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

Chapter 70 Temple Fair
Although Tian Shegong was not very ambitious, he was a blessed man.

Xu Qing powdered and combed her hair, changed her into new clothes, and when she looked lifelike, he opened the door and notified Tian's relatives to come and meet her.

The Tian family was quite scared at first. They hesitated at the door and didn't dare to go forward no matter what.

In the end, it was the grandson of the Tian family whose cheeks were swollen like buns who was the most courageous.

When he came into the house, looking aggrieved and crying for his great-grandfather, the rest of the family members were also overcome with grief. Their affection for their relatives overwhelmed their fear, and they all threw themselves in front of him and burst into tears.

Xu Qing looked at the scene in front of him, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.

All we can say is that different people have different destinies. If Mr. Liu had such a group of filial sons and grandchildren, he would not have died so miserably.

Seeing that Tian Shegong was no longer causing trouble, the teahouse owner, a native of Tianjin, no longer mentioned reporting to the police.

In order to help, he went to the coffin room and asked for a good coffin to bury Old Master Tian.

After the children and grandchildren of the Tian family finished crying and took a last look at Tian Shegong, Xu Qing began to close the coffin and bury him.

When nailing the coffin, he chose seven nails as coffin nails, which were named "descendants' nails". This number also means the seven stars of the Big Dipper, implying that his descendants will be prosperous in the future.

If nine coffin nails are nailed, they are nails of wealth and honor, which means reaching the underworld and being reborn in wealth and honor.

Since entering the funeral industry and starting the funeral business, Xu Qing has never slacked off. Whether it is makeup and burial, or rituals to pray for the souls of the deceased, he has learned with an open mind, studied day and night, and continuously enhanced his professional ability.

Earlier, when he was in Linhe to pray for the soul of Mr. Liu, he used nine coffin nails when sealing the coffin. The reason was that Mr. Liu had no bloodline left, and the only child he raised was the child of the affair between the housekeeper and his wife. In the end, the adopted son even watched the housekeeper kill his adoptive father with his own eyes, but he was not shaken in his heart and felt no shame.

As a "filial son" like that, Xu Qing was naturally unwilling to use seven nails to seal the coffin, as this went against his professional ethics.

Now that he was seeing Tian She Gongsun Xian Zixiao, he naturally had to follow the conventional method and bury him with seven nails of descendants.

This will also allow the old man to contribute to his descendants after his death and protect the peace of his family.

As for whether it works or not, that is none of Xu Qing's business. After all, the business of the dead has always been a one-time deal, and the final verdict is final. There is absolutely no such thing as after-sales service.

This time, Mr. Tian She died of old age, which can be called a happy funeral.

In addition, he was a student on government academy scholarship, and his great-grandson also passed the imperial examination, which made him even happier.

The owner of the teahouse bought a string of firecrackers with his own money, and when the coffin was being moved, he asked his waiters to light them to send it off.

According to the rituals in Tianjin, funerals are inevitable for happy occasions. Guo Dongyang and the Wu brothers carried fruit baskets and distributed towels, handkerchiefs, funeral candies, cakes and other small items to those who came to help or see them off.

The children running around at the street corner were not afraid at all. When the firecrackers started to pop, a group of children covered their ears and jumped around, just like it was New Year's Day!

Many of the candidates who passed the exam at the same time came spontaneously to see the old man off.

Upon hearing this, the prefect came specially and wrote the eight characters himself as a gift to the descendants of the Tian family.

It is said that God rewards hard work and those who are determined will succeed.

This move was to encourage students all over the world and to express respect for Mr. Tian She.

It was precisely because of these eight words that Tianjin set off a wave of studying and taking imperial examinations in the following years.

Many old students over fifty years old picked up books again, just to emulate Tian Shegong and find a second spring in life.

The old shopkeeper of the teahouse where Guo Dongyang worked was among them. Later, the old shopkeeper became successful and famous, and thus got a good marriage with an older man and a younger wife.

Of course, these are all later stories and will not be discussed in detail for now.

Outside the teahouse, Xu Qing explained some important matters regarding the transfer of the body to the Tian family, and then watched as the Tian family's descendants carried the coffin back home.
When the Tianjin prefect saw many people coming to see him off on the street, most of them were scholars and literati, he took this opportunity to announce something to everyone in advance.

It is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will offer sacrifices to the river god on the banks of the Baishui River in two days. On the same night, a Qushui Liushang ceremony will be held at the Changting Palace, and all former students and literati from all walks of life will be invited to attend.

Before leaving, the prefect had a private conversation with the Wu brothers for a while, hoping that the two who ranked in the top three in the provincial examination would be able to arrive on time.

At this time, Xu Qing, who ranked fourth in the provincial examination, was next to the Wu brothers, but he did not receive a single greeting from the prefect.

When Xu Qing returned to the teahouse, he heard Guo Dongyang sighing, "People only appreciate the beauty of the branches, but who appreciates the greenery beneath the flowers?"

Xu Qing looked up in surprise, thinking he was talking about himself.

