Not Family, Not Entering Family Door

A golden belt for murder and arson, but no bodies for bridge and road repairs.

In today's world, the wicked sit in high places while the loyal lie low. The world often laments the plight of the common folk, but rarely sings the praises of the noble.

Those who build bridges and repair roads can barely afford to eat, struggling to get by with three meals a day. Yet, those who commit murder and arson flaunt their wealth, parading through the streets with pockets full of gold.

In Linhe, there are now Cleaners. They are rarely seen or heard of, yet they often practice killing to stop killing and burning to stop burning. In the long run, though they may not have the merit of building bridges or repairing roads, they bring a sense of clarity to this heavy world, which can be considered immeasurable good deeds.

The night fog was thick. Xu Qing finished his work and pushed his cart out the door. After only a few streets, he heard the watchman's cry:

"Third watch, all is well—Dong!—Dong, Dong!"

This was followed by the rhythmic sound of a wooden clapper, one slow beat followed by two quick ones.

The cart creaked as it moved, and the watchman approached. Upon seeing Xu Qing, he peered at him with his lantern. He looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. He must have seen him somewhere before.

Seeing Xu Qing glance his way, the watchman chuckled, "You look familiar. Out working this late at night?"

Xu Qing looked at the copper gong in the watchman's hand and the clapper case at his waist. He thought that if he were to lift the cloth cover of his cart right now, the watchman would probably start banging his gong and shouting in a shrill voice, "Murder! A bandit is out killing! Everyone wake up! Beware of thieves and robbers—"

Tsk, what a hassle. No wonder thieves hate watchmen and dogs so much; they're both so loud!

Xu Qing stopped his cart and rummaged through his bag for a silver note from the "Heaven and Earth Bank" meant for the deceased. He took out a charcoal pen and began to write on it.

When he was done, he handed the paper to the watchman, who grinned and said, "To be honest, I just bought a new house yesterday and am in the process of moving. But since you asked, this is our shop's main business. Why not take a look!"

The watchman took the paper money for the dead and glanced at it under the lantern, but he didn't understand.

"I can't read. Tell me, what services does your shop offer?"

Xu Qing smiled shyly and briefly explained the various services offered by his Corpse Driver's Shop.

In short, whether you're a living person needing a grave dug or a dead person needing a coffin, you can come to us! Even if you have no money, it's okay. Our shop also has a new charitable care program.

Even if you're a beggar freezing or starving on the streets with no money or silver, as long as someone brings you here, we'll arrange a free burial. We guarantee you'll rest in peace and hope to return in your next life!

The watchman's face turned green when he heard this. Upon inquiring, he learned it was the newly opened dead people's shop on Jingxia Street.

No wonder he felt the man looked familiar. His second uncle had passed away not long ago, and hadn't this very person performed the rituals and handled the funeral?

The watchman thought to himself, "Just shut up. You say all sorts of foul things. For your dead people's shop, even if they invited me with an eight-bearer sedan chair, I wouldn't bother going!"

The two night workers parted ways on bad terms. Xu Qing returned to his new residence. The two pits already dug in the yard could only bury two people. He had no choice but to pick up his hoe and shovel again and dig two new pits. Only then could he bury all the bodies he had transported this trip.

Late at night, Xu Qing leaned on his shovel, gazing at the fertile land before him. More than twenty bodies lay within, waiting for the number to reach one hundred. Once the resentment gathered and was refined, it would bear the fruit of Ghoul Generals and Ghoul Soldiers!

However, although the Feng Shui of the new residence was good, its potential had not yet been fully tapped.

The next day, as dawn broke, Xu Qing finished absorbing the Yin energy of the moon and headed towards East Market Miscellaneous Goods Street just before sunrise.

The remaining lamps illuminated the market, and with the faint morning light, he could vaguely see the tall buildings in the distance.

As Xu Qing entered Miscellaneous Goods Street, the vendors, who rose earlier than roosters, were already open for business.

People of all sorts were also walking and stopping in the morning market.

Xu Qing walked around the street from one end to the other but found that his progress in refining materials for Silverclad Wandering Corpses had hit a bottleneck. He had been paying attention for a long time but hadn't collected the last few crucial items.

"Yin Ghost Jade, Old Cat Sha, Ghost Face Earth three feet below the grave..."

Each of these items was not commonly found in the market. They could only be obtained through channels within the Yinmen trade.

Xu Qing wanted to ask a hunter he had dealt with before about these things, but the hunter hadn't been seen for several days. He didn't know if he had taken the dozens of taels of silver and decided he was too lazy to sell furs anymore.

However, he wasn't just coming to this morning market to find materials for raising corpses. He also intended to find some items that could improve the Feng Shui and further tap into the potential of his ominous residence!

