Chapter 93: Fox Woman, Face-to-Face Kill

Who told you to close your eyes?

We agreed you'd teach me your ancestral skills tomorrow, so how dare you die without my permission?

Old Hu acted without propriety, so Xu Qing decided to act with propriety on his behalf.

Xu Qing took out a Soul-Returning Pill capable of reviving the dead and fleshing out bare bones; he felt no pain at the loss, since he had no use for it, and if he didn't give it to an acquaintance now, he feared his mind would never find peace when looking back later.

Hu Baosong, who had spent a lifetime scheming and even tried to scheme Xu Qing at the very end, could never have imagined the other party would go to such lengths, literally kicking him back from the gates of hell at the final moment.

Hu Baosong slowly regained consciousness, lifted his head, and saw a young man glaring at him with hostile intent.

The young man pointed at the daylight outside, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Old Hu, see that? The sky has brightened; isn't it time you honored your promise and taught me your skills?"

Hu Baosong widened his eyes; he had long calculated his own lifespan and knew there was no way he should be seeing today's sun.

Otherwise, he would never have told Xu Qing that if the young man could wait until today, he would pass on his family's signature skills.

"Young Xu, you—"

Hu Baosong felt the dense vitality within him constantly draining yet constantly replenishing; all the words on the tip of his tongue remained unspoken.

"Why go to such trouble? I'm just a rotten old man; how am I worth wasting so much effort on?"

Xu Qing raised a hand to cut him off: "Don't overthink it; I just crave your skills. Just say whether you'll teach me or not. If you won't, I'll definitely turn you into a walking corpse the day after tomorrow and sell you to the Black Mill to repay debts."

Hu Baosong puffed out his beard and glared, deeply unwilling in his heart.

He never expected that after living a whole life as an old fox, he would ultimately be outwitted by a young upstart.

"That is the secret transmission of the Hu-Yang clan; if I pass it to you, wouldn't that break our rules?"

Xu Qing smiled and said, "What's the big deal? My master, Liu Youdao, once bowed to the old willow tree at the village entrance as his godmother. In a few days, I'll go to the Hu-Yang Ancient Tomb, offer incense to the ancestors, and become sworn kin; won't that make us family?"

Hu Baosong fell silent for a moment, then sighed: "This body of mine has long exhausted its oil and dried its wick; nothing short of divine power can reverse it. Even with all your efforts, I fear I cannot escape the bonds of my final limit."

"In such a short time, how much can I possibly teach you?"

Xu Qing remained silent.

Although the Soul-Returning Pill could bring the dead back to life and flesh out bare bones, it had limitations: it worked miracles only on those whose lifespan was not yet exhausted and who had suffered accidental bodily damage; for those already nearing their natural end, it still could not extend their lives.

At this moment, Hu Baosong was like a wick nearly burned away; no matter how much oil one added, once the wick was consumed, the flame would still extinguish.

"How much time do you have left?" Xu Qing asked, frowning.

"Young Xu, have you heard of the Theory of Life-and-Death Fate?" Hu Baosong said unhurriedly: "When a person is first born, one soul fragment forms every seven days until seven fragments form in forty-nine days. After a person dies, one soul fragment dissipates every seven days, and after forty-nine days, all seven fragments are gone."

"The reason our funeral customs include the 'Seven-Sevens' rites is precisely because of this Theory of Life-and-Death Fate."

Hu Baosong sighed: "You pulled me back from the gates of hell, yet I still cannot escape the boundary between life and death. Ordinarily, a person's soul fragments dissipate one every seven days after death; I still possess all seven fragments, but my lifespan remains unchanged—I will simply have all my soul and spirit scatter at once when the forty-nine days after my death are complete."

Xu Qing was surprised in his heart; wasn't this just the difference between an installment loan and a lump-sum loan?

"Old Hu, do you have any unfinished wishes?"

Hu Baosong smiled somewhat amusedly: "Didn't you want to learn skills? Why are you asking about this instead?"

"Skills can be learned a little later."

