Yang Xuan was wondering whether he should slip away first. According to the plot, Yi Xiu would probably be coming over soon. When that happened, Four Eyes would get pranked, and as his junior nephew, it would seem a little wrong not to help. But Yang Xuan really did not want to help Four Eyes. The old man was always sneaky and shameless, and he was incredibly lazy. Yang Xuan wanted to study the Corpse Control Technique, yet Four Eyes would not even lend him a single zombie. He was truly a miser who would not give up even a hair.
"Ah, Martial Uncle, I'm a little hungry. I'll go see whether Tingting has finished making breakfast." Yang Xuan found an excuse and slipped out first.
Four Eyes was completely focused and did not answer. He desperately urged his magical power onward, but unfortunately, the straw man did not give him any face and remained utterly motionless.
After leaving, Yang Xuan wandered around outside for a while before running straight into Four Eyes' morgue. He had always wanted to try controlling corpses, but Four Eyes had never allowed him to touch his guests.
He secretly slipped into the morgue. Heh, there are quite a few zombies. This one won't do. This one's too weak. What the—this one can barely even stand. Yang Xuan was speechless. He truly could not bring himself to care for this bunch.
Looking at the two Corpse Control Techniques on the system interface, he saw that the Maoshan Corpse Control Technique even included methods for nurturing corpses. It required drawing talismans, chanting incantations, and so on. Most of what he had learned from the Feng Shui Master was used to improve combat strength, though some methods came with extremely powerful side effects. However, it did possess one thing the Maoshan Corpse Control Technique lacked: one could inscribe arrays and talismans onto a zombie's body, allowing it to be controlled without chanting or shaking a bell. Yang Xuan highly approved of this method. After making a full round, he still failed to find a zombie he liked. Forget it. I'll take another look when the Royal Zombie arrives.
"Martial Uncle, why has your stomach puffed up?" Yang Xuan ambled over to the altar and teased him.
Four Eyes ignored Yang Xuan and shouted toward the doorway, "You've got guts! You win! You made my stomach swell up!"
Yang Xuan laughed until tears came to his eyes. Four Eyes would probably have diarrhea for many days.
And so, the days passed slowly. Then, one day, a large group stopped in front of the courtyard. They looked as if they had some connection to the imperial court.
There were only two households here, so everyone ran outside to watch the commotion. No one had expected to run into Four Eyes' junior fellow disciple, who was also Yang Xuan's Martial Uncle.
At last. I've waited several days, and they're finally here. That's right, this group was the imperial army transporting the Royal Zombie.
Yang Xuan was struggling with a dilemma again. If he went to save them, these people would certainly send the zombie to the capital. But if he did not save them, they would all die, resulting in a complete wipeout.
Heaven and earth are impartial and treat all things like straw dogs. I only need to protect the people I want to protect. The others have their own fates. What do they have to do with me?
While Yang Xuan was lost in thought, everyone went outside.
At that moment, a Taoist came over cheerfully. "Senior Brother, long time no see. I've come to borrow some glutinous rice from you."
It was indeed Taoist Qianhe.
Four Eyes turned his head. "Jiale, go get some glutinous rice from your Martial Uncle." Jiale acknowledged him and left.
"Martial Uncle, greetings," Yang Xuan said politely.
"And this is..." Qianhe asked curiously. Had his senior brother taken on another disciple?
"My master is Lin Jiu," Yang Xuan replied.
"So you're Junior Brother Nine's disciple." Qianhe straightened up. Among their fellow disciples, aside from their eldest senior brother, Junior Brother Nine had the deepest attainments in Taoist arts.
The group came to the coffin. Four Eyes said, "The copper-horned, gold coffin is wrapped in an inked-dipper net. Could it be that what's inside is..."
"That's right. It's a zombie," Qianhe replied.
Four Eyes asked curiously, "Then why not burn it?"
Qianhe sighed. "This zombie is imperial royalty from the frontier. It cannot be burned. We have to transport it to the capital as quickly as possible and await the Emperor's judgment."
