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

Chapter 162 Divine Power Cannot Overcome Fate
Outside the city, as Xu Qing and his men prepared to ride their horses up the slope and return to Linhe, Guo Dongyang was still inquiring about the details of the demon-slaying, such as whether the large, striped tiger on the roof of the granary was a helper that Xu Qing had invited.

"A tiger? Where's the tiger? Have you seen a tiger?"

Xuan Yu remained silent in front of outsiders, while Guan Dazhuang shook his head and said, "I didn't see it."

Guo Dongyang shamelessly grabbed Xu Qing's arm and pulled him aside, acting like a child who always wanted to know things a child shouldn't know.

"Brother Xu, I call you Brother Xu, so please tell me the truth. I've been on tenterhooks all day, it's really unbearable."

Do you want to hear the truth? Or just hearsay?

"Brother Guo, perhaps you're not mistaken. Cats are the teachers of tigers. Who knows, maybe yesterday my cat found an apprentice to help it catch mice more easily? You never know."

Xuan Yu seemed quite pleased with these words, and Guan Dazhuang didn't think there was anything wrong with what Xu Qing said. It was no exaggeration to say that it and Sun Erzhuang had joined the Cat Immortal Hall together as disciples and students of the hall.

Guo Dongyang has traveled all over the country for many years, and has seen all kinds of people and encountered all kinds of strange things.

People like this are more or less perceptive and shrewd.

Seeing that Xu Qing was unwilling to reveal more details, Guo Dongyang stopped pressing for answers.

However, just before parting, Guo Dongyang suddenly asked a question to the burly man in yellow next to Xu Qing.

"Does this gentleman usually prefer meat or vegetarian food?"

Guan Dazhuang answered subconsciously, "I eat more meat and don't like vegetables."

Xu Qing suddenly turned to look at Guan Dazhuang, his gaze unfriendly, and said, "How old are you? Still being picky about food. When we get back, you'll have to eat vegetarian food for three days. That'll be a good way to correct your picky eating habits!"

Realizing he had misspoke, Guan Dazhuang immediately shut his mouth and glared fiercely at Guo Dongyang, who had tried to trick him into revealing information.

The latter felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been spotted by some ferocious beast, and a cold shiver ran through his body.

Watching Xu Qing and the others leave, Guo Dongyang chuckled, whistling as he returned to the teahouse.

On the way back to Linhe, there was an old man in simple clothes driving the carriage, and a delicate young woman sitting in the carriage.

Xu Qing had shaved off the old man's long beard and eyebrows, and now, after disguising himself, Gu Zixu showed no trace of the former Rat King.

Gu Qiao'er, her face veiled in white gauze, rarely showed herself in public. Now, sitting in the car, she looked like a pampered daughter of a wealthy man, and those without some skill couldn't see through her illusionary magic.

However, seeing how this father and daughter still lavishly maintained their human form by relying on incense offerings even after going bankrupt, Xu Qing could imagine how wealthy the Gray Immortal Hall used to be.

The centipede insect is dead but not stiff.

Xu Qing guessed that the old man probably still had a lot of incense sticks in his hands.

On the official road outside the prefectural city, the carriage moved slowly.

Xu Qing rented a carriage from a brokerage firm, and the horses carrying everyone were ordinary.

Other carriages frequently passed by Xu Qing on the road, but he didn't pay any attention at first. However, when a monk riding a skinny donkey backwards passed by him, he immediately realized that something was wrong.

Why is his horse so slow?

Xu Qing glanced at the horse and saw that the jujube horse was sweating profusely, and every step it took seemed to be dragging a heavy object.

"Xu Xianjia, how much do you weigh?"

Xuan Yu seemed to have noticed something was wrong. It looked up in confusion and scrutinized Xu Qing.

"I don't know, I've never weighed it. Why is Xuan Yu asking this?"

Xuan Yu turned his gaze to the panting horse and said logically, "Look at this horse, it's so tired. It must be because someone is carrying too much weight. Otherwise, how could it not even catch up with that monk's lazy donkey?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing looked at the monk riding a donkey backwards not far away. He saw that the monk had a big belly and looked like Maitreya Buddha, smiling at them.

"That monk must be laughing at us!"

Once the cat became competitive, it began urging Gu Zixu, who was driving the carriage, to catch up quickly.

"I know! If it's not the Xu family, then it must be because Dazhuang is too heavy. That tiger is so big, it's making the horse gasp for breath!"

Guan Dazhuang said in a muffled voice, "I only weigh about 800 jin. Even an inferior horse can carry 1,000 jin. This horse is a vigorous and healthy adult. It can easily pull a cart weighing 2,000 jin. How could it be because I am too heavy?"

After saying that, Guan Dazhuang looked at Gu Qiao'er in the carriage and suddenly realized, "Everyone says that Miss Qianjin is the heaviest, but if you ask me, Fellow Daoist Gu's daughter is the heaviest."

"Dazhuang, study more in the future. If all else fails, I'll find you a tutor. If all else fails, we can send you to a private school for a few days whenever we have time."

