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

Chapter 351 A Sweet Job of Eating Melon: Officials from the Imperial Court Arrive

The February wind, carrying the moisture from the Baisha River, brushed past the green willows along the spring river, passed through the crowds, and finally passed by the paper craft shop, causing the paper flowers on the wreaths at the entrance to rustle.

In front of the coffin shop, the wandering wind blew the hair of the two people on the street, bringing a unique sense of tranquility.

The female diviner, dressed in a robe adorned with the Eight Trigrams and flowing clouds, awaited the reply from the person before her with great anticipation.

"You want to be my senior sister?"

Bai Qiuyu nodded hurriedly.

Xu Qing smiled.

He already puts in a lot of effort to raise a cat and a female senior student; if he were to raise another one...
Even an iron-clad zombie would eventually collapse from exhaustion!

"I think I understand now."

Xu Qing looked at Bai Qiuyu with a kind smile: "Once we become fellow disciples, we'll be family. I'd be too embarrassed to accept the funeral expenses you owe, and I'd also be too embarrassed to refuse your request to look at the feng shui of your ancestral graves, right?"

Bai Qiuyu nodded repeatedly, "That's absolutely right!"

"Junior brother, does that mean you've agreed?"

"Who's your junior brother?" Xu Qing's smile vanished instantly. "You want to be my senior sister and take advantage of me, and you even asked me to help you unconditionally. You ate and took things from me in one meal, and you still expect me to agree to that?"

If this gets out, people who know will think he has gained a senior sister, while those who don't will think he has worshipped an ancestor!

He owes Qingqiu no favors, and the two sides have no dealings whatsoever, so how could he easily agree!
"If you don't want to agree, then you don't want to agree. I'm not a beggar, why do you have to say such harsh things?"

Bai Qiuyu was somewhat annoyed, but the next moment she said something surprising: "Even if we can't be senior sisters, we can be anything else! As long as you're willing to help me with this, I'll consider it a favor."

"Just what?"

Xu Qing took a step back, looking warily at the female fortune teller who seemed to have made up her mind.

"Even becoming Fellow Daoist Xu's junior sister isn't out of the question."

Fine! I still want to eat and take some home.

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Bai Qiuyu, whose tone was growing weaker, and changed the subject, saying, "Your divination robe must have been made by an embroiderer, right?"

"You could tell that?" Bai Qiuyu walked down the steps.

"Ah, I often wear the clothes made by this embroiderer, so I can naturally tell her skill. With this fabric and workmanship, you won't find anything better in all of Tianjin!"

Bai Qiuyu smiled and said, "I also think this divination robe is beautiful."

"It's beautiful, but how much did you spend on it?"

"Buy?" Bai Qiuyu said honestly, "This divination robe was specially made for me by the embroiderer because she saw that my old robes were too old. She never asked me for money."

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "It's perfectly reasonable for the embroiderer to work for you for free to make the robe, but I paid for the purchase of these fine brocade fabrics."

"Judging from the style of your clothes, they should be made of Yun brocade and laurel cloth. The Bagua pattern is clearly edged with gold thread, and the cloud-patterned shoes must be made of colorful brocade. This whole outfit must have cost at least fifty taels of silver!"

Xu Qing quickly calculated and made a final decision: "The funeral expenses are forty-five taels, plus fifty taels for the cloth. I'll round it down to one hundred taels. As for your food and drink expenses over the past ten years at the coffin shop, consider it as a form of charity from the underworld."

"."

Bai Qiuyu stared blankly, wondering how she had ended up owing so much money again while they were talking.

"Then I'll take off my clothes and give them to you!"

In this day and age, without stealing, robbing, or cheating, how many years would it take her to set up a fortune-telling stall at the bridgehead to pay back all that money?

Seeing that the female fortune teller was about to undress in broad daylight, Xu Qing immediately stopped her, saying:

Who would want to wear clothes you've worn?

Putting on clothes is not an option, and taking them off is also not an option?

