Chapter 145: Xiao Xiaole Funeral Home

Xiao Xiaole Funeral Home, located in the suburbs of Yujing City, close to Mount Xieguang.

Zhang Fan drove the Five-Spirit Rainbow Light alone to this desolate place. Still in the distance, he could see wisps of blue smoke rising and drifting from a building at the foot of the mountain.

"So they are burning."

Zhang Fan curled his lips. He had lived in Yujing City for so long and didn't know there was such a funeral home in the suburbs.

Hearing the boss say it, this 【Xiao Xiaole Funeral Home】 had a history of over thirty years in Yujing City.

"Why open it in this place?"

Arriving at the place, Zhang Fan parked the car at the entrance and looked up. The mountain behind the funeral home was high, the head not drooping—this is called 【Xuanwu Rejecting the Corpse】 in Feng Shui patterns, belonging to the fierce and evil acupoint in Feng Shui.

Xuanwu Rejecting the Corpse means the star peak has no descending trend, Xuanwu raises its head and hides its head, a great evil and inauspicious.

Although it is backed by mountains and near water, if used as a Yang residence, it will surely lead to family ruin and wealth dispersal. If used as a Yin residence, it is feared that it won't pass two generations before the roots are cut.

The most eerie thing is that Xiao Xiaole Funeral Home looks like a coffin from the outside, surrounded by iron railings, and even the gate is that kind of big iron gate from factories in the seventies or eighties.

"Iron Lock Imprisoning the Coffin!?" Zhang Fan muttered softly, showing a strange expression.

He seemed to have seen this Feng Shui layout in the 【Dao Secret Record】; it is a method of raising ferocity and gathering evil, but he couldn't quite remember the specifics.

"Zhang Fan!?"

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind, pulling Zhang Fan's thoughts back.

He turned his head and was stunned.

Sui Chunsheng and Zhan Xinyue were walking toward him.

It must be said that he really had fate with this pair of siblings.

"Why are you here?" Zhan Xinyue was somewhat surprised.

"Our company has some business dealings here, so I came to deliver receipts," Zhang Fan shook the file bag in his hand and then asked: "And you?"

"Naturally for official business," Zhan Xinyue smiled lightly.

"Official business? Funeral home?" Zhang Fan asked suspiciously.

"Still for the matter of the old residential area."

Sui Chunsheng's words made Zhang Fan's nerves tense up.

"What? Did you find anything?"

Zhang Fan's expression was normal, asking casually as if he didn't care.

Sui Chunsheng didn't think much of it. After a few interactions, everyone could be considered acquaintances, so he said immediately: "That old residence from before, although we didn't find out the information of the previous residents, we did find out the property rights of the house."

As soon as this was said, Zhang Fan's eyelids jumped wildly, and his breathing became heavy.

That was their family's house.

"It's the house of this funeral home."

"Ah!?" Zhang Fan was stunned.

The old residence he had lived in since he was a child was rented? The name on the property certificate wasn't their family's?

Now, the house he lived in at Hongfu Garden was also rented.

In that case, their old Zhang family didn't have any fixed assets at all!

"What's wrong?" Sui Chunsheng asked, looking at Zhang Fan's expression.

"Nothing, just a bit surprised," Zhang Fan shook his head.

"There's something even more surprising."

"Guess whose industry this funeral home is?" Zhan Xinyue said mysteriously.

"It couldn't be ours," Zhang Fan muttered in his heart, but shook his head on the surface.

"Zhenwu Mountain!"

Sui Chunsheng's lips parted slightly, spitting out three words.

"Zhenwu Mountain!?"

Zhang Fan was stunned and then remained silent.

He never expected that the old residence he had lived in since he could remember was an industry of Zhenwu Mountain.

"Jade Tablet!?"

Zhang Fan raised his eyebrows, subconsciously looking at his chest.

At this moment, a strange thought and doubt arose. Was it just a coincidence that he went sightseeing, accidentally broke into the transmission ceremony, and merged with the Zhenwu Jade Tablet?

"Zhang Fan, what are you thinking about?"

Zhan Xinyue raised her hand and waved it in front of Zhang Fan, pulling his thoughts back.

"Oh, I was thinking it's really too coincidental. Since we are together, let's have a meal together at noon," Zhang Fan said casually.

"I was thinking the same," Zhan Xinyue smiled lightly.

The three of them went forward. In broad daylight, Xiao Xiaole had its iron gate locked tight.

"Is anyone there?"

Sui Chunsheng shook the chain on the iron gate, making a clanging sound.

