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

Chapter 93 Fox Girl, Killing with Close Face
Who told you to close your eyes?

You said you would pass on the ancestral skills to me tomorrow, so why did you die? Did you get my permission?

Old man Hu was very rude in what he did, so Xu Qing decided to be polite on his behalf.

Xu Qing did not feel any remorse when he took out the resurrection pill that could revive the dead. He had no use for it. If he did not give it to an acquaintance now, he might not be able to understand it when he thought about it later.

Hu Baosong, who had been scheming all his life and finally schemed against Xu Qing, never expected that the other party would be so willing to spend so much money. He actually gave him a finishing touch and pulled him back from the brink of death.

Hu Baosong woke up slowly, looked up, and saw a young man looking at him with unfriendly eyes.

The young man pointed to the sky outside and squinted his eyes and said, "Old Hu, do you see that it's daybreak now? Shouldn't you fulfill your promise and teach me your skills?"

Hu Baosong widened his eyes. He had already calculated his days and knew that there was no way he would see the sun today.

Otherwise, he would not have told Xu Qing that he would teach him his unique skills as long as the other party could wait until today.

"Xu Xiaozi, you..."

Hu Baosong felt the rich vitality constantly draining away and replenishing in his body, and all the words came to his lips but he couldn't utter them.

"Why are you doing this? I'm just an old man, why should you waste so much energy on me?"

Xu Qing raised his hand to interrupt, "Don't overthink it. I'm just jealous of your abilities. Just tell me whether you want to teach me or not. If you don't, I'll turn you into a zombie the next day and sell you to the Black Mill to pay off my debt."

Hu Baosong puffed his beard and glared, feeling very reluctant.

He never thought that this old fox had lived his whole life, but in the end he was tricked by a young man.

"That's my Huyang clan's secret teaching. If I pass it on to you, wouldn't that be breaking the rules?"

Xu Qing smiled and said, "What's the big deal? My master Liu Youdao even worshipped the old willow tree at the village entrance as his godmother. I'll go to the ancient poplar tomb in a few days, burn incense for our ancestors, and become their godparents. Then we'll be family, right?"

Hu Baosong was silent for a moment, then sighed, "My body has long since worn itself out. Nothing short of divine power can save it. Even with all your efforts, I'm afraid I still can't escape the constraints of my mortality."

"How much can I teach you in such a short time?"

Xu Qing remained silent.

Although the Resurrection Pill can bring the dead back to life, it has certain limitations. It is only effective for people whose life span has not yet ended and whose bodies have been accidentally injured. If a person is about to die, it will still be difficult to extend his life.

At this time, Hu Baosong was like a wick that was about to burn out. Even if he added more lamp oil, the fire would still go out when the wick burned out.

"How much time do you have left?" Xu Qing asked with a frown.

"Xu, have you ever heard of the theory of life and death?" Hu Baosong said slowly, "When a person is born, one soul forms every seven days, and after forty-nine days, seven souls are formed. After a person dies, one soul dissipates every seven days, and after forty-nine days, all seven souls have dispersed."

"The reason we hold a seventh day funeral in our funeral tradition is because of this life-death bond."

Hu Baosong sighed, "You pulled me back from the gates of hell, but I can't escape the boundary between life and death. Ordinary people lose one soul every seven days after death. I have all seven souls, but my lifespan remains the same. It's just that after forty-nine days, my soul and spirit will all disperse at once."

Xu Qing was surprised. Isn’t this just an installment loan and a full loan?

"Old Hu, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Hu Baosong said with some amusement, "Don't you want to learn a skill? Why are you asking about this?"

"It's okay to learn skills later."

"These are not important. What is important is the forty-nine days. It is not a long time for the living, but it is extremely precious for the dying." As Xu Qing spoke, he walked to the shelf where urns were sold. He counted from left to right and took down the fourth and fifth urns.

When the tightly sealed lid of the altar was opened, in addition to silver ingots of various sizes, a corner of a two-finger-thick book was exposed on the top.

Xu Qing pushed aside the silver ingot and took out the booklet.

There were only four small words written on the upper right corner of the yellowed book cover: "Dongtian Talisman".

"."

Xu Qing looked up at the old man who was sitting in a rattan chair and looking at him with a smile.

"This talisman is the first interpretation of the talisman I obtained when I went to the Qingqiu Cave Heaven Ruins in my youth. It is not considered a secret teaching of my Huyang family."

"Qingqiu."

Xu Qing recalled the evil aura that lingered on the amulet that Hu Baosong gave to Wu Yaoxing and his son.

"Qingqiu is said to be a fox kingdom. Could it be that the Huyang clan is related to the demon clan?"

Hu Baosong nodded and said, "The Huyang family has two ancestors. One is the fox girl who achieved enlightenment in Tushanji, and the other is my ancestor with the surname Yang."

"The Huyang clan has been passed down from generation to generation. Today, the fox clan's bloodline has become extremely weak, and my Huyang clan has almost reached its end."

"By the time your master's grandmaster Yang Qiying's lineage reached his generation, it was no different from ordinary people."