Bai Qiuyu was really furious this time. Wasn't this bullying an honest fox?
Xu Qing seemed to have anticipated this. He spoke in a relaxed tone, calculating for the other party: "You charge ten coins for each fortune telling. If you do it three times a day, that's thirty coins. You can save up at least ten taels of silver a year. If you do it this way, you can pay it off in ten years."

Ten years is but a blink of an eye for demons.

Bai Qiuyu's eyes widened, her once alluring eyes now devoid of their captivating charm.

The food in the secular world is so delicious, and the little trinkets sold in the market are so interesting, how could she possibly resist buying them?

After ten years, let alone saving a hundred taels of silver, she would be lucky if she didn't even owe any money to the sheep!
The so-called "lamb debt" is essentially usury in this day and age.

Bai Qiuyu said breathlessly, "We cultivate the path of fate. When we perform divination for others, we only charge a few coins as a profit. It's not for making money, but to settle karma through a fair transaction."

"I only spend a maximum of five coins on a divination session. Sometimes I even exchange items for divination, and a simple white steamed bun is enough for me to perform divination for a beggar."

"You ask me for a hundred taels of debt, where am I supposed to get that?"

Xu Qing looked at Bai Qiuyu, whose eyes were red with anxiety.

Whether it's a Qingqiu fox, a Tushan fox, or an ordinary fox demon, all foxes in the world who want to achieve enlightenment must rely on the ethereal concept of 'fate'.

Moreover, due to the constraints of heavenly laws, you must cultivate good karma. This does not mean that you cannot attain enlightenment by cultivating bad karma, but bad karma is ultimately not respectable and will not be appreciated by the gods in the heavenly realm.

For example, the old female fox in the White Cloud Cave cultivated a malevolent karma!
Qingqiu and Tushan are not originally from wild foxes. They value a pure and upright background and a clean family history. Even in their cultivation, they tend to help others and make good connections.

Now, Xu Qing and Bai Qiuyu have also formed a karmic bond by chance, but whether this bond is good or bad is still unclear and remains in a state of chaos.

Bai Qiuyu was clearly aware of this, otherwise she wouldn't have said that she wanted to be his senior sister.

After a moment's thought, Xu Qing decided it was not right to sit idly by and watch the lineage of the endangered Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Fox be cut off.

But then again, Xu Qing isn't running a charity. If he were to help every protected animal he encountered, he might as well quit the funeral business, open a zoo the next day, and give himself the title of "Living Buddha" as the zoo director!
Although he seems to be no different from the headmaster now.
That's not important! What's important is that the little animals in the Fairy Hall are all hardworking and dutiful, and are exemplary animals driven by the desire to realize their own value.

Is it Bai Qiuyu?
Xu Qing was about to say something when he heard Bai Qiuyu say:
"Do you need any more spirits in your shrine?"

Xu Qing was amused. It seemed that since she couldn't be a cheap senior sister, she had turned to pragmatism and was now considering working in the gang.
"There are still two branch halls vacant."

"What do you think of me?"

Xu Qing looked at Bai Qiuyu, who had volunteered himself, and instead of answering, asked, "Tell me why you want to join the Immortal Hall?"

Bai Qiuyu's expression hardened, and he said with an air of seriousness, "The Cat Immortal Hall upholds the righteous path and benefits all living beings, truly a place where the righteous energy of heaven and earth converges! The immortals under its wing all cherish the ambition to save the world and practice the way of benevolence, truly serving as role models for us all."

Xu Qing frowned and raised his hand to interrupt, "Speak plainly! Stop with this nonsense!"

How could the Cat Immortal Hall be so noble? Everyone just wants to find shelter from the rain and a place to stay. If other immortal halls were willing to give them the same benefits, which immortal hall in the world wouldn't be prosperous?
Unfortunately, other temples cannot match his scale, nor are they willing to distribute so much incense to their employees.

This is a matter of perspective.