"Who is it?"

Just then, an old voice came from the guard room next to it. Immediately after, a short, hunched old man walked out swaying. He was wearing black sunglasses in broad daylight, stepping on worn-out cloth shoes, walked to the iron gate, and scanned the area.

"Grandpa, we are from the Jiangnan Province Dao Alliance," Sui Chunsheng revealed their identities.

Since Xiao Xiaole is under Zhenwu Mountain, it naturally isn't an ordinary funeral home. Listening to Sui Chunsheng's meaning, the curator here is also a person in the Daoist sects.

"Dao Alliance?" The grandpa wearing black sunglasses pondered for a moment before taking out a key and slowly opening the locked big iron gate.

"What are you here to collect fees for again?"

As soon as this was said, Sui Chunsheng and Zhan Xinyue looked at each other, both showing awkward expressions.

"Grandpa, we aren't here to collect fees; we are here to investigate... ask about something."

"I said, how could you be so shameless, coming to collect fees whenever you have nothing to do," the grandpa wearing sunglasses said to himself.

Sui Chunsheng's face became even more awkward, subconsciously looking at Zhang Fan, but the latter acted as if he hadn't heard.

He also knew that for an organization like the Daoist Alliance, soliciting sponsorships or collecting fees from Daoist families or enterprises within the province was a common occurrence; after all, such a massive institution required no small amount of expenditure to operate.

"Come in."

The grandpa wearing sunglasses waved his hand and led the way in front.

The huge funeral home didn't have a single person in sight. Everywhere one looked, there were only evergreen pines and cypresses; other than that, it was terrifyingly cold and clear.

"Grandpa, is it just you here?"

Zhang Fan followed behind and couldn't help but ask.

"It's daytime now; it gets lively at night."

The grandpa wearing sunglasses turned his head, grinned, and revealed a smile that you could figure out for yourself.

"Why don't you come back at night?"

"No... no need," Zhang Fan laughed dryly.

Rumble...

In front of the coffin-shaped building, the grandpa wearing sunglasses opened the door, and a cold air surged out from inside, carrying the smell of formalin.

Zhang Fan raised his eyebrows, walked in, and took a look.

The building didn't have air conditioning, but the temperature inside was at least six or seven degrees lower than outside. Just walking in, all the hair on his body stood up.

"So big."

The first floor was extremely empty, like an idle warehouse. Speaking in a low voice, there was an echo.

"You wait here; I'll go find the curator for you."

The grandpa wearing sunglasses had just taken two steps when he stopped again.

"Don't run around. There are some places here that living people shouldn't enter."

As he spoke, the grandpa wearing sunglasses went straight upstairs along the stairs next to him.

"Senior Brother, do you feel that grandpa is weird?"

Zhan Xinyue leaned over to Sui Chunsheng's side and whispered.

"That grandpa doesn't look like a cultivator," Sui Chunsheng said in a deep voice.

"I feel like there is a familiar aura on him," Zhang Fan looked at the empty stairs, thoughtful.

"You know him?"

"Don't know him," Zhang Fan shook his head. He just felt the aura on that grandpa was somewhat familiar.

"Who are you people?"

Just then, a cold voice came from behind, echoing in the empty building.

Zhang Fan turned around and saw a young man wearing work clothes walking over. He was sturdy, about 1.78 meters tall, with deep and sharp eyebrows, scanning Zhang Fan and the others with a vigilant look.

"Finally, a living person," Zhang Fan muttered in his heart.

He was just thinking, such a big funeral home, it couldn't just be an old man watching the door.

"We are staff from the Jiangnan Province Dao Alliance, here to find the curator to understand something," Sui Chunsheng revealed their identities.

"Then you've made a wasted trip. The curator is not at home; you should come back another day."

As he spoke, the young man turned and walked into a room next to him.

"Not at home?"

Sui Chunsheng was stunned, stepped forward to follow the young man, and pushed the door to enter.

Seeing this, Zhang Fan also followed.

"This is the corpse-burning room!?"

The room was large, and there were actually three furnaces placed inside. Two of the furnaces were burning, and "rumbling" sounds came from inside.

The furnace door of the third furnace was open, and vaguely, one could see a corpse already placed in position, covered with a white cloth.

"Mm!?"

Zhang Fan glanced at it, vaguely seeing an arm exposed under the white cloth, skin and bones, fingers slender, especially the nails, which were a full ten centimeters long. "Didn't you see the sign on the door? Non-staff, no entry?"