For the whole morning, Xu Qing pushed his cart, which was filled with all sorts of strange objects.

There were Sophora Saplings that could nurture Yin and gather Sha, Dangling Bell Flowers that could sense corpse energy and bloom like Tung tree bells, as well as Sha-Attracting Beasts, ox skulls, pig skulls, an antique chair with a missing leg, and a strange Buddha statue of unknown origin, and a dressing table whose mirror was so distorted it made people's faces look crooked.

These gloomy and broken objects, which ordinary people would shun like the plague, were infinitely useful to him.

After planting the Sophora Sapling in the yard and sowing the Dangling Bell Flower seeds, Xu Qing spent a great deal of effort hanging various animal heads in a ventilated area. Once they were naturally dried, they would become beautiful decorations.

Outside the Corpse Driver's Shop, Xu Qing had just returned the cart he borrowed from the coffin shop at the end of the street. Before he could open for business, he saw a strange customer holding preserved meat and gifts, loitering at his shop's entrance.

The customer was dressed in a grey long gown, with a bun tied at his temples, which were half white. In addition, a clean white scarf was draped over his shoulders.

Seeing this attire, Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and strode over to open for business.

No matter who it was, a guest was a guest. Was he afraid?

"Are you Master Liu's disciple?" the middle-aged man holding the preserved meat and gifts suddenly asked.

"Yep!" Xu Qing removed the door panel and tilted his chin up, looking quite proud.

"..."

Wang Lingyuan sighed softly, a look of reminiscence on his face.

"I also studied under Master Liu for a period... Unfortunately, I never caught Master Liu's dharma eye. I never expected that he would take you as his disciple now."

"..." This time, it was Xu Qing's turn to be silent.

What kind of development was this? A former follower of Liu Youdao coming to find his current disciple to reminisce about the past?

Inside the shop, Wang Lingyuan took a brief look around. Before he could examine it carefully, he saw the memorial tablets dedicated to Master Liu and Master Yang.

"Master Liu has truly passed..." he murmured to himself, then spoke to Xu Qing, "I learned my art from Master Liu, so in a way, he is also my half-master. I would trouble you to lend me two sticks of incense so I can pay my respects and express my reverence."

Xu Qing had no objections, so the two decided to pay their respects together.

In the end, Wang Lingyuan couldn't help but ask him about the cause of Liu Youdao's death.

Xu Qing shook his head and sighed, his face filled with grief and sorrow.

He only said that a child wishes to be filial, but their parents are no longer there. He lamented that the Demonic Cultivators of Tianxin Cult came and went without a trace, and as a disciple, he couldn't even avenge his master.

He felt truly ashamed, ashamed before his late master, and ashamed before heaven and earth.

Xu Qing recounted the past with seven parts truth and three parts falsehood. Wang Lingyuan empathized, his face also showing sadness, and he shed tears as he thought about it.

It was truly a cruel twist of fate.

"Brother Xu, from now on, if you need any help as you go on alone, feel free to come find me at the holding cell. Although I'm just a corpse examiner, I might be able to lend a hand."

Seeing Wang Lingyuan's genuine emotion, Xu Qing decided to go with the flow and do him a favor, saying, "Senior Brother studied under my master, and you two share a master-disciple bond. From now on, Senior Brother, you can just call me Junior Brother; there's no need to be so formal."

"Then, Junior Brother?"

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Wang Lingyuan's beard trembled with excitement. Xu Qing seized the opportunity to ask, "Senior Brother, examining corpses in the holding cell is a skill that earns a living. To be honest, Junior Brother also wants to learn another trade to fall back on. I was wondering if I could follow Senior Brother during my free time and be an apprentice corpse examiner."

"Of course, I don't need any wages. Junior Brother is just eager to learn this kind of skill, with no other intentions."

"Junior Brother is so eager to learn; it's no wonder Master Liu took you as a disciple. I am ashamed of my inferiority." Wang Lingyuan sighed with emotion again upon hearing this. As for Xu Qing's request to learn the trade, he readily agreed.

Afterward, Wang Lingyuan spoke of his past experiences examining corpses and crime scenes, with no shortage of reverence for Liu Youdao in his words.

Perhaps still harboring some doubts about Xu Qing's identity, he intentionally or unintentionally brought up professional topics about how Corpse Drivers raise, collect, and refine corpses.

Xu Qing answered fluently from beginning to end, and his words offered many new insights into dealing with corpses. Wang Lingyuan, also a fellow enthusiast of corpses, couldn't help but praise him repeatedly when he heard the brilliant points.

He thought, Truly a worthy disciple of Master Liu. Although I am older, I don't even possess a tenth of what my junior brother has learned.

In just an hour or two, two strangers who had never met before suddenly became as close as family by chatting about corpses.