Dream Weaving Technique

As the saying goes, distant relatives are not as good as neighbors, and neighbors are not as good as the person across the street.

Xu Qing took out eight diao of cash. Four diao were for Wu Yaoxing, and the other four diao...

He had already taken advantage of the tax collector's momentary distraction while transferring property. Using the Thousand Shadow Thievery Technique and the Stealthy Theft and Sun-Stealing method, he had pilfered two pamphlets issued by the Tianxin Cult.

Xu Qing's movements were incredibly swift. In the blink of an eye, amidst the briefest of passes, he retrieved the pamphlets from his robe and handed them to the leading tax collector.

"These two pamphlets, one was thrown into my courtyard by a Demonic Cultivator of the Tianxin Cult, and the other was thrown at the doorstep of the Incense and Candle Shop across from me. You officials don't need to waste any more words or energy. These extra four diao will count as the fine paid by myself and the owner of the Incense and Candle Shop."

The leading tax collector lifted his chin, about to say something more, when Xu Qing produced another tael of silver.

"The Tianxin Cult bewitches people and causes great harm. This silver is my additional contribution, a small effort to help eradicate these heretical cultists."

Upon seeing the silver and hearing these noble words, the leading tax collector's expression immediately softened.

"Look at that! That's what it means to uphold righteousness and act with propriety. This is how the people of our Great Yong Dynasty should behave!"

When the constables see money, even rats and cats can sleep together.

Xu Qing watched the group of impeccably dressed, greedy cats depart. The proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop across the street blinked her eyes, wearing an expression of utter disbelief.

Why didn't these officials and bandits come to her shop? Had they suddenly changed their ways?

At the entrance of the Paper Craft Shop, Wu Yaoxing was holding two diao of cash plus two taels of silver, insisting on stuffing them into Xu Qing's embrace.

"You paid for me, so you have to let me pay you back. Otherwise, I won't be happy!"

Little did Wu Yaoxing know that the money Xu Qing gave him had been tampered with. As long as Xu Qing willed it, the mother coins used in the Green Cicada Money Returning Technique would call out, and all the subsidiary coins would obediently return to his side.

"Keep the money for now. Later, when I need to help someone with their funeral, I'll have to ask you for some paper figures and paper horses. Besides, you know me, when I have a bit of money, I like to go to the pleasure district, and in the end, it all ends up down the drain, doesn't it? Just help me save it!"

Xu Qing wasn't short of money, and besides, the Green Cicada Coins he gave out would eventually come back. If he were to truly accept Wu Yaoxing's hard-earned money now, what difference would there be between him and the officials and bandits who came today?

The proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop remained completely in the dark until the talkative Wu Yaoxing went over and explained everything. Only then did she realize that Xu Qing had paid the tax money for her.

Later that evening, Xu Qing closed his shop and was preparing to go to the holding cell to find his senior brother, Wang Lingyuan. He saw Cheng Caiyun from the Incense and Candle Shop approaching with a basket of fresh eggs.

"Shopkeeper Xu, these are fresh eggs that the madam specially went to get from her sister-in-law's place. She heard you like them, so please try them."

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and smilingly accepted the basket.

Cheng Caiyun was quite different from Wu Yaoxing. The latter had repeatedly declined before reluctantly agreeing to return the money.

But this proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop, with just a basket of eggs, wanted to settle the tax money from earlier that day.

Xu Qing wasn't surprised by this. After all, he had eaten the inferior candles from the Incense and Candle Shop that morning, and from that moment on, he had understood that Cheng Caiyun was a stingy woman who was always looking for a bargain.

Cheng Caiyun, observing Xu Qing's expression, was exceptionally pleased when he didn't mention returning the money. As she left, she even gave him a flirtatious wink, which made Xu Qing's skin crawl.

She was already over thirty years old, why would she debase herself like this for a mere two diao?

Xu Qing had no interest in a woman of her age. In his eyes, she was less appealing than the old hen that laid these eggs!

When the time came, he would go and buy a few old hens to keep in his courtyard. Wouldn't that mean he could have fresh eggs every day?

With two eggs tucked into his robe, Xu Qing walked towards the Patrol Office, slurping on one of them.

Upon arriving at the holding cell of the government office, Wang Lingyuan waved him over. Xu Qing, like a patron visiting a brothel, followed 'Mama Wang' with an excited expression to the morgue.

Several green lamps illuminated the room.

