Chapter 167

The golden cicada sheds its shell; borrow a fake to return to life.

Xu Qing looked at the golden cicada molt in his hand and thought this thing was good. He now had three methods for self-preservation: one was the "Post-Staking Method," which could entrust a person's body to other objects through the casting of spells. After being subjected to the Post-Staking Method, the substitute object would bear all the damage for the caster, and the person's body could withstand sword slashes and club strikes without feeling pain.

A set of marching flags for military formation, which could enable the flag-bearer to split into four illusory clones. The four clones had no physical form, but the person with the flags could shuttle freely between the clones created by the flags.

If controlled properly, it was equivalent to having four lives.

The last method for self-preservation was the golden cicada molt before him.

After Xu Qing calculated slightly in his heart, he already had a plan.

Temporarily putting away the cicada molt, Xu Qing looked again at the corpse whose internal organs had been stolen by the insects.

The threshold for the Gu master profession is low; any Tom, Dick, or Harry can learn it, but most of it is quite damaging to the body. For example, this Gu master before him had little cultivation of his own, and even the little he had cultivated was all fed to the insects.

Under the execution of the Return-to-Origin Art, Xu Qing didn't gain much cultivation. Although this Gu master had one foot in the door of cultivation, in terms of the amount of his own cultivation, he was no different from the martial artists of the Jinmen gangs.

After cleaning up the traces in the courtyard, Xu Qing turned his head and discovered that Jin Luan, who had been guarding him with the Chang General, was now napping beside the Chang General.

"Jin Luan, wake up, it's time to go back!"

He kicked the big fat chicken with his foot, but there was no reaction.

Xu Qing frowned, bent down to pry open Jin Luan's eyelids, and discovered that the chicken's pupils were actually unfocused.

Could this gluttonous chicken have been poisoned by eating too many poisonous insects?

Xu Qing was startled. If he ruined this chicken, where would he find another one to return to Daoist Priest Yizhen?

He reached out and patted Jin Luan's cheek. The latter let its head droop, lay on Xu Qing's feet, and started snoring.

Opening the Qi-Observing Art, he saw the golden chicken's blood and energy surging like a dragon, without the slightest sign of lethargy after being poisoned.

So it was just stuffed and sleepy, digesting its food there!

Xu Qing felt relieved. Just a moment ago, he thought he would need to find cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves to prepare a funeral for this chicken.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm.

Stuffing the sleeping Jin Luan into the big birdcage, Xu Qing kicked the chicken's butt when it got stuck at the cage door, and thus stuffed the fat chicken inside.

Carrying the sixty or seventy-pound birdcage, Xu Qing acted as if nothing had happened. If it were any other enthusiast, even if they could afford to feed this glutton, they probably wouldn't be able to walk it.

A chicken weighing nearly seventy pounds—even a martial artist who had just learned martial arts for less than three years in a martial arts school couldn't achieve the level of lifting weights as if they were light like Xu Qing.

On this side, Xu Qing carried the chicken cage in one hand and twirled walnuts in the other, as if he were just taking his pet for a stroll, and returned to Master Feng the Second's residence, swaying as he went.

"Yo, Master Feng, what are you doing?"

As soon as Xu Qing entered the door, he saw Master Feng the Second stripped naked, wearing only his underpants, squatting on the ground letting his uncle catch insects for him.

The uncle stared for a long time, his eyes almost popping out, but he didn't see a single insect.

"Brother Xu! You're finally back. You scared me to death. How is it? You're not hurt, are you? Why don't you take off your clothes and let Uncle help you check..."

What kind of person is worth befriending? You go out to solve a grudge for someone, and when you return, they don't ask how the enemy fared, but first ask if you were hurt. Such a person is a true friend.

Xu Qing rarely showed a smile: "It's no big deal, just sent away a small character who couldn't see the light. From now on, Master Feng can live in peace. Maybe in the future, if you find a companion, you might even get a little bit of good luck."

