. After more than a minute of no response...

A passerby inquires, "Are you looking for Master Lin?"

"Master Lin?" Yan Junze pauses, then recollects, "Yes, I'm looking for Master Lin Yishan."

"Oh, he's performing a ritual at the Ren Family's home and won't be back for a while," the passerby informs.

Yan Junze asks, "Could you please tell me where the Ren Family lives?"

The passerby points in a direction, "On the eastern side of the town, that large house with a high wall and a sign on the door."

Yan Junze thanks him and follows the street towards the eastern side of town. As he inquires further, he indeed finds a large courtyard with a sign on the door.

He can hear hammering inside, but the gates are tightly closed. Yan Junze doesn't know anyone there so, after thinking it over, he decides not to knock but rather stands under the eaves across from the Ren Family's home, waiting quietly.

About fifteen minutes later, the hammering stops and another fifteen minutes later, the large gates open and five or six people come out.

The person in front, dressed in a Taoist robe suitable for conducting rituals, is slightly chubby and all smiles, exuding a somewhat immaterial and transcendental aura, similar to a gold sculpture that Yan Junze had previously seen.

However, this sharply contrasts with Lin Yishan Yan Junze later encountered in Olay Great Capital, who had grown gaunt, his eyes no longer friendly but rather somber, obsequious, and inscrutable.

As reality proved, Yan Junze's decision to interact with Lin Yishan at this time was extremely correct, as at this moment he was still a raw jade merely earning a living as a Yin Yang Master.

Lin Yishan after the outbreak of strangenesses, especially after moving to Olay Great Capital, was beyond Yan Junze's control by then unless through force or coercion.

But that wouldn't have achieved Yan Junze's goals, hence getting involved from the very beginning and gripping the chess piece tightly in his hands was the safest strategy.

Of course, Yan Junze never thought about stopping Lin Yishan from going to Olay Great Capital using other methods, since there are others beyond Lin Yishan who understand "The Book of Changes," and if he didn't participate, others like other people would appear.

Now knowing about the chess piece that is Lin Yishan, it was only logical to make full use of him.

People passing by immediately greet this immaterial and spiritual figure, evidently well-known in Rocko Town.

"Lin Yishan." Yan Junze suddenly speaks up and approaches him.

Lin Yishan is startled and turns to look, seeing a young stranger calling him and not recognizing him although he recalls never having seen this youth in Rocko.

However, the stranger directly called him by name, not as "Master Lin," which made Lin Yishan feel inexplicably uncomfortable and suspicious of Yan Junze.

"You are..." This time, he doesn't smile as he normally would.

"I would like to ask you to help me..." Yan Junze approaches him and suddenly lowers his voice, "exorcise ghosts!"

As strangeness had not yet erupted, the term "strangeness" did not exist, and most people still referred to them as ghosts.

Lin Yishan nods slightly, scrutinizes Yan Junze, and asks, "Where is your house? If it's beyond Rocko, I will have to charge extra, and you'll need to arrange for food and accommodation."

Yan Junze looks mysterious, surveys his surroundings, and steps closer, whispering, "The ghost isn't in my house."

"Then where?" Lin Yishan finds this fellow somewhat secretive and unconsciously steps back, not wanting him to get too close.

Yan Junze doesn't approach further but says, "It's on my body."

"Ah!" Lin Yishan is startled.

He examines Yan Junze carefully, finding no visible filth, Of course, his so-called exorcism and purification techniques were just outdated tricks, and in all his years in the business, Lin Yishan himself had never encountered a real filthy entity.