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

Chapter 250 Simple and honest folk customs, moving graves and connecting tombs

Within Ning County, Xu Qing and Xuan Yu traveled at a leisurely pace, occasionally inquiring about families with funerals, hoping to have the opportunity to perform a ritual, learn about advanced funeral practices from other places, and also find out about the county magistrate's background—a win-win situation.

Qianzhou encompasses three prefectures and seventeen counties. Although these counties and prefectures are all under the jurisdiction of the same prefecture, their local customs and traditions are quite different.

North of Qianzhou, people prefer to be buried in the ground after death, which is not much different from Tianjin.

However, in other parts of Qianzhou, most locals prefer cliff burial.

Xu Qing had long heard of this funeral style, but unfortunately he had never had the opportunity to come to Qianzhou to witness it in person.

Now he's in for a treat.

Xu Qing visited many families before finally finding one in a remote village on the border of Ning County who was holding a funeral.

The local people are simple and honest. When they heard that Xu Qing was a gentleman from out of town and saw him dressed as a monk, they immediately felt more respect for him.

In these times, there are three professions that are most respected: those who work in the government, those who practice medicine, and those who work in the funeral industry.

Xu Qing helped with a religious ceremony at the funeral hall. The family in front of him was not wealthy, and there was nothing of value in their home. The only valuable thing was probably the thin coffin in the funeral hall.

"Grandpa, the mountain road is difficult to walk on. Please be careful when the funeral procession starts later."

"Young master, please rest assured. Although I can't be of great help, I can still guide you."

The family consists of four people: a woman in her thirties, her parents-in-law, and a boy who is eleven or twelve years old.

The deceased was the male head of the household.

Xu Qing pulled the old man aside and said a few words outside, then returned to the mourning hall and looked at the middle-aged man standing in front of the offering table.

This man was a local funeral director from Ning County, Qianzhou. Xu Qing was unfamiliar with cliff burial, so the specific procedures for the funeral could only be handled by this professional.

"How long do coffins typically remain in cliff burials?"

"That's not short, at least twelve days, some even stop for two months. Now that the weather is getting cooler, the owners aren't in a hurry, so it usually takes more than half a month. Like this coffin, it's been stopped for more than half a month."

Xu Qing asked curiously, "I think the necessary rituals have been done almost completely, why are we still lingering for so long?"

“You’ve come from out of town and don’t understand the climate of Qianzhou. There’s a lot of rain here, and there are many wild animals and poisonous insects. It’s been raining for seven or eight days in a row, and the cliffs are slippery and people can’t climb them. So we have to wait. Today, the ground has dried up and the cliffs are firm enough for people to stand on. That’s when the funeral procession will begin.”

The middle-aged man chuckled and said, "Others call us cliff burial masters 'Spidermen.' Do you see spiders spinning webs when it rains? They only spin webs to work when the wind stops and the rain stops. Spidermen are the same."

What is a Spider-Man? It should be noted that cliff burials are generally carried out in natural rock crevices or on steep cliffs, which requires a body carrier to carry the person and coffin separately on his back during the funeral procession.

The cliffs and precipices were steep and difficult to traverse, so the people carrying the corpses had to have certain rock climbing skills. Over time, these people were called 'spidermen'.

Xu Qing humbly learned from the funeral director, who was tall, thin, and muscular. The director was also very friendly and patiently answered almost any question related to funerals.

"There are more than one type of cliff burial in Qianzhou, and there's a lot more to it than meets the eye! Let me explain it to you in detail."

Xu Qing sat on a wooden stool placed in front of the mourning hall. During this time, the old man specially brought over two bowls of tea.

The middle-aged man spoke eloquently, while Xu Qing nodded in agreement from time to time.

About half an hour later, Xu Qing had a completely new understanding of cliff burial.

Cliff burials are nothing more than a few methods of burial, such as natural caves, artificially dug pits, and wooden piles. Compared with the more common earth burial, cliff burial involves placing the coffin of the deceased between cliffs. However, even this method of burial has three sub-categories.

One type is called hanging coffin burial, which refers to suspending a coffin on a cliff face or in a natural rock crevice.

The second type is cliff burial, which uses natural or artificial caves to store coffins and is often used for family burials.

The third type is called cliff burial, which involves placing the coffin on a protruding platform on the mountaintop or in an artificially dug pit. Those burials where holes are drilled in the rock strata, piles are erected, and horizontal beams are used for support are of this type.