"What are you saying? How old am I now? It's you, brother, you're so capable and still haven't started a family..."

Damn! Xu Qing hadn't even said two sentences, and Master Feng the Second had already taken the initiative, worrying like an elder.

The two chatted aimlessly. Finally, Master Feng the Second was silent for a while, but still couldn't help asking about the enemy.

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then stripped away the bones and tendons of some things and told them to Master Feng the Second.

Xu Qing had an impression of the monk riding the donkey backward; he had seen him once a few days ago. Now, three or four decades later, except for being fatter than before, the monk was still the same as before.

Because of this, Xu Qing was even more careful in his heart. It was fortunate that he didn't fight for the road with that monk last time; otherwise, he really might not have been able to beat that cart full of evil spirits and monsters.

After Master Feng the Second heard this, he suddenly realized and said: "So that's what happened. I heard the old butler say when he was alive that the monk helped our family, sent the person who cast Gu to harm our family to the Demon Suppression Division, but I heard that the demon person had already been executed by the officials."

"The demon person was executed, but he still had an apprentice..."

Xu Qing slowly told the cause and effect. Master Feng the Second was speechless for a long time after hearing it.

"Speaking of which, the cause of this matter originated from that Ma sect swindler. If it weren't for him using the insect he picked up to swindle, all these things wouldn't have happened later."

The Feng family, with over a dozen members, died because of one insect. How innocent.

Master Feng the Second was stunned when he heard this, and then he told Xu Qing an old story.

It was said that after his father experienced the swindler selling insects, he hated those who swindled and bluffed to the bone.

We don't know if the Feng family was destined to be with swindlers. Not long after this incident, a new swindler came to swindle.

Master Feng of the Feng family was foolish and had money. This time, he still couldn't guard against it, and in a moment of carelessness, he was swindled out of two hundred silver taels by the highly skilled swindler.

At this time, the matter was not over. Less than a month after the swindler swindled, the swindler came to the door again.

Master Feng of the Feng family was furious. Could this swindler really be treating him as a fool? Now he actually dared to come a second time. If he let the other party run away again, he wouldn't be able to mix in the capital anymore.

Master Feng gave an order, and the house retainers escorted this person to the government office.

A knife hangs over the word "greed"; a single wrong thought leads to imprisonment.

That swindler was also destined to have a calamity. The Ma sect has always had rules, emphasizing that one should not cheat twice. There is also a clear statement in ancient texts: those who deceive others will surely reveal their shortcomings; if they use the same trick again, they will surely fall into a trap.

Everything should not exceed three times.

As for the art of swindling, once is enough; how can it be repeated?

Xu Qing had also delivered swindlers to the afterlife in the past and knew some swindling techniques. There were many rules in the industry. Even stealing has rules like not stealing from the sick or the prostitutes. The Ma sect swindling trade is the same.

The highest level of swindling is to cheat corrupt officials and bully bandits and treacherous merchants.

Such swindling does not damage one's Yin virtue, and one has a clear conscience. Even if one arrives before the Yama Hall after death, one still has three points of reason.

After Xu Qing finished solving Master Feng the Second's matter and accepted the Second Master's thanks, he carried the sleeping Jin Luan and headed back home.

Well-Bottom Street, Coffin Shop.

Today, Hu Baosong got up early to bathe and change clothes. His spirit seemed to be more abundant than in the past.

Yizhen looked at the old man, whose spirit was better than before, and felt happy in her heart.

"Big girl, come here, I have something to tell you."

Hu Baosong sat under the peach tree in the backyard, with a chessboard set up on the table.

The old man caught a chess piece and dropped it while telling Yizhen about the origin of the Hu-Yang clan.

"The Hu-Yang clan had two ancestors. One was a fox woman who attained the Dao in Tushan Collection, and the other was my Yang surname ancestor. The world only knows that fox demons are charming and good at attaching themselves to others, but they don't know that foxes themselves rely on forming bonds to cultivate."

