Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

This gradually gave rise to the profession of corpse driver, who would have a sorcerer perform a ritual to make the corpse move on its own and then take it home.

Upon hearing these words, Zhuang Xing's first thought was naturally of the zombie movies he had watched since childhood.

He thought of the Taoist priests of Maoshan, and wondered if the zombies would bite people and suck their blood.

Zhuang Xing asked the old Taoist priest whether the corpse-driving people were considered evil, and whether there was a possibility that some people would practice using corpses to harm others.

The old Taoist just smiled and said that if they could become zombies, why would they need to work as corpse drivers to earn such a hard-earned living?

The old Taoist priest said that when he was young, he traveled to Pingzhou and found that the practice of transporting corpses was not as terrifying or mysterious as people imagined.

To be honest, it's similar to traveling merchants transporting goods, except that what they transport is a little special.

"Corpse drivers often deal with the dead. The more dead they encounter, the more ghosts they see. Therefore, their understanding of ghosts is deeper than that of most people in the world."

"Go there, and the child beside you may gain something."

"You can also take this opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the way."

"There's no need to be afraid of corpse drivers; they're not scary."

The old Taoist priest gave Zhuang Xing these instructions. The old Taoist priest had several old friends there. Although they hadn't seen each other for many years, it seemed that they would exchange letters every few years and had not lost contact.

Zhuang Xing carried the old Taoist's letter in his arms, and he was also delivering the letter for the old Taoist.

"Brother Wu, let's part ways here!" Zhuang Xing said goodbye to Brother Wu in front of the village.

"Taoist Master, please wait!" Brother Wu called out. "When you return to Yidu, we will entertain you at our home!"

The two groups parted ways.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, with a horse, continued their journey into Pingzhou.

Wu Erge stayed in the village and went to the surrounding area to find small farmers and merchants to buy and sell goods.

The official road in Pingzhou is an old road built in the previous dynasty. It is very old. Walking on this road, you gradually find yourself surrounded by mountains.

Looking up, all I see is misty clouds, mountains and people separated by mountains and mountains.

Here, travel between different places is infrequent, and many people never get out of the mountains that block their way in their entire lives.

The black horse was not good at walking on mountain roads, which made things a bit difficult for it.

Going uphill is fine, but going downhill is very difficult for its four long legs, as it slips too easily.

There were few people in the mountains, and you could hardly see anyone, so Zhuang Xing stopped telling Xiao An to hide.

Xiao An had been cooped up for over ten days, and finally got to come out and get some fresh air, wandering around everywhere.

She cannot stray too far from the Yin-Yang Stone; her activity range is roughly within a 50-meter radius. Any further and she will feel uncomfortable.

The Yin-Yang Stone made her unafraid of sunlight, but it also bound her.

She used her tiny hands, which couldn't touch anything, to touch the dewdrops that had formed on the leaves, watching the glistening dewdrops fall before her eyes.

"Do you still remember things from before?" Yunling asked her.

“I remember things from when I was little more clearly,” she said after thinking for a while. “But it seems like I had an illness once, and then I don’t remember much anymore.”

"I only vaguely remember sitting on my father's lap, or holding tightly to his clothes, following him as he bustled about, going back and forth."

"It felt wonderful, walking in the warm sunshine, and sometimes Daddy would pick me up."

She said this with a smile on her face.

After walking in the mountains for several days, I did not encounter any wild beasts, but I did encounter a group of mandrills and monkeys.

Xiao An discovered them quite early on. There were more monkeys than mandrills. The mandrills were chased away by the monkeys throwing stones at them and hid in the forest. When the monkeys saw the Taoist priest, although they were watching, they did not dare to approach him.

These monkeys are smarter than mandrills. Having lived in these spiritually rich mountains for a long time, they have probably developed some spiritual abilities.

Seeing that Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling seemed like troublemakers, they let them pass.

Since the monkeys didn't bother Zhuang Xing, Zhuang Xing naturally ignored them.

However, once they reached the foot of the mountain, Zhuang Xing learned that the monkeys on the mountain often snatched people's things, without harming them, but they did steal food.

The people at the foot of the mountain have their own ways of dealing with them. They make slingshots from raw cowhide and cow tendons, and two or three of them carry bamboo sticks and stones to cross the mountain together. When they encounter monkeys, they use slingshots to hit their buttocks and heads hard. When the monkeys feel the pain, they will run away.

However, for people from other places, if it's their first time visiting without a local guide, they're likely to be robbed of everything.

The people down the mountain were astonished to hear that Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling had come through the monkey troop unharmed and even encountered a mountain demon.

