Chapter 85: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Corpse-rising? Who are you trying to fool!

The Salt Inspection Censor looked on coldly, only thinking that these clerks and government office runners were colluding to bluff him, deliberately delaying time.

Shaking off the hand of the County Lieutenant, the Censor, with several salt officials, took big strides into the clerk's office courtyard.

"Playing tricks! I think you people have rebelled!"

The Salt Inspection Censor cursed and walked toward the morgue.

The County Lieutenant still didn't know what was going on, and he was sweating with anxiety!

Pulling Wang Lingyuan to his side, the County Lieutenant asked while walking: "Lingyuan, what's going on?"

Wang Lingyuan had already handed over his future and even his life to Xu Qing. As for the details, he knew nothing at all.

According to what his Junior Brother said, he only needed to lie down, and the outcome would depend entirely on his Junior Brother's operation.

Wang Lingyuan laughed dryly: "Didn't the people from the clerk's office say there was corpse-rising? Then it must be corpse-rising. County Lieutenant, don't worry."

What kind of talk is that? How can you talk about corpse-rising as if it were as simple as drinking water?

The County Lieutenant raised his eyebrows and stared, still intending to say something, when the Salt Inspection Censor, who had entered the courtyard first, suddenly crawled out from the courtyard in a panic.

"Quick! Quick! Stop those corpses for this official!"

The County Lieutenant frowned, but Tang Zhou, the secretary who had been following him, poked his head into the second gate.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked, but looking—

Good heavens! Only to see Old Lady Cao, with her dead fish eyes rolled back, poking her head out with half a head tilted. A living person and a dead person met at the corner, almost bumping into each other!

Oh my! My dear grandmother!

Secretary Tang sat paralyzed on the ground. Constable Zhao was quick-witted, grabbed the secretary's collar, and hurriedly dragged him back.

At the second gate leading to the morgue, Cao Xiuying twisted her strange steps, as if learning to walk for the first time, crooked and bizarre to the extreme.

While walking, she was still talking.

"I died so miserably! The Daoist from Tianwu Temple in Qingshuihuo harmed my entire family's life! Officials, you must seek justice for this old woman!"

The thin, sharp tone, the withered and pale face—Old Lady Cao was clearly an old woman, but her voice at this moment sounded like a child's. With the two contrasting, it was as creepy as it could be!

Xu Qing didn't know when he had arrived behind Wang Lingyuan. He reached out and patted the other's shoulder, almost scaring Wang Lingyuan into a sickness.

"Junior Brother, this is..."

Xu Qing spread his hands: "Senior Brother, don't ask me. I just went to the latrine; how did this corpse-rising happen?"

Wang Lingyuan looked at Xu Qing, who was playing dumb, and then at Old Lady Cao, who was crying for justice.

For a moment, he really couldn't tell which side was true and which was false.

Fortunately, the corpse-rising disturbance in the morgue came fast and went fast.

After Old Lady Cao led a group of Cao family men and women to make a scene in the government office, they were subdued by Zhao Zhonghe and others.

Strangely, after the people from the criminal department brought iron chains and shackles to bind all the corpses, Old Lady Cao suddenly began to convulse, and everyone only saw a black smoke cross the courtyard wall, and Old Lady Cao's corpse became completely quiet.

Everyone in the courtyard looked at each other.

At this time, someone suddenly said: "Did that old lady just reveal the truth about the Cao family extermination case?"

Hearing this, the Salt Inspection Censor, who had just recovered from the shock, reacted instantly.

"Investigate! Must investigate strictly! You all go to Qingshuihuo immediately and arrest those Daoists from Tianwu Temple. Whether it's them or not, a trial will reveal the truth!"

The County Lieutenant was clever and slippery. Seeing that he was about to escape the whirlpool of the salt case, he was no longer willing to bury his head and rush in.

He stepped forward and said: "My Lord, the cause of death of the Cao family is bizarre and unclear, and it is likely related to witchcraft and demon arts. I fear this matter is not something our patrol office can intervene in. In my opinion, it would be better to hand this case over to the Demon-Hunting Division to handle."

The Salt Inspection Censor, after such an experience, had his impression of the patrol office fall to the bottom. Seeing the County Lieutenant wanting to retreat, it was exactly what he wanted.

After everything was settled, Xu Qing took Xuanyu out of the government office.

At the entrance, Wang Lingyuan, who had been holding back for a long time, finally couldn't help it: "Junior Brother, those corpses..."

Xu Qing smiled slightly: "A little corpse-driving technique, not worth mentioning. Senior Brother, take care. Tomorrow there will be guests visiting my home, and I need to go back early to prepare the banquet."

Wang Lingyuan stood at the entrance of the government office, looking at the young man's leisurely back as he left with the cat, feeling quite touched.

This Junior Brother of his already had a sense of being detached from the world.

In just one day, many things happened in Linhe.

The Demon-Hunting Captain went to Qingshuihuo to hold them accountable. The Water-Work Daoist of Tianwu Temple thought he had done things seamlessly, but never expected there would be a day of exposure.

