Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Because one person is placed in the bed, the bed is naturally very small. It's fine when one person sleeps alone, but it feels very cramped when two people are squeezed together.

When was the last time I was this close to Yunling?

I don't think we've ever been this close before, at least we've never slept in the same bed.

During his two-week trip, he was very careful to maintain appropriate boundaries.

The main reason is that he is still young, only just turned ten.

But now, how should I put it, the atmosphere feels right.

He stroked Yunling's hair and gently pulled her into his arms.

He should have been used to this level of physical contact by now. He and Yunling had grown up together since childhood, and they had played together a lot in the village, often going out and running around all day.

But people grow up, and Yunling grew up, and he grew up quite a bit too.

Zhuang Xing secretly looked at Yunling's eyebrows and listened to her soft, cat-like breathing, and his heart began to wander.

Come to think of it, it was Yunling who wanted to come and squeeze in with him to sleep.

Look, his hand has already reached up to Zhuang Xing's waist.

Yunling nestled into Zhuang Xing's arms, and Zhuang Xing felt that the atmosphere had arrived.

Let's leave aside anything too outrageous, a kiss on the cheek shouldn't be a problem, right?

He was still hesitating when he suddenly realized that Yunling had buried her head in his chest and was holding him very tightly.

Yunling was genuinely scared; her body was trembling slightly.

Seeing her like this, Zhuang Xing's chaotic thoughts dissipated.

This journey originally had nothing to do with Yunling; she only came along for my sake.

It was because of me that she was frightened.

He should have realized sooner that Yunling didn't like traveling far.

Yunling didn't try to dissuade Zhuang Xing from going so far. She just packed her things without saying a word when she heard that he was leaving, asked for leave, and came with him.

She sacrificed a lot. Without her, this journey wouldn't have been so happy and pleasant.

Zhuang Xing then realized that what he was holding in his arms was his treasure, and he should cherish it even more.

Although they fell asleep in each other's arms that night, he no longer had any chaotic thoughts.

...

The next morning, when I woke up, the rain had stopped.

When I woke up and saw Yunling's sleeping face, my mood improved a lot for the whole day.

His hands were a little sore and numb from being pressed down, so he did a set of warming exercises in the yard to improve his blood circulation, and the tingling sensation finally dissipated.

Zhuang Xing removed the tarpaulin from the stable and, together with Yunling, wrung out the water. Wuzhui went outside to graze and eat its dry rations. Not long after, Li Ting came out to meet the two of them and invited them to leave together.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to the clan’s territory to find Uncle Li Ruyu,” Li Ting said.

Two corpse drivers were together, leading a total of five masked dead people.

They used a magical technique, and the five dead men began to walk with them.

They walked very stiffly, but even on the muddy and slippery road, they did not fall.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling followed behind them. According to the rumors Zhuang Xing had heard, when the corpse driver left, he had to ring a soul-summoning bell to summon the soul of the dead, and then the dead could leave on their own.

Zhuang Xing asked them if that was true, and Li Ting said that it was just rumors spread by people who didn't know the situation.

When a person dies, their soul mostly dissipates. How can you summon it back with a bell? If you could really summon it back, why would they bother with the laborious task of transporting corpses? They would have been summoned long ago to bring back the souls of high-ranking officials and nobles.

The bells hanging from their waists were only rang when they had no choice but to pass through villages.

Because of the taboo surrounding corpse transport, the living are generally wary of the dead. They ring the bell simply to let the villagers know that they are passing through the area. If the villagers don't want to encounter them, they will avoid them when they hear the bell from afar.

Over time, it became a rumor, and the copper bell was transformed into a bell for summoning souls.

Zhuang heard many interesting stories along the way.

He discovered that the corpse-driving business was actually quite planned and had a specific route.

For example, the five corpses that Li Ting and Li Ming were currently transporting actually came into their hands after passing through two or three corpse transporters.

The routes that the corpse transporters are responsible for are fixed. Li Ting is only responsible for a small section of the road in the southern part of Pingzhou. He will directly send the dead people in this area back. If they go further out, he will only be responsible for sending the dead people to the next transfer station, which is the next inn, and handing them over to other people to handle.

After listening to this, Zhuang Xing realized that this was not such a mysterious profession after all.

After traveling for five days, before reaching the place where the corpses were transported, Zhuang Xing followed Li Ting and sent the five corpses back to their hometown.

The income of corpse transporters is not low; they earn about ten taels of silver for each person they transport.

Those who can afford to hire corpse-drivers are mostly from large families. Family values ​​are very strong in Pingzhou; in a village, almost everyone shares the same surname.

They only went to two places before sending all five people home.

Both sides asked the corpse-drivers to stay and perform funeral rites.

However, because they had guests with them, Li Ting and Li Ming only recited the scriptures for the deceased and performed a symbolic ceremony.

The dead have all been sent home, and the corpse-drivers are also going home.

Zhuang Xing followed them, passing through the mountains and forests, and finally crossed the most difficult mountain in Pingzhou, and saw the plains.

