Chapter 168

Manage the affairs after death without worry, operate to help people in the world.

Outside the mortuary shop, Hu Baosong's hunched body straightened slightly, and he cupped his hands toward Xu Qing, who was standing at the door.

The latter nodded and watched the old man leave.

At the entrance, the couplets of the mortuary shop remained the same.

Xuanyu walked to Xu Qing's side, looked in the direction Hu Baosong had left, and then looked up at him.

"The Yinhe is not peaceful. If you must go, I can accompany you."

Xu Qing shook his head and said: "I will handle this business. You take care of the shop here. If Senior Sister Yizhen comes to look for you, pretend you don't know anything. Customer first—this is Old Man Hu's request, and we must abide by the agreement."

Xuanyu looked at Xu Qing with wide eyes, as if it had already seen through everything: "Old Man Hu didn't say to let only you go, nor did he say to let me stay and watch the shop. We can close the shop. If Senior Sister comes and can't find anyone, we can still fulfill the agreement."

This cat was becoming harder and harder to fool.

"The shop and the Cat Immortal Hall are our foundation and cannot be easily abandoned. Someone must sit in the hall."

"Furthermore, there is another reason why I am leaving you in the shop." Xu Qing reached into his bosom and took out a golden cicada molt, continuing: "A few days ago, when I was at the Flower and Bird Street, I accidentally obtained a pair of cicada molts. If one encounters a life-threatening situation, the owner of the cicada molt can use this object to shed its shell like a golden cicada and transfer to the location of the other cicada molt..."

"Xuanyu, imagine, if you and I encounter danger together and need to use the cicada molt to escape, wouldn't we just be passing it back and forth and still be in the same place? Wouldn't that be tying ourselves up in a cocoon?"

Hearing this, Xuanyu sat up and held the golden cicada molt tied in front of its neck with its cat paws, watching curiously.

This small insect shell had such a mysterious function?

Seeing Xuanyu lost in thought, Xu Qing said with a smile: "With this cicada molt, Xuanyu will be a nine-lived mysterious cat again."

Xuanyu retracted its cat paws, sat upright in front of the shop door again, then looked up at Xu Qing and said seriously: "This life belongs to Immortal Xu. I will keep this cicada molt well for Immortal Xu."

That night, Xu Qing sat in front of the counter, making paper-cut figures with bamboo splinters and white paper. In a short while, white paper lanterns filled the table.

Besides the lanterns, Xu Qing also used his paper-cutting skills to make a paper tiger as a vanguard.

The paper donkey and paper horse carried paper-cut golden boys and jade girls, while the bellies of the horse and donkey were filled with paper money and burnt goods. This configuration is called the "Wealth-Sending Boy" in the funeral trade.

Although Xu Qing agreed to go to the Yinhe Ancient Road to find the Hu-Yang Mausoleum to hold a funeral for Hu Baosong, he did not intend to risk his own life.

The Yinhe Ancient Road is the isolation zone between the Underworld and the Yang world. The energy of heaven and earth is abnormally chaotic, and no one knows what monsters and ghosts are hidden inside.

In the past, Xu Qing had accidentally been to the Yinhe once through the Twin Coffins of the mortuary shop, and the Ghost King Mausoleum he set foot in that time was only the outermost area of the Yinhe Ancient Road. However, in Princess Yanning's revolving lantern, he learned that the Ghost King of the Ghost King Mausoleum had existed for a thousand years, and his own cultivation was close to the thousand-year threshold...

With a thousand-year-old ghost guarding the gate on the outskirts of the Yinhe, how many unworldly evil spirits and monsters would be hidden in the deeper areas?

Even if Hu Baosong gave Xu Qing a treasure-seeking compass, taught him the method of avoiding bad luck, and passed on the Cave Heaven Talisman as a means of self-protection, the other party couldn't guarantee that Xu Qing would definitely be able to send him safely to the Hu-Yang Mausoleum.

Xu Qing also knew clearly in his heart that if it weren't for this, when he and Hu Baosong reached an agreement, pointed at the lamp, and set up a Heaven and Earth Red Letter, he wouldn't have taken a shortcut and made a vow that if he violated his integrity, he would turn into a zombie after death and never be reincarnated.

Now, although Xu Qing still had no intention of going deep into the Yinhe Ancient Road himself, if it really came to the point where he needed to fulfill his promise to Hu Baosong, he wouldn't flee from the battle.

As the manager of the mortuary shop and a rising star in the funeral industry of Jinmen Prefecture, honest operation always comes first.

After arming his paper-doll funeral team to the teeth, Xu Qing still didn't stop.

He wanted to refine some paper cranes to explore safe paths.

These paper cranes were not large paper cranes that could carry people into the air, but palm-sized "path-finding scouts."

Early the next morning, after Hu Baosong found an excuse to send Daoist Priest Yizhen away, he came to the mortuary shop alone.

Xu Qing, who had already made preparations, still couldn't help asking: "Old Hu, have you really decided? Is the Hu-Yang Mausoleum really a must-go? If you ask me, it's better to let Senior Sister Yizhen take you back to the Five Elders Temple..."

