The Long Years, the Inescapable Cycle

"Crippled Li, there's something wrong with your coffin. I want a refund!"

"Bullshit! No one has ever said a bad word about the coffins I make."

A figure sat bolt upright from inside a coffin, his rage-filled eyes sweeping the surroundings as though searching for the bastard who had slandered his craftsmanship.

But when Crippled Li saw the person standing in the doorway, he immediately lay back down in the coffin in fright.

"Looks like my time is truly up. Why has that dead broke Chen Changsheng come looking for me?"

Hearing Crippled Li mutter to himself, Chen Changsheng grinned and walked straight over to the coffin.

Looking at Crippled Li lying inside with his eyes shut tight, Chen Changsheng said, "Crippled Li, you personally guaranteed that if there was a problem with the coffin, I could come find you for a refund."

"Now that you're acting like this, are you trying to welch on the debt?"

At Chen Changsheng's words, Crippled Li reluctantly opened his eyes.

"No money. Take my life if you want. If there's anything here you fancy, just take it."

Crippled Li's shameless, thick-skinned attitude immediately amused Chen Changsheng.

"Crippled Li, aren't you afraid of me?"

"You were the one who helped pile the dirt over my grave."

At that, Crippled Li glanced at Chen Changsheng. "I'm sixty this year. Doctor said I have three years left at most."

"I, Crippled Li, have spent my life without wife or child, and I don't have any old sweetheart either."

"Do you think I'd care whether I lived three years less or three years more?"

"Besides, when you came to buy a coffin back then, I already knew you'd return."

"Why?"

"I've seen people buy coffins for themselves before, but you were the first I'd ever seen buy one for yourself in such high spirits."

As he spoke, Crippled Li sized Chen Changsheng up once more, then hesitated before saying, "By the way, kid, interested in working as a hand here? Food and lodging included, no wages."

"This trade suits a loner like you best."

"And once you learn my craft, chances are you won't starve to death for the rest of your life."

"After all, this world lacks everything except dead people."

Hearing Crippled Li's words, Chen Changsheng was somewhat tempted.

Though he could indeed live for a very long time, he would still die if he was harmed.

And starving to death was one of the many ways to die.

Originally, he had only planned to stay here temporarily. But now that he suddenly had a long-term meal ticket, the choice seemed pretty good.

"Crippled Li, aren't your terms a little too stingy?"

"You should at least pay me something!"

In response to Chen Changsheng's complaint, Crippled Li directly pulled a copy of the Book of Burial from his robes and tossed it over.

"With how lively you are, you'll die after I do no matter what. Once I'm dead, won't everything I own be yours?"

"You've seen this palm-sized place. There's nowhere else for you to sleep."

"That coffin beside mine will be your bed. Just right, since you like sleeping in coffins anyway."

With that, Crippled Li prepared to return to his coffin and continue sleeping.

But Chen Changsheng grabbed him.

"Wait. Aren't you going to teach me how to make coffins?"

"Why are you giving me this?"

Faced with Chen Changsheng's confusion, Crippled Li rolled his eyes. "As the saying goes, too many skills never weigh a person down. If all you do is sell coffins, who's going to bring you business?"

"To tell you the truth, I know the entire Funeral Service Package. You've got a lot to learn!"

After saying that, Crippled Li shook off Chen Changsheng's hand and lay back down in his own coffin.

Looking at the Book of Burial in his hand, Chen Changsheng froze for a moment, then smiled. "Well said. Too many skills never weigh a person down."

With that, Chen Changsheng immediately crawled into the other coffin.

Honestly, once you got used to sleeping in a coffin, sleeping in a bed really was uncomfortable.

Winter gave way to summer, autumn harvest to winter storage. Eight years slipped away like a white colt flashing past a crevice.

Chen Changsheng had settled down completely in Crippled Li's Coffin Shop. Most days, he read books and learned the craft of making coffins.

Whenever there was a funeral feast, Chen Changsheng could properly improve his meals.

Unfortunately, these were peaceful years, so he only got to improve his meals a few times a year at most.

As for those ten attribute points, Chen Changsheng had dumped every last one into defense.

In theory, as long as he lay low for just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit longer, he could obtain an unimaginably long lifespan.

Since that was the case, defense was naturally the attribute Chen Changsheng valued most.

It was worth mentioning that Crippled Li had not died in his third year. After Chen Changsheng arrived, he lived for a full five more years.

But in the end, he still could not outlast Chen Changsheng. One night, after lying down in his coffin, Crippled Li never rose again.

"Brother Chang Sheng!"

A young girl pushed open the door of the Coffin Shop.

The commotion woke Chen Changsheng as well. He rose from his coffin helplessly and said, "Nian Sheng, how many times have I told you?"

"This is a Coffin Shop. What kind of sight is it for a young girl like you to come running here every day?"

At that, Li Niansheng stuck out her tongue. "I don't care about that!"

"Let them say whatever they want."

"Besides, Plague is raging everywhere now. Where would they find the mind to care about me?"

"I'm going to make you breakfast. Hurry up and get out of that coffin. Stop sleeping in one all day."

After saying that, Li Niansheng headed toward the kitchen in the back as if she knew the way by heart.

Watching Li Niansheng's back, Chen Changsheng could not help sighing softly.

Plague had been rampant for an entire year now. At the very beginning of the outbreak, Nian Ci and her husband had passed away.

He had even handled their funeral arrangements himself.

The interval between periods of slumber could not be less than one-tenth of his total lifespan.

Eight full years had already passed since his last awakening. By rights, he could enter slumber once again.

But this girl Nian Sheng had no family left in the world. How could he bear to watch her remain here alone?

Thinking of this, Chen Changsheng shook his head, then jumped out of the coffin.

"Forget it. Sleeping early or late makes no difference. I'll wait until this little girl gets married."

Before long, two steaming breakfasts were placed on the table.

Chen Changsheng and Li Niansheng silently drank their plain porridge.

Suddenly, Li Niansheng raised her head and said, "Brother Chang Sheng, are you an immortal?"

"You silly girl, what nonsense are you saying?"

"If I were an immortal, how could I have watched your mother and the others die of Plague? Your mother was a very good friend of mine."

In response to Chen Changsheng's answer, Li Niansheng lowered her head and looked at the bowl in her hands.

"Brother Chang Sheng, I'm fourteen this year. I'm not the little girl I used to be."

"There are some things you can't fool me about."

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng rubbed Li Niansheng's head and smiled.

"You silly girl, what kind of madness has gotten into you today?"

"It's not that I refuse to buy you Sugar-coated Haws. Your teeth really can't take any more Sugar-coated Haws."

"Another day, I'll take you to buy—"

"Nian Ci was my mother's childhood name."

Li Niansheng cut off Chen Changsheng before he could finish, and those words made Chen Changsheng set down his bowl.