Chapter 7

As soon as Xu Qing stepped into Jingxia Street, he smelled a scent that made his whole body's pores unable to help but relax.

Passing the incense and candle shop, the wax oil and wax fat brought the fragrance of laurel fruit and the unique fragrance of animal fat.

Passing the paper-craft shop, the scent similar to the incense money just burned on a grave made one unable to stop.

Walking a little further, although there was nothing in the coffin shop that made his index finger move, the fragrance of the coffin wood that hadn't been painted yet gave him a sense of belonging, like returning home after working overtime in the middle of the night and throwing himself onto a soft bed.

He really wanted to break into the shop now, find a thick coffin, and sleep for a few days...

Walking on the street of funeral shops, Xu Qing felt as if his heart was being scratched by a cat or dog. His brain was filled with extravagant scenes of chewing candles, drinking incense smoke, and sleeping drunk in a coffin after eating and drinking his fill.

Relying on the self-control of his "true self" consciousness, he forcibly suppressed those messy thoughts. When he came back to his senses, he discovered he had already walked to the storefront Liu Youdao had set up.

The shop in front of him was spliced together by three pairs of opposite door panels. Daily business could choose to remove any door panel according to needs.

For example, in bad weather, when there is strong wind and heavy snow, only one door panel can be removed. If it is a sunny day with beautiful weather, all door panels can be removed to open the door and welcome guests.

Xu Qing looked up at the door plaque with black characters on a black background. The lacquer characters inscribed on it were very clear; it was a new shop that had been decorated not long ago.

As for the characters on the plaque, Xu Qing, who was well-versed in the Book of Scriptures, could identify them at a glance. What was written on it was exactly the three official characters: "Corpse-Worker Shop."

So-called "corpse-workers" are people in ancient times who move and lift corpses, dress corpses, carry coffins, dig and bury, collect and wash bones, and are responsible for funeral ceremonies.

"Finally arrived!"

Xu Qing removed the bag he got from Liu Youdao, searched through it, and finally found the shop key in the interlayer.

Opening the lock and removing a door panel, his zombie talent of seeing at night allowed him to easily see the layout inside the shop.

A counter, two Yin-shade wood coffins placed against the west wall, and the shelves facing east were filled with tools for cleaning corpses, as well as bottles and jars for applying makeup to the dead.

In the southeast corner, there was also an offering table and spirit tablets.

Xu Qing walked over to take a look and discovered it was the offering tablet for Liu Youdao's master.

After looking at the front shop, Xu Qing paced to the small courtyard behind the shop to take a look.

At this time, he was like a customer looking to buy a house, looking at the feng shui of each place inside and out, up and down, and even the simple latrine in the backyard—he opened the partition and peeked inside.

After looking at the entire shop, Xu Qing seemed very satisfied.

A horse doesn't get fat without night grass; a person doesn't get rich without windfall wealth.

Who could have imagined that in just one night, he had obtained the wealth that a corpse-driver would need to struggle for a lifetime to possess.

However, if he wanted to properly inherit this family property, he still needed to polish the details of each place.

He was now not only proficient in corpse-driving techniques but also not inferior to ordinary corpse-drivers in moving spirits, burying, and Yin track acupuncture points.

Relying on these professional abilities, he could completely honor Liu Youdao as his master and reasonably inherit the master's legacy.

Returning to the front shop, Xu Qing, who had an idea, searched around and found two things.

One was the pen and inkstone used for bookkeeping on the counter, and the other was the empty character plaque sold on the shelf.

There is a saying: "Details determine success or failure." Since he had made up his mind to play the role of Liu Youdao's apprentice, he had to do the whole act.

Now that Liu Youdao had passed away, he, as the apprentice, naturally had to set up a long-life tablet for his deceased "kind master." Otherwise, if someone asked one day and wanted to pay respects, only to find that he, who claimed to be an apprentice, didn't even offer a tablet for his master...

Wouldn't that just invite suspicion?

The meticulous Xu Qing took the pen, ink, and plaque and came to the offering table in the southeast corner.

On the offering table, there was already a tablet with Liu Youdao's own handwriting before he died. In the center of the tablet was written "The Venerable Position of Kind Master Yang Taigong Qiying," on the right side was written a couplet: "Immortal Lord guides, merit is complete," and in the lower-left corner was written "Unfilial Apprentice, Liu Youdao kowtows and sets up."

Xu Qing followed suit, dipped the pen in ink, and set up a new tablet below the ancestor's spirit tablet.

In the center of the tablet was written "The Venerable Position of Master Liu Gong Youdao," on the right side was "Master's merit and sect's virtue flow far, apprentice's descendants have no limit to the Way."

Finally, in the lower-left corner was written "Rebellious Apprentice, Xu Family Son kowtows with a painful heart."

After doing all this, Xu Qing held three sticks of incense, couldn't help but swallow a few mouthfuls to taste the saltiness, and then offered them to Master Liu.

The newly lit candle on the side suddenly flickered, and the light and shadow in the room swayed incessantly.

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows and discovered that the second door leading to the backyard wasn't closed, so wind was blowing in from the courtyard.

