Paoding's Ox-Carving Method

This matter was absurd to begin with.

The Fortune-Longevity Paste smuggling case involved many people, was of great importance, and shrouded in suspicion. The entire court was filled with hidden agendas and mutual distrust.

The Three Judicial Offices wanted evidence, while the Western Affairs Party wanted the Scalp-Cutter.

These big shots were locked in open and covert struggles, skirmishes flaring up, stirring the entire Capital City into a near-chaotic mess.

But they would never imagine that the key intelligence they had yet to uncover—despite commanding vast official organizations and spending so much silver and time—was already known to that little fool at No. 9 Corpse-Stitching Shop in Caishikou.

Lin Shou had the smuggling evidence the Three Judicial Offices wanted, and he also knew where the Scalp-Cutter, whom the Western Affairs Party was secretly searching for, was hiding.

To say it without exaggeration: if Lin Shou walked to the Censorate's gate today and spoke just one sentence, he could easily overturn the current situation of the Great Jing court.

One sentence from him could have over a hundred court officials lose their heads. The power of life and death rested entirely in his hands.

Yet Lin Shou had no interest.

He was only interested in squeezing rewards from the Record of Selling Corpses.

Of course, if the corpses of those hundred-plus officials were all to be stitched by him, maybe he'd find that a bit interesting.

The Lantern of Life had run its course.

The price for the corpse of the long-mole man wasn't high—Yellow Grade, Eighth Rank.

The Record of Selling Corpses rewarded him with a Dice Cup Technique.

A cheating gambling skill, the craft of shaking dice in a cup, allowing him to control the dice points at will.

This skill's main application was in gambling, but Lin Shou had little interest in betting money. It probably wouldn't be useful.

The next day, the sun was high in the sky when the clerk came to take the corpse away.

Lin Shou had worked all night and went to sleep.

He woke up in the evening. Ning Luowei came to deliver tofu and, as usual, stuck around talking dirty to him. It seemed her mood from yesterday had passed.

Lin Shou didn't ask her why. Everyone had their private matters; prying into everything just made you annoying. If you were that curious, he'd suggest dedicating yourself to scientific research.

With the fake Scalp-Cutter beheaded, the Fortune-Longevity Paste smuggling case had come to a temporary close.

Although the court's Three Judicial Offices and the Western Affairs Party were still fighting, and there would surely be more waves in the future, for now it had nothing to do with Lin Shou.

After that, time flowed like water, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

These past two weeks had been leisurely every day.

In between stitching corpses, Lin Shou silently recited the Classic of Burial to cultivate. When he had time, he'd shoulder his Burial Shovel, stroll the streets, and look for funeral events.

Occasionally, he'd get into fights with new thugs, but after getting beaten by him a few times, most of them stopped coming to court trouble.

Thanks to taking on burial gigs at funeral events, he'd earned a bit more money, so he spruced up the corpse-stitching shop—added some goldfish, picked up a few ornaments.

His little life continued as cheerfully as ever.

He'd also gained quite a bit from the Record of Selling Corpses.

The rewards from selling corpses in recent days: two Snake Galls, two Bear Galls, a Dog Skin Plaster, a Paoding's Ox-Carving Method, a Snake-Returning Art, a Meridian and Acupoint Map, and some common hunting and fishing techniques.

He ate the Snake Galls and Bear Galls, boosting his qi and blood, maxing out his poison resistance.

Lin Shou's cultivation had advanced further.

With the supplements increasing his strength and his daily recitation of the Classic of Burial, he now had twenty years of cultivation under his belt.

As for what twenty years of cultivation meant, or how strong it was, Lin Shou had no idea. He'd never fought a martial arts master, only thugs—and no matter how many came, he could take them all.

He applied the Dog Skin Plaster, and his entire body—from flesh to qi—was thoroughly refined.

Supplements were good, but they were still the organs of animals and plants, not as pure as qi gained through cultivation. While they increased his power, some impurities and toxins also entered his body. Though harmless for now, over time, accumulated toxins would become a sickness.

But with the Dog Skin Plaster refining his body, the impurities and toxins were expelled, and his qi was purified to be as pure as if gained through cultivation, solidifying his foundation and completely eliminating the hidden dangers of the supplements.

