Delivering a Corpse to the Door

Who first awakens from the great dream? I alone know my life.

Steward Tang's nap was well worth it!

When he woke, his head wasn't dizzy, his mind wasn't foggy, and the drunkenness felt like it had been blown away by a chilling wind. He had never felt clearer.

Recalling the life he'd lived in his dream felt like a true reincarnation. While he felt fortunate, he was also filled with an infinite emptiness.

His beautiful daughter—

Gone!

What is a dream if not an illusion, a fleeting bubble?

Though the dream had shattered, Liu Sheng's fawning, oversized head before him had not.

Steward Tang seethed with hatred, wishing he could open the yamen tomorrow and sentence the man to a thousand cuts!

Whether it was losing his daughter in the dream or losing the wealth and status from it, he blamed it all on Liu Sheng.

Killing Liu Sheng ten thousand times wouldn't appease him!

Seeing Steward Tang roll up his sleeves and clench his fists, ready to punch himself, Liu Sheng was astonished but didn't forget to dodge around the tea table.

Xu Qing watched the two of them leap and bound in the small private room, inwardly amused. Even the performers on stage almost missed their cue. Fortunately, they were experienced and had seen the folk opera of the northern regions, allowing them to barely maintain their composure.

Wang Lingyuan, with his old arms and legs, wanted to step forward to break up the fight, but he was always a few steps behind the two of them.

With a lively performance both on and off the stage, Xu Qing thought the trip was worthwhile.

After all, there wasn't much entertainment to be had in these times. With this rare play, why wouldn't they watch it properly?

Steward Tang was a refined gentleman. Seeing that he couldn't catch Liu Sheng, he took out two hundred taels of silver notes from his embrace and slapped them onto the tea table.

"Liu Sheng, you can escape my grasp, but you cannot escape the law!"

"Today, you used the banquet as an excuse to attempt to bribe me, but I, Tang, am upright and incorruptible. How could I be swayed by your temptations!"

"You murdered your wife and amassed wealth; you are destined to face retribution!"

Liu Sheng saw the silver notes on the table and the steward, panting heavily, his mustache twitching upwards.

His mouth felt as if he'd chewed on bitter herbs; he was incredibly frustrated!

They say that outside the county yamen, the path is wide open; if you have reason but no money, don't bother coming in.

He had money but no reason, so why couldn't he get things done? And this fickle Steward Tang, who had played him repeatedly—first by raising the price for a bribe, then deliberately ordering a play about abandoning one's wife and child at the opera house.

Finally, he reneged at the last moment. Such a faithless act was truly detestable.

Liu Sheng cursed Steward Tang under his breath for being two-faced and having two sets of standards. At the same time, he looked for an opportunity to snatch the silver notes from the table, planning to flee Linhe and escape to another land.

Steward Tang angrily pressed one hand on the silver notes, gathering strength for another outburst. Who would have thought that Liu Sheng, driven by a surge of malice, would charge straight at his chest with his large head?

"Ouch!"

Clatter and bang, dishes, wine cups, and tea cups fell from the tea table onto the floor. The steward's chest ached, and he was knocked into the tea table.

Seeing Liu Sheng about to abscond with the money, Steward Tang, disregarding his disheveled state, crawled out from beneath the hollow tea table. Propping himself up with one hand, he pointed with the other towards Liu Sheng's escape route, like the Jade Emperor in heaven when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc. He shouted, "Quickly, stop that scoundrel! Don't let him escape!"

At the passageway of the private room, Xu Qing saw the steward speak and was happy to play the role of the Buddha, stepping forward to block Liu Sheng's path.

Seeing someone blocking his way, Liu Sheng's heart hardened. With a gritted teeth and a surge of effort, he charged at Xu Qing with his large head and hunched shoulders.

Xu Qing was tall and stood on higher ground. If Liu Sheng wanted to charge onto the corridor, he had to aim directly at Xu Qing's waist and hips.

Did he want to smash his head against a cast-iron walnut?

Xu Qing wasn't having it. He reached out his palm and slapped Liu Sheng hard.

The slap was so fierce that Liu Sheng spun around on the spot, several of his back molars, tinged with blood, flying out.

Steward Tang crawled out from under the table, came to his side, and without a word, kicked Liu Sheng a few times.

After venting his anger, Steward Tang showered Xu Qing, who had acted righteously, with praise and even offered to recommend him for a position at the yamen.

"You're observant. Captain Zhao just lost two men under him. If you're interested, I can recommend you to work under him."

Xu Qing rolled his eyes. He'd rather go to the outhouse outside the Six Offices of the yamen than work under Zhao Zhonghe!

Seeing his refusal, Steward Tang expressed regret but promised that if the three shifts and six offices were to expand someday, he could reserve a position for him.

Xu Qing was indifferent. If they offered him a coroner position, he might consider it. But for any other job that didn't involve touching corpses, he had absolutely no interest.

It wasn't too late yet, and the play on stage was only halfway through. However, after the commotion in the middle, none of them were in the mood to listen to the music anymore.

Steward Tang and Wang Lingyuan escorted the bound Liu Sheng to the yamen for imprisonment. Xu Qing, on the other hand, returned alone to his own feng shui mansion.

Late at night, it was the prime time for all sorts of snakes, insects, rats, and ants to emerge and forage.

On the street not far west of Shuimen Bridge, several shifty-looking individuals were creeping along the walls, throwing things into people's courtyards one by one.

When they reached a house with no lights on, someone said, "Take a string of cash, and an extra copy of the booklet. The authorities have been cracking down lately, and those people from the Tax Department even confiscated the booklets we distributed. This time, we'll give each household an extra copy, so we won't be afraid of them coming to collect!"

As the voice fell, someone took out two small booklets and a string of cash from their basket and handed them to the leader of the thieves.

Here, the leader took out a piece of coarse cloth from his bag, wrapped the booklets and the string of cash into a bundle, and prepared to throw them into the courtyard before them.

It was at this critical moment that a strange voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to litter? Even if you don't hit anyone, you might damage the plants and flowers. That's not good."

The bandit leader, who was about to throw the cloth bag, was startled and turned his head to see a pale young man behind him.

"What blind fool are you, scaring me like that? Watch how I deal with you!" With that, three or four bandits drew their clubs and knives, ready to attack.

At this moment, the bandit leader who was throwing the package spoke up to stop them. "Wait! We are disciples of the Holy Lord of the Tianxin Cult, here to help the world. You are fated to meet us. Quickly, take a string of coins and two booklets and give them to this fated person."

Xu Qing's eyebrows shot up at his words, and he re-examined the group leader handing out flyers.

He had to admit, the leader had a certain professionalism.

"One isn't enough. I happen to be short on toilet paper in the outhouse lately. Why don't you give me all the booklets? I'll help you solve your performance issues."

"Insolence!" Hearing this, the small leader immediately abandoned all professionalism, drew his saber with a clang, and prepared to fight the person who had insulted the Tianxin Cult.

Xu Qing sighed softly. He wasn't naturally inclined to fight, but if they insisted on it, he couldn't be blamed.

The martial arts skills of the people before him were mediocre. The leader handing out rebellious flyers was only at the Outer Refinement realm.

Xu Qing didn't need the Tiger Seal Dragon Elephant. He could easily deal with them using the Overlord Fist or Dog Bark Fist from the Duren Sutra, or even those street fighting techniques like poking eyes and groin kicks.

How could a few underlings possibly be a match for this wicked Zombie? They were scattered like chickens and beaten like dogs, never understanding until their deaths that such a sinister character had appeared in Linhe.