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

Chapter 199 The Formless God
Tender grass fears frost, frost fears the sun, and wicked people will be tormented by other wicked people.

The child born to Chen's concubine was like a tender sprout just emerging from the soil, while Chen's wife was like a frost-covered head. No matter how vicious or ruthless she was, she could not display even a fraction of her former ferocity in front of a truly ruthless thug.

Why did Xu Qing refuse to return the child to its original owner when he was at the foot of Ziyun Mountain, instead letting the peasant woman take it away? It was simply because he had calculated the Ziwei Doushu (a Chinese astrological system) twice, and the result was always an ominous sign.

Now that he had read the woman's memories, Xu Qing finally understood the reason.

If he had actually carried the child upstream to search, he would have inevitably encountered Mrs. Chen, who was heading downstream to inspect the situation.

People can't see into each other's hearts. Not to mention whether Chen's wife might harm the child in another way along the way, even if she takes the child back home, the child will hardly survive.

After all, there was a desperate and completely insane Yuan Hu waiting in the child's house.

Xu Qing had no ability to predict the future, so he could only rely on divination to judge good or bad fortune. Compared to the ominous sign of returning the baby, having a neighboring village woman take the baby away was actually a very auspicious sign, indicating that the troubles would dissipate and that it would be beneficial to meet an adult.

When Xu Qing was divining the baby's future fate, he also found it mysterious. It was clearly just a small choice, but the change in the baby's fate was so great that it could be described as earth-shattering.

The Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology) system encompasses all things and can generate numerous auspicious and inauspicious numbers. Xu Qing secretly helped the peasant woman take away the baby who had fallen into the water, and the result was an extremely auspicious hexagram with Tian Liang (Heavenly Beam) in charge and Tian Yi (Heavenly Nobleman) in protection.

With Tianliang in charge, one can expect a life of nobility and relief from misfortune, signifying turning bad luck into good. With Tianyi in support, one will be accompanied by high status and prestige, a sign of being exceptionally blessed by heaven.

Another hexagram contains Tiankui, which serves as a guiding star, symbolizing divine assistance and the assurance that one will receive divine help at crucial moments.

Xu Qing had nothing to say. If it really came down to it, he was also part of the situation and had fulfilled the prophecy.

In addition, the Parents Palace is prominent, with Ziwei and Tianfu stars guarding it. This indicates a wealthy family background and the support of one's parents, signifying a noble destiny similar to that of a second-generation noble like Shang Shaoyang.

When Xu Qing first calculated this point, he didn't care. After all, even the richest person in the mortal world is still just a mortal. Without entering the Dao or cultivating the mysteries, even the best life is no different in his eyes.

But here's the problem: the baby's father was just a cloth shop owner, and the old lady was determined to drown him. How could Xu Qing possibly have come up with the divination of the two stars guarding the Purple Palace?

After reading through the scroll of information about Chen's wife and learning about the family environment in which the baby grew up, Xu Qing once thought that there was something wrong with his Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology).

However, when Xu Qing stood at the entrance of the coroner's office and carefully consulted Zi Wei Dou Shu again, he found that the hexagram was still the same, or even better than before.

The Career Palace, with the Wen Chang star and the Hua Ke star, signifies wisdom and the ability to overcome difficulties.

The Migration Palace is assisted by two auspicious stars, indicating a gathering of noble people.

The Palace of Fortune and Virtue, with the Heavenly Harmony Star and the Prosperity Star, signifies abundant blessings.

Xu Qing stared in disbelief. Could this baby be the God of Literature descended to earth to experience life?

The saying goes, "No more than three times." After asking twice and receiving similar divination results, Xu Qing stopped calculating.

In his eyes, no matter how lucky the baby was, it still needed the help of the Goddess of Childbirth to save it.
The two apprentices in the coroner's room were still excited; they seemed to genuinely enjoy performing autopsies.

Xu Qing watched with amusement, feeling as if he were not alone on this path.

I don't know where Wang Lingyuan found these two apprentices.

Outside the coroner's room, seeing Xu Qing about to leave, Wang Lingyuan hurriedly said, "Junior brother, wait!"