But unexpectedly, the next moment Guo Dongyang made a sharp turn and said, "Yu Zhifu and I passed the exam at the same time. I was the top candidate and he was the supporting actor."

"Now I am just a storyteller, while he is the chief official of a prefecture."

“The things in this world are truly wonderful!”

As he spoke, Guo Dongyang, who was entertaining himself, picked up the teacup and took a sip with relish. If you didn't know, you would think he was drinking a fine aged wine.

Xu Qing came to his side and also stopped to look at the hustle and bustle outside, his mood as calm as usual.

He felt that what Guo Dongyang said made sense, but it was slightly different from what he thought.

In his eyes, flowers are gorgeous but their blooming period is short, while green leaves are ordinary but can remain green for several months.

Xu Qing believes that he is not a flower on a branch, nor a green leaf that sets off the flower, because all of these will eventually wither.

At night, the fat man from Changting Palace came to the teahouse with a group of guards following behind him.

He was not here to listen to a story today, but as the host, he wanted to invite Xu Qing and others to watch the Baishui Festival together.

The so-called Baishui Sacrifice is a ceremony to worship the river god at the mouth of Baisha River. This is also the reason why the prince chose to hold the Qushui Liushang two days later.

The Yong Dynasty was plagued by disasters, half natural and half man-made. Unaware of the true situation, the people tended to blame it on ghosts and gods. Emperor Longping was struggling to find a way to shirk responsibility, and now that he had this ready-made explanation, he was happy to take advantage of it. He then attributed the country's years of misfortune to ghosts and gods.

Therefore, the imperial court has often spent a large amount of money in recent years to supervise the construction of an altar for offering sacrifices to the sky that is over a hundred feet high. At the same time, it has promoted sacrificial rituals and advocated that sacrifices should be made wherever there is discomfort.

Now that the prince has arrived in Tianjin, he naturally has to go to worship the Baishui River God, so as to show that the court cares about the people of the world.

Zhu Huaian didn't have so many thoughts. He went to watch the Baishui Festival purely because there was a temple fair being held there.

The temple fair is so lively. Not only are there things to eat and play, but there are also performances by all kinds of strange people from all walks of life. It is much more interesting than staying in the palace!
When the fat boy arrived at the teahouse, he was just about to go find Xu Qing and the others to visit the temple fair, but he saw the waiter, like a woman in the boudoir, saying, "You're late. Mr. Guo and my shopkeeper took them to the temple fair an hour ago, leaving me alone here to look after them."

Outside Baishui Temple, Xu Qing and the Wu brothers had just come out of a tent shaped like a yurt.

"The world is really going downhill. Even in the grand Tianjin Temple Fair, there are such vulgar occasions." Wu Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed.

"Brother, you are absolutely right. It is simply disgusting to watch." Wu Wencai smacked his lips, as if savoring the memory.

Xu Qing turned around to look at the other mobile 'flower building' next to him and asked, "Has Lao Guo not come out yet?"

Wu Wencai smiled and said, "These girls have come from far away and have been to many temple fairs. They are knowledgeable. Mr. Guo likes to inquire about those interesting stories the most. I don't think they will come out in the short term." After seeing the most mysterious tent in the temple fair, Xu Qing no longer had any worries in his heart, so he temporarily said goodbye to the Wu brothers and wandered around alone.

When he came to the temple fair earlier, he had seen many people from all walks of life selling all kinds of rare items. Now that he had finally come to Tianjin, he naturally wanted to take a good look.

At present, he has found all the materials needed to break through the Silver Armored Corpse in the Corpse-Raising Sutra. If he can find a rare item for raising a Golden Armored Corpse here today, his trip will not be in vain.

Xu Qing strolled along the way. On the roadside, there were monkey trainers driving their little monkeys to ask for tips from the audience. There were also fire-breathing street performers who held kerosene in their mouths and spit out hot flames several feet high.

As he went around in circles, he met many extraordinary people with real abilities.

For example, there is the colorful performer who can pick peaches from the heaven by following the rope; there is the horse-walking fairy who can take objects from the air and guess what is in the box; and there is the Taoist priest of Huomen who can lift a thousand-pound stone after taking a powerful pill.

Xu Qing used the magic of vision to look closely at the little boy who had climbed up the rope and disappeared. He saw that the boy was like a deflated ball, and in an instant he turned into a piece of thin paper and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He could see why the boy disappeared, because he turned into a thin paper man, which was blown by the wind and flew over the crowd and disappeared.

But he couldn't figure out how the paper man turned into a little boy who could jump, climb and climb. This kind of spiritual enlightenment was definitely not something that an ordinary person could do.

Xu Qing thought that only by sending the magician to a new life could he know the secret.

"Wulian Tianzun, how could I have such a thought? This is not good, no."

Xu Qing chanted a Buddhist name and stopped worrying about the juggler's skills. He went to another stall.

The one in front of me is a walking immortal who can summon spirits to possess his body and use this technique to perform the ability to take objects from a distance and guess what's in a box.

Xu Qing used the same trick again, and with the Qi-gazing technique, he immediately saw the naked body of the little girl with two long braids.

