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

Chapter 168 Autumn Execution Ground, Seasonal Sale

Two days ago, Master Yizhen returned to the Wulao Temple and dug out a jar of aged wine that his master, Zichen, had buried under a ginkgo tree inside the temple.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Zi Chen's talent far surpassed that of Hu Baosong, but because of this, Daoist Zi Chen could not escape the divine punishment of lightning, while Hu Baosong, the poor student, lived for more than two hundred years and died due to insufficient cultivation.

One drink and one peck, could it be a predestined decision.

Today, only one jar of fine wine, buried by Daoist Zichen himself, has withstood the erosion of time and has been preserved to this day.

The old man is very sentimental. If Hu Baosong were to see this jar of wine brewed for him by his master, he would surely be overjoyed.

Holding the wine jar, Yi Zhen smiled. Besides the wine, she also remembered Hu Baosong's instructions and paid her respects at her master's grave, recounting the events of the past few days.

After paying respects to his master, Yizhen returned to Jingxia Street with the fine wine that held decades of sentiment.

As the shop door opened, sunlight streamed into the coffin shop, but the rattan chairs were empty.

Upon arriving in the backyard, the unfinished chess game under the peach tree remained.

Yizhen felt a little uneasy. She went to the chessboard and saw a jade box on the stone table.

A letter was placed under the jade box.

The inscription reads "To my beloved daughter Yizhen".

Master Yizhen's eyebrows trembled, somewhat caught off guard.

Suppressing her unease, the female Taoist priest comforted herself, perhaps the old man wanted to acknowledge her as a relative but was too embarrassed to refuse, so he wrote a letter to test her reaction.

If she doesn't harbor any resentment, the father and daughter can naturally recognize each other; if she doesn't want to, they can pretend nothing happened.

It's all just the cunning of old foxes; that must be it.

With a heavy heart, Yizhen opened the letter and read it word by word. The more she read, the more uneasy she felt.

The letter reads: “I have three wishes and three regrets. My first wish is that my son’s Dao heart will be clear and his path will be unobstructed. I leave behind a jade box containing the inheritance of the Hu Yang family. Long-term practice can stimulate the bloodline and help him understand the wonders of our cultivation.”

I only regret that my days are numbered, and I cannot personally teach you and fulfill my responsibility of raising and caring for you.
May my son wield the sword of wisdom to cut through the dust of the world, diligently study and cultivate, and solidify his foundation. If there is anything he does not understand, he may ask the elders in the temple. He should not follow my example and delay his path. I still remember when I traveled far away with my books and formed a bond with your mother. However, I was greedy for worldly pleasures and abandoned her. I spent half my life indulging in worldly affairs, which made me feel sorry for your mother and for you.

My third wish is that my son will meet a sincere and virtuous man, and never encounter a dissolute and unfaithful person like myself.

Now, my hair is streaked with gray, and I can no longer shelter my son from the wind and rain. I only wish that from now on, when you walk under the moon, a gentle breeze will guide you; when you cross the river, fish will carry your lanterns; and even if a thousand mountains are covered in snow at dusk, you will still see the sunrise over ten thousand miles.

——Father's final poem, on the first day of the frosty lunar month in the Year of Jiazi.

Upon seeing the final signature, Yizhen was completely stunned.

This isn't a letter; it's clearly a suicide note!
Inside the coroner's shop.

When Xu Qing was holding Hu Baosong's funeral, a female Taoist priest was conducting a joint trial in his shop.

Jinluan had just woken up, looking completely bewildered. Yizhen asked her if Hu Baosong had come over, and whether Xu Qing and the old man were hiding something from her.

Jinluan was confused by what she heard.

Old Hu? I didn't see him.

It had just seen Master Xu; the two of them had just finished eating at a restaurant on Flower and Bird Street and had returned. How could it forget?

Yi Zhen was stunned. Could it be that this matter really had nothing to do with Junior Brother Xu?
But when Yizhen thought of Hu Baosong's suicide note and Xu Qing's whereabouts, she felt that things were not so simple.

