Chapter 55

Zhao Yuan, whose physique was as imposing as a bear, was hanging his head low, his face full of gloom. It seemed the exam had not gone well, and his uncle, Zhao Zhonghe, was counseling him.

"A-Yuan, you have already done your best. Even if you didn't pass, you are still better than those cowards who left the exam hall shortly after entering."

"Besides, our Zhao family has always relied on martial arts to establish ourselves; it is not strictly necessary to study and seek an official career."

After Zhao Zhonghe finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Xu Qing, who had just returned and was waiting for the results to be posted.

He was the very coward the other party spoke of, who had handed in his paper and left less than half an hour after entering the exam hall.

Beside them, the Wu brothers and Wu Yaoxing squeezed into the inner circle of the crowd, where two clerks were preparing to post the red list on the wall.

"Haha, my name is on it! From now on, I am also a child scholar!"

"Could it be that there are more lists to be posted? How could my name not be on this one?"

Once the red list was out, there was joy for some and sorrow for others.

The Wu brothers squeezed out of the crowd in high spirits. Seeing them emerge, Wu Yaoxing's heart jumped to his throat.

"How is it? Is Wencai's name on the list?"

"Father, this is just a child scholar exam; even a fool could pass. What do you have to worry about? Wencai has studied for over ten years; for him, it's as easy as pie."

As soon as Wu Zhiyuan finished speaking, Wu Wencai excitedly shouted to Xu Qing: "Brother Xu is also on the list! I said that since Brother Xu left the exam hall so early, he must have finished the paper in advance and was confident."

Beside them, the over-eight-foot-tall Zhao Yuan turned pale, his entire aura wilting, looking as if his Dao heart had been shattered by invisible blades.

Immediately after, a government office clerk came over and shook his head at him.

With this, his last shred of hope died.

"... Uncle, I am truly not suited for studying. Our Zhao family just doesn't have the brain for it."

"..."

Zhao Zhonghe was embarrassed and angry, his face instantly flushing red.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Straighten your back! Our Zhao family has practiced martial arts for generations; we are bold and sturdy. So what if we don't study?"

Zhao Zhonghe grumbled, his mouth full of sour words like someone who had knocked over a vinegar jar.

Nearby, Wang Ling stroked his beard and smiled, sighing inwardly that his junior fellow apprentice was neither arrogant nor impetuous. While studying, he did not neglect the sect's teachings and could even come to learn autopsy techniques. Such character was truly rare.

It was just that his junior fellow apprentice was still unmarried. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father; it was time for him, as the elder, to act as a matchmaker and bridge the gap for his junior.

On the way to celebrate at the flower house, Wang Ling probed, "Junior fellow apprentice, is there any lady you fancy?"

Xu Qing was thoughtful, then listed them like counting family treasures: "There are quite a few, like the sisters Zixi and Qiaorui from Cuiyun Pavilion; and Mr. Duan Zhimei from the Liyuan Opera House. They are all good girls who are charitable and generous.

Senior fellow apprentice, don't misunderstand; Mr. Duan is a woman. She just sings opera well and often plays male roles, and her stage presence is steady, which is why she is called 'Mr.'"

"In addition, the ten talented women selected by the Kui Gu Order of the Shu Huang Pavilion not long ago are also quite good. I fancy them all..."

"I'm talking about serious matters! Don't you want to start a family and establish a career? I was ignorant of priorities when I was young, only caring about wandering around, so that at this age, I can only spend my days with the corpses in the mortuary, with no hope at all."

Spending days with corpses—isn't that a heaven-sent blessing?

Xu Qing had always felt an affinity for the mortuary trade, and now that he heard Wang Ling say this, he yearned for it even more.

Perhaps when the funeral shop's business was slow one day, he could consider changing careers to become a mortuary worker.

"I have no children. In a few years, perhaps when I die, there won't be a single child to come and burn incense for me... Are you even listening? I am speaking from experience; all of this is for your future."

"Senior fellow apprentice, do not worry. If that day truly comes, I will not let you go without someone to pay respects."

"Is that what I meant? I'm talking about you!"

"Oh! We've arrived at Youlan Courtyard. I hear there are a few young ladies here who are quite good; they have learned massage techniques from imperial physicians and can cure all sorts of ailments. Senior fellow apprentice, you must give it a try!"

"I am getting old..."

"It's just a massage! Senior fellow apprentice, you are still vigorous; are you afraid of breaking your body? I have strengthening pills here, as well as prescriptions for nourishing qi and blood!"

In the flower and willow lanes, the music of pipes and strings intertwined, a scene of leisure and elegance.

Outside the Crown Prince's residence, Zuo Zixiong carried his pack and sighed at the moon.

In the battle at Shu Huang Pavilion, he failed to protect the Mingtiao Zither. The Crown Prince was dissatisfied and sent him back to the Jingying camp to report for duty.

Zuo Zixiong felt aggrieved and explained the logic to the Crown Prince: "The Heaven Heart Sect rebels have been plotting for a long time. Now the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light; they may return at any time. A subject eats the ruler's salary; how can I return to the capital at such a critical moment? I beg Your Highness to retract the order."

