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

Chapter 252 Kill the Emperor, Slay the Imperial Advisor!

Lai Yong is dead.

But neither Old Man Lu nor any of the villagers chose to report it to the authorities, which Xu Qing found somewhat illogical.

"This man died by swearing an oath, which can be considered divine retribution. Reporting it to the authorities won't be a problem; we might even be able to recover some of the gambling money. Are you really not going to report it to the authorities?"

Xu Qing was planning to go and cause trouble for the magistrate of Ning County. If he reported it to the authorities, he might be able to take the opportunity to see what kind of person the magistrate was.

But the people here don't seem to enjoy crowds as much as the people of Tianjin.

"Sir, please wait!" A kind villager reminded him, "Ning County is not like other places. Here, other matters are one thing, but gambling and visiting prostitutes cannot be reported to the authorities."

Just as Xu Qing drove away from the crowd, a villager standing in the shade of the wall at the alley entrance, watching the commotion, suddenly said something to him.

"What do you mean by that?"

The villager hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't, as if he wanted to keep something to himself.

Xu Qing remained calm and drove the hearse out of the village. After the hearse had gone some distance, he told Old Man Lu to wait by the roadside, while he and Xuan Yu turned around and returned to the village.

After finding the villager who had only spoken halfway through his sentence, Xu Qing cornered him.

A young man and a little girl, seemingly an innocent pair, yet the villagers shrouded in their shadows felt an aura more terrifying than when facing bandits.

"I have a stack of silver notes in my hand worth no less than ten thousand taels. Tell me everything you know, and this money is yours. But if you don't tell the truth, Xuan Yu!"

Upon hearing Xu Qing call her name, the girl didn't hesitate. The sword pellet she had been playing with flashed with a cold light, and the small tree next to her was now bare, with only branches remaining.

"Ouch! Masters, if you're so capable, go and cause trouble for that vixen. Why are you bullying me?"

"A vixen?" Xu Qing squinted and said, "Explain everything to me from beginning to end!"

The villager was trembling with fear and dared not conceal anything. Only after the other party finished explaining the cause and effect did Xu Qing form a general judgment in his mind.

This villager was named Ning Erlang, and he was originally a regular at the famous brothel "Miaoying Pavilion" in Ning County.

Ning Erlang said that a few years ago he was broad-shouldered and slender, far from the sickly appearance he has today.

The reason he became like this was because of the Miaoying Pavilion.

When Xu Qing heard this, he didn't care. Let alone a strong man with a broad back and a narrow waist, even Marshal Tianpeng, who knew the art of fierce battle, would probably lose a few pounds if he lived in a brothel for a few years.

Lust is a sharp knife that can cut through your bones; this is no joke!

When Ning Erlang first arrived at Miaoying Pavilion, he was captivated by the top courtesan. The two became inseparable and secretly pledged their lives to each other, waiting only to save enough money to redeem themselves before getting married.

But in the following year, when they had saved enough money and the woman had reached marriageable age, Ning Erlang noticed something was amiss.

The woman, who had paid the ransom the day before, refused to leave Miaoying Pavilion the next day.

Ning Erlang went to question the top courtesan, but before he could even speak, the woman took off her clothes and forcibly consummated their marriage with him.

what is this?
Ning Erlang came to the pavilion again the next day, but the woman still avoided answering his questions. Ning Erlang's legs felt weak for three days after that.

Over the next few months, Ning Erlang grew accustomed to the women's service. Although he still felt as if it were a dream and somewhat unreal, he was completely captivated by the feeling.

One day, Ning Erlang, who was lingering in the county, met a fellow villager in an inn.

Upon meeting, Ning Erlang greeted him first, but the other party looked puzzled, as if he did not recognize him.

"I am the second son of the Ning family. We haven't seen each other for only two months. How come you don't recognize me?"

Upon hearing this, the man exclaimed in surprise, "Are you Brother Ning? It's been so long since I last saw you, how come you look so haggard?"

Looking haggard?

Ning Erlang was in a daze and didn't understand what his friend was saying until he raised his arm and saw his thin forearm and the clearly visible knuckles of his hand. Only then did he realize with horror.

"my body."

Ning Erlang staggered to the counter. He picked up the bronze mirror on the counter and looked at himself. He saw that the person in the mirror had bluish lips and a sallow complexion, and looked like a skeleton from a tomb.