Lin Shou felt the twenty years of cultivation within him—deep, solid, and perfectly stable.

The Meridian and Acupoint Map came from stitching the corpse of a rural doctor.

This rural doctor was especially skilled in acupuncture and moxibustion, with a heart for healing the world. He often traveled through poor counties to treat the common folk, but unfortunately ran into someone with a venomous heart who killed him for his money.

Pity this kind-hearted physician, who ended up dying at the hands of a patient he had saved. It made one sigh over how much human conscience and integrity were worth—like that young man from a certain Lu town said in turbulent times: studying medicine couldn't save the people of Great Jing.

The Meridian and Acupoint Map allowed Lin Shou to master the distribution of the body's twelve main meridians, eight extraordinary meridians, and seven hundred and twenty acupoints. He knew exactly which acupoints to stimulate for healing and health, and which meridians to seal to cripple a person's limbs.

When Lin Shou fought with thugs, he secretly tested it.

Acupoint striking to immobilize someone, to silence them, to make their whole body itch unbearably, to weaken their legs—it was incredibly effective.

This Acupoint Striking Technique was a very practical fighting skill. It didn't require big, flashy moves; the strikes were subtle, and with minimal effort, he could subdue a person.

Lin Shou liked this Acupoint Striking Technique a lot.

The Snake-Returning Art came from stitching the corpse of a shaman from the southwestern Xiang Region.

The Xiang Region had a long cultural history, full of ancient legends. Folk witchcraft and Nuo opera rituals were widespread, with strong local customs. Those who studied these arts became shamans.

Among them, Meishan Sorcery is the most famous, encompassing methods like talisman water healing, shamanic rites, inviting spirits to possess the body, and soul-summoning and shock-calming techniques.

The Snake-Returning Art is one of the spells within Meishan Sorcery.

The Xiang Region is mountainous and forested with a humid climate, often home to venomous snakes and insects, and people are frequently bitten by poisonous creatures. According to legend, the Snake-Returning Art was created by a Meishan successor after being bitten by a venomous snake.

If bitten by a venomous snake in the wild, casting the Snake-Returning Art would soon cause the snake that bit you to return, carrying antidote herbs in its mouth to deliver to you—a truly miraculous phenomenon.

Lin Shou marveled at the strangeness of the Snake-Returning Art. Truly, where there's demand, there's supply. The southwestern Xiang Region, teeming with venomous snakes and insects, gave birth to this bizarre spell.

However, its application is quite narrow. Lin Shou himself wouldn't have many opportunities to use it. The north doesn't have as many venomous snakes, and he spends his days in the Capital City, where the chance of being bitten by a snake is slim. Besides, his poison resistance is now stacked high, and ordinary snake venom can't harm him.

He figured it might only be useful for saving others when they're bitten by an unknown venomous snake.

He felt more and more like a doctor...

As for the last one, Paoding's Ox-Carving Method, Lin Shou obtained it by stitching together the corpse of a butcher.

The butcher was a pig slaughterer from Miyun Township. One day, the township was raided by bandits. The butcher, a man of hot blood, grabbed his slaughtering knife and charged at the bandits alone.

Though he ultimately died, he managed to cut down five bandits by himself—a truly passionate and righteous man. In this era where everyone bends the knee to survive, such courage is rare.

The Record of Selling Corpses priced it at Xuan-grade, ninth rank, and it was the only Xuan-grade pricing among the corpses stitched in the last half-month.

This reward, Paoding's Ox-Carving Method, was simple and easy to understand.

The Way lies in surpassing mere skill.

When he first began carving oxen, what he saw was nothing but the ox itself. After three years, he no longer saw the ox as a whole.

With Paoding's Ox-Carving Method, the technique mastered through diligent practice becomes more and more adept, and further refined.

To put it simply, Paoding's Ox-Carving Method broke through Lin Shou's upper limit of skill talent, allowing proficiency to breed perfection.

Now, as long as Lin Shou spent time diligently using and practicing, any martial art or technique he mastered could be endlessly refined and upgraded.