"The Fox Girl of Tushanji" sounded familiar to Xu Qing. After thinking about it carefully, he suddenly remembered a legend.

Legend has it that when Dayu was controlling the flood, he met the daughter of Tushan on the way.

The daughter of Tushan was a nine-tailed fox who had attained enlightenment. After Yu controlled the flood, he married her at Sangtai, which later became Chuqiu.

Tushan is also known as Tushanji.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing told Hu Baosong about this legend.

Unfortunately, Hu Baosong didn't know the Tushan fox girl, let alone who Dayu was.

"Tsk, Old Hu, you really are a hidden talent."

Xu Qing walked around Hu Baosong, looking him carefully from front to back, but he didn't find the hidden fox tail.

"Xu boy, what are you looking at?"

Facing the old man's suspicious gaze, Xu Qing's heart moved slightly, his eyes shining as he said, "I heard that the Nine-tailed Fox clan is lucky to see it. If you can get its blessing, it can also protect you from evil spirits."

"You have the blood of the fox clan in you. Isn't that a living auspicious sign?"

"How about you, Old Hu, give me your blessing and let my business prosper so that I can collect corpses every day!"

Hu Baosong said unhappily, "I don't have that ability. As for what you're talking about, it should be a blessing technique of the fox clan. If you practice it deeply, it may not be as magical as the legendary one where words come true, but it still has some magical powers."

“That’s a pity.”

Putting his thoughts away, Xu Qing said, "Old Hu, you just recovered. Rest for now. I'll come back to you tomorrow to ask for your advice."

Before leaving, Xu Qing took the Dongxuan Talisman with him. He didn't expect Hu Baosong to leave behind such a talisman inheritance, just as the other party didn't expect that he would save his life for him.

In Xu Qing's eyes, no matter how precious the Resurrection Pill was, to him it was just a piece of dust collected by the warehouse manager.

But then again, if it were someone else
Even if the current emperor came, he might not scrape off a layer of resurrection pill powder. He might even take the opportunity to kick him a few more times to prevent him from catching his breath halfway.

Seeing Xu Qing's figure appear, the black cat sitting at the counter of the coroner's shop immediately stepped forward and said, "Brother Wang brought two corpses here this morning. Since you were not in the shop, I possessed my disciple and collected the bodies for you."

"Is there such a good thing? Could it really be that seeing a fox is a good omen?"

Xu Qing bent down and wanted to pick up Xuan Yu, but the other party ran back to the counter.

Why is this cat still so strange?
Xu Qing's heart moved slightly, and he took out the oil-paper bag he brought back from the wedding banquet, which contained a cooked osmanthus fish.

"This is the sweet-scented osmanthus fish I brought back from the wedding banquet for the Xuanyu Immortal Family."

"Is this also a betrothal gift?" Xuanyu swallowed hard as she sniffed the sweet-scented osmanthus fish. "No," Xu Qing explained, "the betrothal gift only happens once. After that, Xuanyu and I should support and help each other, just like ordinary people."

"I understand. When I catch prey in the future, I will bring some back for Xu Xian's family to enjoy."

"Yes, but not a rat."

"Mice are delicious."

"Just tell me this, but don't tell Gray Taigong and the others. I'm afraid they won't come to visit if they hear about it."

After dealing with Xuan Yu, Xu Qing came to an unused coffin, inside which lay the two corpses sent by Wang Lingyuan.

Xu Qing placed one of the bodies on the cold couch and looked at it carefully. He found that the body had no external injuries, but its eyes were wide open and there was bile at the corners of its mouth, as if it had been frightened to death.

"Strange thing."

While Xu Qing was pondering, he asked Xuan Yu, "Did Senior Brother Wang tell you anything when he came here?"

Xuan Yu swallowed the already well-seasoned fish tail and said incoherently, "Senior Brother Wang said that these two corpses were hangers-on from Tianjin. They accompanied the rich kids to play in the Linhe River, but somehow they died.

There was no one to collect the bodies of these two people, and the rich kid didn't care about them either. Brother Wang saw that no one was there to take care of them, so he sent them here."

"Won't the government investigate the cause of death?"

"Brother Wang said he died of shock after drinking alcohol, and his body is unclaimed."

When Xu Qing heard this, he raised his eyebrows and immediately became interested.

It's understandable that one corpse died of fright, but two died of fright together.
How big a shock would it take to send two people away at once?
Reaching out to touch the corpse, Xu Qing turned the pages of the Sutra of Salvation, and the life of the deceased began to appear before his eyes.

The corpse was a hanger-on in Tianjin.

The so-called hangers-on are people who give bad advice and help rich kids have fun.

This type of people are the best at flattering and currying favor. In order to make their masters happy, they often use any means necessary and do things that violate etiquette and morality.

On this day, Mr. Yuan, who came from a wealthy family, had nothing to do and felt very bored, so he asked his followers to come up with some ideas for some weird and exciting activities.

