Chapter 187

As the Grand Master of the Cat Immortal Hall, Xu Qing knew every temple and hall inside and outside Linjiang County.

At this moment, Xu Qing silently cultivated yin energy within his left sleeve, while gripping the reins with his right hand, riding his piebald horse swiftly, and soon arrived outside a small temple.

He dismounted, and raindrops struck the wide straw cape and conical hat, spraying mist.

Inside the temple, several beggars huddled in the corner, while a group of escort guards huddled around a newly lit fire.

Xu Qing took one look and recognized them—he wasn't that young master of Tai'an Escort Guild?

When the escort guards in the temple saw Xu Qing, their team leader immediately signaled to the others.

Everyone silently shielded a woman wrapped in a face veil, positioning her at the very center; Xu Qing saw this and didn't know what to say.

Was he really that much of a villain?

Walking up to the group, Xu Qing's gaze fell on a rolled straw mat behind them.

"Gentlemen, make way—I'm here to collect someone."

Clang—

No sooner had Xu Qing spoken than the escort guards drew their swords and knives, ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

"Friend, you can't take this person!"

They clustered tightly around the woman, just one step away from the straw mat.

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow. "You escort your client; I collect mine. We stay out of each other's way—why can't I take him?"

As he spoke, Xu Qing removed his conical hat and pointed at the still straw mat. "Young master, we're old acquaintances. The person I'm here for is inside that mat—not the one you're escorting. Surely that mat isn't your cargo?"

Xie Yunyan looked at Xu Qing and felt he looked familiar, but couldn't place him—Xu Qing's aura now differed greatly from when he wore the silver armor.

But the gold-badged escort guard, notoriously bad at conversation, spotted Xu Qing instantly after half a year.

"Aren't you that shopkeeper who deals with the dead?"

"Deals with the dead?" Xie Yunyan frowned.

The gold-badged guard leaned close to Xie Yunyan, as if no one else were there. "Master, you've forgotten? Half a year ago, we took Feng Er's job—we lost a whole team. We were escorting this shopkeeper's cargo. You lost an arm over it, took half a month to recover. You don't remember?"

At the mention of the fallen men, Xie Yunyan instantly recalled.

"Master, I think this man's bad luck clashes with ours. Don't provoke him. Let him have the mat—clear a path, send him off quick, before he brings us more misfortune."

Xu Qing's brow twitched—he was being spoken of right to his face like he wasn't there!

"Ah, it's Master Xu. Long time no see."

Xie Yunyan offered a polite greeting, then waved his hand, signaling the others to make way.

Escorts travel the land, crossing mountains and bridges; safety of goods depends entirely on the code of the Jianghu.

When facing hostile guests, we wield our might; when meeting acquaintances or kind guests, we yield the path.

Seeing the path cleared, Xu Qing bowed slightly, then stepped forward to the straw mat.

He unrolled the mat—there lay the corpse of Old Lady Wang.

Beside it, the frail woman who had been sitting by the mat gasped in shock.

Xie Yunyan exclaimed, "Master Xu, this is..."

Xu Qing, unfazed, said: "A mortuary isn't always a temple, but a temple can serve as a mortuary. You've surely heard of these Yin Gate practices."

"This person is my client—roughly the same as your 'living escort,' except mine is dead, yours is alive. That's the only difference."

Xie Yunyan nodded, then added: "The rain outside is heavy. Master Xu, why not wait until it clears? There's a fire here—it'll dry the damp."

"No. The family is waiting. I must return to set up the ancestral altar and perform rites. Delaying won't do."

Corpses decay faster than living people. Xu Qing judged Old Lady Wang had been dead at least two days, and Wang's younger sister waited at the shop—he couldn't afford to linger.

Xu Qing took off his straw cape and draped it over the corpse—his care for the dead was greater than for himself.

The escort guards watched Xu Qing cover the corpse with the cape, then carry it away into the torrential rain, and felt a deep respect.

Now that's what you call dedication!

Leaving the temple outside the city, Xu Qing rode his horse back the same way.

Along the way, he casually checked the woman's lantern of the dead.

Compared to Wang's younger sister's account, the corpse's recollection was far more detailed and truthful.