Just then, the young man blocked Zhang Fan's gaze, his warning eyes scanning the three of them.

"When will the curator be back? We clearly contacted him before; we are here to ask about the residence in the old residential area..." Sui Chunsheng frowned.

"So it was for that explosion in the old city?"

The young man sneered, interrupting Sui Chunsheng's words.

"Mm? Who are you?" Sui Chunsheng heard the tone and knew that this young man in front of him was not an ordinary staff member.

"My name is Liu Xingyu, the corpse burner here," the young man introduced himself.

"You are the corpse burner Liu Xingyu?"

Just then, Zhan Xinyue suddenly called out.

"We know each other?" Liu Xingyu was stunned and then looked at Zhan Xinyue.

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"I've followed you on 【Little Yellow Book】, and I've even sent you private messages. I really like the articles you post..." Zhan Xinyue said happily.

"Is... is that so?"

Liu Xingyu became somewhat awkward. Suddenly meeting a fan made him unable to maintain that cold demeanor just now.

"Corpse burner Liu Xingyu?" Zhang Fan muttered softly.

He had also seen this ID on "Little Yellow Book," and it was a poster with hundreds of thousands of fans. The most famous was the series of articles he updated occasionally—

"Those Days I Burned Corpses in the Funeral Home"

"I really didn't expect you to be a real corpse burner."

Zhan Xinyue immediately turned into a little fan girl, stepping forward to get close.

"Finally saw a living person."

"Uh... you are too polite."

Liu Xingyu smiled awkwardly, unable to enter that state of keeping people at a distance anymore.

Clang... clang... clang...

Just then, the wall clock made a sound.

Liu Xingyu looked up at the time and turned around, walking to the third furnace.

"I have to work."

As he spoke, he formed seals with both hands, chanting words in his mouth. A mysterious light erupted, the ghostly flames clear, actually spraying out from his fingertips, like a long rainbow piercing the sun, burning with light, and the temperature around him climbed sharply.

"Daoist True Fire!?"

Seeing this, everyone's expression changed slightly, even Zhang Fan couldn't help but show a strange expression.

He never expected that in this small funeral home, there was actually such an expert hiding, who had refined Daoist True Fire.

Hum...

Liu Xingyu flicked his fingers, and a wisp of bright flame flew into the furnace, instantly turning into a raging fire, swallowing the corpse that had been waiting for a long time.

Immediately after, he pulled down the handbrake, closing the furnace door. A "rumbling" sound came from inside, accompanied by a strange sound, as if something was scratching.

"He uses Daoist True Fire to burn corpses!?"

Sui Chunsheng and Zhan Xinyue looked at each other, showing strange expressions.

"Alright, considering you are a fan, I've already made an exception to let you visit," Liu Xingyu turned around, returning to his official business attitude.

"The explosion in the old city has nothing to do with our Xiao Xiaole. We pay over thirty million in taxes every year, and you Dao Alliance have no reason to treat us like criminals."

"What? Just taxes are over thirty million?" Zhang Fan exclaimed.

His exclamation startled Sui Chunsheng and Zhan Xinyue.

Liu Xingyu couldn't help but cast a strange look at him.

"No, is this funeral home that profitable?"

Facing everyone's strange looks, Zhang Fan said awkwardly: "I mean... are there that many people to burn?"

"We don't just burn people!" Liu Xingyu said indifferently.

"You can go now."

"When will the curator be back? We can wait..." Sui Chunsheng said in a deep voice.

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

As soon as the words fell, Liu Xingyu's expression sank abruptly. He stepped out, hands forming seals, his chest rising and falling violently, like a wild wind blowing, flames rising in his palms, surging like a great red cover.

"Jiangong Li Fire!?"

Sui Chunsheng's expression changed drastically, recognizing it at a glance.

Jiangong Li Fire is a fire technique secretly transmitted by Zhenwu Mountain, a method of refining True Fire within the 【Jiangong】.

The so-called 【Jiangong】, also known as the Spirit Abode, is the human body's middle Dantian, located at the Tanzhong acupoint on the chest, which is closest to the heart.

Among the five elements of the Daoist school, the heart belongs to fire.

Therefore, cultivating the Jiangong is the easiest way to refine True Fire; this can also be considered a way of taking shortcuts.

Rumble...

Facing Liu Xingyu's sudden attack, Sui Chunsheng didn't react for a moment. Red light burned before his eyes, Li Fire clear, right before him. The scorching heat wave made his hair start to curl.

Whoosh...