The first hanger-on to speak was named Liu Cai. He started by describing various places to visit in gambling houses and brothels, such as which brothel girls had unique skills and which casinos had new tricks.
Master Yuan rolled his eyes when he heard this and said that these were things he had long been tired of playing with, and you have to think of something new. If you can make him happy, you will definitely be rewarded with silver!
Another hanger-on was named Feng Liu. He had a prominent background and used to hang around in brothels as a "companion", helping the madam to lure rich young men into spending money on prostitution, writing invitations for pimps, delivering letters for the elderly and lonely, and getting some good food and drink from the prostitutes.

He has the most experience in things like making fun of rich kids.

It's just that the novelty hasn't worn off yet. If it were new and exciting enough, I could serve these young masters well and ask for rewards.

Feng Liu's eyes rolled and he immediately had an idea.

"Master Yuan, I heard that there's a house in Linhe that's haunted, and it's a female ghost."

"Female ghost?" Young Master Yuan immediately became interested.

"Sir, ghosts, gods, and demons are mostly lies. I have heard that the person living in that house is the daughter of an old tailor, named Xiu Niang."

"That embroiderer was very beautiful, but it's a pity that the old tailor died young, so as a girl, she was inevitably bullied. In my opinion, the old tailor's house is haunted because the embroiderer was afraid that men from outside would come to her house and harass her in the middle of the night, so she pretended to be a ghost and deliberately scared others."

"There are rumors out there that the embroiderer has moved out of Linhefang and gone to live with relatives in other places because her house is haunted, but I, Feng Liu, don't believe it."

Master Yuan found what he said very interesting, so he asked Feng Liu to continue.

Feng Liu smiled lewdly and offered a suggestion: "Young Master, you've played with countless women in all kinds of ways, but has you ever had one dressed as a ghost?"

Master Yuan felt itchy after hearing this. This was something he had never tried before!

So, the next night, Master Yuan took two of his hangers-on and strolled to the old tailor's house.

It was a dark and windy night, and the old tailor's house was located in a somewhat remote alley.

Master Yuan was nervous, thinking that he might not get the chance to play the female ghost role, but in the end he really got the chance to play the female ghost role.

Wouldn't that mean his life would be over?

Master Yuan stepped on Liu Cai's shoulder and climbed up the wall. He felt the cold wind blowing. It was a completely deserted house. How could it be a place where a young widow lived?

Looking at the weeds growing in the yard, Master Yuan cursed inwardly and ordered Liu Cai to let him go.

Outside the wall, Feng Liu asked Master Yuan why he didn't climb in. Master Yuan replied angrily, "It's even more desolate in there than any other nunnery I've been to before. There's no such thing as a pretty young lady. I really shouldn't have believed your lies and come here to suffer in the middle of the night."

Upon hearing this, Feng Liu hurriedly said, "Master Yuan, how dare I lie to you? I checked with you yesterday and I could hear the sound of someone weaving on a loom through the wall. How could there be no one inside?"

Master Yuan hesitated for a moment and then said, "I'll wait outside. You two go and check it out first. If there really is a young lady here, open the door for me from the inside and I'll go in!"

Feng Liu and Liu Cai had nothing to say when they saw this, so they climbed over the wall and entered the old tailor's house.

After stealthily searching the front house for a while, Liu Cai asked suspiciously, "Sixth Son, did you hear wrongly? This doesn't look like a place where people live."

"Did I really hear it wrong?"

Feng Liu frowned. Just when the two of them were unsure, the sound of footsteps on a loom suddenly came from the direction of the back house.

Feng Liu was delighted when he heard this: "What did I say? This young lady might be hiding in the house secretly weaving cloth."

"Why would anyone weave in the middle of the night? Is there really a ghost?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Do you believe more in ghosts or the silver given by Master Yuan?"

Money makes cowards bolder, and the two of them felt that any hesitation would be disrespectful to the money!

As the two got closer to the backyard, the sound of the loom became louder and louder.

The weaving room door was left ajar but not closed.

The two took off their shoes and walked into the house barefoot. At this time, the only light in the house was the moonlight shining through the cracks in the door and windows.

"Liu, Liuzi, this...this is not right?" Liu Cai came to the loom first, but he pointed at the loom and stammered, unable to say a complete sentence.

"What's wrong?" Feng Liu stepped forward and took a closer look.

The place where the loom was operated was empty, with only a dusty stool shrouded in moonlight.

At this moment, in the revolving lantern, Xu Qing also found this matter strange from the perspective of the two people.

He had never heard that the weaving technology of the Yong Dynasty had already reached the level of full automation.

It was at this moment that several people who were confused felt a cool touch on the back of their necks, as if someone was blowing air on their necks, or as if a feather was brushing past.

Liu Cai and Feng Liu turned their heads subconsciously.

Nothing at all.

"I was shocked."

The two men breathed a sigh of relief, then turned their heads back and continued to face the direction of the loom.

They saw a woman with a cruel face appear in front of the loom that was running by itself, and she was smiling at them.

In the coroner's shop, Xu Qing stood up suddenly and almost threw the corpse in his hands away.

This was the first time he encountered a ghost flashing close to his face in the kaleidoscope!

(End of this chapter)