Old Lady Wang's early life was ordinary—a simple peasant woman who lived a life of farming and weaving. Xu Qing skimmed through it, then focused on the past two years.

One day, Wang Liang returned with several men of noble bearing.

Old Lady Wang didn't recognize them, assuming they were her grandson's friends. At mealtime, she slaughtered an old hen to entertain these honored guests.

She heard the lead fat boy speak of heroes of the realm, male ambition, corrupt ministers stealing the throne, and the need to uphold justice and save the people from suffering.

She didn't understand, but her grandson listened with burning ears and flushed cheeks. The next day, he packed his bags, settled his household affairs, and left home with the fat boy.

Xu Qing recognized the fat boy—no one else but Prince Zhu.

The little fat boy was generous—he left two hundred taels of silver and a crippled old soldier behind.

Old Lady Wang didn't want the old soldier to stay—she was just an old woman, and village gossip would say she'd grown sentimental in her old age and taken a young man as company.

The fat boy said the man was a veteran who survived the Tianmen Pass battle; with him around, no one would dare bully the household.

From Old Lady Wang's perspective, Xu Qing saw the crippled veteran often practicing martial forms at dawn—the three- or four-hundred-pound stone roller, in his hands, felt as light as a clay pellet.

Judging by the form, he was surely at least a Third Realm Passage-Opening martial master.

To trade a promising half-grown boy for an aged, crippled martial master—even one of such power—was a bold gamble.

"That little fat boy has good eyesight."

Xu Qing continued reading. As Wang's younger sister had said, with a Passage-Opening martial master present, no petty thugs could challenge them.

Until one day, the so-called Jingcheng-based owner behind the brokerage stood at Wang's door.

He wore an embroidered long robe, gesturing constantly with his orchid fingers, his voice shrill as a duck escaped its pen—unbearably grating.

"No matter how long ago you served, if you block our path to profit, you're our enemy!"

"Today I am in a good mood and will not hold a grudge against you old thing. From tomorrow on, you and the little beast in your household must leave this place; I will pretend nothing ever happened."

Before the Eunuch could finish speaking, the lame old man opened his mouth: "When this old man bathed in blood on the battlefield for Great Yong, your testicles probably hadn't even been cut yet! Now you, a eunuch without eggs, dare to bully the families of my military households?"

The old man straightened his hunched back, but the eunuch in front of him reached out and pressed it down.

"Old thing, you are right; I am indeed a person without eggs, but in this current world, even a person without eggs can bully you people with eggs. What can you do? You curse me, yet I will not be angry at all."

While saying he was not angry, the ruthlessness in the Eunuch's hand did not loosen at all; in the time it took to rest a shoulder and pass by, the veteran soldier who had long endured the battlefield fell to the ground.

After doing all this, the pale-faced, beardless Eunuch took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands; finally, his gaze fell upon the old woman inside the door holding a broom, who dared not step forward for a long time.

"You are also one without eggs, just like me, so I will not make things difficult for you."

Having finished speaking, the Eunuch climbed onto the sedan chair with a smile and swayed away from the Wang family.

After the Eunuch left, the old woman's legs went soft, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Gazing at the corpse of the lame old man at the door, the old woman beat her own legs while weeping bitterly.

It was not until the youngest sister of the Wang family, who had gone out to pick vegetables, returned with her vegetable basket that the old woman, supported by her granddaughter, stood up.

Since then, the old woman suffered from a heart ailment; she could not eat, nor could she sleep well. Coupled with the house being seized by others and spending days exposed to wind and dew, before long, the old woman passed away.

On the muddy dirt road, the wind and rain continued; water bubbles on the ground popped one after another. Xu Qing held a string of Buddhist beads capable of calming the mind and settling the spirit in his hand, yet his heart was like the water bubbles splashing up from the ground, impossible to calm no matter what.

This string of Buddhist beads was the reward obtained for conducting the funeral rites for the old woman of the Wang family; when the old woman was alive, she often chanted scriptures and recited Buddha's name, and her humble dwelling was essentially a small Buddhist hermitage.

But alas, the Buddha did not save the old woman.

Xu Qing twirled the Buddhist beads, feeling increasingly depressed and restless the more he twirled them, until the beads began to emit white smoke before he suddenly came to his senses.