Hu Baosong shook his head and said: "I am a direct descendant of the Hu-Yang clan and the one who records the genealogy. Now, in the entire Hu-Yang clan, besides me, only Yizhen remains."

"Those who record the genealogy for generations in the Hu-Yang clan must return to the ancestral mausoleum to report their duties. This is the clan rule and etiquette, which cannot be violated."

Xu Qing had no clan to rely on, so naturally, he didn't have the strong sense of belonging that Hu Baosong had.

Even the Great Yong Dynasty, in his eyes, didn't give him as strong a sense of belonging as this acre of land of the mortuary shop.

This natural belonging reminded him of the fables of elephants returning to the elephant graveyard and foxes dying with their heads toward their home hills.

It is rumored that elephants know their fate and life span. When their life span is about to end, they will travel thousands of miles to return to the elephant graveyard, which is the legendary elephant tomb.

Besides this, there is also the saying that birds fly back to their hometowns and foxes die with their heads toward their home hills.

This saying means that birds fly thousands of miles and will inevitably return to their hometown; when a fox dies, its head is always facing the place where it was born.

Xu Qing looked at Hu Baosong. At this moment, Hu Baosong was sitting facing south, with an indescribable attachment in his eyes.

Shaking his head slightly, Xu Qing said: "You sit here first, I'll go to the shroud shop, and I'll be back in a while."

Not far from the mortuary shop is the shroud shop.

Zhang Wan, who was temporarily acting as the manager of the shroud shop, was holding a duster to clean off the dust.

Seeing Xu Qing come over, this former official's daughter hurriedly stepped forward to offer a seat and pour tea, without the slightest airs of a wealthy young lady.

"I have important matters and cannot stay long. I'll just take a few shrouds and leave."

After picking out the shrouds, Xu Qing turned and went to the coffin shop.

At this time, Yizhen had just been sent away by Hu Baosong, and the entire coffin shop was empty. Xu Qing manually put the large coffin with two layers of coffins onto the flatbed cart, and after closing the coffin shop, he pushed the cart back to his own shop.

In the shop, Hu Baosong was still facing south, as if he were asleep.

Xu Qing looked at the old man who was stretching his body and lying on the rattan chair, and was stunned for a long time.

Although he had expected it, it was still inevitable to feel melancholy when facing it for real.

Xuanyu walked up and watched quietly as Xu Qing dressed Hu Baosong in the shroud and placed him into the coffin.

After everything was done, Xuanyu hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't help saying: "Humans have always been so fragile. Immortal Xu doesn't need to be too sad."

Xu Qing turned his head when he heard this, laughed, and shook his head: "It can't be called sad. As early as fifty days ago, I knew there would be such a day."

After a pause, Xu Qing sighed: "There are no old or young on the Yellow Springs road. This trade is like this, destined to send many people away. Even the Yin practitioners who operate this trade cannot escape the fate of being sent away in the end."

Hearing this, Xuanyu, who had intended to comfort Xu Qing, became depressed first.

"Is Immortal Xu saying that one day you will also be sent away?"

"."

Xu Qing looked expressionlessly at the black cat that spoke without thinking. The Yin practitioner in this trade he mentioned referred to Hu Baosong, who sold coffins. Where did this cat's thoughts go?

At this time, the Twin Coffins in the mortuary shop had been moved by Xu Qing into the Mouse Residence, which was the underground mansion opened up by Gu Zixu.

Temporarily closing the shop door, Xu Qing brought the coffin containing Hu Baosong underground.

Gu Zixu was currently outside with Huang Xiaoliu collecting incense, and only Gu Qiaoer was managing the Mouse Residence.

As soon as the Mouse Lady saw Xu Qing, she called him "Master Xu," and when she saw Xuanyu, she called it "Lady Qingqing."

Xu Qing always felt something was wrong when he heard it, so he said: "Don't call me Master, just call me Mr. Xu."

"Miss Qiaoer, please guard the passage outside and don't let anyone in."

After saying that, Xu Qing turned his head and looked at Xuanyu again.

"I don't know how long I will be in seclusion, so I have to trouble Xuanyu to take care of the house matters."

Before Xu Qing entered the secret room, Xuanyu suddenly said: "Immortal Xu, you must come out of seclusion early."

"Okay." Xu Qing nodded and agreed.

"Also, you are not allowed to secretly cross that thunder disaster."

Xu Qing laughed: "I don't have that much courage. Before Old Man Gu returns, let alone crossing the tribulation, even if it thunders on a rainy day, I won't stand outside!"

Clearly, he was scared to death, and being afraid of thunder wasn't something worth bragging about, but coming from Xu Qing's mouth, it sounded exceptionally tough.

In the underground secret room, Xu Qing opened the two layers of coffins and looked at Hu Baosong, who had a smile on his face.

This old man was finally satisfied this time.

Beside the burial pillow, there were a few pages of gold paper. Xu Qing took them and looked, only to see the names of Hu Baosong's father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother written on them.

Besides the names, it also recorded the cultivation trajectory of several generations of Hu Baosong's direct descendants.

Turning to the last page, the name of Hu Baosong's wife, Daoist Priest Zichen of the Five Elders Temple, was clearly listed.

