It was deep into the night, the perfect time for digging up treasures and striking it rich.
At the Corpse Driver's Shop, Xu Qing turned over the bedding, counter, stove bottom, and every inch inside and outside the rice jar. Apart from the two coffins tied up against the western wall, which he hadn't dared touch, he had searched nearly every place that might hide something valuable.
"Where in the world did that old fox Liu Youdao hide the treasures for refining and nurturing corpses?"
Xu Qing looked at what he had spent half the night digging up and fell into worry once more.
A dozen or so silver pieces, a pile of copper coins, and the shop deed he had found beneath the bedboard.
Other than that, there were no materials or objects in the Corpse Driver's Shop that could be used to nurture or refine corpses.
"Could he have put the real treasures in the coffins?"
At that thought, Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the two Darkwood Coffins standing against the western wall.
One of the coffins had been bound with red rope, following the method for tying coffins: three horizontal ropes and two vertical ones, all lashed tightly in place.
The other coffin was even stranger. It hadn't been bound with rope, but with "false ropes" drawn using Ink Square lines dipped in cinnabar water and flicked with rooster's blood. There were eighty-one lines in all. Many yellow talismans had also been pasted across the coffin lid. It looked as though the coffin had lost an entire night's card game, its face covered in strips of yellow paper.
The only thing the two coffins had in common was that both had funeral banners draped over their tops, as if to seal in whatever lay inside.
Xu Qing walked over, circled them several times, and in the end obediently went back to suck on raw eggs.
Only an idiot would touch something this sinister!
As for a fledgling little zombie like him, he would be better off sitting obediently at the children's table.
Raw eggs were somewhat less effective, but at least they fell within the Corpse Nurturing Scripture's dietary range.
After sucking down the eggs, Xu Qing lit two sticks of Spirit Incense. Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he went to the rear courtyard and began bathing in moonlight.
These days were far too austere!
It was just like when he had worked himself to the bone in his previous life—those final few days of every month, when all he had was radishes and cabbages, without a trace of grease.
After bathing in moonlight and yin energy all night, Xu Qing's mouth had nearly gone bland enough to grow feathers!
He went to the stove, set a pot of water to boil, and steamed all the pig's blood he had bought the day before together with beaten egg. He sprinkled on a little chopped scallion, minced ginger, a touch of salt, and sesame oil...
By the time it finished steaming, however, four or five jin of pig's blood had been reduced to less than one.
What had happened?
Oh, it turned out that before the raw pig's blood had even gone into the steamer, the cook had sampled it for saltiness and scraped away three jin with his tongue!
Raw blood really did taste better!
As Xu Qing ate the last jin of steamed pig's blood from the pot, he still found himself pining for the flavor of raw blood.
At this rate, who knew what year he would finally cultivate the Ironclad Body?
The Ironclad Body came from the three categories of wandering corpses described in Corpse Sayings: the Ironclad Wandering Corpse, Silverclad Wandering Corpse, and Goldclad Wandering Corpse. These were also the first stage of a zombie's evolution.
The outward sign of an Ironclad Corpse was skin like iron and stone, impervious to ordinary weapons.
Xu Qing extended his thumb and tried dragging a kitchen knife across the pad. As he increased the force, the sharp blade cut a thin slit through his skin.
His flesh was indeed far tougher than an ordinary person's, but with a little force, it could still be cut open.
He estimated that his current physical strength was still far from even the lowest class of wandering corpse. At most, he had reached the level where, the moment he crawled out of his grave, a Corpse Driver could kick him right back in.
"Forget it. There are still plenty of days ahead. I'll take it slowly!"
Xu Qing knew that fretting would not help. Corpse-nurturing materials were not things one could simply acquire at will. For now, his most urgent task was obtaining an Identification Plaque. Once he had that little plaque, he would be able to search Linhe Fang for materials much more conveniently.
Linhe Fang was, after all, the Great Yong Dynasty's most prosperous hub for water and land trade. As long as he could establish a firm foothold, how could he fear being unable to acquire things for nurturing and refining corpses?
The rooster crowed at dawn.
The sky was neither dark nor bright yet, and Night Soil Collectors were already driving carts along the streets, going from household to household to collect the "night fertilizer."
Night Soil Collectors were also called slop-haulers. It was an extremely lucrative line of work. The Dream of the Capital Record once contained the following passage: "The population is dense, and among the common households in the streets and alleys, most have no pit latrines and use only chamber pots. Each day, there are people who come to haul away the excrement; they are called 'slop-haulers.'
"Competition among the slop-haulers is fierce as well. Each has private patrons and dares not encroach upon another's business. Should anyone encroach, the owner of the excrement will certainly fight with him; in serious cases, they will bring the matter before the prefectural court and not stop until they win. Besides this, there are boats for carrying dung, earth, and night fertilizer, transporting it in swarms..."
