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

Chapter 306 The zombie is broken, the cat is even worse.
"Do you know my master?"

"Your master?"

Inside the coroner's shop, the fox and the cat stared at each other in bewilderment.

Xu Qing pretended to be indifferent and silently flipped through the account books.

However, his peripheral vision kept lingering on the fox and the cat. Even though today's events were inextricably linked to him, it didn't stop him from enjoying the spectacle.

As for the old woman's death
Regardless of how Xuan Yu and the nine-tailed fox in front of him viewed it, Xu Qing felt no psychological burden whatsoever.

The old woman committed suicide; what does that have to do with Xu Qing?

He also collected the opponent's clone, though he left it in the miniature garden without burying it.
But this is also reasonable. After all, ordinary people have a seven-day mourning period, and it is only natural that the body of an old woman, who is not a member of the religious community, would be kept for a longer period of time.

“Hundreds of years ago, my master took me out of my hometown, and since then, I have followed her on her travels and practiced cultivation. She is naturally my master.”

Upon hearing Bai Qiuyu's words, Xuan Yu instantly snapped out of its shock at hearing the news of the old woman's death; the words of the female fortune teller in front of it clearly shocked it even more.

"I also followed her in spiritual practice for a period of time hundreds of years ago, so why has she never mentioned you?"

"."

The fox and the cat stared at each other with wide eyes, facing off across the counter for quite a while.

After a long pause, Bai Qiuyu couldn't withstand Xuan Yu's unwavering cat-like gaze any longer. She glanced aside and chuckled to herself, "Perhaps she thinks I'm useless and has embarrassed her, so she doesn't want to mention me in front of others."

Xuan Yu almost blurted out, "Don't be fooled by her! That's how she tricked me into going to Yunmeng Mountain and cost me my life!"

"What? You lost your life too?"

Bai Qiuyu was astonished.

"."

"Also?" Xuan Yu looked at Bai Qiuyu, her eyes filled with the same astonishment.

"You were fooled by that old woman too?"

Xu Qing, who was watching the scene unfold with great interest, was thoroughly enjoying himself.

After the fox and cat finished exchanging information and realized the truth—that the old lady was two-timing and had tricked both sides—they both fell silent.

After a moment, Bai Qiuyu, who had been silent, suddenly turned to look at Xu Qing:
"Shopkeeper, can this funeral bill be refunded?"

"No."

Xu Qing, who was flipping through the account books, raised his eyelids and said calmly, "The contract is complete. You and I have already made a solemn vow before the lamplight, so there is no reason to change it."

Bai Qiuyu hadn't originally intended to cancel the order; she was just feeling frustrated and aggrieved. But she couldn't bring herself to ignore the old woman's funeral arrangements.

To say she hated the old woman? A perfectly good nine-tailed white fox had one of its tails severed, destined to have one less tail to cultivate in the future. It would be a lie to say she didn't hate her.

But as for how deep the hatred was, it wasn't deep enough to penetrate to the bone. After all, no matter how heartless the old woman was, she had taught her many things and guided her in her spiritual practice for decades. Moreover, the old woman was already dead.

Bai Qiuyu felt that she should let go of the past and make peace with herself.

"She got off easy!" Bai Qiuyu glared at the old woman's belongings displayed on the counter.

Xuan Yu felt a little melancholy when it learned of the old woman's death later than expected, and it didn't know how it felt.

In short, I wasn't that happy, nor was I that sad.

It feels like I've lost something, but not entirely.

Just as Xuan Yu was lost in thought, Xu Qing spoke up, "If you ask me, what's so good about traveling and cultivating with that old woman? Hundreds of years have passed, and she doesn't even have a place to stay. In the end, she has to go to her disciple's house to ask him to handle her funeral arrangements. If we're talking about shame, then the old woman is the one who's more shameful."

Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, Xuan Yu's melancholy vanished instantly, and it suddenly understood why it wasn't as sad as Bai Qiuyu.

Because it has Xu Xian's family, so they can always support and rely on each other.

The small coroner's shop was its place of residence, its home.

Bai Qiuyu had no home, and after the old woman died, she didn't even have any relatives left.

Bai Qiuyu also heard Xu Qing's words, but to her, they meant something completely different.

Not only did she have no home, but she even had to go to her junior sister's house to arrange her master's funeral, relying on loans to pay for the expenses.

Now, Bai Qiuyu, the fox, was in an even worse situation!

Xu Qing seemed completely unaware; having experienced all that had happened today, he had come to understand the fox's nature.

Legend has it that the foxes of Qingqiu are intelligent and possess great loyalty. If they form a bond with a human, they will do many things that go against the nature of demons to seek advantage and avoid harm.

This includes, but is not limited to, giving up one's own spiritual achievements to assist those with whom one has a connection and help them achieve their goals.

These statements are entirely consistent with Hu Baosong's words that "the foxes of Qingqiu and Tushan all cultivate themselves through karmic connections."