The last line of tiny characters read: "There is still one direct descendant of the Hu-Yang clan, who is my beloved daughter. If the ancestors have spirits, I hope they will protect her..."

What is this? Passing a small note to the ancestors of the Hu-Yang clan, asking for care?

Xu Qing laughed dumbly.

It is said that when a child travels a thousand miles, the mother worries, but I never thought that even if separated by Yin and Yang, parents still have children they cannot let go of.

"Old Hu, you are the earliest person I knew on Well-Bottom Street, and we can be considered friends across generations."

"It's just that you and I were born at the wrong time and didn't meet at the right age. Otherwise, we might have been able to drink and talk happily."

Muttering to himself, Xu Qing felt somewhat melancholy.

It's just that the long-lived are destined to be separated from all living beings, guarding the loneliness for thousands of years.

Hu Baosong would be the first friend he sent away, but he wouldn't be the last.

"It seems that I should make fewer friends and collect more corpses in the future. Having too many friends is not a good thing."

After chatting with the corpse for a while, Xu Qing felt more relaxed and began to perform the funeral rites for Hu Baosong.

In the past, when he delivered corpses to the afterlife, he often did it in a hurry, and he rarely paid attention to unnecessary details. Now, he didn't speed up or skip Hu Baosong's revolving lantern from beginning to end.

The Scripture of Human Deliverance rustled, and Hu Baosong's life was reflected like a lamp painting, turning page by page.

The old man didn't suffer when he was young. He lived in the coffin shop on Well-Bottom Street since he was a child. At that time, it was Hu Baosong's mother who ran the shop.

As for his father, he was a teacher in a private school.

When Hu Baosong was about seven or eight years old, his mother went on a long journey. That was the time she left, and his mother never came back.

Hu Baosong only remembered that a few days after his mother left, there was thunder in the sky in the distance for a long time.

Not long after that day, Hu Baosong's father became unkempt all day and developed a habit of alcoholism.

However, although his father was an alcoholic, he never mistreated him; instead, he cared for him more than before.

So when Hu Baosong reached the age of twenty, his father suddenly called him to the peach tree in the backyard and pointed to the tree, saying that this peach tree was planted by your mother more than a hundred years ago...

Hu Baosong thought his old father was drunk again and talking nonsense.

So he asked: "Father, how old are you this year?"

"Forty-two."

"Then how could Father see my mother plant this peach tree more than a hundred years ago?"

Hu Baosong felt he had exposed his old father's drunken talk, but he never expected his father to say the next moment: "I didn't see your mother plant the tree with my own eyes. This matter was told to me by her personally."

"Son, your mother is actually not entirely human; she is a fox woman!"

Your mother is not human; she is a fox woman.

When Hu Baosong heard this, he became more and more convinced that his father must have gone to drink again, otherwise how could he say such nonsense.

However, the next moment, Hu's father picked up a hoe and dug out a jade box three steps away from the peach tree, inside which was the inheritance of the Hu-Yang clan.

Hu Baosong didn't believe in evil and thought his father was bluffing him, but when he tried to touch the things in the jade box, he realized his father had never been talking drunken nonsense.

Because he really stepped into the door of cultivation with the help of that jade box.

When Hu Baosong cultivated to the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, he was in his youth and spirit, so he bid farewell to his father and began to walk the Jianghu, searching for the footprints of his mother's youth.

On the way, Hu Baosong encountered soldiers and bandits causing trouble, and the people were suffering. He joined the righteous army to suppress the bandits, but some things cannot be turned around by one person. At the beginning of the righteous army's establishment, it was for the country and the people, but in the end, it still went to defeat.

At this time, Hu Baosong suddenly realized that worldly affairs are originally a sea of reincarnation, which can only make people sink deeper and deeper. Only cultivation is what people of our generation should do.

After realizing the key points, Hu Baosong continued to embark on the road of searching for immortal bonds: Tushan Collection, Mount Taodou, Qingqiu...

There is no time for cultivators. More than twenty years later, Hu Baosong, who was over fifty, was still like a twenty-year-old.

That day, he was walking in the ruins of Qingqiu and met a female fortune teller.

The fortune teller and he hit it off immediately, taking him to play around in the dilapidated Qingqiu ruins. In the middle, Hu Baosong obtained some cultivation methods, among which was the talisman book "Cave Heaven Treasure Record."

After the two walked out of Qingqiu, Hu Baosong couldn't help but ask about the female fortune teller's identity again.

"My name is Bai Qiuyu, and Qingqiu is my hometown."

Hu Baosong finally understood that he had met a real fox woman.

"Senior, can I take you as my master and cultivate with you?"

Bai Qiuyu smiled and shook her head: "You originate from Tushan Collection, and I am a fox of Qingqiu. My Qingqiu method cannot be passed to you. Even the methods you obtained in Qingqiu before cannot be counted as my Qingqiu method."

"Furthermore, you seem to have forgotten an important thing."

"What thing?"

"A mortal's life span is no more than a hundred years. You went out to travel greedily, not knowing the passage of time. Now, your father has reached the end of his life."

(End of chapter)