Lips and Tongues Can Also Kill

As Xu Qing watched the mourners arrive, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

It was like hearing a storyteller recount a tale, and then suddenly a character completely unrelated to him appeared in reality, standing before him, speaking to him.

Xu Qing knew full well that the visitor had ulterior motives, but he feigned ignorance, lit a stick of incense, and decided to see what this person was up to.

"Brother Li! My dear Brother Li!

Why did you leave without a word?"

A sudden wail erupted from nowhere, making Xu Qing's eardrums vibrate.

Seriously, are you mourning your own father here?!

"Brother Li, we were brothers. I truly can't bear to see you go. If I had known this would happen, I would have died with you, rather than suffer this agony, this piercing pain in my heart!"

Just as this person was getting into the thick of their mournful cries, a crowd of over a dozen more mourners arrived at the shop entrance.

The man leading the group quickly helped Liao An up and sighed, "Brother Liao, don't be too sad. If Brother Li were alive, he wouldn't want to see you like this."

The others also stepped forward to offer their condolences and comfort.

Seeing this, Xu Qing was puzzled. He grabbed someone who had just finished offering incense and asked, "It's not even time for the main ceremony yet, and you're not even following the proper procedure. I've only just finished preparing the body; he's not even dressed yet."

The young man, wearing a padded jacket and a felt hat, had red eyes. He didn't get angry when Xu Qing grabbed his arm. He just tilted his head back towards the ceiling beam, trying hard to keep his tears from falling. "It's not our fault. Third Brother Liao misses Elder Brother Li so much. Third Brother didn't even eat lunch before coming ahead of us. He said he wanted to see Brother Li, so he wouldn't be lonely when he passed."

"So we all came along."

Xu Qing instantly understood. It seemed this Liao fellow wanted to put on a show of brotherly affection to reduce his own suspicion.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "If you were worried about him being lonely, why aren't his family members here?"

The young man sniffled. After a long pause, he couldn't hold back any longer, and tears streamed down his face. Xu Qing could tell this was genuine grief, much more so than Liao An, who was just wailing loudly.

"Sister-in-law was going to come earlier, and Third Brother Liao agreed, but I persuaded her not to." The young man sighed, his voice sounding as if he had swallowed a piece of alum, bitter and astringent. "I saw Brother Li's injuries clearly this morning. If Sister-in-law saw them, she would be devastated. And the little nephew and niece, so young to have lost their father."

Xu Qing didn't know what to say, so he patted the young man's shoulder. "The departed are gone. Those who remain should find solace. If your Brother Li were alive, he wouldn't want to see you so sad."

The words sounded familiar, but they were indeed a universal comfort.

Hearing this, the young man quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, as if nothing had happened, and stood up straight. "You're right. Brother Li used to teach me, saying that a true man shouldn't be like a weakling, crying every day!"

"..."

As he was saying this, Liao An, who was pretending to cry, reached the climax of his performance. His heart-wrenching wail was so loud it could have brought down the heavens!

After the idlers dispersed, the Corpse Driver's Shop fell silent again. Xu Qing went to the next room, claiming he had received a large order: seven or eight bodies were waiting for burial, and they needed supplies like burial clothes, coffins, incense, and candles.

Wu Yaoxing was overjoyed to hear this!

He called over the neighbors and took a headcount. This place needed a few bundles of incense, that place needed a few coffins. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the arrangements were made perfectly!

The next day, Li Fan's parents, wife, and children arrived at the Corpse Driver's Shop, led by Liao An.

The elderly parents couldn't bear to see a white-haired person send off a black-haired one. They only dared to stand at the doorway, refusing to enter.

They trembled as they spoke, "You've made a mistake, you must have made a mistake. That's not my son. My son was skilled in martial arts, how could something have happened to him..."

With that, the old man reached out and grabbed Xu Qing's arm, as if trying to confirm an answer in his heart. He asked, "Young sir, that person is not my son, you're right, aren't you?"

Just as Xu Qing was about to reply, he vaguely heard a voice from inside the shop:

"Sister-in-law, don't be too distressed. Today, in the presence of Brother Li's spirit, I, Liao An, make this promise: I will find you a good family in the future and ensure you and the children are not bullied."

Xu Qing frowned. What kind of human talk is that?!

In this era, preying on the families of the deceased was not uncommon. Not to mention far away, if he really sold Madam Li and her children elsewhere, under the guise of "doing what's best for her," what would happen to Li Fan's elderly parents? And what would be the fate of the two Li children in the future?