There was a small village there, with brick and tile houses, which showed that the villagers lived a good life.

Although it's called a place for transporting corpses, they don't actually bring the dead from outside here.

Transporting corpses outside was work; once they reached the clan's territory, that was their life.

Upon returning to their ancestral home, Li Ting and Li Ming removed their Taoist robes and hats, changing into ordinary clothes. They no longer resembled corpse drivers, but rather ordinary villagers.

No wonder they asked Zhuang Xing if he was a Taoist priest when they first met. It turns out they didn't consider themselves Taoist priests; they just thought of themselves as imposters wearing Taoist robes.

Corpse drivers don't practice Taoism; they just use this skill to make a living.

Chapter 182 The Will of Heaven Cannot Be Defied

Zhuang Xing and Yunling had a meal at Li Ting and Li Xiang's house. The two were cousins ​​and lived in the same courtyard.

This courtyard is somewhat like a traditional courtyard house, with more than a dozen people living in the various rooms, all of whom are brothers and sisters from the Li family.

Li Ting and Li Xiang both have wives and children. Their children are also learning the art of corpse driving in the ancestral hall of the Li family village.

Zhuang Xing was a little curious. This corpse-driving technique was a kind of Taoist art, but out of a hundred children, there might not even be one who could learn Taoist arts. He wondered if the corpse-driving people had some secret techniques that could enlighten children.

If such a secret technique truly exists, it must be an extremely precious, closely guarded skill.

If Zhuang Xing, an outsider, were to inquire, he might be breaking someone's taboo.

But Zhuang Xing couldn't resist his curiosity and asked Li Ting alone.

He asked just to see what would happen, and said that if it was difficult to answer, he would pretend he hadn't asked.

Li Ting gave a brief explanation, saying that their corpse-driving technique was a Taoist art, but not quite. As long as the clan's incense offerings continued, the Taoist art could be passed down.

That was all he could say; he couldn't say anything more.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhuang Xing concluded that the Taoist techniques used by the corpse-drivers were probably borrowed.

This was a cultivation system he had never seen before. According to Li Ting, it seemed that a small group of people in the Li family were capable of cultivation, and they had the means to pass on their techniques to their family members.

If that's the case, then the entire Li family is like a single entity, where everyone prospers or suffers together.

This technique is the foundation upon which corpse drivers make their living.

Zhuang Xing had seen it before and knew that such a thing existed, so that was enough. He didn't ask any more questions to avoid annoying others.

After the meal, Li Ting took Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling to see Li Ruyu.

"This is it." Li Ting led the two to a large courtyard. "Please wait outside for a while while I deliver the letter."

"This is troublesome." Zhuang Xing took out the letter that the old Taoist had sent to Li Ruyu.

Li Ting took the letter, nodded, and went into the courtyard.

He came out shortly afterward.

Following him into the courtyard, it became clear that this place was the ancestral hall of Lijia Village. Inside the ancestral hall were many memorial tablets. There were no children, no one making a loud noise, and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Zhuang Xing couldn't help but become serious as well, and he and Yunling acted according to etiquette, not daring to overstep their bounds.

After passing the ancestral hall, we entered an inner room.

“Uncle Li Ruyu is inside. Please come in; he is waiting for you,” Li Ting said.

Zhuang Xing responded and went inside.

Inside, the furniture was made of mahogany, the floor was covered with bluestone tiles, and the walls were decorated with calligraphy and paintings. Bottles and jars were placed next to the cabinets, all of which were decorative items.

A desk can be seen in front of you, with writing brushes, ink, and unfinished calligraphy and paintings on it.

This is a study, and a very spacious one at that.

Everything in this room is an antique, including many porcelain kilns. The porcelain doesn't seem to be made with modern techniques; the patterns on them are from the blue and white porcelain of the previous dynasty.

The atmosphere of history is palpable. Although Xuanqing Temple has been established since the previous dynasty, its interior decoration is much simpler than that of this room.

Behind the table was an old man, who was probably around the same age as Master Qingxu, but he looked older, with gray hair and a slightly overweight figure.

"Greetings, Uncle Li." Zhuang Xing bowed.

"Please sit down." The old man raised his hand and pointed to the chair next to him. "You have traveled hundreds of miles to come to Pingzhou. You are rare and honored guests. If anyone treats you badly, please tell me. I will definitely keep an eye on my family so that they don't disgrace the Li family."

"The people in our clan have treated us very well, and we have received a lot of help from Uncle Li Ting and Uncle Li Xiang on the way." Zhuang Xing pulled Yunling to sit down.

"No need for formalities."

"I wouldn't dare joke about something like this."

The old man smiled after hearing this.

Tea was already brewed on the table. The old man said, "I have read Qingxuzi's letter. It says that you want to inquire about the matter of the spirits. Could you tell me why?"

"This... Uncle, have you ever seen a ghost?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"How many years do you think I, Li Ruyu, have lived?"