Xu Qing spoke earnestly, and after he finished speaking, Gu Qiao'er replied softly, "I weigh less than fifty jin."

"."

Weighing less than fifty pounds, Xu Qing fell completely silent after hearing this.

We mean, a five-pound rat is already quite big!

After listening to everyone's opinions, Xuan Yu's gaze finally fell on Xu Qing again: "It must be because Xu Qing's family is too heavy!"

Xu Qing vehemently denied it: "I'm just a frail scholar, weighing at most 150 jin. How could I be too heavy? This horse must have a leg ailment, and that cunning broker sold me an inferior horse!"

Xuan Yu stared into Xu Qing's eyes and said seriously, "A few days ago, when it rained, I saw you step into the soil under the eaves and sink this deep."

The black cat raised one paw high above its head, about a foot and a half above the cart floor.

Xu Qing was speechless.

The iron-armored corpse was as heavy as pig iron, and the silver-armored corpse was even heavier.

Xu Qing estimated that he was probably not much lighter than Guan Dazhuang, and perhaps even heavier.

When walking, he often uses lightness techniques or affixes talismans with the words "White Clouds Rising" written on them, and recites the Crane Feather Riding Cloud Mantra to lighten his load, while also preventing others from noticing anything unusual.

He did not use his lightness technique while sitting in the car today.

Xu Qing lifted the hem of his shirt and looked at the talisman pasted on the inside of his trouser leg. He found that the talisman, which had been pasted half a month ago, had become blurred and had lost its effectiveness.

No wonder!
No wonder he always felt that the horse's stamina was not quite right; it turned out that the Armor Horse Talisman's durability had run out!

After realizing the problem, Xu Qing casually removed the old talisman and replaced it with a new one. The next moment, everyone in the carriage suddenly leaned back, and a strong feeling of being pushed back came instantly.

Inside the carriage, the Rat Lady hurriedly reached out to steady herself, and Xuan Yu and Da Zhuang reacted extremely quickly. Only Gu Zixu, who was driving the carriage, was caught off guard and was almost thrown off the carriage.

"This horse is strange; how did it suddenly become so powerful?"

Xu Qing said nonchalantly, "What did I tell you? It's still the horse's problem. Look, it's running fast again now."

Seeing that the horse was more than twice as fast, Xuan Yu's mind turned to the monk riding the donkey who was making fun of it.

"Horse, run faster! Catch up with that big monk!"

Gu Zixu, eager to impress the cat fairy, strained the reins and urged his chestnut horse, which had just lost weight, to chase after him.

After a short chase, the monk riding his donkey backwards reappeared in their sight on the official road. The monk was startled as he looked at the approaching carriage; why did this group seem to be after him?
The head monk spread his wide sleeves and brushed them across the donkey's rump. A Buddhist scroll spontaneously combusted without wind. When the ashes cleared, a line of burnt gold characters was seen embedded in the donkey's skin.

He twirled his prayer beads and began chanting mantras. In the next moment, the skinny donkey, which was about to be caught up, pulled away from Xu Qing's carriage again.

Xu Qing glanced at the departing donkey with surprise.

Strangely enough, the skinny donkey in front didn't seem to be moving very fast to the naked eye, but it was able to keep up with the carriage, as if it were gliding across the ground.

Xuan Yu was still encouraging Gu Zixu, while Xu Qing secretly removed the armor talisman from his body, and the horse's speed visibly decreased the next moment.

Xuan Yu was unaware of the reason, and Xu Qing spoke up at the right time: "I think that monk is not an ordinary person. Xuan Yu, don't forget what happened outside Tianjin."

Cats are playful and once they get into a tantrum, they forget all the mistakes they've made in the past.

Reminded by Xu Qing, Xuan Yu instantly came to his senses.

Meanwhile, on the way to Quyang County, a monk riding a donkey backwards was fiddling with prayer beads and muttering incantations, as if he were divining something.

Although there was some incense smoke on the carriage, these people were clearly up to no good. It was possible that they weren't running a legitimate business, but rather a brothel or religious shrine, and were just swindling money from people.

"Hmm? That coachman is clearly an old man, so how could he appear to be a woman, and a widow at that?"

The fat monk frowned, and as he twirled the prayer beads in his hand faster, a rich aroma of incense wafted from between his fingers and floated into the air, like a golden ribbon connecting heaven and earth.

An old woman selling vegetables, a prostitute singing for money
When the fortune teller reached the woman of the night, the fat monk's fingers suddenly stopped, and he ceased his divination.

The rule of not asking more than three times is known to all skilled diviners.

The fat monk always adhered to the rules and regulations, and he was unwilling to break the rules of divination.

"All forms are illusory, Amitabha Buddha."

After a brief pause, the fat monk resumed turning the prayer beads in the correct direction.

Jingxia Street, the coroner's shop.

After returning to the shop, Xu Qing asked Sun Erzhuang to cook, while he set up an offering table and incense altar. One purpose was to establish a new branch hall, and the other was to let Gu Zixu and Gu Qiao'er get acquainted with the immortals of the various halls, so that everyone could have a team-building activity and a meal together.

