White Lotus Sect

When Wen Qingkong returned to Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine, it was already dusk.

Before he even entered, he saw Uncle Fang, Old Zhou, and the others packing their bags and leaving the Corpse Seamstress Workshop.

Uncle Fang saw him return and asked, "Were you able to borrow the money?"

Wen Qingkong nodded, deliberately putting on an excited smile. "I borrowed it. My relative is doing quite well, and probably afraid I'd keep bothering him, so he lent it to me and told me to work hard and not rush to pay him back."

Uncle Fang, Old Zhou, and the others all looked envious.

However, they also knew that they didn't have such relatives, and there was no way they could stay at the Corpse Seamstress Workshop.

Uncle Fang sighed, the wrinkles on his face deepening. It was definitely true that he could crush a mosquito with them.

"Let's go."

"It'll probably be too late to leave tomorrow morning. The Ministry of Justice's clerk might arrive before dawn."

Old Zhou slung his bundle over his shoulder, took a puff from his pipe, his voice filled with deep fatigue.

Wen Qingkong was only out for a short while during the day, but now he noticed that Old Zhou's back was already bent.

Uncle Fang nodded to Old Zhou and gave Wen Qingkong a slight smile. "I'm going back to my hometown, Songzhou. I don't know if I'll make it back alive. Wen Qingkong, if you ever have the chance to go to Songzhou, go to Gusu Nanlang Village in Songzhou and see me."

"Okay!"

"I will definitely go."

Wen Qingkong agreed.

Uncle Fang and Old Zhou left together.

After they left, Lai Liu and Li San also left, followed by the remaining two Corpse Seamstresses who weren't familiar with Wen Qingkong.

The Ministry of Justice's clerk said they would take the house tomorrow morning, but they couldn't even wait until tomorrow morning and rushed to leave before the city gates closed today.

Once everyone was gone, Wen Qingkong suddenly felt a sense of loneliness, his heart empty.

Regaining his composure, Wen Qingkong pushed the door open and went inside.

From now on, he would be the only one at this Caishikou Execution Grounds Corpse Seamstress Workshop.

Going up to the second floor, Li Lan'er had already prepared dinner.

After Wen Qingkong ate, he said to Li Lan'er, "After tomorrow morning, once I get the property deed, you can go out and buy some rice, flour, vegetables, and meat. You can get anything else the house needs."

Li Lan'er hummed in agreement, her eyes shining brightly, full of longing for a new life.

After the meal, they cleaned up the dishes.

Wen Qingkong was about to rest when his ears twitched slightly. He said to Li Lan'er, "Take Shuang'er to bed."

As he spoke, he flicked his fingers, sending two streams of energy to strike Li Lan'er and Shuang'er's sleep acupoints, placing them on the bed and covering them with a quilt.

Wen Qingkong went downstairs.

He saw a woman in white standing with her hands clasped behind her back, her body straight and tall. Even through the white veil, one could feel the coldness and arrogance in her eyes.

"How come you're the only Corpse Seamstress Workshop left on this street?"

"The imperial court has decided to disband the Corpse Seamstress Workshops. The Ministry of Justice officials will come to take the house tomorrow morning. I borrowed money from a relative to buy this Corpse Seamstress Workshop and continue the sewing business."

"Everyone else has decided to return to their hometowns."

The woman in white snorted softly. "As expected, a foolish ruler is in power, even the Corpse Seamstress Workshops are being disbanded."

Wen Qingkong glanced at her, but didn't say anything.

He didn't think that disbanding the Corpse Seamstress Workshops had anything to do with whether the ruler was foolish or not.

"Sew this corpse."

Wen Qingkong looked at the corpse already lying on the cold slab, the corpse of Qin Tian that the woman in white had brought during the day.

"Ten taels."

Wen Qingkong wasn't in a hurry to start.

The woman in white's eyes instantly became like two sharp swords, piercing through the white veil and shooting towards Wen Qingkong.

"Are you trying to take advantage of my misfortune?"

"Honest prices for everyone, this is the price for anyone who comes."

"Heh, why?"

The woman in white sneered. Just sewing, one corpse costs ten taels of silver, which is richer than robbery.

"First, I'm skilled. Even if the Corpse Seamstress Workshops were still around, you wouldn't find anyone more skilled than me."

"Second, in this chaotic world, ordinary people can't even afford to eat. Who cares about sewing? Those who can afford to sew aren't short of money, they just want good luck. In that case, my asking price of ten taels is no different to them than an ordinary person spending a single copper coin."

Wen Qingkong looked at the woman in white seriously.

His price really wasn't just a random number.

Ten taels of silver wasn't low, but as he said, after the imperial court stops caring, who would have the time to care whether a corpse is complete or not? Living people can't even survive, so they won't care about the dead.

Those who still care about keeping a complete corpse and want to sew it up at this time must have some money.

Ten taels of silver really wasn't expensive for these people.

Meeting Wen Qingkong's earnest gaze, the woman in white inexplicably felt that what Wen Qingkong said made some sense.

She tossed out ten taels of silver, signaling Wen Qingkong to begin, then stood aside, saying nothing more.

Wen Qingkong took the money and didn't dawdle, quickly starting preparations.

First, he placed three incense sticks in front of the corpse's head, lighting them and confirming there were no issues. Then, he cleaned the corpse thoroughly, not missing a single detail.

Wen Qingkong's movements were quick and meticulous, giving off a unique sense of beauty.

The woman in white watched from the side, and before the stitching even began, she was already certain that the ten taels of silver hadn't been wasted.

This young Corpse Seamstress indeed had some skill.

After cleaning, Wen Qingkong checked the corpse. Only the head had been severed, and the cut was extremely smooth. This kind of wound was his favorite; simple and convenient.

He glanced up at the three incense sticks, confirming there were no problems, and Wen Qingkong's needlework flew.

The woman in white's pupils suddenly constricted. Such fast hands! Such fast needles!

She observed Wen Qingkong's stitching speed was extremely fast, and his control of strength was subtle, connecting every inch of the corpse's skin meticulously, neither too much nor too little, neither biased nor off-center.

This level of eyesight and strength was definitely extraordinary.

Once the stitching was complete, the system's mechanical voice echoed in Wen Qingkong's mind.

[Corpse Seamstress, Revolving Lantern, Observing the Mortal World, Obtaining Treasure]
[Host has stitched a corpse, Revolving Lantern appears]

Qin Tian was an orphan, raised by the White Lotus Sect.

The White Lotus Sect was a major threat to the Great Xia Dynasty, having rebelled since the dynasty's founding. Each time, they failed, but they were never completely wiped out by the Great Xia Dynasty.

The White Lotus Sect adopted many orphans, raising them, teaching them martial arts, and making them work for the White Lotus Sect.

Qin Tian was one of them. There was also a very young girl with Qin Tian.

Their training was extremely arduous and harsh. Except for eating and using the restroom, the rest of the time was spent being beaten or about to be beaten.

The girl was too young and naturally weak.

She often hid and cried alone.

At that time, Qin Tian would find her, patting her back gently like a little adult.

In that cold, inhuman White Lotus Sect, this was the little girl's greatest comfort.

Later, Qin Tian learned martial arts and literacy, gradually growing up. Afterward, he was sent out by the White Lotus Sect to carry out missions. Each time he returned from a mission, the girl would be waiting for him at the White Lotus Sect.

At that time, Qin Tian liked this time the most. He would always bring some small gifts for the girl.

Sugar-coated haws, clay figurines, sugar figurines, small animals woven from reeds, and so on.

These most common things on the streets could always bring unrestrained joy to the girl.

She was happy, and so he was happy.