But the person Bai Qiuyu used to form a bond not only betrayed her, but also 'died' along the way.

At the same time, Xu Qing understood why the other party was so determined to bury the old woman.

This is because 'birds fly back to their homeland, and foxes die facing their dens!'

Birds fly thousands of miles but will eventually return to their homeland; when a fox dies, its head always faces the place where it was born.

In the eyes of the fox clan, death is a very important thing.

Besides foxes, social animals like elephants and monkeys also share this sentiment to varying degrees.

Bai Qiuyu felt increasingly desolate as she watched Xuan Yu and Xu Qing talk.

She traveled far and wide for hundreds of years, but never saw a nine-tailed fox again.

The only one I might encounter is that person from over a hundred years ago who possessed the bloodline of Tushanji.

Bai Qiuyu felt that, apart from returning to the ruins of Qingqiu and continuing to talk to those skulls, she had nowhere else to stay.

However, just as the female fortune teller was feeling dejected, the young man who was flipping through the ledgers at the counter suddenly spoke up: "Tomorrow is the second nine-day period. Since Fellow Daoist Bai and Xuan Yu are from the same sect, then they are fellow disciples."

"If it's convenient for you, Fellow Daoist Bai, you can stay temporarily on Jingxia Street. Firstly, you can spend the New Year with your loved ones, and secondly, you and your fellow disciples can chat and catch up."

Bai Qiuyu, who was about to take her leave, suddenly brightened up and turned to look at Xuan Yu: "As long as Junior Sister and Fellow Daoist don't mind."

“I don’t mind, and the Xu family won’t mind either. Speaking of which, the Xu family really likes foxes. Hu Baosong has fox blood, and Senior Sister Yizhen also has fox blood.”

These past few days, Xu Xian has been frequently visiting Senior Sister Yi Zhen, which shows he truly likes foxes.

"."

Xu Qing's face darkened; he could already foresee Bai Qiuyu's next reaction.

Sure enough, the next moment Bai Qiuyu exclaimed in surprise, "Hu Baosong? You know Hu Baosong too? I saw him in Qingqiu a hundred years ago. How is he now?" Good, very good, he slept soundly!

Xu Qing clicked his tongue and explained, "Hu Baosong is both my teacher and friend. In my early years, he told me about his travels to Qingqiu and taught me a grotto talisman."

As they spoke, Xu Qing took out a book from the landscape painting, which was the very book that Bai Qiuyu had given to Hu Baosong.

"It turns out that there is a destiny at play. I never thought that this grotto talisman would come all the way to my junior sister."

As Bai Qiuyu was sighing, Xu Qing continued, "If Fellow Daoist Bai had come a few years earlier, you might have been able to meet him."

"Come a few years earlier? What makes you say that, fellow Daoist?"

Xu Qing glanced at the coffins displayed in the shop and said, "Flowers bloom and wither, and people come to an end. But flowers will eventually bloom again, while people may never be seen again."

"Old Hu has been gone for six years!"

Bai Qiuyu stammered, "He's still so young. If he were in the Qingqiu Fox Clan, even if he borrowed lifespan from heaven, he would at least have three hundred years to live. How could he have such a short life?"

Xu Qing shook his head helplessly: "He doesn't like cultivation, but prefers to travel in the mortal world and make connections with people. In the past two hundred years, he has met countless confidantes, and even his daughter has grown up."

“I personally attended Lao Hu’s funeral. He passed away with a smile on his face. Perhaps immortality wasn’t that important to him.”

Bai Qiuyu nodded: "Everyone has their own ambitions in the mountains and forests. Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist. It seems that perhaps my master also has something to ask for."

"But I wonder if her wish has been fulfilled."

Xu Qing clicked his tongue; the old woman's wish could only be described as 'fulfilled'.

The old woman's greatest wish was to open the path to heaven, eliminate the threat of the Netherworld Corpse, and at the same time cleanse the universe, restoring order to the world.

But this wish is too great; it's something that one's very essence seeks.

The old woman's clone's pursuit was ultimately just to drag Xu Qing down with her, using deception of Xuan Yu and Bai Qiuyu to morally blackmail Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn't know how to comment. He himself was not bewitched by the old woman, but his path of cultivation in the Baosheng Temple lineage happened to overlap with the direction the old woman pointed out.

Xu Qing was depressed for a while until he retrieved the conservation manual, and then he finally understood!
The conservation manual was written by him, and the Baosheng Temple system was founded by him from beginning to end. The old woman only took advantage of the fact that he was far superior to the disciples she had taken in in every aspect, and used something that was bound to happen to create the illusion that this was his destiny.

Even without the old woman's appearance, he would still have obtained the Living Man's Scripture, and the cause of all these events predates Xu Qing's encounter with the old woman.

"Immortals who are unaware of the wickedness of human nature are easy to fool, but I, Xu, am not of immortal or divine origin. I am a genuine living person who knows all about human affairs!"

"You want me to play the ghost story game with you? Forget about it!"