This greedy chicken must have been bewitched by Xu Qing, otherwise why would it keep calling him "Master Xu" so affectionately?

Seeing that he could not get any useful information from Jin Luan, Yi Zhen turned to look at Xuan Yu.

The latter had wide, innocent eyes, her face brimming with the naivety of a child.

The cat doesn't know anything!

Huang Xiaoliu had just returned to the gang and was about to report the news circulating in the streets when Yizhen caught him red-handed.

"Little ferret, I have a question for you. Have you seen your sect leader take Manager Hu from the coffin shop somewhere?"

Huang Xiaoliu's little eyes darted around, and when he saw Xuan Yu flick his tail and cast a threatening look at him, the little yellow mouse immediately shook his head and said, "Never seen him. I haven't seen the sect leader these past few days. As for Manager Hu of the coffin shop, he's probably delivering a coffin to someone's house!"

Seeing Huang Xiaoliu's nervous appearance, Yizhen followed its gaze to Xuanyu.

The black cat, who was a domineering hall master just a moment ago, suddenly became innocent and pure again.

"Meow?"

"."

Master Yizhen returned defeated under the unadulterated gaze of the cat.

Perhaps she was overthinking it. Maybe the old man had just written his will in advance, but he didn't expect her to come back at this time and accidentally leave it on the stone table under the peach tree.

Yizhen returned to the coffin shop and placed the will intact under the jade box.

The next day, Xu Qing, who had just returned from the Yinhe Ancient Road and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, was told by Xuan Yu that Yi Zhen had come to "question" him.

"Old Hu, I went to great lengths to arrange your funeral. If you're watching over me from heaven, please bless my business with prosperity and a large customer base."

After preparing the deceased's body and dressing her in a brand-new outfit sewn by the female ghost, Xu Qing took the newly made memorial tablet to the coffin shop on the street.

Yizhen has been absent-minded these past two days. At this moment, she is sitting in front of the counter, staring blankly at the rattan chair where Hu Baosong often lies.

When Yizhen saw a figure rushing into the shop, she was overjoyed, but when she saw the person clearly, her unease rose to its peak.

The person who arrived was none other than Xu Qing.

In Xu Qing's hands, there was also a memorial tablet with Hu Baosong's name written on it.

"Senior sister, please accept my condolences."

Seeing that Yi Zhen remained silent, Xu Qing had no choice but to place the memorial tablet in front of the altar and light an incense stick.

"Senior Sister, Master Hu entrusted his funeral arrangements to me a long time ago. In a way, I'm half his student. A couple of days ago, the old man felt his time was up, and perhaps not wanting to see you sad, he asked me to go to the Yin River to hold his funeral."

"If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, Senior Sister, you can always come to me. As long as it's within my ability, I will definitely help you out. This was originally entrusted to me by Master Hu before his death."

Xu Qing rambled on about some personal matters, and Yi Zhen responded numbly.

When Xu Qing left the coffin shop and only Yi Zhen was left, a belated sadness welled up in her heart.

Parting and reunion are inevitable; life is but a dream.

Two days later, Yizhen came to see Xu Qing again.

Under the peach tree, which was hundreds of years old, Yizhen took out a jar of wine and said, "I haven't had a chance to thank my junior brother these past few days. This is the aged wine that my master buried for him before he passed away. It's just a pity that he didn't have a chance to taste it."

“Senior Sister, there’s no need to be so polite. Since this was left by your master, it should be carefully preserved. Even if you want to drink it, you should choose an auspicious day, a festive occasion.” “A festive occasion?” Yi Zhen suddenly remembered what Hu Baosong had said in his will.
Besides the wishes written in Hu Baosong's will, it is said that in Shaofu, whenever a daughter is born, the parents will bury a jar of "Daughter's Red Wine" as an essential item for the daughter's wedding.

Her master, Zichen, happened to be from the Shao family.

Yizhen suddenly realized what was happening, and then awkwardly put away the wine jar on the table.

