Chapter 77: Five-Colored Horse, Thousand-Gold Fur

Small matters call for souls, big matters call for digging graves.

Xu Qing didn't see any ghosts, so he thought about digging open the grave in front of him to see what was hidden inside.

He divided a wisp of his mind, returned to his body, took an iron shovel from the Mountain and River Map, and threw it far to the automaton standing still in front of the grave.

After getting the iron shovel, the automaton found a good place to start and dug soil one shovel after another.

After digging for a long time, until he heard a *dang* sound, Xu Qing stopped the shovel, scraped it underneath, cleaned up the floating soil, and a blue stone coffin eight feet long and five feet wide was exposed under his feet.

"Whoa, what a big coffin!"

Looking at the size and specification of the coffin in front of him, Xu Qing couldn't help but click his tongue.

Just looking at the size of this coffin, the tomb owner looked like someone who was decent and had status during his lifetime.

But the problem is, who with status would be buried in such a small grave pit, without even a tomb chamber on the left or right?

And looking at the appearance of this coffin, the cut was neat and not old, as if it had been newly made not long ago.

Xu Qing circled the coffin and pondered, like an aunt buying a watermelon, tapping on the coffin lid for a long time, but didn't hear anything.

Recalling what was written in the almanac today, Xu Qing compared it with the iron shovel for a while, and finally decided to fight for it to see if he could open any good goods.

After all, what the almanac today forbids is burial and encoffining, it didn't say it forbids digging graves.

The stone coffin had no nails. Xu Qing controlled the automaton, inserted the iron shovel into the seam of the coffin lid, and pried it upward.

With a *kaboom*, after a series of operations, he didn't open the coffin lid, but instead broke the shovel handle.

The stone coffin weighed ten thousand catties, and this coffin lid alone was not something an ordinary iron shovel could pry open.

Xu Qing didn't believe in this evil. After discarding the obstructive iron shovel, he controlled the automaton, which had copper heads and iron arms, grabbed one end of the coffin lid, and pried it upward with all his might—

The coffin opened!

After the dust fell, the automaton bent down mechanically, reached into the coffin and fumbled around, and when it stood up, there was an extra corpse in its hand, bleeding from seven orifices and with a purple and blue face.

Xu Qing looked at it. The corpse was dressed plainly, with ulcerations on many parts of the skin, and there were no burial objects in the coffin.

In short, he didn't look like a rich person during his lifetime.

Although Xu Qing was a little disappointed, based on the principle of "since I'm here, I shouldn't leave without sending off," he still went down personally, came to the grave, and performed a sending-off ritual for this nameless corpse.

The familiar scriptures sounded, and the *Sutra of Saving People* flipped pages.

When a corner of the magnificent palace appeared in front of him, Xu Qing suddenly let out a light "huh."

Something is wrong, very wrong!

Looking at the palace building complex appearing in the revolving lantern, and the majestic man in a dragon robe holding the young Crown Prince and walking onto the Golden Throne...

Xu Qing was a bit confused. Where did this take him?

Before he could wonder for long, the scene shifted, and Xu Qing saw the Crown Prince pinching his nose, drinking medicine with a bitter little face.

The Longping Emperor held a book, sitting on the side, quietly reading.

The Empress took out a handkerchief, wiped the medicine stains from the Crown Prince's mouth, and said softly: "The Crown Prince's body is weak, you should listen to the imperial physician more in the future, don't practice riding and archery all day long..."

Xu Qing was silent for a long while, and couldn't help but curse in his heart.

"How can this be the Crown Prince's grave?"

Through the perspective of Crown Prince Zhao You, Xu Qing knew the identity of the tomb owner in just a few short life fragments.

Holding the doubts in his heart, Xu Qing, who vaguely felt that he had discovered a shocking melon, continued to read.

Because of his weak body, the Crown Prince often cried secretly, hating himself for being inferior to even a scholar with no strength to truss a chicken.

After the Crown Princess gave birth to the Imperial Grandson Zhao Cong, Zhao You felt as if he had been granted amnesty. From then on, he treated the Crown Princess with mutual respect, stopping at courtesy, and never indulged again.

At the age of twenty-eight, Zhao You's physical condition went from bad to worse. He had to give up practicing archery and riding, but he found a new hobby—horse judging.

"The Son of Heaven judges people, the Crown Prince judges horses." Zhao You was quite proud when he heard this, until the Grand Tutor left a motto before he died, saying that the talent of horse judging is rare in a corner, but if you look at the world, it is difficult to use.

It was also from that time that the Crown Prince, who loved archery and riding, no longer judged horses.

Xu Qing continued to look down. When Zhao You gave up all his hobbies and studied the strategy of governing the country, the Third Prince, the son of Concubine Hui, broke into his line of sight.

The Third Prince was clever and intelligent, often chatting and relieving boredom with him, and occasionally asking some questions that were so innocent that people couldn't help but laugh.

Knowing that he liked sweets, the Third Prince often brought delicious preserved fruits and honeyed snacks for him to taste.

Xu Qing hadn't noticed anything wrong when he saw this, only feeling that the two brothers were brotherly and respectful, which was really enviable.

