Midnight Knocks of Mourning!

Xu Feng climbed up from the ground and quickly checked himself over.

There were indeed a few new whip marks. The blows had torn through his clothes and split the skin beneath, and they still stung.

But those were from branches lashing him in the woods.

His master had anticipated that before they went and brought wound medicine. As his master put it, the first time was strange, the second familiar; and an iron shovel that could chop down trees could chop down people.

In a fight with weapons, getting hurt was nothing to fear.

Knowing nothing was what made it frightening.

When a fight broke out, he needed to know where he could afford to take a hit and what he had to protect at all costs.

Xu Feng did not know what the powder contained, but once he applied it, the bleeding stopped.

It probably would not get infected, either.

Other than that, there were no handprints or bruises.

He searched everywhere and found nothing.

Watching Xu Feng, his master assumed he was checking his injuries after waking up and left him to it.

Xu Feng checked his character panel again.

This time, he found the problem.

There, on his character panel, Xu Feng spotted the clue.

A new [Status] line had appeared on it.

The new [Status] section contained [Hidden Virtue Blessing (1 day)].

Xu Feng tapped [Hidden Virtue Blessing] and saw its description.

[Hidden Virtue Blessing: Because of your good deeds, you have received Hidden Virtue Blessing for one day.]

[Hidden Virtue Blessing: While Hidden Virtue Blessing lasts, your luck will increase, and other positive effects may occasionally appear. Hidden virtue will be consumed by equipment.]

[Note: The mandate of Fengdu vanishes after seven generations; the grace of a gentleman is severed after three. Without reaching the pinnacle of Yin Virtue, Hidden Virtue Blessing cannot become permanent.]

Seeing those lines, Xu Feng understood.

So my status refreshed.

If that's the case, did I wake up because my luck triggered, or because of some other positive buff? Where's the luck? Am I supposed to talk to Master?

Xu Feng wondered.

He looked at his master.

Naturally, there was no question mark or exclamation mark above his master's head.

Still, Xu Feng decided to try.

He sat down by the fire. His master handed him the rations he had prepared and said, "Eat. Fill yourself up if you can. Once you've eaten, tonight won't be a night for sleeping."

Something stirred in Xu Feng's mind. Remembering what he had sensed through his half-sleep, he asked, "Master, do we have work again tonight?"

His master nodded. "Eat. I've brewed you some hot tea. You'll work better after drinking it.

"What's coming tonight will be hard trouble. It's also time for you to learn the needlework properly, lad!"

Xu Feng's heart stirred. "Will the corpse sewing be difficult tonight?"

"Yes," his master replied.

He told Xu Feng to take his time eating, then fetched some tea leaves. When he returned, he said, "It's time I taught you more of our trade's rules.

"Ours is a trade that rests at sunrise and works at sunset.

"In the old days, every Corpse Sewer kept a chicken. The moment it crowed, you put down your work, even if the sky was still dark.

"People reckon a rooster's crow means dawn, so in our trade, its crow is dawn.

"We can't work by day.

"Night is when we work. And when someone knocks on our door at night, there are rules for that, too.

"A knock in the middle of the night that's loud and urgent, with cries mixed in, is called a mourning knock.

"As the name tells you, a mourning knock means nothing good.

"It can come at any hour. When you hear it, you open the door.

"Because a knock like that usually means something urgent.

"Anyone else who dares knock on a Corpse Sewer's door at night wants something from us, and most often, it's a corpse coming through the door. They knock three times and stop. Softly, slowly, but firmly.

"Those visits have usually been arranged beforehand.

"An ordinary corpse can be brought over at any hour, though after sunset and before full dark is best.

"After all, it's pitch-black outside these days, and going out too late is dangerous.

"But if someone arranges to deliver a corpse at an exact hour and moment, there's trouble with it. Every single time.

"That's what I've learned from all my years sewing corpses. I'm laying it all out for you now, so remember it!"

As his master spoke, Xu Feng listened closely. He was always willing to listen, and he knew he had gained something valuable this time. Sometimes, the urge to confide in someone flashed through a person's heart and vanished just as quickly.

That made this moment a "window of opportunity." Once it passed, this village and its shop would be gone.

When his master finished, Xu Feng asked, "So you mean someone is bringing a corpse at a fixed time tonight, and it's going to be troublesome?"

"It's more than a fixed time," his master said. "And it's not one problem. It's six."

At that, his master pulled a key from inside his clothes. "Leave the tea brewing on the fire and come with me!"

He led the way out of the side room. Xu Feng followed him to the high room beside the entrance.

The high room was a loft-like space above the entryway.

Ordinarily, the low room beneath one served as a woodshed, a livestock pen, or a storeroom.

But this was the Earth God Shrine, so they kept no livestock there. The space below was not a woodshed, either, but a storeroom.

Xu Feng had never paid it much attention.

After all, he had only moved between the side room, the west room, the main hall, and the latrine.

Every day he had spent in the game had been packed. He had never had time to poke around the storeroom.

As for the high room...

He had never noticed it at all.

This time, however, his master personally led him up there and warned, "Watch your step!"

Xu Feng followed him up the steep stairs with care, already certain he would gain something from this visit.

And he did.

At the top, his master unlocked the door with his key and ducked into the high room.

Xu Feng followed close behind.

The high room had a small door and was not much larger inside.

His master took out a fire striker, blew it alight, and lit a candle, letting Xu Feng see the room.

It was nothing like the west room.

The high room was lined with cabinets!

Directly opposite the door stood a cabinet of medicine drawers, each labeled in red ink with the name of a medicinal ingredient. Large and small cabinets stood along both sides, all locked.

His master pointed to the medicine drawers. "Since we've time to spare, I'll teach you to identify medicinal ingredients.

"You've memorized the formulas, but that's not enough. You need to recognize the raw ingredients, too."

He beckoned Xu Feng over to examine them.

As they went through the ingredients, his master said, "I know you're diligent and eager to learn. We won't cover too much today—just the six Righteousness Formula recipes.

"Each bears the name of righteousness. The roles of chief, deputy, assistant, and envoy differ a little, but the recipes are broadly alike."

He explained them to Xu Feng and beckoned him closer to learn.

"And when we offer incense tonight, I'll teach you the hand gestures. There are four in all.

"After that, you can offer incense and pay respects to the gods yourself.

"Then you'll be able to stand on your own."

Was Xu Feng pleased to hear that? Of course he was.

But his delight also made him sense that something was wrong.

It was all too rushed, as if something were driving his master from behind. Without some outside force pushing him, the urgency of his actions made no sense!

Even so, Xu Feng put the thought aside and focused on learning.

Just as his master had laid out the ingredients on paper for Xu Feng to identify, a knock came from outside.

Three knocks, brief and soft.

Yet in the night, they rang clear.

The high room had a window, but it was pasted over.

At the sound, his master gestured for Xu Feng to stay where he was.

He went to the door, opened it, and glanced at the sky. He did not call Xu Feng over; from that angle, Xu Feng would have been able to see beyond the gate.

"So it's between the third quarter of the Rat hour and the second quarter of the Tiger hour... If those six corpses are women, there'll be more to this."

He told Xu Feng to remain in the room. "Even if you hear me call for you, don't come out! Not until I come up here myself and tell you to. Understood?"

"Understood," Xu Feng said.