If Xu Qing hadn't reminded her, she really wouldn't have remembered this.

Looking back now, I realize that there must have been other reasons why my master buried that jar of wine.

Xu Qing was unaware of Yi Zhen's thoughts. The reason he refused was simply because zombies cannot eat or drink freely before they evolve into corpses. If he were forced to drink, he might not be able to taste much alcohol.

It should be noted that the daily life of an ordinary zombie is bland and tasteless.

Zombies are numb. Even though Xu Qing has nearly five hundred years of cultivation, his senses in his seven orifices are still far inferior to those of other cultivators at the same level.

Hu Baosong once told him that all those with spiritual attainment have the opportunity to open up the nine supernatural senses, namely 'eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, body, mind, extremities, and internal organs'.

Each time a human or demon gains knowledge, they can acquire many mysterious abilities.

However, human lifespan is short, and many people spend their entire lives only to unlock one or two general knowledge points to aid their spiritual practice.

Xu Qing possesses the Heavenly Eye and the Yin Eye, so he no longer needs to develop his visual perception. As for other general knowledge...
Before breaking through the Golden Armor Corpse and escaping the lightning calamity to become a Corpse-Taming Corpse, ordinary zombies were originally unable to open up common knowledge through ordinary methods. However, once they become Corpse-Taming Corpses, under the long river of time, they can open up the nine kinds of common knowledge one by one.

In the Nine Consciousnesses, the nose is the consciousness of hearing, and the tongue is the consciousness of the five tastes. Xu Qing thought that if he really wanted to savor fine wine and delicacies, he should at least wait until after he was buried in the corpse and open up his consciousness of hearing and the five tastes.

Otherwise, it would be like a cow chewing on a peony, a complete waste of resources.

"Senior sister, why don't you bury the wine under this peach tree? When the peach blossoms are in full bloom and the time is right, you can dig it up and enjoy it."

Peach blossoms in full bloom
Yizhen was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"I'm best at digging holes, so senior sister, leave this job to me!"

Xu Qing reached behind him and pulled out a shovel from who-knows-where.

In a few quick movements, Yizhen dug a three-foot-deep pit, then carefully placed the wine jar into it, holding it in both hands.

"This is a family heirloom of wine from my senior sister's family, so let her seal the burial site."

After handing the shovel to Yizhen, Xu Qing suddenly remembered something.

If he remembered correctly, two hundred years ago, Hu Baosong dreamt of a woman dressed in pink who appeared to him in a dream. After gaining a profound understanding, he vowed to quit drinking and buried his personal wine gourd under a peach tree.

Stroking his chin, Xu Qing pondered that one day when he would develop the ability to taste the five flavors and be able to enjoy the flavors of grains and wine, he would dig out the gourd and have a good drink.

In early September, the sky became a loom, the clouds a cloth, and the autumn rain fell like dense stitches, weaving evenly and diagonally.

Today is the day of the autumn execution. I don't know when it started, but all those who are sentenced to death by public execution, except for those who are extremely heinous and will be executed immediately, will be executed in the autumn or winter.

The Imperial Observatory's Treatise on Seasonal Phenomena also explains this, saying that in autumn and winter, the gods descend in secret. After the execution of condemned prisoners, the interaction between heaven and man will cause these resentful ghosts who are dissatisfied with their execution to be detained in the underworld for a second trial.

This is called the dual judgment of Yin and Yang.

Besides this mysterious explanation, another theory is that late autumn is the off-season for farming, giving people more time to gather in the bustling city to watch the executions. This provides the court with an opportunity to deter those with illegal intentions.

Furthermore, the weather gradually cools down in September, which is conducive to the preservation of corpses. If it were during the hot summer, the corpses might have just been executed and would rot and smell bad.

In short, the autumn execution was not an auspicious day. On this day, there would be ignorant people who wanted to go to the execution ground to eat steamed buns dipped in the food, there would be audacious people who would storm the execution ground, and there would be many onlookers who just wanted to watch the drama unfold.
However, compared to other places, more people would deliberately avoid the bustling streets and not go to the execution ground for the autumn beheading.