About ten hardwood beds were neatly arranged in the morgue. Three of them were covered with plain cloth, beneath which the outlines of human bodies could be vaguely seen.

On the other side, there was a bookshelf for case files and a table for examining corpses.

A coroner was not only responsible for examining bodies. According to the laws of the Great Yong, coroners also had the authority to access case files and participate in the investigation of cases.

If a difficult case could be properly examined, leading to justice for the deceased, the court would grant additional rewards as a commendation.

Therefore, the coroner was one of the thirty-six professions, a trade that truly required a certain level of skill and experience.

Here, Xu Qing was about to perform a corpse-driving technique to help Wang Lingyuan move a body to the examination table when Wang Lingyuan raised his hand to stop him.

"Junior brother, examining a body is different from driving a corpse. You must do everything possible to preserve the body's original appearance. If you use the corpse-driving technique, it might alter the posture of the deceased at the time of their death and cause the loss of important clues."

When Wang Lingyuan spoke about his profession, his entire demeanor changed.

He genuinely intended to teach Xu Qing the methods of corpse examination!

He was already advanced in years, and there was no one to pass down his corpse examination skills to. Now that he had a willing junior brother like Xu Qing, he was naturally extremely diligent.

Carefully moving the body to the designated position, Wang Lingyuan began by explaining how to observe the deceased's posture and how to determine the cause of death.

He shared every detail without reservation, drawing from the valuable experience he had accumulated throughout his career as a coroner.

Xu Qing listened attentively from the side, occasionally pouring tea and water for Wang Lingyuan until the latter was completely satisfied.

Around the time for lighting lamps, Wang Lingyuan, who was over fifty, had drunk quite a bit of tea and could no longer hold his bladder. He briefly instructed Xu Qing and hurried off to the latrine.

Seeing his plan succeed, Xu Qing immediately turned his attention to the corpse on the examination table while the other was absent.

Before him lay a female corpse. Judging by the ligature marks on her neck, she had died of suffocation.

However, Xu Qing was not concerned with these details. He didn't need any techniques to examine the deceased; he could perceive all the events of the deceased's life.

Chanting the Duren Sutra, the underworld and the Yellow Springs appeared in his mind. The deceased's memories bloomed before Xu Qing's eyes like clusters of shore flowers, revealing everything without reservation.

The deceased's name was Sai Yuxian. She was an opera singer at the Pear Garden opera troupe. She had fallen in love with a patron who frequently listened to her sing. Moved by genuine affection, she redeemed herself and married him.

However, their good times didn't last long. After only half a year of living together, Sai Yuxian's husband, burdened by massive debts, began to drink heavily and abuse her daily.

One day, after a drunken rage, her husband pointed at her and said, "They all say opera singers are heartless. If you truly care for me, you should go sing and entertain guests to pay off my debts, saving me from this daily misery."

Sai Yuxian, being a woman of extreme temperament, actually went to the red-light district because of this and became a prostitute!

After two to three months, Sai Yuxian, with her neck held high like a proud swan, handed over a substantial sum of silver to her husband.

"Today, I will show you that opera singers also have love and loyalty!"

But what Sai Yuxian never expected was that her husband, upon hearing this, would instead begin to berate her for being unchaste. How could he face the neighbors and relatives if everyone knew he had a promiscuous wife after only a few months of her entertaining guests?

Sai Yuxian had never imagined her husband had two faces. He was the one who told her to become a prostitute to repay his debts and show her devotion. Now, he was the one calling her unchaste and promiscuous.

In a fit of anger, Sai Yuxian put on a show, threatening to go to the neighbors to seek justice and see who was truly heartless and unrighteous.

Her husband was extremely concerned with his reputation. Even if his family was in debt and couldn't afford to eat, he would still wipe his mouth with thick pig fat. Only after his mouth was glistening with oil would he dare to go out. Now, hearing her words, how could he suppress the rage in his heart?

Thus, the husband immediately reached out, pushed his wife back as she was about to storm out, pulled the sash from his waist, and tightly choked his wife's throat, fearing she would utter a single word that could damage his reputation.

And so, the opera singer who repaid her husband's debts met her end.

Xu Qing watched this dramatic turn of events, from a loving couple to mortal enemies, and didn't know how to comment.

He could only say that a precious body was ground down by a thousand hardships, yet it still couldn't grind away the greed and lust of her lover.

Afterward, the Duren Sutra gave a mid-grade human evaluation, and the reward was a skill called 'Dream Weaving Technique'.