As the eldest son, Zhao You felt that he would sooner or later have to bear the burden of governing the world, so he had been learning governance strategies step by step, only waiting for the day when his father was no longer there, so he could live up to expectations and lead the Great Yong to a revival.

However, he waited for ten years and another ten years.

At this time, Zhao You was already over fifty. The physician in the Crown Prince's manor shook his head helplessly, saying that the Crown Prince's lifespan was less than three years, or even shorter.

Zhao You couldn't sit still at this time. He had studied for so many years, giving up almost all his leisure time, wasn't it just to be able to exert the light and heat that a Crown Prince should have one day?

Looking back at his only descendant, if he couldn't live for three years and couldn't wait to inherit the throne, then Zhao Cong, as the Imperial Grandson, would definitely not be able to become the Crown Prince.

This was completely contrary to the life plan he had set initially.

Since his mother taught him to be a good Crown Prince and to inherit the throne in the future, now that the established path had deviated, Zhao You panicked completely.

That day, Zhao You went to see his mother overnight, and the two discussed for a long time. The Empress finally came up with an idea for him, which was "replacing the prince with a civet cat."

It's just that the civet cat wasn't a real civet cat, but the Imperial Grandson.

The Imperial Grandson Zhao Cong was the son of Crown Prince Zhao You, and the two looked 80-90% similar.

The Empress asked her brother to assist from the middle, finding a master of disguise in the rivers and lakes to dye his beard and dress him up. From then on, Zhao Cong was Zhao You.

The fifty-year-old Zhao You might not be able to outlive the aging Longping Emperor. But Zhao Cong, who had just finished his coming-of-age ceremony, couldn't he outlive his grandfather?

To cultivate Zhao Cong, Zhao You hadn't been idle for three years. Besides taking various rare medicines to hang his life, he was looking for various longevity methods.

Only hoping that in his lifetime, he could protect Zhao Cong all the way to the throne.

That year, the State Uncle invited a sorcerer from the Shu region, saying that there was a longevity art that could extend the Crown Prince's life by at least ten years.

On the day of the ritual, seven sorcerers with high magic power prepared an altar, ready to borrow life and extend the Crown Prince's life.

Fortunately, the custom of praying for blessings was prevalent in the country at that time, which allowed a group of sorcerers to openly perform rituals in the Crown Prince's manor.

Xu Qing saw in the revolving lantern that in the Crown Prince's manor, a group of sorcerers wearing strange costumes and waving bells were chanting, saying: "Respectfully playing to the Nanshu Bu'e Ding Shen True Monarch. The subject Zhao, the Crown Prince Zhao You. The birthday is complete, specially prepared incense to reward the vow, laboring the witchcraft, inviting the Great Yuan Witch Ancestor to upgrade and grant the technique..."

After the witch spell was chanted, the State Uncle ordered people to slaughter three animals and sacrifice them with blood.

Xu Qing smelled the pungent stench coming from the altar in the revolving lantern, and the sorcerer then asked the State Uncle to select seven boys and girls each from the manor's maids and servants, a total of fourteen, to be used as witch god sacrifices.

The dignified Crown Prince's manor was like a hell on earth that night.

After the blood stained the altar, the ritual arranged by the seven sorcerers was considered complete.

At this time, Zhao You was tied up like a zongzi and placed in a vat as tall as a person, letting the bloody water configured by the sorcerer submerge him.

When Zhao You woke up, it was already a hundred days later.

When those sorcerers left, they left behind secret methods for maintaining the body, which were actually using aloe powder and other anti-corrosion drugs to prevent the skin from rotting and ulcerating.

Zhao You uncovered the fishy cloth strips on his body, his body covered with strange witch patterns, and he was already a living dead man who was half-dead.

Seeing this, Xu Qing frowned.

In the revolving lantern, Zhao You's state was completely different from a zombie, but rather like a side-door trick that used some kind of drug to make the body undergo mutation.

As for the so-called witch god and the sacrificed boys and girls, Xu Qing didn't think that relying on these alone could really make Crown Prince Zhao You gain a new life.

Ten years passed, and Zhao You's physical condition was indeed as Xu Qing expected, about to rot completely.

"It's a pity that the Uncle only invited seven witch doctors back then, which could only extend your life for fourteen years. If you could invite more at that time, arrange a hundred-witch altar, and sacrifice a hundred pairs of boys and girls, then you could extend your life for a hundred years, so why would you be so haggard today?"

Zhao You smiled faintly: "Fourteen years is enough. Now Cong'er is the real Crown Prince. He is only thirty years old now, and he will definitely be able to wait for the day to inherit the throne."

*Tsk*, fourteen lives in exchange for fourteen years of living dead life. The lives of those boys and girls, maids and servants, really aren't lives?

Xu Qing didn't understand these imperial family matters; this Zhao You was too ruthless.

By comparison, the Third Prince was more humane. After all, looking all the way from Zhao You's revolving lantern, this prince's character was still considered gentle.

Xu Qing continued to look down.