As they were talking, Wang Lingyuan took off his fish-skin gloves and handed over a packet of tea.

"This is?"

"This is Qingding tea from Zhoushan. It was brought from Zhoushan by the county magistrate when he took office. Junior brother, please have a taste."

Xu Qing accepted Wang Lingyuan's kindness and said, "I'm short of tea leaves, so thank you very much, Senior Brother."

Wang Lingyuan seemed quite pleased with Xu Qing's words.

"Junior brother's arm?"

Wang Lingyuan was meticulous. It was one thing that Xu Qing only used his right hand when examining the body, but now that he was taking the tea leaves, he should have extended both hands, but Xu Qing still only extended his right hand.

In his eyes, his shrewd junior brother would never do such a rude thing, so the only problem must be with his arm.

Wang Lingyuan's concern was evident in his words. Seeing this, Xu Qing deliberately raised his left arm, revealing his left hand, which was wearing a silk glove.

"It's nothing serious, just scabies. It's not a big problem. I've already applied some ointment, and it should heal in about ten days to two weeks."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lingyuan's expression turned serious, and he cautioned, "Don't be careless. I've heard that some corpses can contain corpse poison. You often come into contact with corpses, so you must be careful."

Corpse poison? Xu Qing concealed his left hand, which was covered in corpse poison, in his sleeve, spat out a bite of the corpse fang that could infect a person and turn them into a zombie, and laughed, "Don't worry, senior brother, I will definitely take good precautions and will never let the corpse poison get close to me."

As the two were chatting, Zhao Zhonghe, who had left earlier, returned. Judging from the other man's sweaty appearance, the constable must have something urgent to attend to.

"Old Wang, bring me the murder weapon that killed Chen's wife. This is the warrant issued by the county magistrate."

Flying tokens were credentials used by the government to dispatch constables to arrest and interrogate criminals, while fire tickets were proof needed to deliver urgent official documents and retrieve or transfer physical evidence.

Wang Lingyuan glanced at the inscription and stamp on it, then hurriedly took out the washing pestle and handed it over.

Seeing this, Xu Qing's mind stirred slightly, and he asked, "What's going on, Officer Zhao?"

Zhao Zhonghe wiped his sweat with his sleeve and replied, "The county magistrate is interrogating the prisoner and wants to use the murder weapon to identify the murderer who killed Chen's wife. Right now, the Chen family is making a huge fuss, so I have to go there quickly."

“I just examined this body with Senior Brother Wang. I’ll go with the head constable; maybe I can be of some help.”

Others might not know, but Xu Qing knew the origin of this washing pestle. If the peasant woman who took the child away a couple of days ago was implicated because of this matter, he would definitely not feel at ease.

“Then let’s go together.” Zhao Zhonghe was unaware of the inside story and thought that Xu Qing was naturally kind-hearted, caring not only about the dead but also about his brothers in the yamen.

The two arrived at the courtroom, where a noisy and lively argument was taking place. The newly appointed magistrate, Chen Guangrui, seemed completely unconcerned, sitting in the hall and letting the others argue as they pleased.

There were quite a few people listening outside the hall. Xu Qing had a bad habit of not daring to see large crowds. Whenever he was in a crowded place, he would always think about how to promote his business.

Fortunately, he could manage this minor flaw. When Xu Qing entered the courtroom, some of the locals who recognized him whispered among themselves outside:
"Isn't that the gentleman from Jingxia Street?"

"Jingxia Street? Never heard of it."

"That's the funeral street."

"Oh, so that's where it is! If you had told me earlier, I would have known."

"So what's a funeral parlor doing running around in the government office?"

"Who knows? It's definitely not over yet! They'll probably be collecting someone else's corpse again. Just you wait and see, wherever these people in the funeral business go, there's bound to be a dead body."

"."

Xu Qing stood beside Zhao Zhonghe and glanced at the crowd outside the hall, which was not obstructed.

These days, nothing is new. Going to the theater to listen to a play costs money, and going to the teahouse to listen to a storyteller requires paying for a bowl of tea. How can it be more cost-effective than watching a grand opera at the government office?
Therefore, whenever the yamen held a public trial, there would always be people who had nothing better to do than come and watch the spectacle.