He almost forgot! These Buddhist beads have the effect of calming the mind and settling the spirit for ordinary people, but they do not have this function for evil spirits and zombies; no wonder he felt something was wrong the more he twirled them.

It turns out that this wild zombie cannot digest the fine bran of the Buddhist sect!

Xu Qing clicked his tongue, noting that the head of the Daoist sect, the Celestial Master's Mansion, was at odds with him, and the Buddhist sect also held prejudices against him.

Even when undergoing a tribulation, he had to thrust the Merit Stele right in front of the eyes of the Heavenly Lord just to barely escape it.

Tell me, how is it that he is so difficult!

At the Coroner's Shop, Xu Qing returned carrying the corpse of the old woman of the Wang family.

The youngest sister of the Wang family was crying and wailing, making Xu Qing increasingly annoyed.

After dressing the old woman in her burial clothes and grooming her appearance, Xu Qing lit a candle, fetched mourning robes, and handed them to the young girl.

Finally, Xu Qing took out another string of Buddhist beads and gave them to the youngest sister of the Wang family, saying: "Keeping vigil is boring; take this string of Buddhist beads. Whether you have business or not, pray for blessings for the old woman; talking to her is also good."

After doing all this, Xu Qing put on his straw raincoat again, looking as if he intended to go out once more.

Xuan Yu, who was possessing Sun Erniang, asked in confusion: "It is raining so heavily outside; where are you going?"

"Just strolling around to digest the food."

Xu Qing put on his bamboo hat and, just before leaving the door, added one more sentence:

"And also go collect another corpse."

Leaving the shop door, Xu Qing headed straight for Wanshou County.

The corpse he intended to collect this time was not a dead body, but rather he was going to chase down a living corpse.

What is called chasing a living corpse?

Forcing a living person into a coffin is called chasing a living corpse!

On the empty government road in the rain, Xu Qing rode a piebald horse, stopping and starting; at every crossroads, he would take off his shoes and throw them into the middle of the road.

This is the Method of Throwing Shoes to Ask the Road, a minor divination technique.

Xu Qing arrived at Wanshou County, taking his time all the way; occasionally, when he encountered carriages or horses stuck in the mud and unable to extricate themselves, he would even lend a hand.

Inside the county town, the blacksmith in the iron shop was clanging and banging on the anvil.

Xu Qing, wearing his straw raincoat and bamboo hat, walked into the shop; the blacksmith could not see his face, so he casually asked what he wanted.

Xu Qing remained silent, walked alone to the corner, picked up an axe used for splitting firewood, and weighed it in his hand.

Before the blacksmith could ask again, Xu Qing tossed out a fragment of silver, which landed precisely on the anvil in front of the blacksmith.

Leaving the blacksmith shop, Xu Qing reached out and wiped away the craftsman's name engraved on the axe face.

Then he extended his fingernail, writing and drawing on the axe face; sparks flickered on and off, and when the characters were carved, Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Carrying the axe, Xu Qing arrived at the alley opposite the brokerage house; he took out a team of paper men coated with wax oil and waterproofed, carrying a black-red coffin, and walked toward the entrance of the brokerage house.

Paper money was scattered, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and raindrops fell on the coffin, producing a hollow sound.

The old saying goes: Rain striking a coffin means ten years of bitterness; rain sprinkling on a grave produces a noble person.

Carrying a coffin out on a rainy day is a taboo and is not beneficial for the person inside the coffin.

Yet right now, at the entrance of the brokerage house where the rain was pouring down, a team of paper men carrying a coffin had arrived.

The gatekeeper guard thought the emissaries of the Yin Court were coming to claim his soul; disregarding closing the door and latching it, he turned around and rolled and crawled into the brokerage house.

The Accountant Mr. heard the guard's cry that there were ghosts; he did not believe it, turned his head, opened the upstairs window, and poked his head out to look down.

It would have been better not to look, but once he looked...

Good heavens! He happened to see a straw effigy paper man, several feet tall, wearing a veil, passing by the window.

One of the straw effigies turned its head; the veil swayed slightly, facing the Accountant Mr.'s face, revealing half a pale countenance!

And on that face, there were crimson eyes painted with a cinnabar brush.