Before Li Fan's incident, he had received two hundred taels as compensation. With that money, Madam Li could live a comfortable life even without remarrying.

It wasn't that Xu Qing was being overly suspicious. It was simply the reality of the world. Given Liao An's treachery in betraying his brother, his character was obvious. He might even be eyeing the Li family's property right now!

After seeing off Li Fan's relatives, Xu Qing picked up his skills as a Corpse Driver that night.

In front of him, a brokerage employee was responsible for leading the way. Xu Qing's task was to carry each of these corpses to their respective family mourning halls before dawn.

With outsiders present, he couldn't use his Corpse Driving techniques. He had to resort to the simplest, most basic method of carrying the bodies.

By the fifth day, after each family had observed the three days of mourning, Xu Qing donned the ceremonial robe for presiding over funerals. Leading a group of neighbors whose professionalism was beyond doubt, he began the process of sending off and burying Li Fan and the others.

After the funeral rites during the day, Xu Qing sat alone in the backyard under the pomegranate tree at night. However, images of Madam Li's family being exploited by Liao An kept flashing through his mind.

"It's easier to cross beasts than men. Li Fan, Li Fan, you worried your family when you were alive, and you won't let them rest even in death..."

With a sigh, Xu Qing stopped absorbing the moonlight. Instead, he put on his fingerless gloves and Corpse Driving artifacts and, in the dark, headed to the Li family's residence.

He had been there once during the funeral procession earlier that day, so he was familiar with the way.

Arriving at the side room where Madam Li and her children were staying, Xu Qing peered through the crack in the door and saw Madam Li sitting by the bed, lost in thought.

After crying all day, Madam Li had just coaxed her two children to sleep.

In the dead of night, she let out a soft sigh and walked to the window.

Outside, a sliver of a crescent moon hung in the sky, accompanied by a few scattered stars. For no reason, Madam Li's nose twitched, and all the emotions she couldn't show her in-laws or children surged to the surface.

Her husband had died under mysterious circumstances.

Her children, so young, had already lost their father.

And she, a dutiful wife, had lost her husband midway through life, and it wouldn't be long before the neighbors started gossiping about her.

Saying she was a jinx who killed her husband was putting it mildly!

Then, remembering Liao An's disgusting words from earlier that day about acting as Li Fan's representative and helping him find a new wife, she finally understood what it felt like for the sky to fall.

As Madam Li sat by the windowsill, lost in her sorrow, a hoarse, rough male voice suddenly came from outside the window, near the wall!

Madam Li was startled, thinking it was some ruffian who had heard her husband had just died and wanted to bully her and her children.

She quickly grabbed the scissors from her sewing basket, about to call for her in-laws and neighbors, when she heard the person whisper:

"Madam, please do not make a sound. I have come to inform you of Li Fan's true cause of death, so that you may understand who harbors malice!"

Madam Li's words caught in her throat. Upon hearing the true cause of her husband's death, her eyes widened, and her whole body trembled.

Liao An, the man who often dragged her husband out for drinks and fun, and who had even bought sugar figures for her children, was the real murderer!

"Madam, go to the brokerage tomorrow and find Fifth Master Chang. Remember not to reveal any clues. Once you meet Fifth Master Chang, tell him everything, and he will surely help you."

With that, the outside fell completely silent.

Madam Li quickly opened the door and looked around. The courtyard was empty and silent. There was no sign of anyone who had poured out their heart to her!

The next morning, Xu Qing chatted with Wu Yaoxing and Old Man Hu from the coffin shop for a while.

When noon arrived, with the yang energy at its peak, he returned to the Corpse Driver's Shop, found a cool spot, and comfortably took a nap.

As dusk approached and the yang energy subsided, Xu Qing closed the shop door. He was about to go to the backyard to practice a set of Tiger Seal Dragon Elephant Fist to stretch his muscles when someone beat him to it, calling out as they opened the shop door.

It was the same brokerage assistant, and the same cart used for transporting corpses.

The assistant said with considerable hatred, "Shopkeeper Xu, Fifth Master said that this corpse is to be disposed of by you free of charge. However, there is one condition: whether it's sent to the mine or anywhere else, it must not have an easy time! It should be made to work like an ox or horse in its next life, and never be reborn as a human again!"

Xu Qing thought to himself, who could this unlucky soul be who offended Fifth Master Chang?

As he pondered this, he lifted the shroud and, upon seeing the unrecognizable corpse, Xu Qing chuckled!

Wasn't this Liao An, who wanted to destroy their family line by eating their inheritance?

After just one day, how had he ended up like this?