"You say this matter is really mysterious. A cold case that even the government office couldn't solve, in the end, the deceased revealed the truth themselves."

"Truly worthy of being the Female Yama King. There is someone in the underworld, otherwise, how could she return to life to cry for justice?"

After hearing these news, Xu Qing smiled and said to Xuanyu:

"See that? This is called using demon magic to defeat demon magic."

"It's immortal magic, not demon magic."

Xuanyu corrected Xu Qing's wording very seriously.

"Immortal Xu, how did you know the murderer was the Daoist from Tianwu Temple?"

"Do they really have the magic to make corpses spit out small fish?"

Looking at the small black cat full of thirst for knowledge, Xu Qing smiled at it: "You want to know? This is not the attitude for asking."

"Hmm?"

Xuanyu looked at Xu Qing, who was smiling and rubbing his hands, and felt a sense of vigilance.

"I suddenly don't want to know anymore. If Immortal Xu wants to say it sometime, remember to tell me."

Don't say, this cat really has the meaning of understanding worldly wisdom.

Xu Qing smiled slightly and didn't respond.

Outside the coffin shop on Jingxia Street.

A grandfather and granddaughter drove a donkey cart and stopped.

"Xiaoyun, this is Jingxia Street. According to what Grandfather said, the hall of Lady Qingqing is established here."

The little girl with two long braids looked a bit helpless: "Grandfather wants to attend the immortal banquet, he could just come by himself, but he had to make Grandfather suffer and come together..."

"Don't say such disrespectful things to Grandfather. You don't know the inside story. That immortal is a cat-immortal with profound cultivation. Grandfather is a Gray Immortal; how could he come to the meeting alone?"

"Everyone is staying in Jinmen. Grandfather has met that cat-immortal, and only by recognizing each other can they feel at ease staying in Jinmen."

"If not, you and I might have to go back to the Northern Prefecture and get mixed up with those thief soldiers."

Hou Xiaoyun jumped off the donkey cart, followed the map, and finally stopped next to the paper-craft shop.

"It should be this one. It's still a funeral shop; no wonder they would raise a cat-immortal."

Hou Yuan had a large, aged rat lying in his arms. Before the grandfather and granddaughter had entered, the rat turned into a wisp of gray smoke. When it landed again, it had turned into a rat-demon standing upright.

It wore human-like clothes, arched its hands and bowed at the entrance of the shop, making squeaking rat sounds with its mouth.

In the mortuary, Xu Qing, who had already prepared the banquet, heard the movement outside and went out with Xuanyu to welcome them.

At the entrance, when the people from the two halls met, the scene immediately became chaotic.

No other reason, because the person was an acquaintance, and the immortal was also a familiar immortal.

"It's you!" Hou Yuan blurted out.

He would recognize this young man even if he turned into ash. Back then outside White Horse Temple, it was the other party who kidnapped him for questioning, and afterward forcibly fed him several pills of unknown origin.

Although his body had become much stronger since then, and he could even urinate three feet away without wetting his shoes, this could not change the bad impression the young man had in his eyes.

Fifteen or sixteen years old, still a little girl, Hou Xiaoyun pulled out a sharp knife at this time, holding it horizontally in front of her grandfather, with a posture of fighting if they didn't agree.

At this critical moment, Gray Grandfather suddenly reached out a claw and pressed the knife Hou Xiaoyun had pulled out back, then flattered Xu Qing and bowed, as if apologizing.

"Long time no see. Fellow Daoist's demeanor is even better than before; it's gratifying."

Xu Qing was stunned for a moment, then acted as if nothing had happened, cleared the way, and invited the grandfather and granddaughter before him to the banquet.

After the two entered the shop, Xu Qing saw Hou Yuan's gaze fall on the hall tablet and said with a smile: "Back then, thanks to Fellow Daoist's unreserved advice, I was able to learn and establish this immortal hall."

Hou Yuan kept his old face straight, and his gaze toward Xu Qing was extremely unkind.

If he had known in advance that the horse-riding disciple of the Cat-Immortal Hall was such an impolite junior, he wouldn't have come even if he were killed!

The shadow cast by White Horse Temple, even now, Hou Yuan would occasionally be awakened by night dreams.

Hou Xiaoyun was even more so. When her grandfather was kidnapped, she went to report to the official. The official heard that there was a criminal kidnapping people on the street; how could he sit by and do nothing!

So he asked who was kidnapped.

Everyone thought it was a sister or brother, or a mother who still had charm, or a father who owed money and didn't pay.

As a result, after asking, the grandfather who was over sixty was kidnapped.

The official was stunned at the time.

After asking carefully, the grandfather didn't owe anyone money, wasn't a rich person, and hadn't offended anyone. How could such a "three-no" old man be kidnapped for no reason?

Was he coveting his missing teeth?

The official immediately made a judgment, letting Hou Xiaoyun wait patiently at her residence, saying that perhaps it was just a misunderstanding, or perhaps there were no kidnappers at all, or the kidnappers kidnapped the wrong person.

Regardless of the result, he didn't think it would harm the old man's life.

If, by then, there was really a "ten thousand to one" chance, and some accident happened, it wouldn't be too late to report to the government office.

