Folklore simulation, starting with the mortician

My eyes are dry and incredibly itchy, as if some kind of insect is scratching my eyelids.

Li Feng suddenly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the scene before him, where wisps of cigarette smoke curled and rose into the air.

It took him quite a while to adjust before he suddenly realized that he had transmigrated. The massive flow of information stirred his nerves, giving him an understanding of his current identity.

Li Feng, whose common name is the same as Li Feng's, became a mortician in the Ghost Gate. His master gave him a name that was considered unlucky in the trade: "Stubborn Needle".

Today is the first step in our ritual: to worship the gods and offer incense at the temple.

Li Feng just stared and saw his master, dressed in a patched blue robe, whose nickname in the martial arts world was "Ghost Doesn't Collect".

He held three incense sticks with both hands, bowed respectfully, and then inserted them into the incense burner under the memorial tablet.

Li Feng took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to the memorial tablet. The more he looked at it, the more something seemed off. What was written on it was not the title of some deity, but a very familiar name.

—Li Feng, disciple of Zhao Li, the 33rd generation successor of the Corpse-Sewing Master.

"What?"

Li Feng's mind went blank for a moment. No, he had just arrived, and now he was about to be sent away.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Li Feng knew his master's temperament well, so he had to be careful and respectful when asking questions.

"Let's make some preparations first, so we don't forget later, and so that the local earth god can rest assured."

The master rarely managed a smile, but his expression was even more unpleasant than if he were crying.

"Don't just stand there. Come up and offer incense to your senior brothers, and ask them to bless you so that you can at least live a long life. Who knows, you might even need to bless the people below you in the future."

The master gave an instruction that sent chills down Li Feng's spine. He had always thought that the profession of mortician was dangerous, but he never expected that there would be a pre-arranged funeral.

"Alright, now that we've finished offering incense, we need to take you to the main hall to worship the Earth God. Without the Earth God's protection, we won't be able to accomplish anything!"

After saying that, the master led the uneasy Li Feng to the front courtyard, where the main hall of the temple was located, where the Earth God's tablet was enshrined.

Lifting the curtain, you can see an altar inside, with a shrine on it.

At first glance, a kind-looking old man was sitting in the shrine.

The master first stuck an incense stick into a crack in the bricks in front of the hall, then led Li Feng to kowtow three times to the local earth god and shouted, "Please accept this incense, sir."

The fragrant incense wafted up to the mouth and nose of the local earth god, making him look somewhat like someone who had "smoked" in his previous life.

Then I watched as the master laid out wine and dishes for the Earth God, and finally prepared the prayer, which was "The Earth God carries all things, and the Earth God brings peace. Today, we borrow this small patch of shady land to establish this altar..." and so on.

"Alright, the Earth God has agreed to our request. But since you've worshipped the Earth God, you're now in our line of work, and I need to explain the rules of this trade to you!"

After finishing his work, the master led Li Feng back into the house, took a puff of his pungent tobacco, and solemnly said something.

Li Feng naturally dared not be negligent and hurriedly held his breath to listen. He knew that what was about to be said was the real skill.

"Our line of work involves eating the dead, but it hones our courage. I'll just ask you one question first: are you afraid of dying?"

Upon hearing his master's question, Li Feng hesitated for a long time before finally stammering, "Afraid of dying!"

Not daring to look up and examine the master's face closely, Li Feng only felt a puff of smoke rushing into his nose. After not hearing the master speak for a long time, his heart tightened.

But then the master nodded, "That makes sense. In this life, who isn't afraid of death? It's right to be afraid of death. You can see for yourself those who aren't afraid. Your twenty-five senior brothers before you all craned their necks and said they weren't afraid when they entered the gate, hehe..."

Li Feng was slightly taken aback, not expecting it to be such a lucky accident.

"Remember this rule: be afraid of death. No matter what, you must be afraid of death. You only have one life. No matter how big the problem is, there's no need to make things difficult for yourself!"

Li Feng wanted to wait for his master to continue, but his master said, "Go and offer incense to the local earth god, and see how the harvest is today?"

"Remember, tell me how the incense burns when you get back. There's a reason for this. Once it's burned properly, I'll explain the reasoning behind it to you."

After saying that, the master went to the front room, leaving Li Feng alone in front of the main hall, just about to pick up the incense.

Turning around, I heard a noise coming from the front room. In the blink of an eye, I saw the master come to the front of the main hall. He hurriedly grabbed an oilcloth bundle, shoved a handful of incense ash into the earth god's incense burner, glanced at the burnt incense, nodded, and was about to walk outside.

Before leaving, he gave me a piece of advice: "Look carefully, if the incense sticks in the middle are short and the incense sticks on both sides are shallow, that's a very auspicious sign. The local earth god is protecting us, and this job will be very safe."

No sooner had they finished speaking than a shout came from the other side: "Master chef, hurry up and go! The master is getting impatient, and we won't be able to explain ourselves."

"Coming, coming, I'm leaving now! You stay home and wait for me to come back. I'll bring some good wine and food so you can have a good time."

After giving his instructions, he hurriedly left.

Just as his master drove the mule cart away, Li Feng returned to the house. He was surprised to see the incense burning in front of the main hall. It was really strange that he had lit incense.

Just as he was about to tidy up the house, Li Feng saw a jade thumb ring on the blue brick floor.

Li Feng's pupils contracted slightly, and he was somewhat surprised. When did his master become so generous, casually displaying such a thumb ring?

Just as he was about to put the jade thumb ring away, his mind suddenly jolted, and a passage of text appeared before his eyes.

[The Sims system is now open. Currently available Simulated Sim: Cheng Erzhi!]

[A drought struck Lingnan City long ago, and rumors spread that a drought demon had appeared. Thousands of people starved to death, their bones piled high. You, Cheng, nicknamed Gou Dan, were a skinny fellow who crawled out of a pile of corpses. You were kidnapped by a swindler who mutilated and tortured people, leaving you with only two fingers of your original ten, forced to beg for survival.]

[Later, the beggar who followed you was beaten to death with a stick, leaving you nowhere to go. You found shelter in a dilapidated temple, only to be taken away by a master craftsman who ate dirt in the underworld. It turned out that the dilapidated temple was actually the entrance to a large tomb. It was then that you followed this dirt-eating master craftsman and became a craftsman in the underworld, inheriting many skills.]

Because of your boldness and skill, you became a well-known figure in this trade, earning the nickname "Second-Handed Cheng." There wasn't a place around Lingnan City that you didn't know. Later, your work grew bigger and bigger. One day, while drinking tea at a tea stall, you heard about the Northern Heavenly River Tomb. Because the Heavenly River had changed its course, it had spilled many treasures. Intrigued, you came to Suolongzhuang, located beside the Northern Heavenly River.

The people of Suolongzhuang live off the water and have accumulated a lifetime of experience in the Heavenly River. The older generation knows best what's happening there. If you inquire carefully, you'll find out that during the full moon, if you travel on the water, you can see immortals transforming into dragons and leaping through the Heavenly Gate. So, you waited for that moment, gathered a group of skilled swimmers from your sect, and plunged headlong into this great tomb.

[However, the danger was beyond his control; the creature in the tomb had already become powerful, and when he emerged, he was nothing but a decaying corpse, entangled in monstrous evil.]

The life story of Cheng Erzhi flashed before Li Feng's eyes like a revolving lantern, as if he had experienced it himself. Only then did he realize that something was wrong and, recalling the situation when his master left, he immediately knew something was amiss.

The business that the master is dealing with is far from auspicious; it's clearly a disaster!