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

Chapter 221 Fireworks, Dog Food

"Imprisoning spirits and deities."

Xu Qing held the Demon-Summoning Seal and fell into deep thought.

This looks like a Poké Ball?

In a short period of time, Xu Qing's mind was filled with images of the Eight Banners Marshal and his neighbor, the Ghost King Duo'e.

However, Xu Qing was not the kind of person to repay kindness with enmity. The Eight Banners Marshal had just expressed goodwill to him and given him paper lanterns and funerary objects that could be used to command troops. How could he possibly turn around and put the Marshal into his magic seal?

After much thought, only his neighbor, the Ghost King Duo'e, met his criteria.

However, getting through the layers of tombs surrounding the Ghost King's Mausoleum to reach the innermost main tomb chamber of the Ghost King is not an easy task.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qing decided to put away the Ghost-Controlling Seal for the time being.

He had more important things to deal with right now. The Ghost King's Tomb was here and wouldn't run away. His neighbor couldn't just suddenly move away. After clearing his mind of distractions, Xu Qing began to tidy up the remains of Daoist He.

They called it preparing the body for the deceased, but it was really just touching the body and searching it.

A cloud-climbing talisman, several bottles of colorful pills of various colors, and the ordination certificate of the ordination master.

Besides these, there are the magic swords and artifacts commonly found in the Celestial Master's Mansion, as well as some gold and silver items that are only used in secular society.

Xu Qing's skills in searching corpses were already superb. In no time, he had squeezed every last bit of value out of the Taoist priest in front of him.

Xu Qing casually tossed the body into the small garden, choosing not to spend time dealing with Liao Jinzhong's corpse. Right now, Master Feng and Ji Ruinian were still living in fear on the ship at the port, and he didn't know how his uncle and Xiao Liuxian were doing.

Now that so much time has been wasted, if he doesn't hurry up and finish things up, these two might encounter some more trouble.

Xu Qing didn't even need to think about it. Someone had to take the blame for the crimes of assassinating a martial arts master, a third-rank eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, and the supervisor of the Mirror Bureau. The court wouldn't care whether you had the ability to do these things or not. As long as the real culprit couldn't be found, whoever was at the crime scene would be the murderer!
It's easy to get in through the Yinhe Ancient Road, but difficult to get out. Although Li Heyi opened up the passage between the Yangjian Baisha River and the Yinhe River, it was only a one-way passage.

Li Heyi is a ruthless man. From the moment he started planning to lure Xu Qing into the trap, he never intended to leave himself any way out.

What if Xu Qing realizes something is wrong and turns around and runs back to the mortal world once the formation connecting the White Sand River and the Yin River is set up?
He Dao was cunning and calculating, but he never expected that Xu Qing would be so familiar with the Yin River, and even his understanding of the Eight Banners Marshals far surpassed his own.

But is this really the case?

Only Xu Qing knew that the most important thing between evil spirits was sincerity.

What he understood was never the Eight Banners marshals, but the obsession left behind by the dead.

When it comes to understanding the dead, there is probably no one in Tianjin who can surpass him.

After all, only the dead truly understand the dead. If not the dead, then they must be people who have been in contact with death to truly understand that feeling of mutual understanding.

Xu Qing is not talented; he is merely a walking corpse at the boundary between Yin and Yang.

However, this walking corpse has always possessed a strong sense of humanity, which is precisely what other ghosts and zombies lack.

Xu Qing arrived at the tomb where the twin coffins were buried, then turned around and went back to his family's coroner's shop.

At the counter, Xuan Yu, who was possessing Sun Erniang, hadn't yet come to her senses when she heard Xu Qing speak:

"Xuanyu, would you like to see the fireworks?"

That day, the coroner's shop, which never closed, closed its doors for the first time ever and hung up a sign that said it was temporarily closed.

At the Baisha River wharf, two lighthouses, one on the east and one on the west, were brightly lit. Beneath the lighthouses, a group of red-clad guards, holding torches, were constantly patrolling along the ferry crossing.

Previously, the turbulent waves of the Baisha River had completely scattered the official ships accompanying the Jingzhao Division. The imperial guards stationed on the shore could only rely on the most rudimentary method: using lights as beacons to guide the lost ships ashore.

However, just as boats were approaching the shore on the river, the two lighthouses that served as guiding beacons went out one after another, and even the torches of some of the nearby imperial guards went out inexplicably.

Some with sharp ears said they heard a faint, crisp sound, like someone snapping their fingers, and then the surroundings went dark.

The soldiers and cavalry, who were already terrified, became even more frightened upon hearing this.

I had long heard rumors about the ghost of the lamp. In recent years, the lights on certain streets in Linjiang County have mysteriously gone out and then come back on from time to time. The locals of Linjiang are very secretive about this. There are even children singing nursery rhymes on the streets, saying that when the ghost of the lamp comes, the King of Hell laughs. One light and one darkness means you are a year younger, ten lights and ten darknesses mean you are ten years older.
It is also said that a wick in a lamp emits a wisp of green smoke, which lasts until the fifth watch of the night. Naughty children, do not blow out the candle in front of you, for if it burns out ten times, you will grow ten years older.