"Brother Ning, please don't delay any longer. Your uncle and aunt have been looking for you for a long time. I came to the county this time on their behalf, but I never expected you to look like this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have failed to recognize you after seeing you several times!"

Ning Erlang's head was spinning, and he subconsciously replied, "Alright, I'll go home tomorrow, but before I go, I need to inform my wife."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Ning Erlang collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness completely.

That evening, in Miaoying Pavilion.

Ning Erlang paced back and forth anxiously: "Why isn't Miss Miaoyan in the pavilion today?"

Just as Ning Erlang was eagerly anticipating the moment, the sound of men laughing suddenly came from the small courtyard in front of Miaoyan's pavilion.

"My beloved consort, I have taken the elixir personally refined by Master Baiyun today. You cannot refuse me now!"

"Oh dear! How embarrassing! The Imperial Advisor and ministers are still outside. Doesn't Your Majesty care if people hear us?"

"What's there to be afraid of? This Ning County, spanning over four hundred li, is all under my control. Even if they hear about it, what can they do?"

Hearing the familiar woman's giggles, Ning Erlang became suspicious. He took a few steps forward and stepped through the moon gate, where he saw the magistrate of Ning County embracing his young wife intimately.

Who can bear this!

Ning Erlang's eyes turned green; he immediately lost his composure. Wasn't this bullying an honest person?

He rolled up his sleeves and took unsteady steps, about to rush inside. However, before he could get close to the two, the beautiful girl shouted, and the next moment a demonic wind swept in. Ning Erlang only saw a scruffy fox wearing the beautiful girl's clothes, with a human skull dome on the other's head.

Ning Erlang looked at the skull cap and immediately recognized it as the skull of Miss Miaoyan.

A fierce, gusty wind blew in, and Ning Erlang felt as light as a feather, being blown out of the attic in the blink of an eye.

In the courtyard of the attic, Yang Mingchun asked in alarm, "An assassin? Someone come quick!"

Before Yang Mingchun could finish speaking, Miaoying covered his mouth.

"Your Majesty, do not panic. He was just a sickly man, and I have already driven him away."

"My beloved consort is truly a woman who is no less capable than any man. When I unify the world one day, my beloved consort will be the empress of the nation!"

In a corner of an alley, Xu Qing listened to Ning Erlang recount his past.

“That county magistrate secretly calls himself the emperor, the gambling dens in the county are managed by the imperial advisor, and the brothel is run by the beautiful girl Miaoying. No! She is not Miaoying, she is a fox spirit in disguise. If she hadn’t used her body to seduce me, how could I have become so haggard?”

"It's a pity that the real Miaoying was probably killed by that fox demon on the day she was redeemed. Now that fox demon is wearing Miaoying's skull cap, who knows how many more people she will harm."

Ning Erlang would sometimes beat his chest and stamp his feet, and sometimes wander anxiously in the dark alleys. When Xu Qing saw that he could not get any other useful information, he simply burned the paper money worth ten thousand taels that he had promised to give to the other party.

"Thank you for your compassion, sir. May you live a long and blessed life."

Xu Qing, who had just turned around and walked to the alley entrance, almost couldn't resist turning back to kick this consumptive.

I kindly burned paper money for you, and you repay kindness with enmity and curse me!

If a zombie has a lifespan, would it still be called a zombie?

As Xu Qing walked out of the alley, he happened to see the front door of the house next door open. Inside, people dressed in mourning clothes had posted a notice on the door, which listed the name and age of the deceased in the family.

Xu Qing glanced at it and happened to see Ning Erlang's name.

On the way to the North Cliff for the funeral procession, Old Man Lu was still a little worried. After all, Xu Qing was a teacher from out of town, and cliff burial was too much for an inexperienced outsider.

However, when Old Man Lu saw Xu Qing skillfully using his familiar corpse-carrying techniques to shout out the chants for carrying the corpse, climbing the mountain, and burying the dead, the old man had the illusion that his son had returned.

"Is this really the first time the young gentleman has ever performed a cliff burial?"

Xu Qing nodded.

Old Man Lu said incredulously, "Chunsheng used to take this route for cliff burials too, and the way you carried the corpses was exactly the same."

