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

Chapter 280 Holy Maiden, Holy God, and the Poisonous Germ of Annihilation

A Taoist with five shadows?
Even Xu Qing, who was well-informed, couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

According to the tradition of the Celestial Master's Mansion, one shadow represents one life, so the fat Taoist priest has at least four lives on his conscience, all of which are his closest relatives.

"What are Zuo Zixiong and the people from the Celestial Master's Mansion doing here?"

Xu Qing put away the Mirror of Illumination, whistled, and several crows flew over from a distance and landed in front of him.

These crows often audited classes at the school, understood human speech, and were very intelligent. After Xu Qing gave a few instructions, several crows chased after the direction where the Five Shadows Daoist had left.

"Are those crows raised by Brother Xu?"

Liu Su'e was full of curiosity.

"Crows are harbingers of misfortune, so it's perfectly reasonable for us, the families of the dead, to keep some crows!"

As they approached Jingxia Street, another weasel ran up to Xu Qing, chattering away and gesturing wildly with its hands.

When Xu Qing heard that the Cangyi gang had sneaked into the coffin room under the cover of night to steal eggs, only to be sent into a coffin by the Red-tailed Monkey, he nodded with satisfaction.

This monkey king guarding the hall is indeed very dutiful.

However, the next moment Xu Qing heard Huang Xiaoliu say, "Hall Master Hou was furious and stormed up the Cangyi Gang branch with a stick."

"."

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment, then finally instructed Huang Xiaoliu, "When Master Hou returns, have him bring the corpse to see me!"

Watching the weasel hop and skip away into the dark alley, Liu Su'e tentatively asked, "Was this little yellow wolf also raised by a family of the dead?"

Seeing that he couldn't explain it clearly, Xu Qing simply laid his cards on the table and said, "Besides crows and yellow wolves, our 'Funeral Clan' also has monkeys, tigers, big horses, and little devils. If Boss Liu wants to take a tree demon as his godmother, that's not out of the question."

"I don't believe you. You're just kidding me."

Xu Qing chuckled upon hearing this. Why is it that no one believes him when he tells the truth?
In the following days, in addition to teaching Liu Su'e how to manage the coffin shop, Xu Qing also set up a troupe of ghost operas for her. In addition to the embroiderer, the actors could also be hired from the Peking Opera Theater.

If there's really no one else available, Xu Qing still has the Ghost Play Picture to back him up. As long as he sets up the stage and displays the picture, all the actors in the Pear Fragrance Garden can be used by him.

In addition to these, Xu Qing also taught Liu Su'e the Kan Yuan Breathing Method, a true cultivation method he had obtained from the Waterworker Taoist, and the most suitable cultivation method for her to practice at present.

The Kan Yuan Breathing Method can absorb the essence of water to nourish the body. Once one has achieved some success, one can then study the Water Control Method to practice the art of water manipulation.

Xu Qing was secretly plotting something. Sister Jin from Baosheng Temple was already old and didn't have the physical constitution for cultivation like Liu Su'e. Now that the path to heaven was blocked, once Sister Jin had completed her merits, she could only turn into a ghost like the embroiderer.

Baosheng Temple cannot be without living people to take care of it, and now that Liu Su'e is here, the situation is different.

On this day, Xu Qing took Liu Su'e to Ziyun Mountain to worship at the temple.

Liu Su'e, a young woman in her prime, had never been to a place like Baosheng Temple.
As soon as she arrived at the temple and saw the three characters "Baosheng Temple," Liu Su'e instantly realized, "Isn't this the temple of Baosheng Niangniang from the play?!"

Why did Xu Qing bring her here?
For some unknown reason, Liu Su'e exclaimed inwardly, "Oh dear!" and her face instantly flushed red.

This is...this is a bit too fast.
Xu Qing noticed something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong, Boss Liu?"

The latter lowered his head and remained silent.

Xu Qing didn't think much of it. He walked into the incense hall, said a few words to Sister Jin, and was about to turn around to look for Liu Su'e when he saw her kneeling on the prayer mat, offering three sticks of incense. Her eyes were slightly closed, her eyelashes trembled, and her small mouth, painted with rouge, moved as if she were praying for something.