Hou Xiaoyun waited bitterly for a day and a night, until the second day, when her grandfather returned to the inn in a trance.

She asked her grandfather what had happened? Did the criminal do anything outrageous?

Fortunately, at that time, the criminal only asked about the cultivation method of the horse-riding immortal and fed her grandfather several pills of unknown origin.

Hou Xiaoyun would always remember what happened that day. She took her grandfather to the medical clinic for a thorough check-up. Afterward, she was still worried and prescribed some detoxifying medicine, and only then did she feel at ease.

Now seeing the culprit holding her family's horse-riding method, establishing a hall, and even inviting the grandfather and granddaughter to be witnesses.

It would be strange if Hou Xiaoyun had a good face.

Xu Qing lit a few yellow strips and handed them to the group and the two immortals to smoke, but was refused by Hou Yuan with a wave of his hand.

"This old man doesn't smoke this; this is something only immortals use."

Seeing the atmosphere was a bit stiff, Xu Qing turned his attention to Hou Xiaoyun.

"Is this Fellow Daoist's granddaughter? She looks quite decent."

Hou Yuan felt vigilant, but he didn't expect the young man before him to be like a woman, asking about family matters for a while.

How old are you this year? Have you been to school? Fifteen or sixteen years old, yikes! That's not young anymore. According to the Dayong rules of marriage, it's time to choose a marriage.

After a series of miscellaneous questions, Hou Xiaoyun was asked until her head was light and her feet were heavy, and she was about to ascend to heaven on the spot.

"Does Fellow Daoist's granddaughter not have her own immortal?"

Xu Qing looked at the water clock and gave a light cough: "I invited immortals to visit today, but there is a wild immortal who doesn't have a horse-riding disciple. If you are interested, you can communicate with each other at that time; perhaps you will see eye to eye."

"If Fellow Daoist has something to ask, you might as well speak directly."

Hou Yuan was old and cunning. At this time, how could he not see Xu Qing's ulterior motives?

"It's nothing major. Does Fellow Daoist see those two coffins on the west wall?"

Xu Qing poured a cup of red-beam fine water for Hou Yuan and said: "Those coffins were left by my master before he died. There are some mysteries inside. I dare not move them lightly, so I thought of asking Fellow Daoist to ride the horse and use the method of seeing through walls to see what exactly is inside."

Hou Yuan looked in the direction of Xu Qing's gaze, but saw the coffins covered with funeral banners, tied with animal skin strips in a three-horizontal and two-vertical pattern, and the coffin surface also had sealing strips composed of dense cinnabar yellow talismans. When the yin wind blew, they swayed back and forth.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, those are all Jianghu tricks; they can't be taken seriously..." Hou Yuan was just about to refuse when an evil wind suddenly blew into the mortuary.

After the yellow sand and dust fell, there were two more large rats, one yellow and one gray, on the dining table.

Xuanyu saw the mysterious cat and hurriedly stepped forward to bow: "Old Huang Xu from Xijing Mountain, specifically here to congratulate Fellow Daoist on opening the hall."

While speaking, Huang Laoxu pinched the formula and recited the spell, using a method to move wealth and objects, moving out a basket of eggs.

"Fifty pairs of eggs, just as a congratulatory gift; I hope Fellow Daoist won't mind."

Xu Qing looked at the yellow weasel that could speak like a human and knew that this Yellow Immortal's cultivation was also extraordinary.

"Fellow Daoist is too polite. Xu Immortal and I have also prepared many offerings; Fellow Daoist can enjoy them to your heart's content." Xuanyu was clearly in a good mood. With an old immortal like Huang Laoxu visiting, its hall was completely justified.

Hou Yuan and Hou Xiaoyun looked at the two talking immortals in a daze, thinking they had met their ancestors!

In the horse-riding industry, the immortals belonging to horse-riding disciples generally cannot speak and can only communicate through intention after possession.

And those who can speak human language are all "old ancestors" of immortals with several hundred years of cultivation, capable of opening mountains and establishing general halls.

Now with two immortal "old bosses" present, Hou Yuan had become the junior.

Along with Huang Laoxu came the wild immortal, Gray Grandmother.

This was a gray rat with fifty years of cultivation. Although not high, it could handle some ordinary horse-riding jobs.

At the banquet, the glasses were clinking, and the cats and rats were chattering, which was very lively.

After drinking until half-drunk, Xu Qing kindly pulled strings for Gray Grandmother and Hou Xiaoyun, with Huang Laoxu acting as the middleman, achieving a pair of horse-riding disciples.

After the good deed was done, Xu Qing asked Hou Yuan about verifying the coffins again.

At first, the old man wanted to muddle through, but who would have thought that the old man's immortal was a reasonable master.

Upon hearing that there was a place where it was needed, Gray Grandfather jumped onto the table drunk and volunteered.

Hou Yuan had no choice but to stand up and come to the two coffins, preparing to ride the horse to verify the coffins.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 86 =====

Hou Yuan had no other choice but to stand up and walk over to the two coffins, preparing to set out and examine them.

(End of chapter)