Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

He took the tarpaulin he was going to use to make a tent from the horse's bag.

Yunling understood immediately and sowed seeds in the yard. The vines grew and in a short while, the structure of a shed was formed.

Zhuang Xing then put the oilcloth over the horse and tied it with straw rope, and a small stable was completed.

The two corpse-drivers stared blankly at the stable, their mouths slightly agape.

Clearly shocked by Yunling's skill, Zhuang Xing had Yunling demonstrate this ability to show the corpse drivers that they were not ordinary people, not young people who had just begun their cultivation.

It's a way of showing off your skills. After all, if you don't have some abilities when you're out in the world, you'll be looked down upon.

"Do you have any hay?" Zhuang Xing took out half a piece of silver. "My horse likes to lie down and sleep, so I'd like to buy some hay to spread on the ground so it can sleep more comfortably."

"Yes, yes!" one of them exclaimed, finally snapping out of their daze. "I'll go get them right now!"

Zhuang Xing also paid them the money as lodging fees.

A moment later, dry hay was laid out in Wuzhui's stable. Wuzhui crawled into the stable, lay down, chewed on the hay, and looked at the masked, black-clad dead man in the yard.

It didn't seem afraid at all; in fact, it seemed rather eager to try.

Zhuang Xing didn't know what it was eager to do, but he felt it was probably not a good thing, and might even break other people's rules.

He stepped forward and repeatedly warned Wuzhui not to do anything reckless. Wuzhui looked at him, nudged his bundle, and got two baked flatbreads from him. Only then did it give up, stretch its neck, close its eyes, and fall asleep.

After settling the horses, Zhuang Xingcai and Yunling went into the house, where they were greeted by a row of masked dead men.

There were eight corpses, standing stiffly against the wall.

There was a pungent herbal smell in the room, which must have been the embalming measures taken by the corpse transporter.

The oil lamp burning in the room emitted only a faint, pale yellow light.

The eerie wind made the door creak, and the dim firelight couldn't illuminate the whole room at all; instead, the flickering firelight added to the ghostly atmosphere.

I always feel like the temperature drops a lot when I enter this room.

In the sweltering summer, sleeping here certainly won't feel hot.

He remembered a saying he had heard somewhere: "Death is like a cool night."

At this moment, he experienced firsthand the meaning of those words.

A chill ran down my spine.

Chapter 180 Can I sleep next to you?

There were two other people in the room: an older man and a boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.

The old man did not wear Taoist robes, and although the young man wore a copper bell at his waist, he was not wearing a blue robe, but a white one.

"Uncle Li, these two people are from out of town. It's raining heavily outside, so let them stay here tonight."

"From out of town? Where are you from?" The old man looked up.

“They came from Chenzhou,” Zhuang Xing said. “The Xuanqing Temple near Yidu.”

"Xuanqing Temple?" The old man looked at Zhuang Xing. "Do you know Qingxuzi?"

"It was under the guidance of Master Qingxu that we came to Pingzhou. Actually, we were planning to visit the place where corpses are transported," Zhuang Xing said. "Does the old man recognize my master?"

"We had some dealings in the past," the old man said. "What a coincidence, how's that old fellow doing? Is he still in good health?"

"Master is well, still walking briskly," Zhuang Xing said. "Master asked me to deliver a letter, saying that when I arrive at the place where the corpses are transported, I should hand it over to a senior named Li Ruyu. Do you know this senior Li Ruyu, old man?"

“Of course I know him, how could I not?” The old man laughed. “There isn’t a single corpse driver in Pingzhou that I don’t know.”

"My Li family's inn has been open for hundreds of years, from the previous dynasty to the present day, all over Pingzhou. We do not accept ordinary people or outsiders, but only provide a place for corpse drivers to rest and a place for the dead to rest in peace."

"There are only 263 corpse drivers in Pingzhou. I've watched every single one of them grow up since they were little."

"You're looking for Li Ruyu, right? Li Ming, when you're transporting the corpses tomorrow, have Li Ting take the two guests back to the clan's territory. Remember to treat the guests well."

"Understood, Uncle Li."

Just now, the two corpse-drivers who had set up the rain shelter outside the door answered.

"Have you eaten?" the old man asked. "If you're hungry, I'll have them go and get you some dry food."

"No need to trouble you, old man, we haven't finished our rations yet."

“Alright, Li Ting, take the two of them to the upstairs room to rest,” the old man said. “Don’t let them stay in the rooms where the ‘guests’ have slept.”

The man called Li Ting nodded and waved to Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling.

"Let's go, I'll take you upstairs."

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling followed him upstairs. Most of the doors were tightly closed and locked with brass locks. They didn't know what was locked inside.

“We corpse drivers, who usually drive the dead on the road, inevitably arouse people’s fear. So the inns where we rest are all located in deserted places. The nearest village is half an hour’s walk away,” Li Ting said. “If it hadn’t rained so heavily today, I would have taken you to the village to rest.”

"If you two feel scared at night, just sleep with the lights on; there are oil lamps and candles in the room."