Xu Qing remained calm upon hearing this, and said with a light smile, "Old man, there's no need to worry. With Chunsheng patiently explaining things to me, it's natural that there will be some similarities in our methods. This is not surprising."

"."

You call this not strange? Old Man Lu stared in disbelief and said, "You can see Chunsheng?"

"We could see it before, but now that it's all dust and ashes, and the coffin lid is closed, we can no longer see it."

Xu Qing's words were half true and half false. He had indeed seen Lu Chunsheng's ghost, but it was before the funeral, not at this moment.

“My dear girl, tell Grandpa, can you see Chunsheng?” Old Man Lu suddenly asked the girl beside him.

Xuan Yu looked at the old man who called her "little girl" despite her young age, and a playful thought suddenly came to mind. It blinked, looked in the direction of the hanging coffin, and said in a childish voice, "Chun Sheng sat up! He lay down again! He got up again!"

"Oh dear, he's sat down again!"

"."

Old Man Lu could no longer sit still.

"Mr. Xu, where is Chunsheng?"

"Sit-ups! Chun Sheng was self-disciplined during his lifetime, and he still doesn't forget to exercise after he's gone. It's truly admirable."

After saying that, Xu Qing turned and glared at Xuan Yu, who stuck out her little pink tongue, looking mischievous.

The past few days away from Tianjin have made the cat much more lively.

Old Man Lu didn't quite trust Xu Qing. Although the young man was a good person and his words were credible, Old Man Lu subconsciously felt that he couldn't believe what the young man said!
This is the old man's experience and intuition after living for over sixty years.

However, things are different when facing Xuan Yu.

Children have the ability to see ghosts, so their words are so truthful. Especially this little girl, who was quiet and well-behaved the whole way. She was clearly a good child who wouldn't lie.

Old Man Lu was now completely convinced that Chunsheng's soul was still in the mortal world. He sat beside the coffin on the cliff and rambled on and on.

Just a foot or two away was a bottomless cliff. Xu Qing waited patiently until the Lu family finished speaking before escorting everyone down the north cliff.

Upon reaching Pinglu, Xu Qing bid farewell to the Lu family, while he and Xuan Yu went to the Ning County government office.

"where is this place?"

Outside the brothel, Xuan Yu listened to the sounds of singing and dancing inside, and was quite curious.

"This is one of the county magistrate's properties, there's nothing to see here. Xuan Yu, just wait here, I'll be right back."

"How long will it take to get to the Xu family?" Xuan Yu stood not far from Miaoying Pavilion, somewhat hesitant.

There are too many people here, and cats don't like the smell of cosmetics.

Xu Qing smiled and said, "I'll be back soon, Xuan Yu, don't worry. I'll be back within a quarter of an hour."

After saying that, Xu Qing stepped straight into Miaoying Pavilion, where the pimps and servants immediately came forward to greet him.

"I'm looking for Miss Miaoyan."

"Guest, Miss Miaoyan is our top courtesan, and she doesn't usually see guests."

Xu Qing took out ten taels of green coins and threw them out, saying, "You just need to pass on a message for me, saying that the great philanthropist Xu from Yunmeng Mountain has come to pay a visit."

Before long, the servant returned and said respectfully, "Sir! Miss Miaoyan invites you to the pavilion. Please follow me to the pavilion."

Xu Qing followed the servant to the separate pavilion. Before Miss Miaoyan could appear, the corpse-finding compass in his hand reacted strongly.

Clearly, there was more than one body buried in the courtyard of this attic.

"What urgent matter brings you to me, young master?"

Just as Xu Qing was about to dig a pit to search for treasure, a strong scent of perfume wafted from the attic.

Xu Qing frowned slightly as he smelled a faint fishy odor mixed in with the fragrance of cosmetics.

This beautiful young woman, like him back then, probably needed cosmetics to cover up her 'unpleasant odor'.

However, ever since Xu Qing took the Heavenly Fragrance Pill, he no longer needed to use cosmetics to cover up the corpse aura on his body.

Xu Qing glanced sideways at the gauze curtain, where a woman with a graceful figure could be vaguely seen.

But when he activated his Qi-gazing technique, he saw a scruffy fox dressed in human clothes and wearing a skullcap on its head.

"I do have something urgent to discuss with the girl. We only have half a cup of tea's time left, so let's skip the small talk and get straight to the point!"