But he clearly remembered that the door in the courtyard had been closed by him before he came over. How much wind would it take to blow it open?

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qing seemed to have some feeling and suddenly began to speak to himself.

"Liu Youdao, oh Liu Youdao, I don't blame you for refining me into a zombie. After all, without you, I'm afraid I would have long since become a handful of wild soil. Now that you died an unnatural death, not only do I not laugh at you, but I also inherit your mantle so that you won't cut off the sect's inheritance."

"Speaking of which, you should thank me. When the Heavenly Heart Sect that harmed you is wiped out by the imperial court one day, I might even burn incense to report the good news to you. Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

Strange to say, after Xu Qing's words fell, not only was there no wind in the courtyard, but the candle that was about to flicker out also became bright again.

I don't know if it was the night wind being naughty, or if there were lonely souls whose remnants hadn't dissipated...

Waiting until the fifth watch, Xu Qing was still full of energy. I saw him holding a sharp kitchen knife, scraping the fine fluff on his cheeks in front of a bronze mirror.

These were corpse hairs. If they weren't handled properly, no matter how well he covered his qi, he would be detected as abnormal.

After scraping the fluff clean, he took a pile of bottles and jars used for makeup and dressing the dead from the miscellaneous goods shelf. Xu Qing tried the colors one by one, just like a boudoir girl applying makeup in front of a mirror.

By the time dawn broke, a "kidney-deficient young master" with a thin face appeared in the bronze mirror.

Xu Qing looked carefully and discovered that at this time, except for the sickly pale complexion, there was no other abnormality.

At this time, morning birds chirped outside the window, and there were more and more hawking sounds on the street.

A new day in Linhe Ward had arrived.

Xu Qing, wearing a thick-soled long robe of green color, peeked at the pedestrians occasionally passing by on the street through the cracks in the door panels before opening the shop door.

After watching for about half a cup of tea, he stood up straight, patted the non-existent dust on his sleeves, and raised his hand to tidy his collar.

Finally, he pinched his Adam's apple, coughed twice, and tested his voice.

After confirming there was no mistake, Xu Qing removed a door panel and stepped out of the shop openly for the first time.

At this time, it was still early, and there were only a few pedestrians on the street. The door of the funeral shop next door hadn't opened yet, but the gray stone shop opposite had opened early, and laborers were carrying large bags of lime to load onto a donkey cart.

Xu Qing had already prepared a draft, just waiting for someone to come and ask about his background, so he would surely be able to respond calmly.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

He wandered at the door for a long time, but didn't see a single human shadow, let alone saying hello.

Although things didn't develop in the direction he expected, he was happy to be free.

If no one pays attention, then no one pays attention!

Thinking this way, the heart and mind that had been tense all the time relaxed instead.

Walking on the street paved with bluestone slabs, watching the merchants and pedestrians coming and going, this feeling of returning to the human world made him enjoy it exceptionally.

Passing through Jingxia Street and arriving at the busier vegetable market, looking at the old men, old women, and young wives who came out early in the morning to buy vegetables and squatted on the ground to pick and choose, Xu Qing intoxicatedly inhaled this rich worldly bustle.

Linhe Ward is adjacent to the Baisha River waterway, and its water transport and freight trade are developed. It is a very important water and land hub outside Jinmen Prefectural City.

So don't look at Linhe Ward as just a ward market; if you really compare it, even Jinmen Prefectural City might not be much stronger!

Passing the egg stall, Xu Qing suddenly felt his index finger move. He took out a few copper coins, bought a few raw eggs, broke a small hole, and while sucking them, continued to stroll.

There was a butcher washing pig offal on the clean bluestone slab, and a whole basin of pig blood next to it was still steaming!

"Hiss—" Xu Qing inhaled a mouthful of air, and the egg in his hand immediately didn't smell good!

"Young man, what do you want? Everything here is freshly slaughtered; it's very fresh!"

The butcher took out an oily rag, wiped his hands left and right, and looked at the white-faced young man staying at the stall.

"How do you sell pork?"

"Lean meat is eighteen coins a jin, fatty meat is twenty-two coins."

People in these years all lack oil and water, so fatty meat is more expensive than lean meat. If someone comes to buy fatty meat and you give them too much lean meat, they might even scold you!

"What about the hock?"

"The hock was ordered by the manager of Chunfeng Tower and will be delivered soon. If the guest wants it, you can wait until tomorrow."

"Okay! Then give me a few jin of pig blood. I see that the pig blood steamed by others is quite delicious..."

The butcher didn't think too much and pulled out a piece of oilcloth without a second word, packing the four or five jin of pig blood that had already been salted into it.

"These are miscellaneous water, so there's no need to weigh them. Just estimate it; I'll count it as eight coins!"

Xu Qing took out eight copper coins and carried the pig blood out of the vegetable market.

He had never eaten steamed pig blood or stir-fried pig blood before, but today he just wanted to taste it.

As for raw blood, he was mostly unwilling to touch it. Although the temptation of raw blood was greater, the humanity that existed in his bones still hoped to be more like a normal person.

Passing the rouge shop, Xu Qing bought a lot of rouge and powder. For him now, these things were indispensable strategic items.