What is this girl praying to?
Xu Qing was puzzled, and subconsciously communicated with the Blood Lake Dharma Realm. Liu Su'e's vision immediately rang in his ears without reservation.

"By the Goddess of Life Protection, I am deeply grateful to Brother Xu for his kindness, and I also have a strong affection for him. If we can become husband and wife in the future, I hope the Goddess of Life Protection will grant us both a son and a daughter."

"."

No, what nonsense are you making?

Xu Qing was almost dumbfounded. Who taught you to make a wish like that?

After paying her respects to the Goddess of Life Protection, Liu Su'e blushed, rubbed the hem of her clothes, hunched her shoulders, and returned to Xu Qing's side.

"I"

Xu Qing, who wanted to tell the story of Baosheng Temple so that Liu Su'e could learn about childbirth from Sister Jin, was speechless for a moment.

If one day this girl finds out that he is the deity worshipped in the temple...
Xu Qing frowned and after a long while spoke: "Su'e, this is Sister Jin, the temple keeper of Baosheng Temple, and also the earthly attendant of the Goddess Baosheng."

“Our Sangmen and Baosheng Temple are very close. Baosheng Temple can also be called ‘Shengmen’. Now that you have entered the path of cultivation, you must cultivate your character and accumulate merit so that you can better cope with the calamities that will follow in your cultivation.”

"Sister Jin's profession is to deliver babies and provide childbirth care, and to teach people how to raise children. You can follow Sister Jin to learn from her in the future."

It turns out that it wasn't about worshipping at the temple, but about learning the methods of protecting the Tao.

Liu Su'e blushed again, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Fortunately, she only petitioned the Goddess of Life Protection, and no one else knew about it, otherwise she would have been too ashamed to face anyone afterward!

Sister Jin was also unaware of Xu Qing's relationship with Baosheng Niangniang. She only knew that Bai Xiaoxian and Xu Qing had a very good relationship. According to Bai Xiaoxian, Baosheng Temple and Maoxiantang were true 'neighbors' and very friendly.

As the head of the Cat Immortal Hall, Xu Qing naturally had a very close relationship with the Baosheng Temple.

Putting all these factors aside, Xu Qing was also the manager of Baosheng Temple specially authorized by the county magistrate. Both publicly and privately, Sister Jin regarded Xu Qing as the highest-ranking person in charge besides Baosheng Niangniang.

Xu Qing strolled around the temple, inspecting everything, while Bai Xiaoxian followed nervously beside the sect leader, afraid that she might do something wrong and affect the selection of outstanding immortals for this year's temple.

Inside the Baosheng Temple, Liu Su'e and Sister Jin chatted happily. When Sister Jin heard that Liu Su'e had sung in the opera troupe before, she was overjoyed, as she loved listening to opera the most.

Sister Jin, being an experienced woman, quickly discerned Liu Su'e's thoughts after a brief chat between mother and daughter: "Girl, do you have feelings for your Brother Xu?"

"No, Brother Xu is my benefactor, I am grateful to him, and..."

"Also what?"

"Oh dear, dear sister, please stop asking."

When Xu Qing returned to the temple after wandering around for a while, Liu Su'e was looking through the conservation manual.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, she quickly hid the handbook in her bosom, fearing that he might see it.

Xu Qing was speechless. He had written this conservation manual himself. What in it was that he didn't know?
However, he could understand that in this era, the separation of men and women was strictly observed, and it was not customary for men to deliver babies. Otherwise, midwives would not be called terms like "midwife," "partner," or "sitting midwife."

On his way back to Linjiang County after leaving Baosheng Temple, Xu Qing passed by a community school that was under construction.

Chen Guangrui not only developed education within the city, but also established two schools outside the county.

Xu Qing walked closer and saw that the main structure of the school had been completed. Behind the school were thousands of bamboo poles and bundles of thatch. Roughly estimated, this school could accommodate at least a thousand students.

