Chapter 57

Xu Qing had no interest in refining ordinary walking corpses, but if there were good materials like Captain Zhao, he might be a little interested.

After sending off Wang Ling and the corpse-transporting government office runners, Xu Qing locked the shop door and lit a high-quality laurel candle. Wisps of smoke circled the table, and the scent of candle oil permeating the air dispelled the strange corpse odor.

Approaching the table, he was about to reach out and touch them, but unexpectedly, the two corpses on the table suddenly began to struggle!

The tightly bound corpses were like large silkworms, struggling and wriggling away, attempting to escape this place.

Seeing this, Xu Qing bared his teeth and gave a sinister laugh, reaching out to grab the ankles of the two corpses and dragging them back.

"Since you're here, don't be in such a hurry to leave!"

Can someone who can scare a dead person into rising during the day be an ordinary person? Xu Qing seemed unaware of how terrifying he was; with a sinister laugh, he instead released a bit more of his restrained, eerie aura.

On the table, the two corpses were like good women stripped of their clothes by a lecher, clinging tightly together and shivering.

Xu Qing did not know how to cherish the fair and pity the fragile.

In this day and age, who doesn't have a bit of corpse scent on them?

Pressing down on the neck of one of the corpses, he flipped the page of the Sutra of Salvation.

The familiar scripture verses rang in Xu Qing's ears, and he saw the life events of the person before him.

This person was a painter.

As the saying goes, no gentleman supports an artist. In the painter's trade, luck and talent are equally important.

The young painter was very talented, but unfortunately, his nature was impatient, and he went down a blind alley, insisting on changing his fate against heaven, privately thinking that as long as he had the support of a noble person, his paintings could sell for their deserved value.

Thus, the painter used connections to cling to the wealthy, meeting many romantic nobles. It's just that these people were not upright from the root; they didn't look for him to paint mountains and rivers, but to paint beauties.

And they were the kind of beauties who weren't wearing any clothes.

At first, the painter had doubts in his heart, thinking that he was a decent person and would never lower himself to paint this vulgar stuff!

If he could have really kept his original intention and remained unshaken, perhaps there wouldn't have been what followed. But the young painter ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of fame and profit, and picked up his brush to paint living spring palaces for the nobles.

At first, it was girls from brothels, then it was maidservants in the nobles' mansions. He painted these because, after all, the former was a matter of mutual consent and a business transaction, and the latter were maidservants bought by the nobles; how they were treated and tormented was not something even the government could manage.

The painter thought that if it could continue like this, it would be fine. But how could he know that in the circle of the powerful, these were just appetizers, and the big ones were waiting for him later!

Forcing widows, intimidating timid girls, coercing married women in front of their husbands...

The nobles' private behavior became more and more outrageous, and the more the painter painted, the more uncomfortable he felt, and the more he felt it shouldn't be.

If he hadn't taken this job and walked this path in the beginning, wouldn't these things have happened? Wouldn't those good women have been teased?

It is said that a thousand-mile dike is destroyed by an ant hole. Every time the painter painted a picture, he felt his heart being bitten by poisonous ants.

He didn't know if it was his remaining conscience or that last bit of persistence being bitten.

The steed in the former Steed Painting turned into a thin horse. The eagle in the Eagle Pouncing Painting turned into a bald eagle.

In short, the nobles played more and more inhumanly, and the content of the paintings changed from women to handsome young men.

The painter was unmoved; in order to get the support of the nobles, he still endured the discomfort and continued to paint.

Until one day, while the painter was painting, a good woman who had been bullied by servants suddenly broke free from her restraints and hit her head on the corner of the table, dying.

The painter's face was sticky and hot. He wiped his face, his hands covered in the blood the woman had sprayed on him. Looking down at the painting, the unfinished spring palace scene was spotted, like a plum blossom in the middle of winter, telling of her innocence.

The next day, the painter hanged himself.

But he didn't hang himself; it was because the painter wanted to report to the officials and expose the filthy behavior of these upper-class people that this happened.

You, a painter, where did you get the courage?

At the noble's command, the fierce servants acted like ghosts helping a tiger, beating the painter severely. After the other party was completely breathless, they used a rope to "disguise" him as a suicide.

Later, the government investigated the case and gave a reply.

It said that the painter was impatient and went down a blind alley, thinking that paintings were only valuable after a person died, so he hanged himself.

In the mortuary shop, Xu Qing sighed deeply, took out the tools for mortuary makeup, and applied a decent look to the painter.

After it was done, Xu Qing counted the rewards and obtained a Human-grade lower-tier painting skill, which could paint mountains and water, but the grade was too low to paint the human heart.

There was also a Human-grade upper-tier high-imitation Mountain and River Painting, which could be used to store some miscellaneous items.

Xu Qing casually took out the dog-beating stick from under the table, his mind moved slightly, the Mountain and River Painting shook, and the next moment a miniature stick as thin as a hair appeared in the painting.

It looked as if it had been painted on.

He moved his mind again, and the dog-beating stick reappeared in his hand.

The Sumeru Mountain and River Painting was actually a mustard-seed storage magic tool.

This thing is good! Xu Qing rarely showed a smile. Although this magic tool was only Human-grade upper-tier and the storage space was limited, it was an incredibly convenient thing for him.

In the past, he had to carry a bag when he went out, like a fortune-telling wandering master! Sometimes when he went to the street, passersby would ask him for medical prescriptions, thinking he was a wild doctor who treated venereal diseases.

Now it's good; things like strength pills, cooling powder, truth pills, and three-day big-fool spring experience cards could all be put in here.

On this side, Xu Qing was happily moving his belongings into the Sumeru Mountain and River Painting.

On the other side of the table, seeing that the terrifying evil spirit was no longer paying attention to him, the other tightly bound corpse began to wriggle outwards again.

When Xu Qing finished packing his belongings and looked back,

Well, that big maggot was almost wriggling to the door!

Tell me, you, I'm performing funeral rites and salvation for you for free; what are you running for?

This isn't a black shop.

Dragging the corpse that wanted to escape back again, Xu Qing gave it a big slap, and the other party immediately quieted down.

With the Mountain and River Painting as a cushion, Xu Qing's mood was significantly lighter, and he was no longer afraid that this corpse wouldn't yield good rewards.

After a series of slices of the living person's life, Xu Qing had a pair of uniquely shaped bone flutes in his hand.

This flute is called the Crane Bone Flute.

It is rumored among the people that the Crane Bone Flute is made from the humerus of a red-crowned crane's wing, and it must be the oldest male crane, the strongest head crane!

A crane has two wings, and the Crane Bone Flute also comes in a pair.

One left flute, one right flute, can play different tones. If they are played in harmony, it is truly the sound of heaven.

Whether it is mountains and rivers, ancient and modern times, parents and children, or virtuous couples, all longing can be conveyed in the sound of the Crane Bone Flute.

The Crane Bone Flute was originally a left and right pair that grew on the same body, and they were extremely spiritual to each other. If one was broken, the other would inexplicably break as well.

This flute is rare. First, it is difficult to find an old crane with copper bones that has reached the age, and second, there are very few craftsmen who can drill the flute holes accurately.

The pair in Xu Qing's hand, however, seemed to be made by heaven, warm and moist like jade.

People say that the sound of the Crane Bone Flute is the most longing; this flute also has a story behind it.

As for what exactly happened, it has to start with the porter on the table...

(End of chapter)