Chapter 11: The Tooth Brokerage

Deep in the quiet of the night was the best time to dig for treasure and gold.

Inside the Mortician's Shop, Xu Qing turned the bed, the counter, the bottom of the stove, and the rice jar inside out. Aside from the two bundled coffins leaning against the west wall that he dared not touch, he had searched almost every place where valuables might be hidden.

"That old fox Liu Youdao, where on earth did he hide the real treasures for refining and raising corpses?"

Xu Qing looked at the collection he had scavenged after half a day of work, and his worries returned.

A dozen or so taels of silver, a pile of copper coins, and the shop's deed he had dug out from under the bed boards.

Aside from these, there was nothing else in the shop that could be used for raising or refining corpses.

"Could the real treasures be inside the coffins?"

At this thought, Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the two Yin-wood coffins standing against the west wall.

One of these coffins was bound with red rope, tied tightly with three horizontal and two vertical strands, following the standard method for binding a coffin.

The other was even stranger; it wasn't bound with rope, but with ink-line markings dipped in cinnabar water and rooster blood—eighty-one lines in total. The coffin lid was plastered with numerous yellow talismans, looking for all the world like a gambler who had lost all night, with yellow paper strips covering its face.

The only similarity was that both coffins had spirit-banners draped over them, as if to seal whatever was inside.

Xu Qing walked over, circled them a few times, and finally went back to sucking on his raw eggs.

Only a fool would touch such ominous things.

As for himself, a fledgling little zombie, he'd better stay in his lane.

Although raw eggs were less effective, they were at least on the menu of the *Classic of Corpse Raising*.

After sucking down the eggs, Xu Qing lit two sticks of spirit incense. Once full, he headed to the backyard to bathe in the moonlight and yin energy.

This life was far too plain!

It felt just like the last few days of the month when he was working in his past life—eating nothing but radishes and cabbage, without a drop of oil to be found.

After bathing in moonlight and yin energy all night, Xu Qing's mouth felt so bland he could scream!

He went to the stove, boiled some water, and steamed the pig blood he'd bought yesterday with beaten egg, adding a sprinkle of green onions, ginger, salt, and sesame oil...

But by the time it was steamed, the four or five catties of pig blood had shrunk to less than one.

What was going on?

Oh, it turned out that before the raw blood even hit the steamer, the cook had been "tasting" it, scraping away three catties with his tongue!

Raw blood really did taste better.

Xu Qing ate the remaining catty of steamed pig blood, but his heart still longed for the taste of the raw stuff.

At this rate, who knew how many years it would take to achieve the Iron Armor Body.

The "Iron Armor Body" was mentioned in the *Corpse Sayings* as one of the three types of Wandering Corpses—Iron Armor, Silver Armor, and Gold Armor—which was the first stage of zombie evolution.

The external manifestation of an Iron Armor Corpse was skin as hard as iron and stone, impervious to ordinary weapons.

Xu Qing stretched out his thumb and tried to scratch his fingertip with a kitchen knife. As he increased the pressure, the sharp blade sliced open a thin cut.

Although it was indeed much tougher than an ordinary person's, it could still be cut with a bit of force.

He estimated that his current physical strength was far from even the lowest level of a Wandering Corpse; at most, he was just a zombie that had crawled out of a grave, only to be kicked back in by a corpse-driver.

"Forget it, the days ahead are long. Take it slow."

Xu Qing knew that worrying wouldn't help. Corpse-raising materials weren't things you could just find. The most pressing matter now was to get an identity tablet. With that, he could search for materials in Linhe much more easily.

Linhe was, after all, the most prosperous water and land transport hub in the Great Yong Dynasty. As long as he could gain a foothold, he wouldn't have to worry about not finding materials for raising and refining corpses.

The rooster crowed at dawn.

The sky was neither bright nor dark. Night-soil collectors were already out early, driving their carts from house to house to collect the "night fertilizer."

Night-soil collectors, also known as "tipping heads," were a very lucrative profession. The *Records of Meng Liang* once recorded: "With a dense population and no latrines in the small homes of the alleys, they use chamber pots. Every day, waste-collectors come to clear them, known as 'tipping heads.'"