In his eyes, the little girl with a pair of big watery eyes had turned into a strange rat-headed person with shifty eyebrows and a long, thin mouth.

Xu Qing looked at it carefully and found that the rat face was actually a layer of gray mist. It was only because he saw the "gray fairy" possessed by her through the Qi-reading technique that he saw the illusion of the rat face.

Xu Qing followed the gray mist and finally set his sights on the little girl's grandfather.

At this time, the old man with white hair and beard and a hunched body deliberately bent over to cover up the abnormality on his chest.

Xu Qing found a tricky angle and saw a huge gray rat head staring at the little girl at his collar.

"Young man, what are you doing?"

The old man straightened his hunched back a little, and looked warily at the young man who was standing on tiptoe and peering at his collar.

"I'm looking for my cat, Mimi, where have you been?"

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, pretended nothing happened, and looked around.

The gray fairy, with half of its head exposed at the collar of the old man's clothes, quickly shrank into the old man's arms.

Now, the old man with a hunched back immediately became a pregnant woman!

Xu Qing ignored the old man with a bad look, called out a few times, and left the stall under the pretext of looking for a cat.

The Zoumaxian did have real abilities. After seeing the girl being possessed by the Gray Fairy, able to see objects from a distance, and performing the strange skill of a mouse moving wealth, Xu Qing became wary of her.

He still remembered that there were two coffins of unknown origin placed in his own coroner's shop.

If he had the ability to see things from a distance, he might be able to see what was hidden inside, so he would have an idea in advance.

However, what Xu Qing didn't know was that while he was shouting "cat looking for cat" in front of the Gray Fairy, not far away outside the Baishui Temple, on a towering banyan tree, a pair of dark eyes were staring at him curiously.

Afterwards, Xu Qing went to the temple fair for two consecutive days. Although he did not find all the materials to raise and refine the golden armor corpse, he did get a few pieces of ghost money and some burial objects with strong yin energy.

Without exception, those items are all Yin Metal items.

All this is thanks to the civil engineers who are good at digging for gold and tombs and moving mountains and hills.

If they hadn't been traveling in the mountains and wilderness for years to dig ancient tombs, it would have been difficult for Xu Qing to find the Yin gold items.

After all, he is not the kind of person who likes to run around and dig up people's graves.

Now that he has these Yin golds, Xu Qing has a little more confidence in becoming the Golden Armored Corpse King in the future.

He still has a long time to live, and he can slowly accumulate Yin metal items. Even if he cannot gather all the materials for refining by then, he can still slowly transform by absorbing the Yin energy of the moon.

By the Baishui River, the sun is setting in the west.

The old prince, who was in his sixties, led the officials from Tianjin and went to the Baishui River to perform a ceremony to worship the gods.

The god of Baishui River is called Manta Ray. It is said that he is the god in charge of water affairs in Tianjin. He has the body of a mermaid, six wings on his back, and his voice is like the sound of a floodgate opening at the sea mouth, like thunder.

After they had slaughtered the three animals and offered sacrifice to the river god, the surface of the Baishui River suddenly became surging, as if a manta ray had really opened its mouth to respond to the sacrifice.

Upon seeing this, the presiding priest immediately declared that the river god, grateful for Your Highness's sincerity, had appeared in response to a sign that the coming year would bring peace and prosperity to Dayong, and that the country would be safe and sound. And so on and so forth.
Xu Qing used his Qi-gazing technique to take a look. Although the river was surging, there was no sign of the so-called river god.

Instead, everyone around him prostrated themselves on their knees, forcing him to squat on the ground and wait for this farce to end.

However, when everyone was kneeling to worship the river god, Xu Qing, who was squatting on the ground and looking around, found that among the crowd of people kneeling, there was a group of people standing still, like a crane standing out among chickens.

Xu Qing took a look and immediately recognized the identity of the people.

It was none other than Bai Luo, the guardian of Tianxin Sect, and his followers.

As if sensing someone's watching him, Dharma Protector Bai Luo reacted quickly and immediately knelt on the ground with the others, and the surrounding believers followed suit.

Why do I keep running into these people everywhere?
Xu Qing frowned. He didn't think that the Tianxin Sect came here at this time to worship the river god.

After the worship ceremony was over, the prince led the officials from Tianjin and moved to the Changting Palace in a grand manner.

Candidates who passed the provincial examination were invited to attend, and many literati and poets also accompanied them.

Tonight the Crown Prince will hold an elegant gathering of wine flowing through the water at the Changting Palace. It is said that the king of a different surname who once commanded the army of the world will also attend and spend the night together.

Xu Qing traveled with the Wu brothers, but Prince Zhu had already been recalled from the palace and was forced to go out to do business.

When they arrived at the Changting Palace, the Wu brothers, who had never seen the world, were completely impressed by the magnificent mansion before them.

It is worthy of being the Changting Palace. Even though they have never been to Luojing and have never seen the appearance of a palace, the mansion before them is the most magnificent building they have ever seen in their lives.

(End of this chapter)