Just then, a figure moved, actually blocking directly in front of Sui Chunsheng. Who else could it be but Zhang Fan?

Almost at the same moment, Zhang Fan's palms opened and closed. His left hand pushed Sui Chunsheng back, his right hand's five fingers gripped, forming the 【Grip Yang Seal】, and immediately after, he probed forward violently.

Hum...

Suddenly, everyone's expression changed drastically, feeling their ears roaring, as if a strange sound had erupted, like a dragon's roar, like a sword's hum, stinging their eardrums.

"This is..."

Just then, Liu Xingyu's gaze trembled violently. He saw Zhang Fan forming seals with one hand, not seeing any strange phenomena, yet his 【Jiangong Li Fire】 was swallowed by an invisible wave of Qi.

In a fleeting instant, he felt the True Yang in his body flowing away at a terrifying speed, as if it were being evaporated and dissipated. His skin started to crack, his hair withered and curled...

Immediately after, he felt the surrounding air being steamed dry, actually making it impossible to breathe.

Bang...

Finally, Liu Xingyu couldn't bear it anymore. He retreated several steps, pulling away from Zhang Fan, only then pulling himself out of that purgatory-like feeling.

"Daoist Fire Technique!?"

Liu Xingyu's expression was solemn, staring fixedly at Zhang Fan.

He originally thought that among these three, Sui Chunsheng was the main one, but he didn't expect this silent man to be the truly deep one.

Daoist fire techniques also have high and low levels, just like sword experts; sword techniques also have differences in strength.

Although he didn't see half a spark in Zhang Fan's hands, Liu Xingyu was certain that this was absolutely a Daoist fire technique, and it was extremely profound and unfathomable.

"Is the Fire Dragon Dan Sword truly this wondrous?"

Sui Chunsheng looked blankly at Zhang Fan's back, showing a strange expression.

Although he had seen Zhang Fan perform it once at the old Zhang residence, this time it seemed different.

As a great technique and a Pure Yang true transmission, even he couldn't see through the wonders of the 【Fire Dragon Dan Sword】.

"No wonder you were fearless, daring to come to the door to question crimes. It turns out you brought an expert," Liu Xingyu gritted his teeth.

"First, we are just asking as a matter of routine, not questioning crimes," Sui Chunsheng shook his head.

"Second, if we were really fearless, you shouldn't be standing there right now."

As he spoke, Sui Chunsheng pointed to Liu Xingyu's feet. The latter looked down, his expression changing drastically.

Three scorched marks, like fire burns, like sword slashes, intertwined with each other, deeply imprinted on the ground, actually surrounding him in the center.

Such methods made Liu Xingyu's heart rise with a sense of fear, his gaze toward Zhang Fan trembling slightly.

"As expected of an expert, I admit defeat."

Liu Xingyu gritted his teeth, slowly pulling his gaze away from Zhang Fan, unwilling to look at him again.

"Follow me."

As he spoke, Liu Xingyu turned around and led them to the room next door.

"This is our corpse burner's lounge. Sit."

Liu Xingyu's attitude had eased up quite a bit, gesturing with his hand.

Sure enough, fists are the hard truth.

"The curator is really not here? That grandpa just now..."

"Which grandpa?" Liu Xingyu interrupted Sui Chunsheng's words.

"The guard grandpa," Zhan Xinyue interjected.

Liu Xingyu raised his eyebrows, scanned this pair of senior brother and junior sister, and then shook his head.

"We don't have a guard here!"

As soon as this was said, the air in the lounge suddenly became incomparably quiet.

"Who is painted in this picture?"

Just then, Zhang Fan's voice came over. He hadn't participated in everyone's conversation, but his mind was attracted by an ancient painting hanging on the wall.

Desolate deep mountains, white clouds and blue dogs, the great sun in the blue sky. In front of an ancient Daoist temple, a Daoist priest wore a large cloak, his figure almost equal to that dilapidated temple, looking extremely eye-catching.

The tone of the whole painting was high and broad, bright and clear, but the Daoist was like a shadow, forming Yin and Yang with the great sun, competing with the blue sky, the exuberant momentum almost rushing out of the scroll.

So special, just one glance attracted Zhang Fan's gaze.

"That is painted..." Liu Xingyu paused slightly, but the next words made everyone look sideways and change color.

"The number one expert under heaven in the past, the Three-Corpse Daoist!"

"Mm!?"

As soon as this was said, Zhang Fan couldn't help but turn his head. Why would an industry under Zhenwu Mountain worship the portrait of the Three-Corpse Daoist?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 146 =====