"Half a cup of tea? What can you do in that time?" The 'beautiful figure' behind the gauze curtain chuckled and said, "Since you've come from Yunmeng Mountain, young master, you must have important business to attend to. Why don't we finish discussing our business first, and then I'll serve you properly?"

"I'm getting down to business." Xu Qing walked toward the gauze tent while extending his right hand. At the tip of his five fingers, a foot-long corpse claw gleamed with a chilling light.

"I came from Yunmeng Mountain, and along the way I demolished Ruyi Temple and Cizhao Temple. Now I'm here to strip this pavilion and the fox skin you're wearing!"

Inside the attic, the scraggly fox was horrified upon hearing this. The moment Xu Qing lifted the gauze curtain, he saw the beautiful girl lift her skirt, turn around, and look back. Her signature forward sway was all too familiar.

Xu Qing reacted swiftly, and before the other party could even urinate, his sharp claws had already slashed open the fake skin in front of him.

The skull cap fell to the ground and shattered, revealing a scruffy fox in its true form.

Xu Qing stepped on the opponent's tail, raising the corpse claw in his hand high.

"My lord, spare my life! This lowly demon's cultivation has been arduous; I beg you, my lord, to show mercy!"

Hearing the fox's high-pitched, infant-like voice in front of him, Xu Qing suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you a male fox?"

"The little demon is indeed a male fox."

"Did you drain Ning Erlang of his life force?"

"Erlang?" the fox demon probed, "Does my lord perhaps have a past with Erlang?"

Xu Qing's eyelids twitched, and he forcefully retracted the raised corpse claw.

Seeing Xu Qing stop, the fox demon was overjoyed and said, "Ning Erlang is a lovesick fool. I disguised myself as the woman he loves, and he was completely captivated. It seems that you have a grudge against Ning Erlang."

"What are you looking for, my lord?"

Xu Qing pulled out an ordinary longsword from the landscape painting and swung it down fiercely!
"I'm looking for a disposable weapon that I can use easily, so I don't get my hands dirty!"

After dealing with the scraggly fox, Xu Qing went to the small courtyard behind the pavilion and dug out six corpses.

Without exception, all six corpses were female corpses missing their skulls.

Xu Qing put all the corpses into the miniature garden, and then took out the corpse-finding compass again. The compass needle was still moving, but this time it was pointing in the direction of the attic.

Returning to the attic, Xu Qing followed the compass and finally found five skullcaps placed side by side in the dressing table in front of Miss Miaoyan's dressing table.

Before a fox demon has survived the lightning calamity and condensed its demon core, it cannot transform into human form. Therefore, the fox demon clan has found two alternative methods for transformation.

One approach is to follow the crowd, which requires doing good deeds, accumulating merit, and forming positive relationships with others. Only through the merit of incense offerings can one be transformed into a human.

Another method is to borrow the skullcaps of the dead, wear them on one's own head, and worship the moon in order to transform into a man or a woman.

If one bows down at an inappropriate time, the skull will roll off; however, if the skull remains firmly attached to the head and one bows forty-nine times, it will instantly transform into the deceased's appearance in life.

The fox in front of him, without exception, only favored beautiful women!

As soon as I stepped out of Miaoying Pavilion, the little girl who had been waiting quietly at the door of the shop across the street immediately ran up to me.

"Xu Xianjia is so fast!"

"Is it fast?" Xu Qing glanced at the sky. His round trip had clearly taken longer than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

“Soon!” Xuan Yu looked up at Xu Qing and said, “I thought it would take at least half a month.”

"Half a month?"

Xuan Yu explained, “I overheard the guests at the door chatting. One said that once he entered a place like this, he would come out in at least an hour. Another said that he would come out in at least a day and a night. Yet another said that he would never come out in less than half a month, and even if he did, it would be because he had spent all his money.”

"Then, the others said that they also didn't have enough money, and even if they did, it would take them half a month to get out."

"Xu Xian's family has a lot of silver, so it should have taken at least half a month. I just didn't expect Xu Xian's family to come out in the blink of an eye!"

"."

Xu Qing remained silent for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing that Xu Qing remained silent, Xuan Yu then asked, "What is Immortal Xu going to do next?"

Xu Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kill the emperor, and behead the imperial advisor!"

(End of this chapter)