"."

The Accountant Mr.'s eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

The paper man team continued to explore inward; when they reached the middle of the open-air well tower of the brokerage house, a group of guards wielding spears and clubs appeared in the corridor on the opposite building.

The one leading at the very front was a pale-faced, beardless Eunuch wearing an embroidered brocade robe.

The Eunuch's voice was the familiar duck-like croak heard in the lantern show of life and death.

"Playing with spirits and ghosts; does your excellency think that knowing some heterodox methods allows you to provoke me?"

Several thugs from the nearby pawnshop let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this; judging by the Eunuch's appearance, these paper men might indeed only be frightening to look at.

However, before the crowd could boost their morale, a Chang Jiang with ox-hoof feet and a demon head suddenly burst forth from the ground in the middle of the well tower.

Then came a second one, then a third.

When exactly fifteen Chang Jiang had filled the well tower, another Chang Jiang began to emerge from the ground, but as soon as it poked its head out and saw the tower was already at full capacity, it sank back into the ground on its own.

These Chang Jiang, now fully revealed, all possessed ox-hoof demon heads and white bone bodies; in terms of size, they were even taller than the straw effigies, which stood over a zhang high.

"Who exactly are you, demon? I am a close servant of the Imperial Household Department. Offending me is a minor matter, but if you offend the Imperial Household Department..."

Before Lou Xiaowu could finish speaking, the Chang Jiang inside the well tower pulled out a rib from its chest, transformed it into a bone-blade sickle, and hurled it at him!

Dozens of bone blades, wrapped in black Yin Sha, sliced through the rain curtain; in the blink of an eye, they reached Lou Xiaowu's front.

"Bold!"

His embroidered robe billowed as Lou Xiaowu enveloped his entire body in Gang Qi; with a flick of his sleeve, he smashed all those bone blades, which served as hidden weapons, to pieces.

"Hmm?" The Eunuch Lou let out a tone of surprise and suspicion, then curled his orchid-finger hand and smiled: "I thought you were some kind of hero, but you turn out to be nothing but a pretty-looking fake."

One Chang Jiang is equivalent to a martial artist at the Condensed Gang Realm, yet Lou Xiaowu, who hails from the Imperial Household Department, had clearly touched the threshold of a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

However, before Lou Xiaowu could rejoice for long, he discovered that those Chang Jiang could not be killed.

You smash their heads and bodies, yet as long as they touch the ground, they reassemble into form.

Although their aura weakens slightly each time they reassemble, with fifteen Chang Jiang taking turns attacking, even if Lou Xiaowu possessed vast amounts of True Qi, it would not be enough to exhaust them.

What was even more disgusting was that there were reserve Chang Jiang lined up deep beneath the ground, waiting their turn to emerge.

A vague unease rose in Lou Xiaowu's heart; he felt that the opponent had not yet unleashed their full strength, while he himself was already beginning to struggle.

Leaping onto the upper floor and seeing that many of the pawnshop's martial artists had already fallen, Lou Xiaowu shouted loudly: "You lot hold off these ghosts! I have already detected the location of the mastermind behind this. Once I go out, I will capture that rat in no time!"

Having spoken, Lou Xiaowu turned, kicked the window lattice to pieces, vaulted over the third-floor eaves, jumped onto the street, and then fled toward Jingcheng without looking back.

"..."

Xu Qing fell completely silent.

Hearing the Eunuch Lou's words, he had truly believed the other had discovered his location, but he never expected this eunuch without testicles would want to abandon his companions and flee alone.

Xu Qing walked out of the alley and drew the axe tucked at his waist.

After testing the Chang Jiang, he already knew the level of this eunuch's cultivation.

Leaping up to the high building, Xu Qing held the short axe in one hand; while activating the Yin Eye to track Lou Xiaowu's movements, he simultaneously cycled the Heavenly Gang Thirty-Six Arts, continuously stacking them. When the stack reached the twelfth layer, the ordinary iron axe began to tremble and hum, clearly having reached its limit.

"Take this!"

Xu Qing swung his arm down; the iron axe, heavily wrapped in Yin Qi, transformed into a dark light and slashed directly at the tiny black spot fifteen li away.

(End of this chapter)