Holy Spirit Water

Outside Linhe Fang, they were building a wall to keep displaced refugees out while also setting up porridge sheds outside the neighborhood to provide relief to the disaster victims.

Xu Qing couldn't understand the profound methods of those officials. He might have had some guesses, but he was too lazy to dig deeper.

Whether they were redirecting the "calamity" elsewhere or preventing the refugees from disrupting order inside the neighborhood, none of it had anything to do with his Corpse Driver's Shop.

The heavens were unkind today. Just as the first lunar month was drawing to a close, snowflakes began drifting down again.

The boy from Wu Yaoxing's household next door was reciting classical verse, "zhi hu zhe ye" and all, apparently preparing for the spring County Examination.

To become a scholar, one first had to pass the County Examination and become a licentiate, then go to the prefectural capital for the Prefectural Examination. Only after passing that could one be called a scholar.

The Great Yong's scholar examination was no easy feat. But once someone passed, not only were various taxes reduced or exempted, they were also spared corvée labor. Even when meeting an official, they could hold their heads high and avoid the humiliation of kneeling before the hall.

Speaking of attaining scholarly honors, Xu Qing happened to have a Book Scripture in his mind. It contained all kinds of classical essays and interpretations from Great Yong, and he had obtained it after transcending the soul of an infatuated scholar.

That scholar had merely been an inconspicuous little fish in Su Hongxiu's pond, but he had genuinely taken the County and Prefectural Examinations and truly been a licentiate.

Xu Qing pondered that perhaps when spring came this year, he could find some time to team up with the boy from Wu Yaoxing's household next door and take the examination.

His demands were not high. He only needed to display two or three tenths of his ability and casually earn the status of a scholar. That way, he could enjoy some privileges without attracting attention.

While Xu Qing was pondering the matter, a sudden commotion came from the entrance of the shop.

He glanced over and saw the clerk from the brokerage house whom he had met once before directing people to carry corpses into his shop.

"What's going on?"

Xu Qing went forward to ask.

The brokerage clerk wore a bitter expression, as though his wife had run away with another man. Full of resentment, he said, "Don't ask. It was that Jinmen Gang from the prefectural city causing trouble."

After listening to the clerk's account, Xu Qing finally understood what had happened.

As it turned out, a "Overlord Dragon" had recently arrived in Linhe Fang—the Jinmen Gang. They were an advance force from Jinmen Prefecture City, intending to bite off a fat chunk at Linhe Port and expand their gang's influence.

Put plainly, they had their eyes on the port's prosperity and wanted a share of the pie.

All the freight, fishing profits, and such matters at the port had originally been handled by Fifth Master Chang, the toughest fighter in the brokerage house.

Now that the Jinmen Gang had come knocking, how could this local snake simply stand by and watch?

Thus, at the fifth watch that morning, Fifth Master Chang had brought his most formidable gold-medal fighters, along with a group of underlings. He intended to deliver them a show of force, negotiate with the Jinmen Gang, and make them retreat in the face of difficulty.

But Fifth Master Chang had never expected that there would be a traitorous spy among his people. The moment they reached the territory occupied by the Jinmen Gang, they were surrounded by a crowd armed with blades and cudgels.

At first, Fifth Master Chang hadn't panicked. After all, he had brought his own gold-medal fighters this time. They were disciples of Zhang Longhu from Luojing's Dragon Tiger Fist Arena. Though they had studied for only seven or eight years, their bodies had been forged through Hardening Techniques, and paired with their fierce, dragon-and-tiger-like fists, even three or four Inner Refinement Masters wouldn't have been able to get close!

But what Fifth Master Chang had never dreamed of was that the Jinmen Gang had not only invited five or six masked Inner Refinement Masters, but even had a martial arts expert at the Meridian Opening Realm stationed there.

What the hell was there left to fight?!

Fifth Master Chang had immediately decided to retreat. But the Jinmen Gang's manager had no such thoughts. They had been worrying over how to establish their might in Linhe, and here Fifth Master Chang had stuck his head out for them!

Following the principle that something free was not to be refused, the Jinmen Gang's decision-maker killed without hesitation.

If Fifth Master Chang himself had not possessed Inner Refinement strength, and if his men had not fought desperately to cover him, he probably wouldn't have managed to keep his life!

It was just a pity about the two Inner Refinement Masters and seven or eight brothers under his command.

The brokerage clerk directed the corpse bearers while vividly recounting what had happened at the port that morning.

"Were you actually there? Otherwise, how would you know so many details—even the oath Fifth Master Chang swore to avenge his brothers?"