When the Longping Emperor was old, he was worried about the former fierce tiger stationed in Jinmen to retire, so he let the fake Crown Prince tour on his behalf to test whether the Prince of Changting had any dissent.

Zhao You was also worried about Zhao Cong, so he followed him to Jinmen.

One day, Zhao You, disguised as a groom, watched Zuo Zixiong refuse to ride a thousand-mile horse and muttered to himself: "What a loyal official. What the Yong Dynasty lacks is such talent. Maybe there will be a chance in the future..."

The scene shifted, Zhao You drank the poisonous wine carefully prepared for him by the Third Prince, which not only had expensive poison but also boiled a lot of sweet sugar tribute from Nancuo.

*Got it*, this Third Prince remembered his eldest imperial brother's hobby of liking sweets.

Xu Qing withdrew his previous thoughts. He originally thought Zhao You's city was deep enough, but he didn't expect this Third Prince to be even more so.

Great evil often hides from the soft, deep hatred often comes from love.

Who would have thought that the most harmless, most respectful Third Prince would be the most poisonous thorn in the back?

Although Zhao You could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, he was, after all, an imperial Crown Prince.

The *Sutra of Saving People* finally gave a corpse evaluation: "Human-grade, high-quality."

Xu Qing looked at the reward: a "Ziwei Dou Shu" deduction method, a wisp of imperial purple Qi.

In addition, there are horse judging techniques, the art of making horses, and the art of cutting paper into clothes.

The imperial purple Qi ranks highest in the Human-grade, which is a top-quality reward. But when Xu Qing saw the noble and bright imperial luck, he showed a look of disgust.

Money can't buy what he likes. He really doesn't care much about the emperor's seat!

Putting the purple Qi into the Mountain and River Map, the next moment, a purple ribbon appeared on the mountains and rivers.

This broken thing is quite space-consuming!

Xu Qing sucked his teeth, just this wisp of purple Qi squeezed out half of his Mountain and River Map space.

Looking at the others, Ziwei Dou Shu is a deduction method, ranking Human-grade high-quality, capable of deducing good and bad luck.

Horse judging technique, which can make people know horses and understand horses, and can distinguish the quality of horses, ranking Human-grade low-quality.

The art of making horses, which can use bone mud sculpture as a base to create five-colored treasure horses.

Cutting paper into clothes, only two taels of yellow paper are needed to cut out thousand-gold treasure clothes.

As a corpse-driver, Xu Qing is naturally not short of yellow paper.

Taking out yellow paper and scissors from the Mountain and River Map, he cut and folded them. When the yellow paper in his hand turned into the appearance of paper clothes, Xu Qing blew a wisp of Yin Qi onto the paper.

The next moment, the two-tael light yellow paper rose with the wind, and when it fell on him, it turned into a noble and incomparable gorgeous dress.

White fur and jade belt, fur collar and silver boots, Xu Qing looked at himself.

Isn't this a mink coat?

Xu Qing thought, this is good. In the future, if he wants to go to the Northeast to be an Out-of-Horse Immortal, he will wear this outfit, which will definitely be very impressive!

Reaching out and pulling down this flashy coat, the thousand-gold fur turned back into two taels of yellow paper.

"This five-colored horse should be practical, right?"

Xu Qing manipulated the automaton, took materials on the spot, drew spring water, and in front of the Crown Prince's grave, mixed a pile of rotten mud with grave soil.

The five-colored horse is made of bone mud sculpture. After making the mud, he couldn't find horse bones left and right, so he simply used waste, and smoothly wrapped the corpse of Crown Prince Zhao You into the mud as horse bones.

About an incense stick of time later, a mud-sculpted tall horse appeared in front of Xu Qing.

Yin Qi blew on the horse's face, and the stiff and dull mud-sculpted horse became lively instantly.

Five-colored hair grew out, like clouds and waterfalls.

The five-colored horse mane scattered into colored silk threads, very dazzling.

What kind of flashy mount is this again?

A wild new grave, can't we follow the customs and honestly connect to the ground Qi?

Xu Qing just took off the thousand-gold fur. Now, he really couldn't bear this five-colored treasure horse worth Human-grade high-quality.

The Longping Emperor might be worthy of it, but where is he, a soil zombie from the countryside, worthy of riding such a treasure horse?

Xu Qing turned over and got on the horse, riding the Crown Prince. Just with a thought, the five-colored horse under him raised its four hooves and ran wildly.

Crossing mountains and streams, it was like walking on flat ground.

In just a few breaths, Xu Qing rode this flashy horse and ran around the hill.

Finally, he concluded with lingering interest that this was not a thousand-mile horse, but a ten-thousand-mile treasure horse.

The only drawback is that it is too flashy.

Xu Qing jumped off the horse and stored it in the Box Garden to eat dust.

This time, sending off the Crown Prince's corpse seemed to have quite a few rewards, but when broken down, only Ziwei Dou Shu had practical value.

Xu Qing stepped on the Seven Star Steps, pinched the Ziwei number, and calculated the good and bad luck of returning to Linhe to break through the Silver Armored Corpse.

The hexagram was all good, with both the appearance of rising to the sky and the fate of the emperor's star.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 78 =====