Xu Qing understood the true nature of his own Immortal Hall, and Bai Qiuyu's words clearly could not fool him.

Seeing that he couldn't fool her, Bai Qiuyu told the truth: "I saw that Jinluan had incurred many favors and debts with the help of fellow Daoist, and was repaying them in the Immortal Hall. So I would like to ask fellow Daoist to go to the Qingqiu Ruins and retrieve the Qingqiu inheritance."

If this succeeds, I am willing to help you, like Jinluan, manage your temple and pay off your debts.

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, but did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked:

“Jinmen is not short of people with unique skills. My Immortal Hall recruits immortals, so naturally we must also recruit those with unique skills. Tell me what your strengths are, or what you can do for the Immortal Hall?”

Bai Qiuyu pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and focused her gaze on the few passersby who were lingering on the street corner.

"After years of cultivation, I can perform divination, set up illusion arrays, and read people's expressions."

Bai Qiuyu raised his chin, gesturing for Xu Qing to look at the street corner, and continued, "Since the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty, there have often been people loitering in Jingxia Street. These people are all ordinary martial artists, obviously not here for the Immortal Hall. The funeral industry in Jingxia Street is not something that would attract their attention. Judging from their appearance and behavior, they seem to be the henchmen of the government. Later, I used the I Ching to divine, and it turned out to be true!"

“These people are wandering around here, not for the temple, nor for funerals, but for the government.” Bai Qiuyu said with certainty, “They are obviously not here to catch thieves, but to monitor or look for someone.”

"Now that Fellow Daoist Xu has just returned to Jingxia Street, these people immediately sent two people out of the city. Fellow Daoist Xu, do you think that's why?"

"They're here to see me?"

"Besides searching, we have to arrest him! Fellow Daoist Xu has either committed a crime that has caught the attention of the imperial court, or someone is eager to find him but does not want to disturb him."

Xu Qing began to re-examine the Qingqiu fox spirit in front of him.

This fox, following the nameless old woman, never enjoyed a single day of happiness. For hundreds of years, it either told fortunes on the streets or traveled around, and through these years of trials, it had cultivated a 'shrewd mind'.

If a spirit that interacts with people is brought into a shrine...
Xu Qing pondered for a moment and said, "The only thing lacking in the hall is the supervisor, who is a presiding immortal. If you want to stay, you can stay in the supervisor's office and monitor the hall and the happenings in Tianjin. This will also relieve some of the pressure on the sweeping hall. What do you think?"

Xu Qing assigned the task based on talent. Although Bai Qiuyu was a fox, she had the attributes of a badger spirit. In a sense, the supervisory hall was a place for gossiping and watching the drama unfold. However, while it was fine to watch the drama, if something went wrong and affected the safety of the hall, it was necessary to report it to the supervisory hall in a timely manner and work together to eliminate potential dangers.

Bai Qiuyu's eyes lit up. This is great!
However, she did not forget the important matter.

"What about the Qingqiu Ruins?"

"Now that you are a celestial being, what's wrong with me, as the sect leader, checking the ancestral graves of my own employees?"

"Fellow Daoist Xu is truly a man of integrity!"

Upon hearing that Xu Qing was willing to dig up his family's ancestral graves, Bai Qiuyu was immediately overjoyed.

Xu Qing shook his head helplessly.

He agreed to Bai Qiuyu's request, but he also had his own considerations. The Immortal Seeking Technique can only be used once every twelve years, and Qingqiu is obviously a blessed land with immortal opportunities. If he could go there, he could also eliminate another place.

As for this fox digging up its own grave...
If one day she were to ascend to the Upper Realm and encounter the ancestors of the Qingqiu lineage, and be asked how she achieved enlightenment during the Great Calamity, she couldn't very well say that she accomplished her Daoist cultivation by digging up her ancestors' tombs.

In any case, you have to choose between deceiving your ancestors and disrespecting them!
After receiving Xu Qing's reply that he would immediately set off for Qingqiu after dealing with the hidden dangers in Baiyun Cave, Bai Qiuyu felt much better.

