Immortal Mystery Sequence: I Establish a Divine Duty for Heaven and Earth

Chapter 96: Exploring New Professions, New Identity in the Second Sequence Launched

Zhou House.

Outside the mourning hall, once the commotion had subsided, Master Tong and the others cautiously returned, peering inside to make sure there was nothing amiss before finally letting out a sigh of relief. They clutched the door, still feeling lingering fear, as if they had just experienced a great danger.

Those who don't know the situation might think that it wasn't Jiang Tu and Lian Dazuo who dealt with the Eating God, but rather them.

Corridor.

Even though Da Zuo was sitting opposite Jiang Tu, he was still a little frightened and kept thanking Jiang Tu. After a while, he gradually calmed down and told Jiang Tu about the so-called "food longevity trick".

"This Life-Eating Monster is among the lesser of the ominous ones," Lian Dazuo said slowly, taking a sip of medicinal tea to calm his nerves. "Its only ability is to silently and secretly absorb the lifespan of elderly people. It has no other cunning methods, which is why it was so easily eliminated just now."

"However, the most troublesome thing is that it can hide silently in the body of an old man and remain hidden for many years. If the Taoist priest does not personally use magic to investigate while the old man is alive, it is really difficult to find out. Only after death can we find out by examining the body."

"For many ominous and mysterious things, finding them is actually more difficult than solving them!"

"Of course, this applies to low-level monsters—once they silently lurk in the shadows and advance to become mid-level fierce monsters, they become extremely troublesome! Take this Life-Eating Monster, for example; if it transforms into a fierce monster, it can silently devour the lifespan of everyone in a village overnight—its methods are extremely ruthless!"

"Li Gui is so powerful that the difference between him and an ordinary Taoist priest is almost greater than the difference between a true immortal!"

Jiang Tu frowned; he wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.

He was so close to Zhou the tycoon, and Zhou the tycoon died right before his eyes, yet he knew absolutely nothing about it!

Its ominous and unpredictable ability to conceal itself is evident.

The sequence Jin Ce did not react to this until the autopsy and the putrid blood forced out the Life-Eating Ghost, at which point a warning was issued.

This is normal. Firstly, the Food God is extremely well hidden, and secondly, the Golden Strategy was not originally intended to warn of danger. This warning effect is just a side effect. He cannot expect the Golden Strategy to be omnipotent and capable of doing everything.

Lian Dazuo continued, "As for how long this Life-Eating Monster has been lurking in Master Jiang's body, I can't tell either. However, judging from its cultivation level, it has only been lurking for a year or two at most, and may have secretly been consuming several years of lifespan—Does Master Zhou usually take some longevity pills?"

"These kinds of medicines that prolong life are most likely to attract the evil spirits that devour lifespan."

"Furthermore, does Master Zhou have any thoughts of being weary of life? Does he feel that he has lived too long and does not want to live any longer, and wants to end his life? If so, that is also a major reason why the Longevity Devourer chose Master Zhou."

"The Life-Eating Monster not only likes to lurk in the bodies of the elderly and eat their lifespan, but it also likes to choose elderly people who want to die quickly. This way, it can hide silently and remain hidden. Even if the family finds out that the elderly person has died, they will only think that the elderly person is depressed and wants to die. They will not expect that it is the Life-Eating Monster."

"After the person dies, whether buried or cremated, the 'Longevity-Eating Ghost' will quietly move on to find a new target!"

Jiang Tu suddenly realized that this was the way.

Zhou the wealthy man wasn't exactly a misanthropic, but he did feel he'd lived long enough. In his later years, he stopped taking the elixir and thought that he'd had enough of being happy.

No wonder it was targeted by the "Life-Eating Ghost".

Old Taishan lived life with clarity, choosing his own death, yet this very open-mindedness made him a target of the Life-Eating Ghost, a rather ironic situation.

After respectfully greeting Master Tong, Lian Dazuo prepared to leave.

"Young Master Jiang, this is my closing time."

Jiang Tu suddenly stopped him, wanting him to stay for a funeral banquet, but Lian Dazuo clearly had no appetite and was too busy to stay any longer, so he took his luggage and said goodbye.

Jiang Tu escorted him to the door before asking, "You seem to be extremely busy and short-staffed, sir? What are the requirements to become a coroner under your tutelage?"

Lian Dazuo stopped in his tracks, looking Jiang Tu up and down with a strange expression. He said, "This—Young Master Jiang, please don't do anything rash! Since you have such a peaceful and wealthy life, why bother learning our ominous craft?"