The brokerage clerk flatly denied it. "I'm just a runner. How could I be the sort who licks blood from the edge of a blade? Fifth Master told me all this himself."

"All right! I won't argue with you about that. See these brothers? They died covering Fifth Master and taking the blades meant for him. They're true heroes, every one of them! You'd better make them presentable. Just don't let them look disgraceful at the funeral."

As he spoke, the clerk took five taels of silver from his money pouch and continued, "This is payment for having you preside over the funeral procession. It has to be done in grand style. Buy the finest coffins and perform the most impressive rites. Whatever you do, don't let our Fifth Master lose face."

Five taels of silver for seven or eight corpses, with Xu Qing still having to buy the coffins himself. Once the accounts were settled, there truly wouldn't be much left in his hands.

Still, it would bring business to the entire street and give the neighbors something lively to talk about.

Thinking this, Xu Qing saw the clerk out, closed the shop door, and prepared to embalm and transcend the souls of his new guests.

"Tsk. They say that if you wander the Jianghu, you can't avoid taking a blade. But these men really took it too hard."

Xu Qing looked at the corpse in the middle. It had a broad back and thick waist, a burly frame like a bear, yet was covered from head to toe in wounds and bloodstains. He was still startled.

How much pain must that have caused?!

After stripping away the man's clothes and washing and wiping him clean, Xu Qing took a careful look and discovered something even more astonishing.

Good heavens! How had he ended up with two extra holes in his buttocks?

It seemed the Jinmen Gang's methods were not only ruthless, but damnably underhanded as well!

After taking a drag of Spirit Incense and calming himself, Xu Qing began methodically embalming and transcending the customers.

He stitched their wounds, applied makeup and powder, painted white over the places that needed it, and used dough to fill whatever gaps needed plugging.

Once he had mostly tidied up the bodies, Xu Qing put on donkey-hide gloves and took out strips of cowhide. He wrapped the corpse with the most gruesome death appearance from head to toe, binding it tightly to the coffin.

As the saying went, one learned from a setback and grew wiser. Ever since the last time he had performed Soul Summoning and been startled by the Free Rider's corpse suddenly rising, Xu Qing had learned his lesson.

For corpses with such brutal death appearances, that was a guaranteed opening!

Eight or nine times out of ten, after summoning their souls, they would rise as corpses and look for someone to vent their anger on!

He had no intention of becoming a punching bag for the dead.

Only after wrapping the corpse securely in three layers inside and three layers outside did Xu Qing shake the Soul Herding Bell and begin chanting the Soul-Returning Curse.

When a familiar gust of yin wind surged in through the windows from outside, Xu Qing's brows suddenly furrowed.

Something wasn't right! He clearly remembered that it had still been broad daylight outside the shop, yet the interior now seemed as though dark clouds had covered the moon, without the slightest trace of light.

If he hadn't been able to see in the dark as clearly as in daylight, he probably wouldn't even have been able to distinguish east from west!

The shop's six door panels clattered noisily, while a window not far away sounded as though some mischievous child kept opening and shutting it.

Xu Qing gently set down the Corpse Driving Bell, but his other hand had already drawn the Corpse Driving Whip.

"Mm—huh—"

Just then, a muffled, indistinct sound suddenly came from beside him. Xu Qing lowered his head and followed the sound, only to see the corpse tightly wrapped in cowhide straps struggling and writhing with all its might.

He listened carefully and finally made out what the other party was saying.

"I hate this so much..."

Of course he did. Any man would hate having two holes inexplicably added to his buttocks!

What if, after descending to the underworld, King Yama had the ghost guards verify his identity, pulled down his trousers, and took a look—then made a stroke in the reincarnation register and judged this eight-or-nine-foot-tall strapping man to be a delicate beauty? Who would he even complain to then?!

"Big fellow, be a little more open-minded. You're already dead, so stop hating so much. I filled those two holes for you. Even if you're reborn, you'll still be a hero in your next life!"

Xu Qing felt that when transcending a corpse, he couldn't merely transcend it physically. When he encountered those with heavy resentment or stress disorders from before death, he might have to talk them through it a little as well.

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, the corpse's struggling against the coffin board lessened considerably.

Seeing that the other party showed no sign of breaking free, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and restrained the corpse with specially made cowhide straps soaked in Holy Spirit Water.

The so-called Holy Spirit Water was actually made by blending several filthy substances that specifically countered yin and evil forces.

Moon Gazing Sand, Five Spirit Fat, Human Middle Yellow, Left Coiling Dragon, Poria Cocos Water, Heavenly Amaranth Water, and the like were all excellent things for suppressing yin and evil.