From this, one could see just how popular and hotly contested this trade was!
Unfortunately, human joys and sorrows were not shared. After becoming a zombie, Xu Qing's sense of smell was far keener than an ordinary person's. At that moment, the Night Soil Collectors were hauling back wooden barrels brimming with "thin golden broth," and the "smoke-and-fire" stench was enough to choke an elephant!
He did like the flavor of human life, but it wasn't supposed to taste like this!
Once the sky grew fully bright, the mysterious Night Soil Collectors vanished without a trace. As usual, before leaving the house, Xu Qing propped up a bronze mirror and smeared and dusted himself with various rouge and powders. He also remembered to replenish the medicinal powder that dispelled Corpse Qi.
Only after he had made himself look lifelike did Xu Qing leave to attend to his affairs.
He had three things to do today. First, he would visit the brokers and see whether there was a way to obtain an Identification Plaque. Second, he would look around the market and see whether he could find foodstuffs that zombies could eat.
The third was to buy a dressing table, so that it would be convenient for him to perform his own embalming and makeup in the future.
When he arrived at the brokers, Xu Qing first looked around at the surroundings and discovered that they handled quite a few businesses: reselling farmland, purchasing farm produce and cloth, and lending money at high interest.
They also acted as intermediaries and arranged water transport and hired boats, with some calling themselves wharf fish-market bosses who managed the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen along the Baisha River.
As he went farther inside, Xu Qing even saw people openly dealing in human beings!
But after thinking about it, he found it understandable. The brokers of the Great Yong Dynasty were official brokers, and there was no telling which towering tree stood behind them. As long as there was profit to be made, let alone trafficking in people—even if someone wanted the former emperor's golden tooth, there would be people bold enough to pull it from his mausoleum and deliver it!
Someone might ask: What if I wanted one of the current emperor's teeth? Would anyone take that business?
The answer was certainly yes—but you would have to wait a few years, until the Great Yong Dynasty changed hands. By then, let alone a single tooth, there would be people bold enough to smash the emperor's skullcap to pieces and deliver it to you!
The prerequisite was that you could afford the price.
Then someone else might ask: What if I had no money?
Having no money was no obstacle. As long as you entered the brokers, you could find a deal you were capable of doing.
Look over there in the corners: brothels, gambling dens, male pleasure houses. There was always something suitable for you.
After strolling around once, Xu Qing had a rough idea of the place.
Although the brokers looked like a place that devoured people without even spitting out their bones, if used properly, they could still accomplish many things that were otherwise difficult.
Perhaps, besides an Identification Plaque, he could also find corpse-nurturing materials here.
After familiarizing himself with the brokers' surroundings, Xu Qing found a clerk and asked about replacing an Identification Plaque.
An Identification Plaque was the identity credential of this era. Without one, a person could not take a single step.
Identification Plaques in the Great Yong Dynasty were particular as well. The plaques of court officials were mostly made by polishing ivory and gold, displaying the high rank of their bearers.
Wealthy landlords and local gentry generally used animal bone, copper, or iron.
As for commoners, as long as they stayed in their villages and did not go into the cities to conduct business, they rarely had any use for such a thing. But if they needed to travel far or move to live in a neighborhood or town, they had to possess an Identification Plaque as proof of identity.
The clerk clearly knew these matters well and immediately began fishing for information.
"Is the guest new to Linhe?"
Xu Qing nodded. "I do a little small-time business. Having an Identification Plaque on me would be somewhat more convenient."
"Heh, isn't that the truth? To be frank with you, young sir, once the walls are built around the neighborhood in two days, this Identification Plaque will become an absolute necessity!"
The clerk had spoken without a second thought, but Xu Qing listened with intent and asked, "I really am ignorant. Since you are so experienced and well-informed, might you know something?"
"How many things could it be? Isn't it because Yaozhou is suffering a famine, and they're afraid all those refugees will come running here?"
While keeping up the conversation, the clerk did not forget the main business. "Identification Plaques will definitely be more expensive by then. But I like the look of you, young sir, so I'll still charge yesterday's price: one hundred and twenty coins."
At first, Xu Qing thought the quoted price was not too expensive. But when he prepared to complete the transaction, he discovered the problem.
"Young sir, you don't have a Travel Permit? Without one, this will be difficult!" The clerk immediately set down the wooden plaque and seal in his hands. "A Travel Permit has to be registered and recorded at the government office. Without one, I wouldn't dare arrange an Identification Plaque for you."
Xu Qing immediately caught the meaning behind his words.
The other man had only said it would be difficult and that he didn't dare do it. He had not said it was impossible. In other words, there was still room for negotiation.
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