"I was the same when I was young, but I didn't have good luck. The good bonds I formed were far less than the evil ones. The only good bond was perhaps the Five Elders Temple..."

"If I hadn't been absurd when I was young and had honestly cultivated in the Five Elders Temple, maybe it would be a different scene now."

The old saying goes "fox borrows tiger's might." Besides its own meaning, it also reveals one point: foxes are good at "borrowing power."

Foxes are born this way. Whether they attach themselves to a True Person's Daoist temple or a worldly extraordinary person, it is all to follow the immortals to attain the Dao and obtain protection.

Hu Baosong continued: "I once went to the ruins of the Qingqiu Cave Heaven. There, I learned a secret: ten thousand years ago, the Qingqiu Fox Kingdom had countless treasures and was extremely wealthy, but no one dared to covet Qingqiu. Do you know why?"

Yizhen frowned and shook her head, indicating she didn't know.

Hu Baosong looked at the chessboard and bared his teeth: "Because Qingqiu often formed bonds with humans. At that time, the Qingqiu Princess didn't hesitate to lower her status, ran to a dilapidated Daoist temple, and formed a bond with a poor Daoist priest to cultivate. Less than a hundred years later, that Daoist priest ascended to the sky."

"At that time, heaven and earth could still communicate. Not long after the Daoist priest ascended to the heavenly realm, he passed down a Heavenly Book and gifted it to Qingqiu. At this time, the Qingqiu Princess was already the new ruler of the kingdom. After obtaining the Heavenly Book, the ruler also ascended and attained the Dao in less than a hundred years."

"Since then, the world has realized that the foxes of Qingqiu have the ability to recognize people. There were rulers who received the grace of fox immortals before founding their kingdoms, and there were also old fox ladies who sent food and clothing when the top graduate was down and out..."

Hu Baosong sighed: "My Hu-Yang clan's fox immortal bloodline originates from Tushan Collection, and the Yang ancestors were also the objects of the Tushan Collection fox immortals' bonds."

Yizhen heard this and asked suspiciously: "Qingqiu is so strong, why has it turned into a handful of dust today, and even the Hu-Yang clan has not been spared?"

"Because the current world is a world of five turbidities and evils, and the road to heaven has been cut off."

Hu Baosong shook his head and sighed: "Whether it's Qingqiu or the Hu-Yang clan, it's all a matter of ten thousand years ago. The reason they were strong at that time was because heaven and earth were still communicating, and others feared the immortal bonds formed by Qingqiu and Tushan Collection. When the heavenly road was cut off and everyone had no way out, Qingqiu, which possessed the Heavenly Book and countless treasures, was destined to perish."

After saying this, Hu Baosong looked up at Yizhen and said earnestly: "The Five Elders Temple has a deep foundation and also has the inheritance of immortal bonds. You were born in the temple, so you have this bond. As for how to walk the road ahead..."

"It can only depend on yourself."

Yizhen frowned and didn't speak. For some reason, Hu Baosong's words today always gave her a feeling of hidden unease.

Halfway through the game, Hu Baosong suddenly stopped.

"Sometimes this game doesn't have to be finished. Only a remnant game can leave thoughts behind. A finished game is often not remembered by the world."

Yizhen raised her eyebrows slightly. She was about to win the game before her. This old man was clearly trying to cheat, but he said it nicely.

The female Daoist priest was too lazy to argue with the old man.

Hu Baosong drank tea happily and continued: "Besides the Five Elders Temple, I also have some old friends I met in the past. Some of those people might not be here anymore, but there is still some sentiment."

"If you encounter difficulties in the future, you might be able to use them..."

After chattering for a long time, Hu Baosong took out some tokens and handed them to Yizhen.

"I owe you too much. Perhaps your master hates me and never told me about you."