Zhuang Xing overheard some old people whispering, saying that these two people were so good-looking that they must be monsters, and that they should be careful.

Zhuang Xing was momentarily unsure whether this was a compliment or an insult.

In short, they did not linger in the small village at the foot of the mountain. After finding out the directions, they continued on their way.

Chapter 179 Death is a Cool Night

Raindrops gently pattered on the branches, soaking the light-colored leaves into dark shades. The sky was overcast, and the fine, continuous spring rain fell like needles.

The rain wasn't heavy, but it was getting late.

Surrounded by darkness, Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling walked along a muddy mountain path. On either side of them were pristine forests, and there was no one else in sight. They had left the previous village several days ago and were now deep within Pingzhou territory.

Pingzhou is sparsely populated, but there are slightly more people in the plains of the central part of the prefecture.

"Xiao An, go up to a higher place and take a look. If there are no villages nearby, we won't go any further. Let's find a place to rest first," Zhuang Xing said. "By the way, don't fly too high, be careful of thunder."

"Got it!" Xiao An nodded and flew towards the sky.

Zhuang Xing, along with Yunling and the horse, sought shelter from the rain under a tree.

The spring rain can only wet the leaves, not the people on them.

The air in the mountains was very fresh, and Zhuang Xing could smell the dampness of the rain.

After a while, Xiao An returned.

"I saw houses over there, but only a few. I don't know if anyone lives inside."

"Can't you see the village?"

"No."

Is the house big?

"It's too far away, I can't see clearly."

"Since there are houses, there must be people. Maybe there are villages nearby. Let's go and take a look."

"Mm." Yunling nodded.

"Put on your straw hat, the rain is getting heavier." Zhuang Xing took a straw hat from the black horse's saddlebag and handed it to Yunling, then put on the straw hat himself.

Their heavy loads were all carried by horses.

Following the direction Xiao An pointed out, the road became wider.

He saw footprints on the ground, footprints from not long ago, a whole row of marks in the mud.

Xiao An went into the Yin-Yang Stone and did not show herself in front of anyone; this was her agreement with Zhuang Xing.

The sky was shrouded in mist and rain, and the light of day gradually dimmed.

The rain grew heavier, and spring thunder rumbled in the sky, illuminating the heavens before the thunder roared on.

After walking for a short while, Zhuang Xing saw the house that Xiao An had mentioned.

Right by the roadside, there were several small houses enclosed by wooden fences.

The footprints on the ground only went up to the front door.

There were two men in the yard, holding up a rain shelter.

The thing under the awning was strange; it was three masked people.

The three people were lifeless, one of them was missing an arm, and they stood stiffly under the shed, motionless. It was obvious at a glance that they were not alive.

Zhuang Xing looked again at the men holding up the rain shelter. They all had copper bells hanging from their waists, wore straw sandals, long blue cloth robes, black belts around their waists, and blue cloth hats with yin-yang and bagua patterns on their heads.

This was no ordinary family; their attire was exactly the same as that of the corpse-drivers they had heard about on the road to Zhuangxing.

Unexpectedly, I encountered a corpse driver on the road.

There's nothing wrong with that. They were heading to the place where corpses were transported, so it's understandable that they encountered corpse drivers.

Upon seeing Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling approach, the two corpse-driving men shifted their gaze, finally settling on the sword at Zhuang Xing's waist and his Taoist robe.

"A Taoist priest? Where did he come from?"

Zhuang Xing stepped forward and said, "I come from Xuanqing Temple in Chenzhou. My fellow disciples and I were traveling through this area when we were suddenly caught in a heavy rain. May I ask if we can take shelter here for the time being?"

The two exchanged a glance.

"From out of town? Never seen a corpse-driver before?"

"This is the first time I've seen this."

"You can take shelter from the rain here, but you have to follow the rules. Is that possible?"

"Are there any rules?"

"This is an inn exclusively for corpse drivers. If you want to stay here, you must endure having corpses in the house and courtyard. Also, you cannot touch our corpses."

"Are there corpses even in the place where people sleep?"

There is no place to sleep, but there is a separate room.

"That's fine then."

"Let's go inside. You can let your horse take shelter from the rain in this shed."

The corpse-raiser pointed to the empty space next to the three corpses.

“My horse might not be used to being around dead people,” Zhuang Xing said. “I wonder if we could build another shed in the yard?”

"That's possible, but I need to go back inside and see if there are any more tarpaulins."

"We brought our own rain cover."

"Alright, you can take the cloth out. I'll go inside and get some bamboo poles to help you set up the shed."

"No need to trouble you two, we can do it ourselves." Zhuang Xing gave Yunling a wink.