The ultimate master in the city

Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi exchanged another glance. The proprietress knew their abilities to some extent, yet they still said it was dangerous. If it really was dangerous, then it was. They coughed in unison, "Oh... then don't say it's dangerous."

The proprietress opened her mouth, but swallowed the rest of her words, "You..."

Monk Yuanzhi said, "Do you think we're stupid? Who would do something dangerous?"

Zhou Fengchen also said, "Yeah, you already said it's dangerous, why are you still talking about it? Just focus on running your little restaurant."

The proprietress gritted her teeth, "One hundred thousand!"

Zhou Fengchen and his companion touched their noses, scratched their heads, and looked around.

"Two hundred thousand! I don't have any more," the boss said again.

Monk Yuanzhi was picking at his teeth, while Zhou Fengchen looked down to find ants.

The proprietress's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "I just want my husband's body back, is that too much to ask? Please! We can give you half the shares of the restaurant, okay? Let's expand it and make money together, alright?"

Zhou Fengchen frowned and said, "Boss lady! We really don't want a lot of money, it's just that things have been really upsetting lately. The word 'danger' makes us shudder. Why don't you tell us what's going on? We'll help you as much as we can, and it won't cost you much. If we really can't do it, we won't go looking for trouble for nothing!"

Monk Yuanzhi also asked, "Yes, what happened to your husband's body?"

"Okay, it's like this..." The proprietress sighed and began to explain.

The proprietress's name was Hu Cui, and her husband's name was strangely called A Xi Gong. He was a Miao person from western Hunan, and his occupation was even stranger—he was a corpse driver.

Corpse-driving refers to the use of secret techniques to bring people who have died far from home back to their hometowns. The corpses walk on their own, without decaying or decomposing along the way, which is quite miraculous.

When it comes to corpse driving, many people think of Xiangxi corpse driving. Xiangxi corpse driving is a mysterious and unique activity of the Miao people in the deep mountains and plateaus of Xiangxi. In fact, it is not limited to Xiangxi. Corpse drivers exist from Jingzhou, Langzhou to Yunnan and Guizhou.

It is said that during the corpse-driving ritual, an old master, also known as a corpse-driver, would lead the process. Regardless of the weather, this master would always wear straw sandals, a long blue robe, a black belt around his waist, and a blue cloth hat. He would carry a bag of talismans in his waist pouch. When driving the corpses, he would walk in front, carrying a copper gong and a soul-guiding bell. He would shake the bell, strike the gong, and shout a command: "Xiangxi corpse-driving, living people, retreat!"

The purpose of the notice was to warn night travelers to avoid the area, and it was also to notify households with dogs to lock them up, as dogs are believed to ward off evil spirits and prevent fright.

If there are two or more corpses being driven, they must be strung together with straw ropes, one at a time, and when traveling at night, each corpse must wear a tall blanket hat with several talismans pressed on its forehead.

Behind the procession of corpses was often a minor attendant carrying a soul-capturing bell. At crossroads and inhabited areas, the bell would be shaken to prevent the souls sealed within the corpses from escaping.

Along the corpse-transporting route, there are also "corpse inns." These mysterious "corpse inns" only house corpses and corpse-transporters; ordinary people don't stay there. Their doors are open all year round because the darkest place behind the two large doors is suitable for corpses to rest and cannot be closed...

The intricacies involved are difficult for laymen to explain.

According to the proprietress, her husband, Axigong, came from a family of corpse drivers. He started working as a junior corpse driver at the age of eight, following his grandfather, who was a corpse driver. They were responsible for driving those who died far from home or who had bad luck in the mountains.

Asigong worked with his grandfather for ten years. When his grandfather died when he was eighteen, he took over the main beam and worked alone. In five or six years, he transported many corpses, made a lot of money, and married Hu Cui, a famous beauty in the Miao village. She is now the boss's wife.

Later, when Asi Palace was transporting corpses, something happened, and he hurriedly returned home, his face pale, saying repeatedly that it was all over.

When the landlady asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say. He hurriedly packed his things, took all his money, and dragged the landlady to the county town to buy a train ticket. They traveled a long way to Donghai City, where he opened a small restaurant. From then on, he retired from the business and never mentioned the corpse-driving business again.

Although the proprietress had her doubts, she didn't dare to ask any more questions, looking at her husband's expression.

Until one day a few years ago, Asi-miya suddenly said to the landlady with a heavy heart, "I'm going back for a while. I'll be back within a month. If I don't come back, I might be dead. You have to remember, no matter who comes to your door, just tell them that you don't know anything. I don't think they'll make things difficult for you."

The proprietress was shocked and asked her husband what had happened, but Asi-miya refused to say anything and left early the next morning.

After Asigong left, the proprietress continued her business while waiting anxiously. A month passed, but her husband did not return. Remembering his promise of a month's notice, she burst into tears. Just as she was preparing to pack up and go back to her hometown, someone came to her door.

An old woman and a young man arrived, both with gloomy faces. They immediately asked, "Where are the things?"

The proprietress was confused. "What are you talking about? What do you want?"

The old lady said, "Enough with the nonsense. Your husband took our things and won't hand them back. We'll make you wish you were dead."

The proprietress genuinely had no idea and asked in a panic, "My husband didn't give me anything. Where did he go? What did you do to him?"

Upon hearing this, the old lady and the young man realized that the proprietress seemed genuinely unaware, so they left without replying and fumed.

That very night, the small restaurant and the proprietress's house were ransacked. The proprietress was knocked unconscious, and when she woke up, she was devastated to see the mess in the house.

She lost interest in doing business and prepared to return to her hometown the next day. However, just as she was about to leave, her husband returned.

The proprietress was overjoyed and pulled Asigong aside to ask her all sorts of questions, saying a lot of things, and then told her about the old lady and the young man.

To her surprise, her husband remained calm, saying he understood as if nothing had happened, and didn't tell her what he had done when he went back.

A few days later, the landlady noticed that Asi Palace seemed to have changed drastically. She was completely different from before. When she was with her, she didn't speak her hometown dialect but spoke fluent Mandarin. Moreover, she never touched her at night and always asked her all sorts of questions, such as about her past.

Don't you know what happened before? The proprietress found it very strange. One night, she secretly watched Asigong take a bath, and what she saw made her even more puzzled: the birthmark on her husband's waist was gone!

How come my birthmark is gone?

For several days in a row, the proprietress was in a daze, feeling that her husband was no longer her husband.

That evening, an old man came into the small restaurant. The first thing he said to the proprietress was, "Please accept my condolences, sister-in-law."

The proprietress recognized the old man; he was her husband Asi-gong's senior apprentice, named A-kui. He had once learned corpse-driving from Asi-gong's grandfather, but what did "please accept my condolences" mean?

Old Man A-Kui said, "Don't you know? My junior brother was brutally murdered and has been gone for more than ten days. None of us brothers are capable enough to offend that enemy. His body is still lying in the Miao village. You should go back soon. I need to rush back as well."

The proprietress was completely stunned. Her husband was gone... so who was in the house?

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".