Cashing In on a Celebration

But to Xu Feng, these books were a feast.

Once he had them in hand, Xu Feng did not rush to read them closely. Instead, he laid them together to get a sense of the whole system.

One look, and Xu Feng fell straight into them.

He studied from morning till night, barely tasting his food.

When evening came, he lit lamps and burned candles so he could keep studying.

He turned a deaf ear when others called him. Master saw this and was deeply pleased.

"Dinner's ready!"

When the evening meal was ready, he called Xu Feng to eat. Xu Feng had no idea what he ate. In his mind, he had built an entire "Skill tree."

Looking at that "Skill tree," Xu Feng felt the sudden clarity of so that's how it works.

After an afternoon of study, he had already pieced together a system for the Corpse Sewer in his mind.

The ritual healing arts, medicine, Depiction Method, and medicinal formulas together formed a complete system for the Corpse Sewer.

As Xu Feng saw it, the Corpse Sewer in this game was far more than someone who stitched a body back together well enough for burial.

He was more like a "comforter of the dead."

His work was not only to comfort the living, but also to comfort the dead.

Because it touched on matters of life and death, the work also involved stranger mysteries and taboos. The books contained scattered mentions of "supernatural occurrences" and signs of taboo, but Xu Feng found nothing in them about how to deal with ghosts and spirits.

As for ghosts and spirits...

The books mostly advised keeping a respectful distance from them.

Xu Feng was not disappointed, though. He could take his time.

Every bit of progress was a joy! There was just one thing he could not bring himself to celebrate: every one of these books was a handwritten copy.

There were wrong and missing characters, and some characters had apparently been too difficult for the copyist to reproduce, so they had simply been replaced with ○.

Every few words, another little circle appeared for the reader to puzzle over.

If those circles stood for ordinary words, that was one thing. When they stood for specialized terms, Xu Feng had a hard time of it!

He had to muddle through by guessing.

If Master had not told him to sleep at night, Xu Feng could have stayed up until dawn to finish the books. Even so, before two days had passed, he had nearly worn through the thin booklets from turning their pages.

Even in his dreams, he was reading.

He did not know it yet, but his Character Panel had quietly changed.

[Corpse Sewing (Beginner)] had advanced to [Corpse Sewing (Familiar)].

A faint line of text had even appeared in the Skill section of his Character Panel.

It looked like a notebook washed in water countless times. He could tell there was writing on it, but the blurred ink gave no clue what it said.

Only on the third day, when Xu Feng finally put the books down, did he notice something unusual.

When he asked the game, it told him the line was a [Skill Being Comprehended].

It had appeared because something he read had sparked an insight.

It had not fully appeared because Xu Feng had yet to grasp that insight.

It had a rough outline, but no substance.

Far from disappointed, Xu Feng grew even more excited when he saw it—he could learn Skills from books?

Xu Feng's eyes shone brighter!

As for Xu Feng's Master, he had been watching him these past few days.

He had seen Xu Feng bury his head in the books and study with fierce determination.

It had gone well beyond his expectations.

Whether the boy was doing it to learn another Incense Divination formula or to earn another meal at a restaurant, such diligence could only be a good thing.

What mattered was that he loved learning.

Xu Feng's behavior these past few days made his master's fondness for his disciple soar.

Still, he was not always at Xu Feng's side. The Earth God Shrine was a large place, and since he was allowed to live there, he naturally had other duties. His apprentice could not shoulder any of them yet, so Master still had work to do.

A Corpse Sewer's work came in bursts, with quiet stretches between them. The busiest time of year was probably the autumn executions. At other times, a body came in now and then, but not often.

Zhao Er had also seen special occasions, such as when an important criminal was caught and executed on the spot.

But at times like that, he would not be the one called to sew the body.

There were other unusual situations that called for a Corpse Sewer, but Zhao Er wanted no part of them.

That money was not easy to earn.

He would rather make a little at a time and let the stream run long than take a scalding fee and lose his life!

But he knew that once a man was caught in the currents of the world, he could not always steer his own course.

Some things were beyond the control of a Corpse Sewer like him.

While Xu Feng was buried in his books...

The mood in the Qian Family mansion in Luoyin County had taken a turn for the worse.

The Qian Family mansion was built of blue brick and broad tiles, with three courtyards and carved beams and painted pillars. It stood so high that even if all its neighbors were flooded, the water would never reach it.

Together with the livestock sheds and shops beside the compound, it took up half a street in Luoyin County. Add Master Qian's connections, and he was practically a local tyrant.

Apart from the side gate, the main gates of that vast mansion were never opened.

Today, Master Qian himself held court in the courtyard, sitting in the main hall with an ashen face. After a while, a physician carrying a medicine chest came in behind the steward.

Master Qian had a round face, a large belly, and blue robes.

A long string of prayer beads hung from his hand.

Though his face was grim and anger burned in him, he rose when he saw the physician. He cupped his hands first and asked, "Doctor Zhao, how is my mother?"

Doctor Zhao said, "She'll be fine. A sudden fright left her dazed. She received help in time and has recovered now. However—"

The skilled physician hesitated. Master Qian caught his meaning at once and signaled the steward beside him to take out some money.

At that, Doctor Zhao, still carrying his medicine chest, quickly raised a hand to stop him and said sternly, "Master Qian, do you think I would use your mother's illness to hold you hostage and demand an outrageous fee?"

"No, no!"

Master Qian hurriedly waved his hands. "Nothing of the sort. It's only a token of my appreciation."

Doctor Zhao nodded and opened his medicine chest. From the very bottom, he took out a prescription and said, "This is the prescription. Have three doses prepared for the old madam. If the medicine suits her condition, the first dose should have an effect. I'll come back in three days to examine her again.

"However..."

Master Qian took the prescription, glanced at it, then handed it to the steward with a gesture to have the medicine prepared. He took Doctor Zhao's hand and asked, "However what? Speak plainly, Doctor Zhao. You know what kind of man I am."

"Say whatever you need to say."

Doctor Zhao waited until he saw no one else nearby, then said, "However, the old madam shows signs of having lost her soul to fright. I think it would be best to have someone summon it back."

"I understand. Thank you, thank you!"

No one could have said how Master Qian got the money into his hand, but when they clasped hands, a few bits of silver ended up in Doctor Zhao's palm. Master Qian was strong enough to press the money into his hand despite his protests, then personally escorted him out of the main hall.

Someone else saw the physician out from there.

When Master Qian returned to the main hall, the last trace of warmth he had shown the physician vanished from his face.

He caught sight of the steward and asked coldly, "Have you found out who it was?"

The steward, who had come back with him, said, "Not yet. But Third Master has taken some constables to question the Beggar Chief in this area. We should have an answer before long."

"He'd better."

Master Qian—Qian Dayou—sat back down in his armchair and said slowly, "He really took me, Qian Dayou, for a fat sheep to fleece! He dares cash in on a celebration at my expense! Didn't he bother asking around to learn what standing I, Qian Dayou, have in Luoyin County before trying a trick like that on me?"

"If I catch him, I'll show him what it truly means to be unable to live and unable to die!"