People are in high spirits when they have good news, and so are foxes.

Xu Qing was speechless. When the fox followed the nameless old woman, it lived in a repressive environment every day. Even after leaving the old woman, it still suffered from incurable mental trauma.

It is already commendable that such demons can maintain their true nature and not fall into the demonic path. However, it is not easy to relax their tense mind and let their guard down.

Just like cats and dogs that grow up in the mountains and have never seen humans, when they are first adopted by villagers, it will definitely take much longer for them to get used to each other and build trust than for ordinary cats and dogs.

Bai Qiuyu, on the other hand, took ten years to finally reveal his true colors.

Xu Qing felt that if it weren't for Daoist Yizhen, who also possessed the bloodline of a nine-tailed fox, this fox might not have believed him.

It's even possible that he had already left Tianjin during the ten years he disappeared.

At the street corner, several men in gray coats were peeking around and chatting casually.

These people were dressed as laborers. Some stood against the wall, while others squatted like farmers. At first glance, no one would suspect that they were spies or sentries, let alone think of them as government agents.

But these people could not be fooled by Bai Qiuyu, nor by Xu Qing.

After all, aside from those who are organizing funerals, who would have the time to linger on the street of funeral parlors?
Even though Jingxia Street is now famous throughout Tianjin, the 'taboo' ingrained in people's bones still prompts them to avoid this unlucky place.

"Gentlemen, you come here often, so there must be funerals in your families. It just so happens that the incense, candles, and coffins in my shop are considered to be of good quality and reasonably priced in the whole of Tianjin. Why don't you come and take a look?"

As the white-robed man who had been chatting and joking with the female fortune teller approached, the group exchanged glances, and the leader immediately stood up and chuckled:

"No need, no need! We're just a few people from Zhongzhou, and we usually unload cargo at the dock. We don't have any funerals to attend to."

"What are you all doing loitering in front of my shop if there's nothing going on?"

Xu Qing frowned, then suddenly realized and said, "I understand. You don't mean you want to buy membership cards so that the mortuary will handle your funeral arrangements?"

“That’s easy to say. I’ve met a lot of laborers before. They worked their whole lives and still couldn’t afford to get married. When they were penniless, they didn’t even have anyone to mourn them with.”

"They are just like you, afraid that they won't have any money left in the future, so they contacted me in advance to make arrangements for their funerals, so that they won't be left without anyone to take care of them in their old age."

No, it's us.

The skinny, pale-skinned man who was leading the group was about to deny it when he heard Xu Qing speak:

"What do you mean, 'not'? I'm very familiar with the head constable of the yamen, and the magistrate's brother-in-law even got a membership certificate from me. If you're not here to get a membership, are you some kind of bandits who have fled from out of town?"

"That's right! The dock is several streets away from here. What laborer would have nothing better to do than come to the funeral street to rest!"

Xu Qing instantly became alert. He took a step back and said as he walked out, "Don't you dare run away! I, Xu, am a law-abiding citizen. I'm going to the yamen to report to the authorities right now, so please don't run away!"

The leader, a thin, pale man, felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He quickly stepped forward and said, "How could we be bandits? The shopkeeper guessed correctly. We came for the membership coupons, but these days, carrying heavy loads doesn't earn us much money. We can't afford the coupons in the shop."

Xu Qing was secretly pleased and immediately took the thin, pale man's hand and led him toward his own shop.

"I thought it was something serious, but this is easy to handle! Our shop offers burial services on credit, interest-free for life, and we guarantee your satisfaction. Please come in, gentlemen!"

　I recommend a book called "Martial God of a Turbulent World".

　　This is an era where firearms clash with physical strength, and rebel factions dance with evil spirits—beneath the undercurrents of revolution, cults flourish, and weapons, demons, strange beasts, and armored iron bodies abound…

(End of this chapter)