Corpse Driver's Shop

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Corpse Driver's Shop (仵工铺)
Affiliation	Later incorporated into Xu Family Funeral Services 372
Occupation/Role	Funeral business handling corpse collection, embalming, spirit relocation, burial, and related rites 12
Status	Active 372
First Appearance	Chapter 4, as Liu Youdao's purchased shop; named in Chapter 7 4 7

Background / History

Liu Youdao bought the Jingxia Street property after it had operated as a coffin shop, choosing it for its favorable feng shui. The premises included both the storefront and a rear courtyard, which he intended to use for a small retirement business. His plans were interrupted before the business could properly begin. 4

After Liu Youdao's death, Xu Qing took possession of the shop and publicly established himself as Liu's disciple. He created a memorial tablet for Liu Youdao, treating the inheritance as both a practical disguise and a continuation of Liu Youdao's and Yang Qiying's lineage. 7 22

The shop's first documented commission under Xu Qing was Master Liu's funeral. Xu Qing used the funeral register to assemble the required materials and personally handled the order. 7 He subsequently established a supply channel with the Linhe brokerage and began receiving unclaimed and prison corpses from yamen runners. 12

The business expanded beyond basic corpse storage and burials. Xu Qing advertised directly during autumn executions, offering discounted body collection, embalming, and head-stitching; the shop later processed hundreds of executed prisoners in a single period. 169 170 217

Xu Qing eventually took over Wu Yaoxing's Paper Craft Shop, then purchased the struggling Funeral Parlor's storefront to employ its displaced workers. By Wang Lingyuan's funeral, the wider operation had developed into Xu Family Funeral Services, providing funeral goods, grave sites, coffins, embalming, and funeral processions. 217 272 372

Appearance

The shop stands on Jingxia Street, also called Funeral Gate Street because of its concentration of coffin, paper-craft, incense, and other funeral businesses. 14

• A removable three-by-three set of plank doors allows the storefront to be opened partially or fully depending on weather. 7
• Its signboard bears the name “Corpse Driver's Shop” in official script. 7
• The original interior contained a counter, corpse-cleaning and cosmetic supplies on eastern shelves, an offering altar in the southeast corner, and two darkwood coffins against the west wall. 7
• A courtyard behind the storefront provides additional working and storage space. 7
• The entrance later displayed lanterns marked “Welcoming” and “Seeing Off,” along with couplets decorated with cat-paw prints. 316
• During busy execution seasons, corpses filled both the shop and courtyard so completely that there was barely room to stand. 170

Facilities and Notable Contents

• Preparation area — Equipped for washing, dressing, applying makeup to, and otherwise preparing the deceased. 7
• Offering altar — Originally held the memorial tablet of Liu Youdao's master; Xu Qing later added Liu Youdao to the lineage he honored. 7 22
• Morgue and coffin storage — Used to hold unclaimed bodies and corpses awaiting burial or rites. 14 191
• Black lacquered coffin — A sect inheritance made by Yang Qiying. It served as a vessel for nurturing Shaded Corpses and contained the Silver Armored Corpse Lu Ping. 86 87 88
• Red lacquered coffin — A large mysterious coffin Liu Youdao excavated from the Ghost King's Tomb on the Yin River Ancient Path; it was believed to have belonged to a high-ranking ghost general or a ghost king's consort. 86
• Funeral tools — The shop maintains items such as a Soul Herding Bell, Corpse Driving Whip, compass with octagonal mirror, cinnabar pen, purple-smoke furnace, and protective fish-skin gloves. 13

Services

Funeral and Burial Arrangements

The shop accepts ordinary funerals as well as deaths by violence, accident, execution, or other unnatural causes. 7 101

• Spirit relocation and burial. 12
• Coffin lifting, spirit escort, encoffining, and burial. 182
• Funeral clothing, wreaths, paper crafts, incense, and other offerings. 112 151
• Corpse retrieval from waterways, including registration and equipment for river work. 106
• Funeral banquets, ghost opera, and other customized memorial arrangements. 300
• Burial-plot sales, including plots on Wujiu Slope. 193

Corpse Preparation and Restoration

• Embalming and head-stitching, particularly for executed prisoners. 169
• Corpse examination to determine causes of death and uncover suspicious circumstances. 114 276
• Face Restoration Technique, capable of restoring a corpse's original appearance regardless of the condition or length of death. 392
• Temporary corpse storage in coffins before eventual burial. 14

After-Sales Services

Xu Qing advertises permanent after-sales support for referred customers, including repairs for disturbed graves, exposed coffins, and damaged tombstones. 182

The shop also offered discounted family packages, referral discounts, and deferred payment for customers unable to pay immediately. Xu Qing warned that wealthy customers who deliberately defaulted could find their graves exhumed and the bodies taken as collateral. 131

Business Practices

• Brokerage supply channel — Fourth Master Li helped direct corpses from the yamen and other sources to the shop. 12
• Public advertising — The shop advertised at execution grounds, city gates, marketplaces, and through teahouse storytellers. 169 272
• Seasonal promotions — Autumn-execution discounts and later New Year gift-package promotions were used to attract customers. 169 178
• Professional reputation — Yamen runners and officials recognized Xu Qing's efficient body collection and adherence to business rules. 44 171
• Community assistance — Xu Qing accepted Sun Er Zhuang's funeral request without charge and agreed to employ workers displaced from the Funeral Parlor. 131 272

Relationships

• Xu Qing — Owner and shopkeeper after Liu Youdao's death; uses the business as his public identity while continuing corpse-driving and funeral work. 7 325
• Liu Youdao — Original owner and Xu Qing's nominal master; purchased the property and left its hidden coffins and sect legacy behind. 4 7 86
• Yang Qiying — Liu Youdao's master and a predecessor in the shop's lineage; created the black lacquered coffin. 22 86
• Xuan Yu — Acting shopkeeper during Xu Qing's absences; guarded the shop and handled customers despite having little understanding of money. 100 112
• Wang Lingyuan — Liu Youdao's former disciple and Xu Qing's senior brother; aided corpse examination and remained connected to the shop's operations. 35 114
• Fourth Master Li — Brokerage manager who helped provide corpses and later sold the Funeral Parlor storefront to Xu Qing on credit. 12 272
• Wu Yaoxing — Neighboring paper-craft-shop owner who later transferred his business to Xu Qing. 217
• Funeral Parlor workers — Former competitors and later employees after Xu Qing acquired their storefront. 272

Story Role / Major Arcs

Inheritance of Liu Youdao's Legacy

The shop gives Xu Qing a legitimate public cover: a corpse driver is expected to travel, handle corpses, and interact with the dead, making the profession ideal for concealing that Xu Qing himself is a zombie. 6 7

Linhe Fang Funeral Business

The shop becomes Xu Qing's base in Linhe Fang. Through it, he develops relationships with the brokerage, yamen runners, neighbors on Funeral Gate Street, and bereaved families while obtaining corpses connected to wider criminal and supernatural incidents. 12 18 114

Coffin Tomb Mystery

The two sealed coffins inherited from Liu Youdao become a long-running danger and source of information. Their opening reveals Lu Ping, the Yin Corpse Sect, Shaded Corpse cultivation, and the red coffin's connection to the Yin River Ancient Path. 85 86 87 88

Expansion into Funeral Services

By combining corpse-driving work with paper offerings, burial plots, processions, advertising, and funeral-parlor labor, the shop grows from a small storefront into the foundation of Xu Family Funeral Services. 193 272 372