"These aren't important; what matters is that forty-nine days may not be long for the living, but for someone nearing death, they are precious beyond measure." As he spoke, Xu Qing familiarly walked over to the shelf selling urns for ashes, counted from left to right, and took down the fourth and fifth urns.

Opening the tightly sealed lids, besides silver ingots of various sizes, the corner of a booklet two fingers thick protruded from the top.

Xu Qing brushed aside the silver ingot money and took out the booklet.

On the upper right corner of the yellowed cover were written four small characters: "Cave-Heaven Talismans."

"."

Xu Qing looked up at the old man sitting in the rattan chair, who was smiling warmly at him.

"This talisman booklet is the preliminary interpretation of talismans I obtained when I visited the ruins of the Qingqiu Cave-Heaven in my youth; it is not part of the Hu-Yang clan's secret transmission."

"Qingqiu..."

Xu Qing recalled the lingering demonic qi swirling on the peace talisman Hu Baosong had given to Wu Yaoxing and his son.

"Qingqiu is said to be the Fox Kingdom; could the Hu-Yang clan be related to the demonic races?"

Hu Baosong nodded: "The Hu-Yang ancestors were two: one was a fox woman from Tushan who attained the Dao, and the other was my Yang surname ancestor."

"Passed down through generations of the Hu-Yang clan, to this day the fox bloodline has become extremely diluted; our Hu-Yang clan has nearly reached its end."

"When your grandmaster Yang Qiying's lineage reached his generation, they were already no different from ordinary people."

"The fox woman from Tushan..." Xu Qing found the name familiar; thinking carefully, he suddenly recalled a legend.

Legend says that when Great Yu controlled the floods, he once encountered a woman of the Tushan clan.

The woman of the Tushan clan was a nine-tailed fox who had attained the Dao; after Yu controlled the floods, he married her at Sangtai, which later became Chuqiu.

Tushan's alternate name is Tushan Market.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing recounted this legend to Hu Baosong.

Unfortunately, Hu Baosong knew nothing of the Tushan fox woman, nor did he know who Great Yu was.

"Tsk, Old Hu, you really are hiding your light under a bushel."

Xu Qing circled Hu Baosong, examining him carefully from front to back, yet found no hidden fox tail.

"Young Xu, what are you looking at?"

Facing the old man's suspicious gaze, Xu Qing felt a stir in his heart; his eyes lit up as he said, "I've heard that seeing a member of the nine-tailed fox clan brings good fortune, and if one obtains their blessing, one will never encounter demonic or evil qi."

"You still carry fox clan bloodline; doesn't that make you a living auspicious omen?"

"How about you bless me too, Old Hu, so my business prospers and I collect corpses every day!"

Hu Baosong retorted irritably: "I don't have that ability. As for what you mentioned, it should be a Blessing Art of the fox clan; when cultivated to great depth, although it doesn't reach the legendary 'words become law,' it still possesses some divine marvels."

"What a pity, then..."

Putting aside his thoughts, Xu Qing said: "Old Hu, you've just caught your breath; rest for now, and I'll come back tomorrow to seek your instruction."

As he left, Xu Qing took the Cave-Mystery Talisman booklet with him; he hadn't expected Hu Baosong to leave behind such a talisman inheritance, just as the other hadn't expected him to prolong his life.

In Xu Qing's eyes, no matter how precious the Soul-Returning Pill was, to him it was merely an object gathering dust in storage.

But then again, if it had been anyone else,

even if the Emperor himself had come, he might not have scraped off a layer of Soul-Returning Pill powder; he might even have taken the opportunity to kick the victim a few more times, just to ensure they couldn't catch their breath halfway through.

Seeing Xu Qing appear, the black cat sitting atop the coroner's shop counter immediately approached and said, "This morning, Senior Brother Wang Ling brought two corpses over. Since you weren't in the shop, I possessed a spirit-medium disciple to collect them on your behalf."

"Such good fortune? Could it be that seeing a fox truly brings good luck?"

Xu Qing bent down to pick up Xuan Yu, but the other party darted away like a streak of smoke, scrambling back onto the counter.

Why is this cat still being so distant?