Yizhen's face was tense, and she clutched the chess piece nervously. Just when she thought the old man was going to show his cards, Hu Baosong suddenly changed the subject and said with a smile: "I see that Xu kid at the funeral shop is also not an ordinary person, but I am old and inevitably dim-sighted. That kid is very slippery. You can listen to his words, but you can't believe them."

"."

Can listen, but can't believe?

Yizhen blinked. What kind of logic is this?

After thinking for a moment, Yizhen suddenly asked: "He runs a funeral shop and does white-event business. You formed a bond with him, for what?"

Hu Baosong's face stiffened, and his thoughts turned rapidly: "Who has nothing better to do than form a bond with him? How unlucky! I just see him making a living alone, which is quite pitiful. Could I possibly have something to ask of him?"

The way you say this, it's as if the coffin shop you run is very auspicious.

As the two chatted, Yizhen's mouth unconsciously curled into an arc.

In early September, there was no business at the mortuary shop today, so Xu Qing opened the Thousand-Insect Gu Jar and leaned against the counter to look inside.

"Let me see, your dog-tail insect is definitely not as powerful as my cat-tail insect!"

When Xu Qing cleared a space, Xuanyu put its head to the jar and watched intently.

Today's Xuanyu was different from the past. Under the red string on its neck, there was an extra golden cicada molt.

In the past few days, Xu Qing and Xuanyu had an extra activity to pass the time, which was watching the insects in the Thousand-Insect Gu Jar fight.

During this time, Xu Qing found a quite powerful green insect as his fighting insect, while Xuanyu found a colorful insect to fight on its behalf.

The zombie and the cat hadn't decided on a bet. If there had to be one, perhaps it was just the childishness that only children have.

"Where is my big cat-tail insect?"

Xu Qing heard Xuanyu's question and said calmly: "Your little flower insect was eaten by that six-winged insect."

"Where is your dog-tail insect? Hurry up and let it avenge me."

Damn, this cat was getting serious.

Xu Qing said helplessly: "The dog-tail insect was eaten by the one-horned insect."

"But Xuanyu don't worry, that six-winged insect has also been dismembered, and your cat-tail insect is now in someone's stomach."

"."

Xuanyu was silent for a moment, still feeling somewhat disappointed. It had high hopes for that little flower insect.

"There are fifty-six insects left. Which one does Immortal Xu think will survive to the end?"

Xu Qing leaned toward Xuanyu, the zombie and the cat each occupying one side, heads together looking into the jar.

After a moment, Xu Qing stood up and said: "It definitely won't be that lazy insect that doesn't move."

Xuanyu heard this and looked. Sure enough, there was a white insect sleeping soundly in the corner of the Gu jar.

That white insect was chubby and tender, and its appearance was no different from the grubs in a tree stump, looking very delicious.

"This insect is as lazy as the fat chicken."

Xu Qing heard this and looked at the stove, only to see Jin Luan still curled up beside the stove, sleeping soundly.

Ever since Xu Qing took it to the restaurant to eat that "staring meal" that day, this chicken hadn't even crowed, nor had it gone to the chicken coop in the backyard. It just stayed there sleeping all day long. Those who didn't know would think this chicken was hibernating.

The zombie and the cat had plenty of leisure time and could watch insects for a whole day. By the evening, Hu Baosong from the coffin shop suddenly came to the mortuary shop.

"Yo, Old Man Hu, you are a distinguished guest. Please come in!"

Xu Qing's tone was like that of a waiter in an inn or restaurant, almost saying "one distinguished guest in the private room," such a brazen remark.

If it were in the past, Hu Baosong would definitely have blown his beard and stared, and fought with him for a few rounds.

But today, Hu Baosong had no intention of teasing Xu Qing. The old man came to Xu Qing with a dejected look, didn't sit in the guest seat, and the first sentence he said was:

"Little Friend Xu, I have something to ask of you..."

(End of chapter)