"It wasn't me. What use would I have for learning such a skill? I'm already too busy farming and running my business at home, how could I have such leisure time?"

Jiang Tu waved his hand and said.

"However, I have a servant in my household who is close to me, a young servant named Wang Xiaoqin. He has mentioned that he wants to learn some methods to subdue evil spirits and monsters. Even if he can't become a Taoist priest who roams the world with a sword to eliminate demons and protect the righteous, it would be good to become a great writer in the future."

The name Wang Xiaoqin was obviously made up on the spot.

If he weren't worried about infringing on Master Wang's reputation, he would have preferred to use the name Wang Gou Dan directly. What a nice-sounding name!

It's a good name, second only to Wang Fugui.

This was also a preparation for his future identity as a coroner's apprentice entering the underworld.

Lian Dazuo breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softening, and explained, "I see! It makes sense—how could someone of Young Master Jiang's noble birth associate with people like us who are constantly on the verge of death? I was overthinking it! Besides, Young Master Jiang is already at the age of fifty, and it's not suitable for him to start from scratch as a lowly writer."

"If he is a servant in Master Jiang's household, you only need to inform me and send him to me. There is no need to bring any tuition fees or anything like that. Today, I have been through life and death with Master Jiang. I will shamelessly make friends with Master Jiang to avoid these unnecessary arrangements."

"At that time, I will see if this child has the talent. If he does, I will take him on as an apprentice!"

Jiang Tu quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your kind words. I will have him go to find you in the future."

"By the way, Young Master Jiang, there are some things I must say beforehand—it is best to learn the Yin-Yang profession from childhood, and not after the age of fifteen! After the age of fifteen, the Yin and Yang energies of a person's body are fixed. If one forces oneself to enter the Yin-Yang profession, there is a risk of Yin-Yang clash, shortening lifespan, or even sudden death—it is easiest to enter the profession when one is young and Yin-Yang is not yet fixed."

"Since he's a trusted servant in Young Master Jiang's household, we can't let this work harm the child, can we?"

Jiang Tu nodded: "I see—it's quite a coincidence, my servant is only thirteen years old this year, still young, he can be an apprentice."

"Then it's alright! We're short-staffed too, so we can take in as many as we can—but all apprentices have to start as third-class junior craftsmen, with an annual salary of four shi of grain and eight taels of silver. There will be an evaluation at the end of the year, and they can only be promoted to senior craftsmen after they have mastered their skills."

After briefly explaining the situation, Lian Da thanked him again and left.

Jiang Tu watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.

Starting as a third-class coroner, with a stipend of four shi of grain and eight taels of silver, this condition was insignificant to him. What he valued was merely the Yin God sequence that the profession of coroner represented.

a few days later.

According to custom, after the mourning period, Jiang Tu moved the deceased to the ancestral grave newly built by the Jiang family outside Huai Shu Village, so that the deceased could be laid to rest in peace. The grave was located by the mountains and water, with a green hill behind and a plain in front, and the feng shui was excellent. A feng shui master had been specially consulted to check the feng shui.

Beneath a separately constructed tomb chamber.

Jiang Tu buried all the longevity pills that his father-in-law had not consumed as funerary objects.

In addition, several hundred pieces of calligraphy and paintings that the old man liked during his lifetime were selected, and the script of the play "Ning E Xian" and the costumes were also taken out, as well as the script of the play that he and Zhou Da Hu designed together, were copied and buried with him, filling the tomb chamber to the brim.

On this day, a light drizzle fell.

The sky was a hazy gray, and the rain was as fine as cow's hair, drifting and pattering all around.

Jiang Tu stood before the Zhou family's stele, offered three incense sticks, performed a deep kneeling bow, and then placed the incense into the incense burner. He stroked the inscription on the stele and said softly, "Old father-in-law, I hope that over there you will not only be a legendary ghost, but also a legendary ghost of all plays, enjoying endless wealth and honor, and listening to countless operas and songs."

"Farewell! From now on, I will come to visit you often during the Qingming and Zhongyuan Festivals to sweep your grave and pay my respects."

Jiang Tu got up and stood in the rain for a long time before turning to leave.

After returning to the Jiang residence.

Swish.

A flash of blue and red light appeared, and the two little stewards, Hongdou and Qingling, immediately emerged. Before the light dissipated, they stood obediently in front of Jiang Tu, ready to receive his orders.