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, wouldn't it be even scarier to have oil lamps and candles lit?

That little bit of light, if you light it up, it's better not to light it at all.

Just like Li Ting holding an oil lamp at this moment, in Zhuang Xing's view, he had the atmosphere of a horror movie.

Li Ting, holding an oil lamp, led them to the innermost room. Pushing open the door, they found a row of simple beds covered with straw.

Based on what the old man just said, these spacious rooms are probably often used to house "guests".

They weren't guests like Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, but rather the guests dressed in black, their faces covered, and who remained motionless.

The thought that dead people had slept in these beds, and that he himself would be sleeping in them next, sent chills down Zhuang Xing's spine.

It wasn't fear, how should I put it, it was that creepy feeling.

It's like when you're eating corn and suddenly you find a fat white worm inside.

It makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

Although he understands the profession of corpse driver, to be honest, he definitely couldn't accept doing it himself.

"Do guests often stay here?" Zhuang Xing asked, standing in front of the door and looking at the beds.

"Don't worry, we won't stay in this room," Li Ting said. "This is our room. You're our guests today, so we'll give you this room and we'll sleep in another empty room."

"Actually, they are all the same rooms, but this is the only room that is not for 'guests'. You have stayed in all the other rooms. Just pick any bed to sleep on. I have seen this kind of rain many times. It comes quickly and goes quickly. It will usually stop by midnight. I will come and wake you up when it is light tomorrow morning."

"There's another thing. I hope you can try not to come out at night. We still have some things to do. If you see us, it might make you feel uncomfortable and you won't be able to sleep at night. So it's better to keep it out of your sight."

Do you two have any further questions?

Li Ting looked at Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, his gaze mainly focused on Yun Ling.

It seems that in his view, Yunling is the one who has the right to speak between the two of them.

It's not hard to understand him, after all, the skill of spreading beans into a shed was Yunling's, and Zhuang Xing did nothing.

Judging by appearance alone, Zhuang Xing is younger. She looks like a quiet senior sister traveling with a junior brother who can help her with miscellaneous tasks.

When Yunling saw Li Ting looking at her, she shook her head.

After saying that, Li Ting escorted the two inside, closed the door, and went downstairs with a series of thuds.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that they were probably going to do some kind of makeup and embalming for the dead person downstairs.

The guests who have been properly cared for are fine if they get a little wet in the rain, so they are placed outside. The guests who are being "entertained" inside are placed inside. I guess that's how they are categorized.

These days, it's actually very difficult to preserve a complete body for someone who dies in an accident.

It's possible that corpse drivers would have to take over the hands and sew up the legs of the dead, which suggests that the profession of corpse driver requires considerable skill and is considered a technical job.

Zhuang Xing casually picked a bed and sat down. There was a water vat in the room, but he didn't dare to drink the water. He just washed his face with it.

Before going to bed, Xiao An secretly crawled through the wall to peek into the next room.

Zhuang Xing asked her what she saw, and she said she saw a person lying on the bed, whose face was not covered with a cloth, which was very scary, no, scary ghost.

Xiao An was shivering, but she had been active enough today.

Even spirits need to sleep. Just as people starve to death if they don't eat, spirits will vanish with the wind if they don't replenish their yin energy.

Although she doesn't have a stomach and doesn't feel hungry, she does feel sleepy. She doesn't suffer from insomnia, so when it's time, she goes back to sleep in the stone.

"Let's go to sleep too."

Zhuang Xing also felt a bit tired and lay down on the bed.

He had just blown out the oil lamp and had been lying down for a while without falling asleep when he suddenly heard Yunling's voice.

"Zhuang Xing, are you asleep?"

"Not yet, can't you sleep?"

"I...I'm a little scared..."

"Zhuang Xing, can I...can I sleep next to you?"

In fact, when they were camping out, the two of them slept side by side, but each slept on a straw mat.

But today Yunling seemed genuinely scared. When Zhuang Xing said it was possible, she couldn't wait to come to Zhuang Xing's bedside.

The hand was small, soft, and icy cold. Zhuang Xing suddenly felt that this place wasn't so bad after all.

Chapter 181 Corpse Transport is a Skill

Outside, the rain was pouring down, and when lightning flashed, Zhuang Xing saw streaks of water seeping through the wall.

These days, leaky houses are a common occurrence. If you look at a hundred houses, ninety-nine of them will leak.

Zhuang Xing was used to it, but the place he was staying in today was really different from usual. There were dead bodies next door, dead bodies downstairs, and dead bodies in the yard.

Surrounded by the dead, he couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He felt that the wall was bleeding, which was quite eerie.

He couldn't help but tighten his grip on Yunling's hand.

This bed should be a single bed, usually one person sleeps in one bed, but when a dead person is buried, one person is definitely placed in one bed.

Otherwise, if two masked dead people get mixed up, and one is sent to one house and the other to another, and during the burial, people are crying out for a stranger, and if they are discovered, the reputation of the corpse transporter will be completely ruined.