A slight movement stirred in Xu Qing's heart; he took out an oil-paper package he had brought back from the wedding banquet, inside which was a prepared osmanthus fish.

"This is the osmanthus fish I specially brought back from the wedding banquet for the Immortal Xuan Yu."

"Is this also part of the betrothal gift for a cat?" Smelling the aroma of the osmanthus fish, Xuan Yu couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"No," Xu Qing explained. "There is only one betrothal gift; after that, Xuan Yu and I should support and assist each other, just like ordinary people living their daily lives."

"Understood. In the future, when I catch prey, I will also bring a portion back for Immortal Xu to enjoy."

"That's acceptable, but it cannot be rats."

"Rats are very delicious."

"You can say that to me, but do not say it to Gray Grandfather and the others; I'm afraid that if they hear it, they won't come to visit anymore."

After dealing with Xuan Yu, Xu Qing approached an idle coffin, inside of which lay the two corpses sent by Wang Ling.

Xu Qing placed one of the corpses on the cold couch and examined it carefully, discovering that the body had no external injuries, except for its eyes staring wide open and bile remaining at the corners of its mouth, as if it had been scared to death while still alive.

"Strange."

While pondering this, Xu Qing asked Xuan Yu, "Did Senior Brother Wang Ling leave any instructions when he came?"

Swallowing the already flavorful fish tail, Xuan Yu spoke with a mouth full of food: "Senior Brother Wang Ling said these two corpses were idle hangers-on from Jinmen who accompanied wealthy young masters to Linhe for fun, but somehow, they died."

"No one came to collect their bodies, and that wealthy young master ignored them too; seeing that no one was handling the matter, Senior Brother Wang Ling sent them over."

"Doesn't the government office investigate the cause of death?"

"Senior Brother Wang Ling said they died of fright after drinking alcohol, and that they are ownerless corpses."

Hearing this, Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, immediately becoming interested.

One corpse being scared to death is understandable, but two people dying of fright together...

What kind of massive shock could send two people off at once?

Reaching out to touch the corpse, the pages of the Sutra of Saving People turned, and before Xu Qing's eyes, the life stories of the deceased began to manifest.

Before their deaths, these corpses were hangers-on in Jinmen Fucheng.

The so-called hangers-on are those who offer bad ideas to others and help wealthy young masters find amusement.

Such people are most skilled at flattery and obsequiousness; to make their masters happy, they often stop at nothing, doing things that violate etiquette and morality.

On this day, Young Master Yuan, born into wealth and having nothing to do, felt extremely bored, so he asked the hangers-on following him to come up with ideas for some crooked, thrilling activities.

The first hanger-on to speak was named Liu Cai; he first mentioned various places to visit, such as gambling dens and brothels, detailing which brothel had girls with unique skills and which gambling house had new tricks...

Young Master Yuan rolled his eyes listening to this, saying these were things men had long grown tired of playing with; they needed to think of something new, and if they could make him happy, there would be no shortage of silver rewards!

Another hanger-on was named Feng Liu; this man had some background, his usual work being loitering in brothels as a 'hall companion,' helping madams seduce wealthy young masters into spending money on prostitution, writing notes for courtesans, delivering messages for old patrons, and arranging romantic teas and meals.

Regarding matters of entertaining wealthy young masters, he had the most experience.

It was merely a matter of novelty not having worn off; as long as it was fresh and thrilling enough, they could serve these young masters properly and earn reward silver.

Feng Liu's eyeballs rolled around, and instantly he had an idea.

"Young Master Yuan, I heard there is a household in Linhe haunted by ghosts, and furthermore, it's a female ghost."

"A female ghost?" Young Master Yuan immediately became interested.

"Young Master, talk of ghosts, spirits, demons, and monsters is mostly deception; I have heard of that household, where lives the daughter of an old tailor, named Xiu Niang."

"That Xiu Niang is blooming and lovely, but alas, the old tailor died early, and as a young girl, she inevitably suffers bullying from others. In my view, the haunting in the old tailor's home is likely Xiu Niang pretending to be a ghost to scare people away, fearing men might come knocking at night to harass her."