"Hongdou, I need a servant's identity to act as a coroner's apprentice in the future. His son is named Wang Xiaoqin, and he is thirteen years old this year. We need to make his identity complete and perfect, so that everyone in the Jiang family and even the people of Huaishu Village will know about his existence within three months. We need to make the whole thing a complete charade."

"Yes, sir."

Hongdou responded crisply and left immediately.

It wasn't difficult to fabricate an identity. She controlled all of Jiang Tu's "Bean Soldiers," so it wasn't hard to just pick one of them, dress him up as Wang Xiaoqin, and parade him around the Jiang residence to create a well-known background.

Given her track record over the past few years, handling this small matter would be a piece of cake for her.

Jiang Tu then turned to Qing Ling and saw her doing push-ups and stretching her muscles right in front of him, which seemed quite out of place. He said irritably, "Aren't you a little too free? I happen to have something to tell you."

"Yes, sir!"

Qingling immediately straightened up, sprang to her feet like a carp, and stood up straight, ready to face the challenge.

"I need to know all the information about unofficial coroners and other professions related to the underworld, as much as I can find out."

O

"That's not difficult."

Qingling walked around the quiet room in the inner courtyard, and when she returned, she brought out a thick stack of notebooks and handed them to Jiang Tu. Her movements were incredibly fast, as if she had prepared in advance.

Jiang Tu took it suspiciously, and said strangely, "So fast? You probably didn't investigate properly, did you?"

"Your Excellency, I have had Doubing record all the information about the insect spirits' interactions, big and small, and put them in the study for easy reference at any time—this includes information related to professions such as coroners."

"If Your Excellency feels this is not enough, I will investigate further and ensure Your Excellency's satisfaction!"

Jiang Tu took the notebooks and casually flipped through a few. The contents were indeed very detailed. The value of the Insect Spirit Intelligence Network was fully demonstrated at this moment. It clearly gathered all kinds of news, big and small, from all directions.

The book covers a wide range of topics, including local and regional coroner examination procedures, salaries and benefits for coroners in different regions, professional taboos, and many industry secrets. It is well-organized and presented in a clear and logical manner.

He was quite satisfied; the two small-time farmers were indeed reliable and worthy of being his right-hand men.

After reading it carefully, he suddenly understood.

Within the ten prefectures of Daoism, apart from servants, poor farmers, landlords, merchants, and artists, the imperial court system actually had a five-tiered hierarchy of "craftsmen working as officials."

The Tao is supreme, needless to say, and worldly officials are naturally below the Tao.

Jiang Tu didn't care about the hierarchical system of civil and military officials in the imperial court, nor did he look into it closely.

Below the official is the work.

There were official positions for Daoist practitioners, with three ranks each for major and minor practitioners. As one rose through the ranks, a higher rank not only represented greater skill and ability, but also social status and the amount of government salary and support from the Daoist community.

The coroner was one of the higher-ranking officials among them. There were also other categories such as medical, military, and music officials, each with their own duties.

Those who were second only to craftsmen received even worse treatment; only a very few top-tier craftsmen had official positions and a stable government salary.

Trades such as bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, and even folk professions related to the underworld such as morticians, feng shui masters, corpse sewing craftsmen, paper craftsmen, and coffin makers are all considered craftsmen, and can be considered decent people with a skill to rely on.

The status of the craftsmen, who were below the artisans, was even lower.

Ordinary laborers and manual laborers, needless to say, had low social status and meager income, and were no different from slaves and commoners.

In addition, many professions recruited by the imperial court, such as ghost hunters, spirit walkers, life-borrowers, spirit summoners, corpse collectors, corpse drivers, corpse cremators, corpse retrievers, tomb keepers, and tomb guardians, are all considered laborers. Almost all of them are in professions where they risk their lives for money, living a precarious existence with heavy casualties.

When Jiang Tu first transmigrated, he willingly chose to be an honest farmer because he wanted to avoid the dangerous professions prevalent in this chaotic world.

Unexpectedly, now it's the other way around—times have really changed.

Upon closer inspection, Jiang Tu felt that this coroner's status was indeed quite good within the Yin-Yang profession.

The Nine Ranks of Yin Spirits begin here, and their future is promising.

It's generally much better than those cannon fodder corpse collectors who are obviously destined to die and shorten their lifespan.

He became increasingly certain of his plan to become a coroner's apprentice, and he was just waiting for Hongdou to finish arranging his identity so he could go online —

At this moment, he looked up at Qingling, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, you said a few days ago that you had important intelligence, what was it? I was delayed for a few days, tell me quickly!"