In Qianzhou, where rainfall is abundant and wild animals outnumber people, families with some wealth often choose cliff burial to ensure the integrity of remains and to avoid disturbance from wild animals and soil erosion.

Now, Xu Qing's family is about to have a 'hanging coffin burial'. "It's past noon, the funeral procession can begin."

The tall, thin funeral director's surname was Lu. After hearing the man's reminder, Xu Qing smiled and said, "If Mr. Lu is not strong enough, please let me know. I am young and strong and can carry the deceased's body to the cliff cave for you."

"How can this be allowed!" The middle-aged man shook his head repeatedly.

Xu Qing chuckled and said, "To be honest, Mr. Lu, I have long wanted to experience the cliff burial process firsthand. If my business ever goes out of business, I might be able to make a living in Qianzhou with this skill."

"They say that competitors are enemies, but that's not entirely true." The middle-aged man sighed and bowed his hands in thanks: "Then I'll have to trouble you, brother."

With the other party's consent, Xu Qing opened the coffin and began to prepare the body for burial and to perform a ritual for the deceased.

The deceased's surname was Lu, and he was originally a cliff burial master, also known as the Spiderman.

Mr. Lu spent his entire life carrying corpses for funerals, traversing more cliffside paths than he crossed bridges.

Cliff burial is the ultimate test of physical fitness. After turning forty, Mr. Lu clearly felt that his physical strength was not keeping up. At his age, he was out of breath after running a few steps, so climbing up and down was indeed not suitable.

His wife also told him, "If you really can't do this anymore, we can change jobs. I'll keep all the money you've saved over the years. We can buy a shop in the county, even if it's in a remote area. As long as we can do a small business, we can still make a living."

Mr. Lu listened to his wife and got ready early that day. He took his savings accumulated over the years and planned to go to the county to buy a shop and make a living selling incense and paper money.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lu ran into Lai Yong, an old friend from his hometown, shortly after leaving his house.

Upon learning of his plans, Lai Yong was suddenly shocked and exclaimed, "Brother Lu, why didn't you inform me beforehand that you're changing careers?"

Mr. Lu asked in bewilderment, "Brother Lai, what makes you say that? Is there something wrong with me changing careers?"

“Alas! Brother Lu, you are unaware of this.” Lai Yong said with great emotion, “My father passed away two years ago. It was Brother Lu who carried him up the North Cliff. But when I went to pay my respects a few days ago, I found that one end of the coffin had slipped out of the cliff cave. Upon closer inspection, I found that one of the wooden stakes had broken off.”

"I was just thinking of asking Brother Lu to handle this matter, but if Brother Lu changes careers, wouldn't my father's situation be left unresolved?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Lu immediately abandoned his plan to go to the county. He was extremely particular about his cliff burial skills, and if he were to make a mistake before retiring, it would be like a drop of ink on a blank sheet of paper, and he would feel uneasy about it for the rest of his life.

"That's an elm stake, it won't break easily. I think it's probably because of the recent rains that the soil and rock in the cave have loosened, and the elm stake has come loose. That's easy to fix, I'll just take it back, get the tools, and nail it back in place!"

“Brother Lu, wait a minute! It would be too much trouble for you to go back and forth. I have a hammer and chisel ready. We can get this done today and it won’t delay your trip to the county.”

"This"

"Respect for the dead is paramount, Brother Lu often said that, have you forgotten?"

With a push and a pull, the two of them climbed up the north cliff.

But when Mr. Lu arrived at the cave, he found that the coffin inside was intact and the wooden stakes showed no signs of falling off.

"Brother Lai, this coffin..."

Mr. Lu sensed something was wrong, but before he could turn around, he felt a huge force pushing him from behind.

At the same time, the package on his body was also torn off!

Mr. Lu reacted quickly, grabbing the corner of the package with his other hand. Only then did he realize that Lai Yong had snatched his package and pushed him!
"Let go of me!"

Lai Yong shouted and kicked Mr. Lu hard.

With the sound of tearing fabric, Mr. Lu fell off the cliff.

The page turning in the Sutra of Salvation ends here, and Xu Qing looks at the reward.

A coffin with cloud patterns, a ritual implement, is so light that if the dead ride in it, the coffin will be as light as a feather and can fly over mountains and valleys, and be moved from grave to grave.

(End of this chapter)