And look, something exciting is about to happen today!

Xu Qing silently watched the people kneeling below the courtroom being tried.

Among them were Manager Chen of the Qushui Township Cloth Shop, Manager Chen's concubine, and a pale-faced, trembling peasant woman. Besides them, the loudest and most disregardful person in the courtroom was the baby that Manager Chen's concubine was holding, crying incessantly.

Normally, with such noise in the courtroom, Chen Guangrui would have already slammed down the gavel. But with an infant in the courtroom and him being a new father, he really didn't want to frighten the child.

"quiet!"

Seeing Zhao Zhonghe return with the evidence, Chen Guangrui looked at the trembling peasant woman and demanded, "Jin, the Chen family accuses you of instigating thugs to kill your wife and steal your child. Now that the murder weapon and other evidence are here, what do you have to say?"

Jin said tremblingly, "My lord, I have always been a law-abiding woman. How could I dare to hire someone to kill someone? Just thinking about it makes me feel scared. That day, I went to the river to wash clothes early in the morning and saw a baby floating in the river. The child was crying pitifully. I couldn't bear it and forgot about my work. I chased after the child and ran along the riverbank."

"I could only watch helplessly as the river rushed by." As she said this, Jin's voice stopped trembling and her eyes brightened. "Who would have thought that at that moment, a red light flashed, and I saw a Ruyi, the kind of scepter that is only found on door gods, fall into the water and carry the child all the way to the shore."

"This is a divine intervention! The woman was both frightened and delighted; she no longer cared about the wooden pestle used for washing clothes."

Upon hearing this, Manager Chen Feng immediately interrupted, "Nonsense! How could my son drift in the water for no reason? You say it's a divine intervention, but did the Goddess of Fertility from Ziyun Mountain deliver the child to you?"

"quiet!"

Chen Guangrui looked at Jin Shi and asked, "Jin Shi, when did you find the baby?"

"Just as dawn was breaking."

"It's barely dawn? Why are you up so early to do your laundry?"

"The weather was hot, and there were many people and eyes on the river during the day. The woman was washing some underwear, so she had to get up early in the morning when no one was around to wash them."

Chen Guangrui asked again, "Jin, I will ask you again, when you returned to the village with the child that day, were there any witnesses?"

"Yes! After the woman returned to the village with the child, she went from house to house asking, but no one recognized the child. The child was crying very hard, so the woman had no choice but to cook some thin porridge and borrow some milk from Qiao Xing's ewe at the entrance of the village to mix with the porridge and feed him."

“Everyone in the village can testify to this.”

After listening, Chen Guangrui nodded and continued, "Do you have any children?"

There was only one woman.

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng immediately said, "You only have one daughter, no wonder you took my child away!"

"Chen Feng, I did not ask you, so do not presume to answer!"

Chen Guangrui turned to Zhao Zhonghe: "Officer Zhao, when was Chen's wife murdered?"

Zhao Zhonghe stepped forward and said, "Your Honor, the coroner's office has determined that Chen's wife was murdered two days ago."

Chen Guangrui then asked, "Has the specific cause of death been determined by examination?"

Zhao Zhonghe glanced sideways at Xu Qing.

The latter had no choice but to step forward, cup his hands, and say, "I am Xu Qing, a scholar of the 73rd year of the Qian Yuan era (1298). I greet Your Excellency."

That's the advantage of being a scholar: you don't have to bow to officials, and you can stand in the hall as if you were in your own home.

Chen Guangrui was unaware that Xu Qing had business dealings with the yamen, and was surprised to find that there was such a person in his yamen at that time.
Zhao Zhonghe, though rough around the edges, was actually quite shrewd. He quickly stepped forward and whispered a few words to Tang, the clerk sitting by the desk. Tang then went to the magistrate and said in a low voice, "This scholar Xu is the junior brother of Wang Lingyuan, the coroner. Today, he and Wang Lingyuan will examine the body of Chen Feng's wife together. Your Excellency can rest assured."