The Crown Prince did not care, saying indifferently, "A group of vulgar and lowly people, only knowing how to lurk in filthy corners like rats and ants, dare to speak of Heaven's Mandate? Captain Zuo, does the orphan lack only you to be unable to defeat them? Companion, do you also think the orphan is so easy to kill?"

The old eunuch beside the Crown Prince chuckled, "With this servant here, naturally I will not let Your Highness suffer the slightest harm. As for Captain Zuo... even the carriage driver for Your Highness is likely far superior to him."

The moonlight tonight was beautiful; Zuo Zixiong's complexion was very poor.

His Highness the Crown Prince's carriage driver was a poker-faced man who never joked, but he was very friendly to him.

"Captain Zuo, the capital is far away; you cannot rely on foot travel alone. This thousand-mile horse is gifted to you."

"Many thanks for the kindness, but I cannot accept a reward without merit. I cannot accept this horse. Besides, there is a post station not far outside the square; I will take an official horse to ride." Zuo Zixiong cupped his hands, didn't even look at the precious steed, and turned to disappear into the night.

"Truly a good official. If there is a chance..."

The carriage driver looked in the direction Zuo Zixiong left, his eyes flickering.

At the crow of the rooster at dawn, Xu Qing returned to his residence.

Yesterday, he performed funeral rites for many Heaven Heart Sect corpses and gained quite a few skills. Now that he finally had a moment of leisure to be alone, he naturally had to organize them properly.

There is a saying among the people: wherever there is a poisonous snake, there must be an antidote within seven steps.

Although this saying is not entirely reliable, there is indeed a method that can be used to neutralize snake venom.

This method is the fishing and hunting sorcery Xu Qing obtained yesterday—the Snake-Returning Curse.

If one is unfortunately bitten by a poisonous snake, one only needs to draw a Peace Talisman, go to the place where the snake injured the person, use incense to stick the characters "Mountain, Forest, Bamboo" into the ground, then stick incense around the characters to draw a circle, sit cross-legged inside the circle, and chant the "Snake-Returning Curse."

The snake that injured the person will appear with the antidote in its mouth.

Xu Qing followed the Snake-Returning method, used a cinnabar pen to draw three Peace Talismans, and kept them on his person. As for whether a zombie is afraid of snake bites, he had never tried it, and there were no examples in the Corpse Classic.

However, this did not matter; the function of the Peace Talisman did not conflict with the Snake-Returning Curse. Its purpose was merely to prevent the intrusion of poisonous insects and snakes.

After dismantling the useful parts of the Snake-Returning Curse, Xu Qing began to move back and forth in the courtyard.

It was still early, and the results wouldn't be posted until after the afternoon. Xu Qing had nothing to do, so he turned into the government office next door.

Others, such as the aphrodisiac formula and the method of prolonged combat, also had their own effects. Based on the survival philosophy that having many skills is never a burden,

Xu Qing's demand for skills was never satisfied.

Zombies have no lifespan; in the long years, these skills would always have a time to be useful.

After organizing the Human-grade rewards one by one, what remained were the Earth-grade rewards.

The Earth-grade middle-tier "Stake-Lodging Method" and the Earth-grade lower-tier "Puppet Art."

From the beginning until now, Xu Qing had examined nearly a hundred corpses, and Earth-grade skills were few and far between; this was the first time he had obtained an Earth-grade middle-tier reward.

The Stake-Lodging Method, depending on the practitioner's level of cultivation, can offset a certain degree of damage to the main body. This is a technique with a low floor but a very high ceiling; no matter the level of cultivation, it can be used as a method to protect the Dao.

This method implicitly contains the Eight Trigrams; the stake body is static, and the main body is dynamic. Xu Qing used zombie blood as a medium to carve human body runes on the shade-locust tree behind the courtyard.

Qian for the head, Kun for the abdomen, Zhen for the feet, Xun for the thighs, Kan for the ears, Li for the eyes, Gen for the palms, Dui for the mouth...

After the runes on the locust tree were carved, Xu Qing carved the corresponding patterns on his own body. With his current cultivation, he could at most apply the first substitute to a stubborn stone, a tree stump, or a puppet.

Xu Qing had seen the death scene of Qin Dengming and felt that possessing a puppet was not the best strategy. Once the Stake-Lodging Method was broken, the puppet would inevitably shatter, which would instead mean losing a trump card.

It would be better to choose the stake body on other external objects, so that even if the stake body shattered, the puppet on his person could still protect him.

As for why he chose the shade-locust tree, it was because the locust tree had spirit and room for growth. If carefully cultivated, perhaps one day it could become his personal substitute.

At dawn, a touch of spiritual energy escaped into the locust tree, and countless runes shone brilliantly for an instant before disappearing.

The runes carved on his body also disappeared at the same time.

In the dark, Xu Qing felt a subordinate connection between himself and the locust tree; although weak, it was real.

After performing the Stake-Lodging Method, Xu Qing reached out to touch the rough bark of the shade-locust tree and said in a gentle tone, "From now on, I will rely on you to shelter me from the wind and rain. You must strive to do well, otherwise, I fear I will have to find another substitute..."

As Xu Qing's voice fell, the shade-locust tree rustled, its branches and leaves shaking, as if it were exceptionally grateful to the owner of this courtyard.

After all, a landlord's house does not keep idlers. Xu Qing gave this tree an employment opportunity; how could it not be grateful?

(End of chapter)