These collectors were fiercely competitive, each guarding their own regular customers and daring not to encroach on others. If there was encroachment, the waste-owners would surely dispute it, sometimes even leading to lawsuits at the government office. Furthermore, there were boats laden with night fertilizer moving in groups...

It was easy to see how popular and sought-after this trade was!

But joy and sorrow were not shared. Since becoming a zombie, Xu Qing's sense of smell was far sharper than a normal person's. At this moment, the "smoky and scorched" stench from the wooden buckets filled to the brim by the collectors was enough to knock down an elephant!

Although he liked the "smell of human life," this was not the kind he meant!

By the time the sun was high, the mysterious night-soil collectors had vanished. Following his routine, Xu Qing set up a bronze mirror before leaving, applying various rouges and powders to his face and replenishing the special powder that masked his corpse aura.

Only after he looked "vivid and lifelike" did he head out to run his errands.

He had three things to do today: first, visit the Tooth Brokerage to see if there was a way to handle an identity tablet; second, stroll through the market to see if he could find ingredients suitable for a zombie to eat.

The third was to buy a vanity table, so he could better handle his makeup and grooming in the future.

Upon arriving at the Tooth Brokerage, Xu Qing surveyed the environment. He found that they handled quite a lot of business here—reselling land, purchasing agricultural products and textiles, and lending money at high interest...

There were also those who brokered water transport and hired boats, calling themselves "Wharf Fish Market Bosses," who controlled the water rights for thousands of fishermen along the Baisha River.

Walking deeper inside, Xu Qing even saw open human trafficking!

But after a moment's thought, he was relieved. The Tooth Brokerages of the Great Yong were all government-sanctioned, likely backed by powerful figures. As long as there was profit to be made, they wouldn't hesitate to sell people, or even dig up the golden teeth of a former emperor from a mausoleum if someone paid enough!

One might ask, if I wanted a tooth from the current Emperor, would anyone take the job?

The answer is yes, but you'd have to wait a few years. Once the Great Yong Dynasty fell, someone would dare to smash the Emperor's skull to bring you not just a tooth, but the whole thing!

The prerequisite is that you can afford the price.

Someone else might ask, what if I have no money?

That's no obstacle either. Once you enter the Tooth Brokerage, you can always find a trade that suits you.

Look at the corners—brothels, gambling dens, male companion houses—there's always something for you.

After strolling around, Xu Qing had a rough idea of how things worked.

Although this place looked like it would eat people without spitting out the bones, if used correctly, it could also get many difficult things done.

Perhaps, besides the identity tablet, he could also find materials for corpse-raising here.

After familiarizing himself with the environment, Xu Qing found a clerk to inquire about replacing an identity tablet.

The identity tablet was the proof of status in this era; without it, one could barely move an inch.

There were distinctions in the Great Yong's identity tablets. Officials' tablets were mostly made of ivory or gold, displaying their high status.

Wealthy squires mostly used animal bone, copper, or iron.

As for the common folk, as long as they stayed in their villages and didn't need to go to the city for business, they rarely needed such things. However, if they needed to travel far or move into a town, an identity tablet was mandatory.

The clerk clearly knew this and immediately started fishing for information.

"Is the guest new to Linhe?"

Xu Qing nodded. "I'm doing some small business. It's more convenient to have an identity tablet on me."

"Heh, that's for sure. Not to hide it from you, sir, but in two days, once the city walls around the market are built, this identity tablet will truly become a necessity!"

Xu Qing caught the hint. "I'm ignorant. You're well-informed—do you know something?"

"What else could it be? Famine in Yaozhou, they're afraid all those refugees will come running!"

While chatting, the clerk didn't forget his business. "This identity tablet will definitely be more expensive then. But I like you, sir, so I'll give it to you at yesterday's price: 120 copper coins."

Hearing the price, Xu Qing didn't think it was too expensive at first, but when he prepared to trade, he discovered the problem.

"Sir, you have no travel permit? Without a travel permit, that's hard to handle!" The clerk immediately put down the wooden tablet and seal. "A travel permit needs to be registered at the government office. Without one, I don't dare issue you an identity tablet."

Xu Qing immediately caught the subtext.

The other party only said it was "hard to handle" and he "didn't dare," but he didn't say it was "impossible." In other words, there was still room for negotiation.

(End of chapter)