As they walked out of the school, a carpenter brought in timber. As the two passed each other, they were squeezed together in the passageway filled with wood and stone. Just as Xu Qing was about to move aside, the carpenter suddenly shrugged, and the timber on his right shoulder instantly fell onto his left. Then, the carpenter lightly shifted his toes, just avoiding Xu Qing.

This carpenter is quite skilled.

Although Xu Qing was somewhat surprised, he did not pay much attention. When he arrived outside the school, he saw Liu Su'e looking around with a cloth bag in her hand.

"Brother Xu, this bag was left behind by someone; it contains quite a few fresh mushrooms."

Xu Qing glanced at the bag and saw that it was full of red umbrellas with white stems, which looked like they had been picked after the rain and were quite beautiful!

"This is Amanita mushroom, and also Fire Fungus. Tsk, and Boletus luridus."

"It sounds delicious. I wonder who left this." Liu Su'e thought it was some kind of delicious fresh mushroom when she heard these nice names. Xu Qing nodded immediately and said, "It is indeed delicious, but you have to come to our Mourning Gate to do business on the same day you eat it."

"Is this mushroom poisonous?" Liu Su'e understood the implication in Xu Qing's words.

"It's not just poisonous, this bag of mushrooms is probably more toxic than ten pounds of arsenic!"

Xu Qing casually tossed the mushroom into the landscape painting. This poisonous mushroom was inedible for others, but it was just right for him, a zombie.

Liu Su'e was all alone. After the two returned to Linjiang County, Xu Qing wanted to have her become the godmother of the peach tree at the coffin shop, but Boss Liu did not agree.

In her heart, there will always be only that godmother, the old willow tree by the Tanggu River.

In the evening, Xu Qing returned to the coroner's shop alone. As soon as he entered, Xuan Yu, who was possessing Sun Erniang, transformed into a black cat and darted down from the counter. Then, he slowed down and walked gracefully to Xu Qing's side.

"Xu Xianjia had an unpleasant smell of cosmetics on her."

Xuan Yu's nostrils twitched, and upon smelling Liu Su'e's scent, it couldn't help but take two steps back.

Cats are born disliking the smell of cosmetics.

Xu Qing sniffed around for a moment, then activated the Yin energy in his body to enhance the medicinal power of the Heavenly Fragrance Pill, and asked, "Now?"

"Does Master Xu really enjoy listening to opera?"

While performing a ritual to send the red-tailed monkey's corpse to the afterlife, Xu Qing replied, "Didn't Xuan Yu also enjoy listening to operas before?"

Seeing that Xuan Yu remained silent, Xu Qing continued, "Do you still remember what I mentioned before about the Eight Banners Marshal and the Yin Shi Dharma King?"

Xuan Yu nodded: "Xu Xianjia said that the Yinhe Ancient Road and the human world are mirror images of each other. The Eight Banners Marshal represents the fate of the Great Yong Kingdom, and the Yin Shi Dharma King is a barbarian who wants to take advantage of the chaos."

"Absolutely!" Xu Qing casually tossed a corpse into the coffin and continued, "People love to listen to operas. As long as the operas about the Eight Banners Marshals become popular, the incense offerings for that marshal will flourish. The battle situation on the Yinhe Ancient Road will also be reversed."

"Similarly, the plays of Cat Fairy Hall and Baosheng Temple are the same."

Xuan Yu said thoughtfully, "No wonder Master Xu chose Boss Liu to be his shaman."

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "Not entirely. Boss Liu is a friend of ours. Have you forgotten that she is also the embroiderer's teacher?"

"It seems so." Xuan Yu's ears twitched, and he extrapolated, "Master Yuan is also my half-teacher. Would Immortal Xu accept him as a medium?"

"."

Xu Qing put down his work, turned to look at the innocent cat, and said, "Master Yuan taught us these supernatural powers to deal with the fox demon who cultivates the Earthly Fiend Divine Power in Baiyun Cave. In the future, no matter who survives or dies with that fox demon, Master Yuan will not care. He will only care whether the fox demon can break free and wreak havoc on the world."

“Ms. Liu is different; she helps us without any ulterior motives.”