"Nowadays, rumors say Xiu Niang has already moved away from Linhe Ward to seek relatives elsewhere because of the haunting, but I, Feng Liu, do not believe it."

Hearing this, Young Master Yuan found it quite interesting and told Feng Liu to continue.

Feng Liu revealed a lecherous smile and suggested: "Young Master, the number of women you have played with is countless, covering every variety, but have you ever had a young lady disguised as a female ghost?"

Listening to this, Young Master Yuan's heart itched; this was indeed a trick he had never tried before!

Thus, on the night of the following day, Young Master Yuan took his two hangers-on and strolled over to the old tailor's home.

At this time, the night was dark and the wind high, and the location of the old tailor's home was a somewhat remote, deep alley.

Young Master Yuan's heart drummed with fear, wondering if he wouldn't get to play with a pretended female ghost, only to end up truly played by a real female ghost.

Wouldn't his little life be finished right there?

Stepping on Liu Cai's shoulder, Young Master Yuan climbed over the wall, feeling only a chilly, sinister wind; it was completely like an abandoned courtyard, nowhere resembling a place where a young widow might live.

Looking again at the wild grass growing haphazardly in the yard, Young Master Yuan silently cursed in his heart and ordered Liu Cai to let him down.

Outside the wall, Feng Liu asked Young Master Yuan why he didn't climb in, to which Young Master Yuan replied irritably: "Inside is more desolate than any nunnery I've visited before; where are the pretty young ladies? I truly shouldn't have believed your ghost stories and come here in the middle of the night to suffer..."

Hearing this, Feng Liu hastily said: "Young Master Yuan, how would I dare deceive you? Yesterday I scouted ahead for you in advance; from across the wall, I heard the sound of someone treading a loom to weave cloth inside; how could there be no one there?"

Young Master Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said: "I will wait outside; you two go in first to probe the situation. If there truly is a young lady, open the gate for me from the inside, and then I will enter!"

Seeing this, Feng Liu and Liu Cai had nothing more to say, so the two of them immediately climbed over the wall into the old tailor's courtyard.

Sneaking around the front courtyard for a while, Liu Cai said suspiciously, "This doesn't look like a place where anyone lives."

"Could it be that I really heard wrong?"

Feng Liu frowned, and just as the two were uncertain, the sound of treading a loom suddenly rang out from the direction of the rear courtyard.

Hearing this, Feng Liu immediately laughed happily: "What did I tell you? That young lady is probably hiding in a room, secretly weaving cloth."

"Who weaves cloth in the middle of the night? Could there really be a ghost?"

"Don't talk nonsense; do you believe more in the reality of ghosts, or in the reality of the silver Young Master Yuan gives?"

Money emboldens the timid; for the two of them, even a moment's hesitation would be an insult to silver!

As the pair drew closer to the inner quarters, the clatter of the looms grew ever louder.

The weaving room had been left ajar, its door not fully closed.

The two removed their shoes and entered barefoot; inside, only moonlight spilled through the cracks in the door and windows.

"?" Liu Cai stepped forward first to the loom, yet he pointed at it, stammering unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

"What's wrong?" Feng Six stepped up and fixed his gaze upon it.

He saw that the spot where one should operate the loom was utterly empty, save for a dust-covered stool bathed in moonlight.

At that moment, within the revolving lantern, Xu Qing, borrowing the vision of the two men, also found the matter strange.

He had never heard that the weaving craft of the Yong Dynasty had already advanced prematurely to a fully automated stage.

It was precisely then that the several bewildered individuals felt a chilly sensation creep up the backs of their necks, as if someone were blowing breath upon their napes, or as if a feather had brushed across them.

Liu Cai and Feng Six instinctively turned their heads.

There was nothing there.

"Scared Laozi half to death."

The two exhaled in relief, then straightened their heads to face the direction of the loom once more.

Before the loom, which continued to operate on its own, a woman with a fierce countenance had somehow appeared, smiling right at them.

Inside the coroner's workshop, Xu Qing sprang to his feet, nearly flinging the corpse in his hands away.

This was the first time he had ever encountered a ghost flashing right before his face within the revolving lantern!

(End of Chapter)