I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 10: Flame, Guide

Holding five cents of silver, Xu Qing walked out of the accounting office.

This amount of money is not small for ordinary people, but for a shamanic business that doesn't open for business for three years and makes a living for three years after opening, it's like giving money to beggars!

The pallbearer hired from the city asked for twenty taels of silver. Mr. Liu was a wealthy family, and the funeral and burial were carried out according to high-quality standards. After deducting the manpower and other expenses, it was not easy to support a pallbearer with the remaining money.

Everyone in the Liu family knew this very well, otherwise they would not have asked them to take charge.

As for the accountant's words "old master" and "young master", they are purely excuses.

The funeral was held today. Who among the old coffin keeper and the masters who played suona instruments did not praise him for his steady work?

Walking in the mansion with the best feng shui, Xu Qing did not think the feng shui here was that good.

Feng shui is easy to change, but human heart is hard to change!
In the entire Liu family mansion, how many people abide by their duties?

Xu Qing walked through the corridor with a stern face, and heard the sound of playing and laughing in the distance.

He paused and looked towards the pavilion.

I saw the young master of the Liu family chasing and teasing a maid around the rockery.

The maid was wearing mourning clothes, with her arms half exposed. She was trying to resist but also to please, giggling all the while.

"Sir, come and catch me! I'm a pretty widow whose husband just died, the widow from those storybooks, and I'm just waiting for scoundrels like you to come and bully me!"

In the corridor, Xu Qing, who witnessed everything, couldn't help but stiffen his fists!

OK OK! That’s how you play it, right?
He was in no hurry to go back. He turned around and found a secluded place. He took out the pen, ink and paper from his bag and began to write.

A lengthy letter exposing the Liu family's foul scandal and murder was thus written!

At the bottom corner of the paper, Xu Qing signed the name of the dog-licking scholar he had previously saved, then blew the ink dry and stood up to grope his way into the backyard of Liu's mansion...

Xu Qing easily jumped over the nearly ten-foot-high courtyard wall. Due to the zombie's innate talent, he could smell the scent of living people in advance whenever a servant or maid passed by.

After many twists and turns, they found the side courtyard where Su Hongxiu lived. At that time, she was discussing with her personal maid in the courtyard how to steal Mr. Liu's property.

"Miss, I see that Master Liu is always secretly staring at your body from behind. With a man as obsessed as him, you only need to use a little trick to get him to do it..."

Su Hongxiu's eyes lit up, and she was about to speak, but she saw the maid next to her suddenly wailing!
She glanced sideways hurriedly and saw that two of the maid's front teeth had been knocked out by a piece of paper that came from nowhere.

After temporarily calming the maid, Su Hongxiu picked up the murder weapon and found that it was a piece of white paper wrapped in a stone.

She frowned and looked around, but she didn't see the person who threw the stone.

Subconsciously unfolding the paper ball, Su Hongxiu's face flushed with excitement after reading what was written on the paper.

……

Outside Liu's house, Xu Qing used the art of gazing at the wind and discovered that the feng shui of the Liu's house had completely reversed, turning it into a dark and ominous place.

It seems that the few talismans he moved have taken effect under the catalysis of the Liu family losing its backbone.

As for the future of the Liu Mansion...

The sparks have been sown, and how big the fire will spread in the future depends entirely on the abilities of these people.

"Lust and desire are like dry wood, and evil thoughts and fantasies are like the wind. Once this fire is started, I believe this winter will be much warmer..."

Xu Qing was walking on the cold street with a bag slung over his shoulder. Some refugees who came from nowhere were huddled under the eaves in the corners where the wind was less, waiting for help from passers-by.

Seeing this, Xu Qing suddenly had an idea.

The beggars in the city were wiped out by a mysterious gang, but these refugee beggars suddenly gathered in Linhe. Is there any connection between them?

Xu Qing pondered this, and before he knew it, he had returned to his own shop. Across from the wallpaper shop, a middle-aged man in a gray cotton jacket was carrying paper horse wreaths inside.

Seeing Xu Qing in his robes, clearly having just finished a ritual, the other party couldn't help but ask, "Are you from this shop too?"

Xu Qing nodded and said, "It was my master who originally bought the shop. Now that he's gone, I naturally have to run this stall on my own."

Wu Yaoxing, the owner of the paper-making shop, was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "That's right. This winter is so cold, many elderly people in families have had accidents. This can be seen just from the paper-making shipments this month..."

However, he didn't expect that the old man next door who had just opened his business for two days couldn't make it.

Xu Qing didn't know what Wu Yaoxing was thinking, and since he didn't ask any further questions, he stopped talking.

"Young man, it's not easy for you to be alone. If you need paper figurines for business someday, come over and I'll sell them to you at a lower price."

Xu Qing smiled slightly, and his heart, which had been cold all day, finally warmed up a little.

But he was too embarrassed to reciprocate, and said something like if your family needs burial or funeral arrangements, I can give you a discount... That's what only a fool would say!

"Thank you, shopkeeper. I don't know your name, though."

"My last name is Wu, you can just call me Old Wu. We'll just be neighbors from now on, so don't be polite!"

After exchanging names with Shopkeeper Wu, the two did not talk much. After all, it was so cold, who would have nothing better to do than chat on the street?

When he returned to the shop, it was already late. Even though Xu Qing could see at night, he still lit the oil lamp.

He is going to play the role of a living shop owner. If he acts eerie all day long, he will become a zombie!

"It seems that today's business was not in vain."

Xu Qing sat behind the counter, took out a raw egg from underneath, cracked it, and reviewed today's events while sipping it.

Needless to say, the rewards for saving Mr. Liu's soul are great, but some invisible gains have a greater impact on him at this stage.

For example, the grand funeral he presided over today made him a familiar figure in the funeral circle. At least everyone has the impression of him.

For example, his neighbors were not as gossipy as he imagined, and no one cared about his identity.

Apart from this, the most important thing is what I saw and heard in the neighborhood today.

The place where Mr. Liu was buried was outside the block, so one had to go through the streets of Linhe Block and out of the block.

It was near the entrance of the town that Xu Qing saw many stonemasons working as laborers, building the "city defense".

Some people said that the war in the northern provinces and counties caused a large influx of refugees, so the prefect ordered the construction of a city defense system in Linhefang, a hub area with developed water and land transportation, to prevent possible riots in the future.

Others said that the evil people of Tianxin Sect colluded with evil spirits and had ulterior motives. They wanted to start an uprising in Tianjin with the intention of shaking the foundation of the country.

In short, there are many different opinions and no accurate answer.

However, it is foreseeable that the situation in Linhefang or Tianjin may really change.

Xu Qing still remembered that when the pallbearers were carrying the coffin out of the town gate, the officers and soldiers in charge of building defenses said:
"That is, in Linhe. If you guys are still in the city, you will have to verify your identity before leaving. But it's hard to say for sure. I think once the city wall is erected and the gate is opened, you will have to verify your identity with both the living and the dead before you can leave..."

Xu Qing still remembered what the man said clearly. Dayong had a rule that anyone leaving the city for a funeral must be registered and the deceased's date of birth and death, as well as the funeral date, must be written down on a piece of white paper in advance to facilitate verification when leaving the city. The identity of the mourners must also be confirmed through a tooth-plate pass to avoid omissions later on and the inability to find the person.

"Ivory card road pass..."

Xu Qing placed the empty eggshell on the counter and exhaled the unique fishy-sweet smell of the egg liquid.

"Looks like I need to find a chance to go to the dentistry office and ask how much it will cost to get a replacement dentistry pass."

(End of this chapter)