The group of imperial guards dared not breathe, but what they feared most was exactly what happened.

One or two people didn't believe in superstitions and immediately took out tinderboxes to relight the torches.

It was at this moment that the eerie snapping of fingers, carried on the damp, cold river wind, rang out again.

The torches flickered and burned, and the lighthouse not far away was also extinguished.

The leader of the Night Watchers made a decisive decision and shouted, "Everyone, throw your torches into the river! Anyone who disobeys will be punished according to military law!"

Xu Qing, who was passing by the riverbank, was puzzled for a while. He had just snapped his fingers on a whim, feeling annoyed by the guards running back and forth. He did not expect the guards to be so cautious that they threw their torches into the water.

Clearly, Xu Qing had not yet realized that his casual use of the lamp-lighting technique had already affected every aspect of Linjiang County. Now, the adults in Linjiang County no longer sang "Night Crying Boy" to stop their children from crying. As soon as they mentioned that the lamp ghost was coming, the children would immediately hide under the covers and dare not make a sound.

And so, a strange scene appeared in Bukou, Linjiang County: wherever Xu Qing and Xuan Yu walked, darkness would always fall.

As Xu Qing stepped onto a small boat and stood at the bow with Xuan Yu, hands behind their backs, the merchant ships and fishing boats with their lights on all around, as well as the official ships that had just found their way in the distance, all merged into the night.

Xuan Yu asked Xu Qing, "Immortal Xu, aren't your hands tired?"

"."

Xu Qing pulled his fingers, which had been snapping incessantly, back into his sleeve.

However, Xuan Yu then saw Xu Qing take off his shoes and throw them back and forth at the bow of the boat.

The reason is simple: Xu Qing really couldn't find out where the ship had drifted off to.

The small boat sailed south downstream for thirty or forty miles before finally finding the Mirror Reflection Bureau's warship.

Xu Qing boarded the ship again. At this time, there were still some timid boatmen and cooks hiding in the cabin. In addition to these people, there were also a few loyal eunuchs and imperial guards who were maneuvering the large ship and searching for Liao the Governor's whereabouts along the river.

Without the governor's order, these people dared not return to the port on their own initiative. Xu Qing was secretly pleased to see this.

Fortunately, Eunuch Liao was a skilled commander. Had it been someone else who was less disciplined, these men would probably have already turned their boats around and fled to shore.

If that's the case, Xu Qing still has a way to resolve tonight's situation, but it will ultimately be more troublesome.

Jumping onto the deck of the ship, Xuan Yu followed closely behind. Xu Qing turned back and gave a few instructions. Then, the two figures, one stiff and one cat, turned into ghosts. In just half an incense stick's time, no one else moved around on the entire ship.

"This sleep aid is quite effective."

Xu Qing looked at the boatman and cook he had knocked unconscious, then at the people Xuan Yu was using the sleep-inducing bug to knock them out. In terms of efficiency, the sleep-inducing bug, which made people fall asleep as soon as it touched them, was faster than his violent sleep aid.

On the deck, besides a few unimportant people, there was Master Feng, who was sleeping soundly, and Ji Ruinian, who had just fallen into a deep sleep. Beside the two shamanic disciples were a chicken and a snake, the two small animals snoring.

Xu Qing let them snore, while he regained control of the river and drove the ship toward the Tianjin ferry crossing.

Liao Jinzhong couldn't possibly die in Linjiang County, otherwise the officials of Linjiang County would have to bear some joint responsibility.

Xu Qing had no good solution to this either. The only thing he could do was to try to minimize the impact of tonight's incident on Linjiang County.

In contrast, Xu Qing had fewer scruples with the prefect of Tianjin, the opportunistic and hypocritical Magistrate Wang.

Since things have already blown up, let's add fuel to the fire and warm everyone up!

As the ship entered the Tianjin ferry terminal, Xu Qing transferred Master Feng, Ji Ruinian, and the two young immortals to the smaller boat. As for the others on the ship...
Several trusted eunuchs, both high and low, and some imperial guards were given the exclusive service of being buried alive with the deceased at the coffin shop. The boatmen and servants, who were still clueless and didn't even know what was going on, were left at the ferry dock by Xu Qing.

After doing all this, Xu Qing placed a cloth-wrapped iron flower-patterned ball on the ship and left behind a small paper figure holding a tinderbox, waiting to be lit.

Xuan Yu was puzzled. Xu Qing smiled slightly and urged the small boat to a point twenty miles from the center of the river.

“Immortal Xuanyu, please look up at the center of the river.”

At the bow of the ship, Xuan Yu's eyes widened, and even his mouth involuntarily opened.

A deafening roar was heard, and in the distance, a beam of white light, like a giant umbrella, opened up, and colorful fireworks, like shimmering jewels, illuminated the entire river surface.