Xu Qing, on the other hand, was a different kind of 'group' from everyone else. For him, the day of the autumn execution was undoubtedly the most prosperous time of the year for his business.

No one could be happier than him on this day!

On the day of the Autumn Execution, Xu Qing changed early into the white robe with gray underlay, the kind he wore for religious ceremonies. In his hand, he carried a long banner that read, "Autumn Execution Special Offer: Half Price for Funerals and Burials."

Some of those who were executed will have family members who hire someone to collect their bodies. As the leading figure in the funeral industry in Linhe, Xu Qing must seize this rare opportunity to develop all potential clients.

The so-called "autumn execution" lasted at least two months, and if there were many death row inmates, the executions could continue until the twelfth lunar month.

Xu Qing didn't bother to eat. With two candles in his hand, he hurriedly ate a few bites and then happily headed towards the market.

On the first day of the executions, the number of heads was the highest. Just as dawn was breaking, Xu Qing arrived at the execution ground early and planted the banner advertising business next to the execution site.

Constables who had arrived early to prepare the execution ground were setting up the execution platform there.

The head constable was Zhao Zhonghe's nephew. He saw Xu Qing planting the banner and rushed over to ask him questions.

"Manager Xu, what's going on?"

Xu Qing reached out and touched his own advertising banner, chuckling, "I heard about the autumn execution today, and since I'm also a part of Linhe, I came over to help with collecting corpses, preparing the body, and handling funeral arrangements. You all go about your business, don't worry about me."

In the past, Zhao Yuan would have thought this person had some serious illness. Who would come to the execution ground to solicit business? This is ridiculous!
However, Xu Qing wasn't new to this. Before the autumn scorching season, he had been out soliciting customers quite often. Now, half of the notices on the bulletin board at the city gate are for funerals and burials.

The people in the government office were used to it. Besides, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing that someone was soliciting customers at the execution ground.

"If you put this banner here, will anyone else be able to see it?"

Zhao Yuan glanced at the banner, which was as tall as a person, and gestured with his hand to show that it wasn't much taller than himself.

"It's not that I was afraid of affecting the autumn execution by the yamen, so I didn't dare to be too ostentatious and therefore didn't make it too high."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan nonchalantly replied, "Hey! What's the big deal? We're all on the same side in the government office. Even if you're taller, are you going to tear it down for us?"

"Alright, with you saying that, I'm relieved!"

At this moment, Zhao Yuan, who was only interested in customer service, did not understand the seriousness of the matter at all. He chuckled and turned around to continue doing odd jobs at the execution ground.

After finishing everything, Zhao Yuan led his brothers to go back for a meal when he noticed Xu Qing, who had just returned to the coroner's shop, bringing back a roll of red cloth and two bamboo poles.

"Brother Xu, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I was thinking that the banner was too short, so I found a bamboo pole to see if I could raise it a bit."

Looking at the tall bamboo pole, Zhao Yuan felt inexplicably uneasy.

But thinking about the promise he had just made, Zhao Yuan suppressed his unease.

"Alright, Manager Xu, you go ahead with your work. My brothers and I are going to grab a bite to eat, otherwise we won't have any appetite later when we're about to be executed."

After watching the yamen runners leave, Xu Qing untied the red banner, tied both ends to two bamboo poles, secured them with ropes, and then firmly planted the bamboo poles in front of the execution ground.

As the chilly autumn wind swept by, the words "Wugongpu Autumn Promotion: Big Giveaway" on the red banner stood out prominently.

　A few days ago, there were strong winds that damaged the power facilities. The construction team spent several days fixing them. I've been typing on my phone these past few days, so I'm not very familiar with it and updates have been inconsistent. Power has been restored today, and I will update again tomorrow night at 8 PM. Please be aware.

　　——OR2
　　
　
(End of this chapter)