Below the hall, Xu Qing finished explaining the autopsy results of Chen's wife in a logical manner. Finally, he added, "The female corpse was only hit once, and her skull was shattered. Apart from that, there were no other injuries. This is not something an ordinary peasant woman could do. According to my examination, it should have been done by a strong young man or someone who practices martial arts."

"No more," Xu Qing said, turning to Zhao Zhonghe. "Officer Zhao is also a martial artist, so he should understand this better than I, a weak scholar."

Zhao Zhonghe said in a deep voice, "That's true."

Chen Guangrui nodded and said, "There are many suspicious points in this case, but the murderer must be someone else. Until there are new witness testimonies or the real culprit is apprehended, this case will not be dealt with for the time being."

"Furthermore, anyone in your court who is involved in this case must remain in the city and be available at any time. They are not allowed to leave the city without permission."

The onlookers outside the court were clearly not satisfied. In their eyes, it would be meaningless if a few people weren't tortured severely or if the case wasn't resolved in court.

But legal cases involve life and death, so how can we make arbitrary judgments?
Xu Qing didn't see any problem with it. As the saying goes, judging a case is like weaving silk, and being cautious in administering punishment is like cooking fresh food. This new county magistrate at least understands the word "prudence," which is commendable.

After the court session ended, Xu Qing was lost in thought and was about to leave when the clerk called him to the back room.

In the back hall, Magistrate Chen Guangrui looked at Xu Qing with a smile and asked, "Do you still remember me?"

Xu Qing looked at the county magistrate in his official robes and hat, and suddenly realized, "I remember, of course I remember!"

"Isn't Your Excellency the county magistrate who was judging the case in court just now? I remember him very well!"

"."

Chen Guangrui was speechless.

“It’s normal that you don’t remember.” Chen Guangrui’s gaze swept over Xu Qing, and he said with considerable admiration, “When I first came to Linjiang County, I saw you. At that time, there was a girl who had fled from Yaozhou selling herself at the entrance of the brokerage firm because her elder family member had fallen seriously ill and urgently needed money for treatment. I was just about to go forward when I saw you give money to help that little girl.”

Xu Qing recalled carefully and realized that there seemed to be such a thing. However, he had done so many good deeds that he often helped people who sold themselves to bury their fathers or mothers by providing them with burial services on credit.

Some of them had made enough money and came to repay their loans, while others had been out of contact for a long time. Xu Qingquan didn't care.

Chen Guangrui clearly admired Xu Qing and implied in his words that he hoped Xu Qing would come to work in the yamen.

Xu Qing pretended not to hear. He was very busy with his affairs. In addition to managing the funeral shop and the Cat Fairy Hall, he also had to take time to inspect the Baosheng Temple.

Thinking of that temple dedicated to the goddess, Xu Qing's gaze towards Magistrate Chen changed.

"I heard that the Baosheng Temple on Ziyun Mountain was built under the supervision of an adult?"

Magistrate Chen was taken aback, not understanding why Xu Qing suddenly asked about this matter, but he still patiently replied, "It was indeed I who oversaw the construction."

"This temple must have cost a lot of money, right?" Xu Qing asked casually.

"I am not afraid of being laughed at by others, but the money to build the temple was obtained by my wife selling her dowry and borrowing money from various sources. I have no extra money to build the temple."

"."

Xu Qing never expected that his temple would be funded by the county magistrate's wife's dowry!

"The county magistrate's decision not to burden the people or waste resources is indeed admirable. However, why did you build a temple to the goddess and erect a statue of a female deity? How can you presume the gender of a deity?"

Xu Qing asked three questions in a row, leaving the county magistrate speechless.

Chen Guangrui wondered, "I've always heard that midwives are women. The Bodhisattva and the Goddess of Fertility are also female. I can't possibly go against the natural order and build a temple for fertility with a male figure. That would be too horrifying."

Chen Guangrui paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, gods are not bound by form, are without shape or form, and come and go freely. It is likely that the physical body is nothing more than a wisp of cloud in the eyes of the divine, and even if there are distinctions, they are only between good and evil."

"."

As Xu Qing left the yamen, he was still thinking about what Chen Guangrui had said.

Since gods are not bound by form, then this zombie has no choice but to do what gods should do.

(End of this chapter)