"Is there really no other purpose?" Xuan Yu felt that something was not quite right.

"No." Xu Qing shook his head decisively, recalling the sealed vow at Baosheng Temple.

The world is in constant flux, and recently there have been many more people from other places coming and going to Linjiang County. During this time, the Red-Clothed Sect somehow learned about the Yinhe Ancient Road.

In order to diminish the fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty, the Holy Maiden of the Red-Clothed Sect established the Ghost King Ling Duo'e Ghost King as a holy deity of the sect and gathered incense offerings for him from the people.

Xu Qing was at a loss for words after hearing about this.

The people of Dayong have lost their hearts, and everyone wants to change the world as soon as possible. It was expected that the Cangyi Group would use the Eight Banners Marshal's nemesis to wear down Dayong's fortune, but Xu Qing really did not expect to use the Ghost King Duo'e to deal with the Eight Banners Marshal.

The Ghost King Duo'e is not the sworn enemy of the Eight Banners Marshal. The two have always kept to themselves. How can the Red-Clothed Cult be sure that the Ghost King Duo'e will join the battle because of these incense offerings?

After a moment's thought, Xu Qing realized what he meant.

Perhaps the Red-Clothed Cult was never entirely confident from the start; they were simply trying to seize every possible opportunity, in case the Ghost King Duo'e intervened out of consideration for the incense offerings.
After Xu Qing understood the reasoning behind it, he was not worried that the Eight Banners Marshal would be defeated by the Yin Shi Fa Wang because of this matter.

How can the meager offerings of the Red-Clothed Cult compare to those of Marshal Yinhe, who has his own set of opera lyrics to sing?
As long as the Eight Banners Marshal can take down the tough nut of Nancuo at the last moment, Xu Qing's plan will not be considered a failure.

Besides the Red-Clothed Cult, Xu Qing also received intelligence brought back by the Crow of the Hall.

Zuo Zixiong, along with a hundred soldiers and the twin Taoist priests, set up a magic array on the banks of the Baisha River at midnight yesterday, causing a whirlpool in the river. After jumping into the whirlpool, the group mysteriously disappeared.

Based on the location of the formation and the verbal description of the crow in the hall, Xu Qing vaguely guessed where the other party had gone.

Earlier, when Eunuch Liao was defeated by Xu Qing, Li Heyi, a Taoist priest from the Celestial Master's Mansion, also used a similar method to enter the Yinhe Ancient Road.

As for why Zuo Zixiong and the Taoist priest from the Celestial Master's Mansion went to the Yin River...
This is likely related to the fortunes of the Great Yong Dynasty.

The Red-Clothed Cult, the Divine Machine Battalion, and the Cangyi Gang
Xu Qing could foresee that the Yinhe Ancient Road would be very lively in the future.

However, what Xu Qing was most concerned about was not these things, but the upcoming Autumn Chopping.

The annual autumn harvest will begin in three days.

However, just as Xu Qing was eagerly awaiting his execution, the yamen suddenly delivered thirteen corpses.

Xu Qing was so confused that he thought the Autumn Execution had started ahead of schedule!

"Manager Xu, these thirteen people are residents of Xinyaofang. The seven people with black paper pasted on their names are from the Li family, and the five people with white paper pasted on their names are from the Cui family. They all died from accidentally ingesting poisonous mushrooms."

Poisonous mushrooms?

Looking at the gruesome corpses, clearly showing signs of poisoning, Xu Qing recalled the poisonous mushrooms that Liu Su'e had picked up in front of the newly built school a few days earlier.

But he had already picked up the fallen mushrooms, and these people probably had no connection with the mushrooms from that day.

"Wait! Didn't they say it was because someone accidentally ate mushrooms? Why is there a hanged corpse here?"

Xu Qing immediately noticed something was wrong when he examined the body.

The constable who brought the body explained, "The body belonged to the Li family. He was the only one who hadn't accidentally ingested the poisonous fungus, but after seeing his entire family die, he hanged himself."

So these two families, young and old, are actually two separate households?

(End of this chapter)