Aside from the celestial spectacle, the ship engulfed by lightning and fire on the river, the shattered and burning sandalwood eaves, and the countless sparks were also a sight that shocked the cat.

The explosive shockwave splashed water on the river surface. Xu Qing stood at the bow of the boat, while Feng Erye and Ji Ruinian lay fast asleep on the deck behind him.

"This is truly a dazzling display of lights and fireworks. What does Immortal Xuanyu think?"

The cat was at a loss for words, but its eyes, filled with the colors of fireworks, had already conveyed the entire scene.

The next morning, at Bukou, Linjiang County.

As soon as Master Feng woke up, he saw a large crowd gathered in front of him.

"you're awake?"

"Huh?" Master Feng's brain was completely blank.

"You and this gentleman were swept ashore by the river yesterday. It was only thanks to the early-rising fisherman, Hu, that you were discovered. Otherwise, if the tide had come in, you two would probably have been swept back into the water."

After saying this, Manager Cai of the corpse retrieval team pointed to the cage hanging on Master Feng and asked, "Is this your cage? I see you're holding it quite tightly, so it must be something very important to you."

Beside him, the dark-skinned young man from the Hu family, who had gotten up early to fish, scratched his head honestly and said, "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to the chicken in your cage. If it hadn't been crowing by the water so early, I wouldn't have found you."

"A cage? A crowing bird."

Master Feng glanced down at his uncle, who was in a cage in his arms and looked perfectly fine. Ji Ruinian, who was next to him, also felt the slippery sensation in his sleeve. He lifted his sleeve and looked inside. His expression changed rapidly, and a flood of emotions, including surprise, joy, doubt, and fear, overwhelmed him, leaving him speechless for a long time.

In contrast, when Master Feng first saw his uncle, he looked up blankly, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

When he looked down at it a second time, Master Feng finally realized what was happening.

"My goodness! This is a ghost story!"

As if electrocuted, Master Feng flung the cage away, but some scoundrel had somehow managed to tie it securely to his belt, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it out.

"Uncle, I'm so sorry, please don't bother me. I was forced into this situation by others. If you really have grievances, I'll burn you extra paper money and have someone make a few chickens for you to burn another day. You have a grievance to settle, so please don't come looking for me."

The old man in the cage flapped his wings frantically until Grandpa Feng couldn't throw the bird out of the cage and started to cry while hugging the cage. Only then did the old man regain his balance.

What's wrong with this shamanic disciple? I'm not dead yet, why are they making me mourn?
The uncle tilted his head, completely baffled.

Ji Ruinian helped up the shameful Feng Erye, hastily thanked everyone, and then quickly pulled him away from the dock.

"Don't cry! Your uncle isn't dead."

"Huh? He's not dead? I tasted it myself, it was delicious, how could he not be dead?"

"."

Ji Ruinian opened his sleeves, and Xiao Liuxian peeked out.

"I don't know the details either. Now that I think about it, it was that eunuch who deliberately scared us. But no matter what, at least Uncle and Little Willow Fairy are alright, which is a blessing in disguise."

Master Feng suddenly realized what was happening, but when he looked at his uncle's cross-eyed, simple-minded gaze, he instinctively tried to avoid it, unable to hide the hidden guilt he felt.

"Uncle, you can eat whatever you want from now on. I'll definitely treat you even better from now on."

Upon hearing this, the uncle flapped his wings with joy and clucked, thinking to himself that he had indeed followed the right person.

Jingxia Street, the coroner's shop.

Xuan Yu was overjoyed today. It was true that it hadn't misjudged Xu Xian. Xu Xian had chosen the right cat to follow!

By this time, it was already broad daylight. Xu Qing was just about to go into the morgue to observe the inspirational growth story of a high-ranking eunuch when a regular customer came into the shop.

At the entrance, Shang Shaoyang, who had not appeared for a long time, limped into the shop.

Behind him, a typical Southern-looking, elegant young lady was trying to help him up.

"I told you not to touch me! Miss Gu, I'm a cripple now, why are you still bothering me? Are you really willing to serve a lame husband for the rest of your life?"

As they were talking, Shang Shaoyang flung Miss Gu's hand away and sat on the coffin lid in front of Xu Qing.

"Young Master Shang, what are you up to now?"

Instead of answering, Shang Shaoyang asked, "Manager Xu, do the burial plot and coffin I ordered from you still count?"

"Look at what you're saying. Young Master Shang is a loyal member of our shop. These matters after his death will remain valid as long as our shop is still in operation."

"Fine!" Shang Shaoyang turned to look at Miss Gu: "Did you hear me clearly? I'm just waiting for the day I die and be reborn. Why are you still bothering with someone like me who has no ambition and only knows how to sit and wait to die?"

Upon hearing this, Miss Gu gritted her teeth and, with a tense expression, went to stand in front of Xu Qing.

"Get me that iron certificate membership too. If he and I die, you have to bury us together. We'll share the same bed in life and the same grave in death!"

Xu Qing frowned as she looked at the young couple in front of her.

So you two came here early in the morning to show off your love?

(End of this chapter)