On the table, Xu Qing had specially left an empty seat for Black Crow, with an incense stick stuck in it. Gu Zixu was puzzled, so he told him that this was the seat of the guardian deity, Crow.

"Lord Crow has gone on official business to a distant place. Although he cannot return in time to celebrate, he should not be forgotten."

After Gu Zixu and Gu Qiao'er made a vow and joined the Immortal Hall, Xu Qing felt that the amount of incense he could draw upon in the main hall's Dharma Realm had increased by about 20,000.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, this incense..."

Having just finished drinking the red sorghum water, Gu Zixu slurred, "Now that I've joined the Immortal Hall, this incense is naturally a gift from me to the Cat Immortal Hall. I only hope that the future sect leader will remember our good intentions and that of Qiao'er, so that my son and I can have some peace of mind."

Xu Qing was speechless.

The old man was still uneasy, so he merged all the incense offerings into the Cat Immortal Hall as a pledge of allegiance.

"I will accept this incense for now. If Brother Gu and Miss Qiao'er need incense in the future, they can come to me for it."

Gu Zixu shook his head and chuckled. Twenty thousand strands of incense are not easy to accumulate. Even if it wants to withdraw them in the future, how much will the Cat Immortal Hall return to it?

In the end, it's nothing more than spending money to ensure safety!

After the Fengshui Hall was built, Gu Zixu and Gu Qiao'er dug a rat house under the well street as their dwelling.

The two brothers, Dazhuang and Erzhuang, returned to Quantang and continued to perform divination for the villagers in the mountains, accumulating incense offerings.

By the end of August, the incense at the Cat Fairy Hall had reached nearly 40,000 sticks.

On this day, Xu Qing, with a valuable walnut in one hand and an oversized birdcage in the other, led Jinluan out the door.

He had some rare free time these past few days, so he took the opportunity to go to Flower and Bird Street to consult with Master Feng.

That second uncle must have offended some evil spirit in his early years; apart from him, no one else in his family survived.

Even if he were to survive by sheer luck, Master Feng would not dare to marry or have children. No matter where he went, he would always carry his "elder brother" with him, relying on the rooster to ensure his safety.

Xu Qing always remembered this matter. Master Feng had gone to great lengths to find the burial money for him to refine the Yin Gold Coffin, which was a great kindness to him, and he couldn't ignore it.

Besides, while others might be afraid of dirty things, this is the thing he's least afraid of.

When it comes to being dirty, who can be dirtier than him?

Xu Qing, carrying the rather unhappy Jin Luan, hummed a little tune and strolled away from Jingxia Street as if nothing had happened.

However, what Xu Qing didn't know was that shortly after he and Jin Luan left, a beautifully sculpted little girl suddenly appeared in the empty coroner's shop.

The little girl was wearing adult clothes that were clearly too big for her, and she had to hold up the hem of her clothes to avoid tripping.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the girl in the blue-and-white shirt suddenly disappeared, and her wide robe, now unsupported, fell to the ground.

A moment later, the robes rustled, and a black cat emerged from the scattered garments.

Flower and Bird Street, in Master Feng's residence.

The bodyguards from the Tai'an Escort Agency were chatting with Master Feng and others.

When Xu Qing entered carrying a magnificent rooster, the group of bodyguards were all amazed.

"Drink, this rooster is so big, it probably can't even fit in one pot."

The one who said this was that gold-plated bodyguard with a silver tongue.

"Hongwu, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

The escort glared at the other party with annoyance. You should know that in the eyes of these playboys, these caged animals and the cats and dogs they hold are no less than their own sons and daughters.

If you dare to say to someone that you want to stew a chicken from their cage, they'll be lucky if they don't beat you up!

The gold-clad bodyguard chuckled dryly and changed the subject: "Where were we? Oh right, Second Master doesn't know what happened in the capital. A few days ago, when the Altar of Heaven was completed and His Majesty went to observe the ceremony, the rebels of the Heavenly Heart Sect almost succeeded in assassinating him!"

The镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was so shocked he thought, "This idiot, he might as well continue talking about the stewed chicken."

Xu Qing only realized that the Five Protectors of the Heavenly Heart Sect had done something big again when he heard the news brought by the Golden Escort from the capital.

However, the plan did not succeed. The Heavenly Heart Sect originally sent out a message that it planned to take advantage of the completion of the Altar of Heaven and the opportunity when the dog emperor went to attend the ceremony to have the Five Protectors jointly assassinate the emperor. However, in the end, only two protectors were summoned to carry out the assassination.

These two protectors were quite powerful, top-notch experts in the martial arts world, but in the end they still failed to accomplish anything.

As the saying goes, human strength cannot defeat divine strength, and divine strength cannot defeat destiny. The fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty has not yet run out. The melon of dynastic change seems to be getting bigger and bigger, but in fact, it is not yet ripe. The assassins of the Heavenly Heart Sect are just the hand that is testing the ripeness of the melon for the people of the world.

Xu Qing sighed as he looked at the melon, but he had plenty of time. He could wait for the days to pass slowly and collect the corpses gradually. Eventually, he would be able to wait until the melon was ripe and ready to fall.

(End of this chapter)