A Bad Fate, Born to Make a Living Among the Dead

I stood at the intersection, watching the direction Zhang Qiang had disappeared in.

A breath of fresh air drifted into my nostrils.

The sensation made me feel very comfortable.

I did not pay much attention to it, only recalling the last thing he had said before leaving.

The Dissection Teacher was urging him again and might even come looking for me himself.

My expression grew somewhat grave.

But now that I had met Corpse Head Song, he could deal with Zhang Qiang.

Then he should be able to handle my Dissection Teacher, who had drowned in the Corpse Storage Pool, too.

Facing the direction Zhang Qiang had vanished in, I said:

"I'll remember it all. Rest in peace."

After saying that, I did not linger. I turned and headed toward the dock.

Corpse Head Song really was addicted to fishing.

From daytime until night, and now it was already deep into the night, yet he was still guarding his fishing rod.

I hurried back to the dock. When I reached Corpse Head Song's back—

Before I could speak, he asked first,

"You sent him off?"

"He's gone."

I answered.

Corpse Head Song did not turn around. He merely hummed and added,

"Look at yourself now. Have the corpse spots on your body faded?"

At that, my eyes widened. I hurriedly lifted my clothes and examined my body.

The lights at the dock were dim, but I could still see it.

The corpse spots on my body had become much lighter.

"They've faded, Master Song. The corpse spots on my body have faded.

Does that mean I've obtained Fortune Blessing?"

I asked in astonishment.

Corpse Head Song cast his line, then turned around.

"Not bad. Seeking Fortune Blessing is also called accumulating Merit.

You can't see it or touch it.

But it surrounds every person.

You sent off a ghost who died an unnatural death, so you accumulated Merit and Fortune Blessing.

The Four Misfortunes on your body were naturally suppressed.

As long as you keep doing it,

not only will you not die, your own luck will grow stronger and stronger.

Once the Four Misfortune Qi is suppressed, those filthy things naturally won't come provoke or cling to you anymore.

Your naked eyes won't be able to see them either."

Corpse Head Song said it lightly, but I drew a sharp breath.

Because his words had already confirmed it: if I wanted to live, I had to become like him.

Make a living off the dead.

Do yin work, send off ghosts, collect corpses.

Otherwise, I would be unable to suppress the Four Misfortune Calamities in my fate and would gradually become like I had been before.

Corpse spots would spread across my body, ghosts would haunt me, and eventually I would die.

I felt miserable. What sins had I committed in my past life to have to repay them in this one?

Corpse Head Song seemed to see through my thoughts and smiled.

"Kid, by ordinary standards,

your fate is bad. You were born with calamity upon you.

A short life, little Fortune Blessing, attracting yin and misfortune—you won't live long.

But a Four Misfortune Fate like yours

is an excellent fate in our line of work."

I was startled. I was practically doomed to die young, and he still called that an "excellent fate"?

"Master Song, why?"

My face was full of confusion.

Corpse Head Song lit a cigarette for himself. Between puffs of smoke, he slowly said,

"Four Calamities: Kill-Blade-Injury-Owl.

Kill represents Partial Officer. Too much of it means little power and little loyalty.

Blade represents Goat Blade. Too much of it means strength and ferocity.

Injury represents Hurting Officer. Too much of it means lawlessness and indiscipline.

Owl represents Partial Seal. Too much of it means coldness and selfishness."

By then, I was completely numb.

Although I did not understand what Partial Officer or Goat Blade meant,

labels like disloyalty, lawlessness, and selfishness did not sound good at all.

But I said nothing and simply kept listening.

After pausing briefly and exhaling a mouthful of smoke, Corpse Head Song continued,

"When these Four Fierce Gods are inauspicious in one's fate, their destructive power is extremely strong.

Not only does the fate's owner suffer from a weak and miserable life, they also bring harm to relatives and friends..."

As he said that, he gave me a meaningful look.

And I thought of my own origins and circumstances.

Ever since I was young, I truly had felt that I was unlucky and ill-fated.

No father, no mother, my life cheaper than grass.

I did not even have friends around me. Even when I did, we would drift apart for one reason or another.

In three years of college, I got a girlfriend, and she was even a ghost.

I had gotten along well with my roommate Zhang Qiang. He counted as a friend.

Yet a few days ago, he had drowned in the lake, and I had only just sent him off...

It was as though fate itself had been playing a cruel joke on me.

A bleak feeling filled me with sorrow.

Seeing the sadness on my face, Corpse Head Song spoke again.

"But if the Four Fierce Gods are restrained and transformed,

and can be used by the fate's owner,

then the positive help they provide can be enormous.

They can even be more useful than the Four Auspicious Gods—Officer, Seal, Food, and Wealth.

Someone with a fate like yours isn't suited to being a doctor, nor are you suited to walking an ordinary person's path.

Because you can't walk it, and you can't keep walking it.

Heaven won't allow it.

You were born to make a living in the underworld, to do the work of the dead.

Because our line of work deals with filthy things.

The Four Calamities that bring disaster to people are Four Killing Weapons against ghosts.

Disloyalty, ferocity, indiscipline, coldness.

Every single one is a rule for survival in our line of work.

You were born to make a living this way..."

Hearing that, I could not help widening my eyes.

I finally understood why Corpse Head Song had stared at me so excitedly after learning my Eight Characters.

Why he had taken the initiative to accept me as his disciple.

My Eight Characters might be light, but that was also where their strength lay.

My Eight Characters were exceptionally suited for yin work.

I took a deep breath and thought about all my efforts over the years.

It seemed I truly had to give up my dream of becoming a doctor.

I had to change careers and become a Corpse Collector, keeping company with corpses and ghosts.

Even if I did not want to, there was no way to change it.

Since I could not change it, I might as well accept it completely.

I steadied my emotions and asked Corpse Head Song,

"Corpse Head Song, does being a Corpse Collector make good money?"

Corpse Head Song had actually been observing my reaction in secret.

Then I suddenly asked him that.

He immediately choked on his smoke.

"Cough, cough, cough! You... you kid, you really are...

But the income definitely won't be low. It won't be worse than being a doctor."

Hearing that, I felt relieved.

Even if I could not become a doctor, as long as I could earn money, I could still support my grandfather in his old age.

But remembering what Zhang Qiang had told me before leaving, I said to Corpse Head Song,

"Master Song, when I sent Zhang Qiang off just now,

he told me that when he went back, he heard our drowned teacher urging him to bring me back again.

He told me to be careful. My teacher might come looking for me too!"

After hearing that, Corpse Head Song merely waved his hand.

"Small problem. If he really comes,

we can use his Fortune Blessing to cover your Four Misfortune Calamities and extend your life.

Tomorrow, I'll go to the school with you.

I'll see what exactly is going on.

And while we're at it, I'll also take a look at what's going on with your ex-girlfriend."

At that, my eyes lit up, and I could not help feeling a little excited.

Not because of my Dissection Teacher, who had also drowned, but because of my ex-girlfriend, Bai Xiaoyu.

She might have been a ghost, but she had never harmed me.

For more than a year, she had kept helping me seek Fortune Blessing and extend my life.

Pavilion Ghost had said that she could barely protect herself.

I wanted to know what she had encountered.

If possible, I also wanted Corpse Head Song to help her. It would count as repayment for everything she had done for me over the past year.

I also wanted to say "thank you" to her in person.

Thinking that, I nodded and hummed in agreement.

Corpse Head Song was perhaps tired from fishing. He stretched lazily.

"Fine!

That's enough for tonight. Come back to the shop with me.

I'll take you back to pay respects to the Patriarch..."