Xu Qing cleaned up one of the rooms next to the wallpapered bungalow and made room for Bai Qiuyu to stay temporarily.

Xu didn't discuss the rent with Bai Qiuyu. Since she was Xuan Yu's senior sister whom he had never met, she was considered family. Xu's friendliness towards his family was obvious to all.

He would never do such an inhuman thing.

"May I ask how Fellow Daoist Bai makes a living on a daily basis?"

Inside the paper craft shop, Xu Qing asked a question.

Bai Qiuyu glanced at the divination banner in her hand and the faded divination robe on her body, then stared intently at Xu Qing.

As a result, the young man in front of her seemed to have no idea what embarrassment was, just staring at her with his eyes wide open and without blinking.

Bai Qiuyu was ultimately defeated. She patiently explained, "I use my tongue to practice divination in order to earn money and make a living."

"On average, how many divinations can you perform per day, and how much revenue can you earn?"

Bai Qiuyu didn't find the other party presumptuous. She answered one by one: "In prosperous times, there are still considerable fees, and people line up every day to ask questions, but it is still difficult to get a consultation. However, in the current chaotic world, few people ask for consultations every day. Even if someone does ask for a divination, they prefer to find those with long white beards, missing a certain feature, who seem to have an immortal demeanor or value missing features."

"Therefore, if one can perform a divination in a day and earn three to five coins, it is considered a prosperous business."

Xu Qing's brows twitched upon hearing this, and he glanced around the paper-craft shop before saying:
“I see that you have nowhere to stay and no stable source of income. Why don’t you let this paper offering shop be managed by Fellow Daoist Bai? I can pay you ten coins a day. This shop is for funerals, so there’s not much work to do all year round. It’s quite leisurely.”

"If you have nothing to do in your spare time, you can also work part-time in the shop doing divination. If you do that, it won't be long before you can pay off your debts."

"."

Bai Qiuyu frowned in thought. He could earn a stable ten coins a day, have a place to stay, live next to his junior sister, and still be able to perform divination for others.

There seems to be nothing wrong with this suggestion.

Foxes are skilled in divination, and the nine-tailed fox clan is especially gifted, possessing the ability to understand the secrets of heaven from birth and having a certain precognitive ability. Therefore, after fox demons transform into humans, they often like to disguise themselves as monks, Taoist priests, or diviners, and make prophecies and divine for people.

Bai Qiuyu is the same.

She looked at Xu Qing and bowed again to express her gratitude.

In Bai Qiuyu's eyes, Xu Qing's request for her to pay off the burial loan was a pretense; her real intention was to relieve her of any psychological burden and allow her to settle down with peace of mind.

However, is this really the case?
The underground rat dwelling of Wu Gongpu.

Xu Qing instructed Huang Xiaoliu to relay a message to all the immortals: tomorrow, the 29th of the lunar month, everyone must leave Jingxia Street.

If anyone asks, just say that you invited a Taoist priest to exorcise ghosts and ward off bad luck.

Lunar New Year's Eve is also called the Second Nine Nights, and this day happens to be the last day of the month.

"Hui" means the end of the moon, symbolizing the time when the moonlight is dim and the yin energy is at its peak.

The last day of each month is called the "dark day," and the last day of the twelfth lunar month is called the "great dark day."

The day when the peach tree in the coffin shop will survive the calamity of lightning will be tomorrow, the last day of the month.

This day is also known as the Ghost Exorcism Festival or the Day of Removing Bad Luck.

Xu Qing cleverly used this opportunity to deceive the carpenter shop at the end of the street and the Red-Clothed Cult members next door.

In addition, Cheng Caiyun, Wang Jiaxiaomei, and others who were unaware that the Cat Fairy Hall was right across the street could also leave Jingxia Street without any problem.

After explaining everything, Xuan Yu suddenly leaned close to Xu Qing and asked, "Did Senior Sister agree to stay?"

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "This matter cannot be rushed. After all, she is your senior sister. You want her to stay in the Cat Immortal Hall, but she may not accept your kindness. After all, you are the junior sister, and how can the senior sister accept help from the junior sister?"

Seeing Xuan Yu's disappointed expression, Xu Qing smiled and said:

"Immortal Xuanyu, there's no need to worry. This matter requires careful consideration. Although I didn't explicitly tell her to stay at the temple, I did allow her to remain in Jingxia Street for the time being. As for the future..."

"Even the most virtuous woman can be swayed by a persistent suitor, and our senior sister can be swayed by a persistent cat. As long as the Xuan Yu Immortal Clan and our senior sister establish a good relationship, our Cat Immortal Hall will be well on its way to perfection!"

A large shrine to immortals needs a Grand Master, a Master in charge of the shrine, and ten Branch Masters.

Now, eight of the ten halls have been established. As long as two more branch hall masters are found, the Cat Immortal Hall will become the largest and most complete immortal hall in Tianjin, and even in the entire Dayong.

(End of this chapter)