Master Yixiu explained the issue with the tent, and the two old rivals immediately began trading barbs again. This time, however, Four Eyes was destined to suffer.
Beside the coffin, Yang Xuan sensed the zombie with his magical power. Sure enough, corpse energy surged into the heavens. This was a top-grade Iron Armor Zombie, and it was already on the verge of advancing. If nurtured properly, it could even become a Silver Armor Zombie or a Gold Armor Zombie.
Yang Xuan slapped his forehead. Good grief, I actually forgot about the most valuable thing. The coffin holding the zombie was made of pure gold. How much money was that worth? Yang Xuan's eyes began to shine.
"Junior Brother, here's the glutinous rice. Hopefully, you won't need it." Four Eyes spoke solemnly.
This zombie was no simple matter. Yang Xuan, Master Yixiu, and Four Eyes could all sense it. The zombie's body contained not only corpse energy, but also a vast, unidentified energy.
After saying their farewells, the group set off again.
Looking at the pure-gold coffin, Jiale gathered his courage and said, "I'll definitely work hard to earn money in the future and buy an identical one to show my respect to you, Master."
Yang Xuan slapped his forehead. This kid really is hopeless. He doesn't know how to speak at all.
Four Eyes stared at Jiale with a gloomy expression, while Master Yixiu seized the opportunity to fan the flames. "What a filial young man. Hahaha."
Looking at Master Yixiu's smug, opportunistic face, Four Eyes' teeth itched with hatred.
At that moment, Jiale came over and asked, "Senior Brother, can you teach National Arts to the Great Master and Qingqing?"
People of this era placed great importance on keeping the traditions of their sects secret, so Jiale was being rather cautious.
"No problem. But as I said before, help me gather medicinal herbs, especially the rare ones." Yang Xuan agreed readily.
Yang Xuan's generosity left Four Eyes extremely frustrated. He had only just begun to feel that he was at a disadvantage compared with the monk, but he had not expected the monk to have a beauty trap too. Jiale had fallen right into it. After all, who could blame him for taking a liking to the other man's disciple? Four Eyes could not say anything about it either.
"How about this, then? Every day at the second quarter of the Mao hour, everyone will gather at my Martial Uncle's home. I'll train you all together for three days. After that, Tingting will train you," Yang Xuan said. He turned to Tingting as he spoke, and she nodded. The young couple were quite in sync.
"Jiale, hurry up and cook. I'm starving to death. Make two more vegetarian dishes. Great Master and Qingqing, come eat with us today. We can discuss tomorrow's matters while we eat," Yang Xuan said.
"Amitabha. I only eat vegetables, not alcohol or meat." Master Yixiu stated his position first.
"Great Master, that's not quite right. As the saying goes, 'Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart.' Buddhism speaks of reincarnation and does not place importance on the physical body. If you focus too much on precepts, you may inevitably give rise to anger. Besides, eating properly is very important when practicing National Arts. Meat is indispensable," Yang Xuan urged.
"Hehe, Monk, you can finally eat meat openly this time, right? Let me tell you, this monk always eats meat in secret. Once, I caught him doing it, but he refused to admit it no matter what." Four Eyes immediately became excited and exposed him.
"Four Eyes, are you trying to make me tell everyone about your own embarrassing deeds?" Master Yixiu said resentfully.
Watching the two of them expose each other, Yang Xuan suddenly felt envious. What wonderful friends they are. Unfortunately, although Yang Xuan knew quite a lot of people in his current life, he had very few he could truly call friends. He had more female friends, but as they grew older, more and more of them got married and stopped going out. Gradually, gradually, they lost touch.
Late at night, everyone gathered around the table to eat, drink, and discuss their views and experiences regarding the National Arts system. Tingting was chatting with Qingqing about things only girls talked about, and the atmosphere was lively.
Suddenly, cries of "Help! Help!" came from outside the house.
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