Even if he became a zombie, he still needed to do daily skin care so that he could better integrate into the circle of living people.

As for the remaining rouge and powder, they could be placed on the shelf so that they could be used when there was a business of dressing the dead in the shop.

Walking and strolling like this, by the time Xu Qing was ready to go back, his hands were already full of large and small bags.

Tsk, if he kept spending like this, I'm afraid it wouldn't be long before he spent all of Liu Youdao's coffin money!

After all, that old guy spent the bulk of it on buying real estate and storefronts, and there really wasn't much left!

Returning to Jingxia Street, Xu Qing walked toward the corpse-worker shop. Halfway there, he saw a person standing at the shop entrance from afar, shrinking his neck and stomping his feet and exhaling there.

"Could this person be trying to enter my shop?"

Xu Qing approached with questions in his heart.

"Hey, hey, who are you? Why don't I see Master Liu?"

Seeing Xu Qing take out the key to open the door, the person who was stomping his feet from the cold immediately began to ask.

Xu Qing chuckled. He had prepared a draft all night, and wasn't he just waiting for this moment!

I saw him lift his disappointed and dejected face, his voice hoarse and low: "Are you looking for my master?"

"Are you his apprentice?"

Xu Qing nodded.

"That's great. Go and invite your master out quickly. The matter promised to the Liu Mansion the day before yesterday is today, and it cannot be delayed!"

Xu Qing remained silent for a long time after hearing this, until the other party couldn't help but want to ask again, then he said: "My master unfortunately passed away yesterday. The matter of your house cannot be handled today."

The errand boy sent by the Liu Mansion was clearly stunned and subconsciously said: "Master Liu was still alive and kicking the day before yesterday; how could he be gone today?"

"..."

Xu Qing glanced at the Liu Mansion errand boy who spoke without thinking and said: "People have misfortunes and blessings. Yesterday, Master Liu and I went to Liu Village Charity Morgue to do things and unfortunately encountered soldiers chasing demons of a different religion. If I hadn't run fast, you wouldn't even be able to see me today."

What he said was seven parts true and three parts false. Even if someone really went to investigate, they wouldn't be able to find anything.

The Liu Mansion errand boy didn't ask much after hearing this, but instead said anxiously: "Master Liu is gone, so what should we do about the funeral of our master today? Master Liu had already collected the deposit!"

Xu Qing said without thinking: "Master is not here, so I am in charge here. I will return the deposit you gave to you."

"This is not about money! Our young master said when he came that we must have the funeral today no matter what. If we delay the auspicious day, even if you pay more money, it will be useless!"

Xu Qing was puzzled: "What nonsense are you talking about? I checked the almanac this morning. Today is suitable for marriage and moving; it is taboo to break ground or break houses. How is it an auspicious day for a funeral?"

"Don't worry about whether it's an auspicious day or not. These things were decided by your master and our mistress and young master; how could there be a mistake!" The errand boy stomped his feet anxiously, then suddenly said: "Right! You are the old master's apprentice, you should also know how to handle these things, right?"

"That is natural. What Master knows, I, as an apprentice, am not much worse."

Xu Qing's heart moved. This matter was a good opportunity to solidify his identity as Master Liu's "high apprentice"!

"In that case, you don't have to return the deposit. Come with me, handle this big matter first, and as for the balance later, as long as you handle it well, there will naturally be no shortage of yours!"

Taking over the order that Liu Youdao hadn't finished, Xu Qing returned to the shop, found the tools needed for the funeral according to the index in the "Book of Funeral and White Affairs," and went to the Liu Mansion with the errand boy.

Speaking of which, a big event recently happened in the Liu Mansion.

A few days ago, Master Liu, along with his wife, son, and steward, went to a newly opened bathhouse in Linhe Ward to clean off dust, but Master Liu died strangely in the bathhouse pool.

The Liu family young master and the steward who witnessed the whole process of the event both said firmly that a ghost shadow appeared in the pool, and Master Liu was dragged into the pool by that ghost shadow and drowned alive!

Afterward, the ward government office sent people to inquire and investigate, and discovered that not only did the two young masters of the Liu family see the ghost shadow, but even the other guests who went to the bathhouse pool that day also saw "dirty things."

However, what these people said was all sorts of things; some said it was a Yaksha with a green face and fangs, and some said it was a water monkey from the river outside the ward that swam into the bathhouse through the underground canal.

In short, after that day, no one went to this bathhouse manor anymore!

Xu Qing didn't know the cause of Master Liu's death, nor had he heard of the strange anecdotes of the bathhouse.

He only knew that today was the first business he had taken over since taking over the corpse-worker shop, so he had to handle it beautifully!

Arriving at the Liu Mansion, Xu Qing hadn't walked into the mourning hall yet when he saw a familiar person in the crowd!

I saw a young woman with a charming face, a slim waist, and snow-white skin, wearing mourning clothes, arguing with someone in front of the heavy nanmu coffin.

Isn't this the courtesan Su Hongxiu, whom the infatuated scholar gave his life to lick?

Xu Qing, who had felt restrained, suddenly became happy.

(End of chapter)