Business Arrives

As the three Black Cloaks were killed and Qin Tian's corpse was stolen away, the chaos Wen Qingkong and Li Lan'er had witnessed was only the beginning.

Over the next several days, the streets remained in an uproar. The Five City Garrison soldiers arrested people everywhere, while various gangs in the capital took advantage of the turmoil to plunder the common folk.

Fortunately, the Corpse Seamstress Workshop had always been considered an unlucky place, so Wen Qingkong instead enjoyed some peace and quiet.

These past few days, prisoners had continually been escorted to the Caishikou Execution Grounds, crying that they were innocent as they were beheaded for public display.

After every execution, people desperately fought to snatch the still-warm blood from the severed heads and necks, dipping steamed buns into it to treat consumption.

Since those beheaded were all ordinary commoners and were implicated in the White Lotus Sect, no one even came to collect their bodies. In the end, they were all hauled to the Public Cemetery outside the city.

Naturally, Wen Qingkong had no business either.

"Wrongfully accused!"

"I'm innocent!"

At noon, Wen Qingkong heard those familiar cries from within the Corpse Seamstress Workshop once again.

Clearly, someone had been seized by the Five City Garrison and taken away to be beheaded.

With the Black Cloaks murdered, they had to make heads roll so His Majesty the Emperor would know just how diligently these officials beneath him were working and how many results they had achieved.

Wen Qingkong stepped outside and arrived at the Caishikou Execution Grounds. He was slightly surprised, for the soldiers guarding the grounds this time had clearly doubled in number.

The official overseeing the execution also looked tense. He kept glancing at the sun, watching to see whether it was already noon.

Wen Qingkong frowned and looked toward the prisoner on the execution ground.

The prisoner was around fifty, with graying hair and a ramrod-straight frame. His eyes blazed like torches, and his voice was deep and resonant. He was clearly someone with internal martial arts training.

Wen Qingkong was somewhat surprised. The Five City Garrison soldiers only bullied ordinary people. How had they captured a martial arts expert?

And even escorted him to the execution ground to be beheaded?

Wen Qingkong looked at the surrounding crowd and saw an elderly woman in her fifties among them, surrounded by young men and women, all wearing expressions of grief and indignation.

"Heaven above, I, Zhao Xuan, have been wronged!"

"This is a malicious frame-up!"

"That eunuch surnamed Jia is framing me!"

The man's voice was hoarse, and his expression was grief-stricken and indignant. There was clearly more to the matter.

The execution official glanced at the sky, then hurriedly tossed down the wooden execution order and shouted, "Behead him!"

The executioner immediately raised his demon-head saber. With a fierce look in his eyes, he exhaled sharply and brought the blade down in a single stroke!

Zhao Xuan's cries of innocence came to an abrupt stop.

His head rolled to the ground.

From the crowd, the elderly woman's voice rang out, sharp and stirring as clashing blades.

"My lord, may this old woman collect the body now?"

The execution official hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking embarrassed. "Of course, of course."

The execution was over, and his task was complete. There was no need to further offend the criminal's family.

Some in the crowd wanted to seize the blood from the severed head and neck, but before they could approach, the young men drove them back with their swords.

The sword edges were chilling, gleaming with cold light.

The ordinary people left in fear.

Wen Qingkong considered that perhaps his business had finally arrived.

He stepped forward and heard an angry female voice say, "Mother, are we really just letting this go? Let's fight that eunuch surnamed Jia to the death!"

"Enough!"

The elderly woman snapped. Her gaze was bright, but deep sorrow lay hidden in her eyes.

Her husband of a lifetime had been wrongfully murdered. How could her heart not ache?

But what could she do?

If they were going to resist, they could have done so while her husband was still alive. Why wait until after his death to have his disciples and daughter avenge him?

"Min'er, that eunuch surnamed Jia is merely the steward of an imperial estate. If your father truly wished to kill him, could he not have done so?"

"But that eunuch surnamed Jia has Jia Jin, the Ninth Chief of the Black Cloaks, as his godfather. We cannot afford to provoke the Black Cloaks."

"If you go kill that eunuch surnamed Jia now, and you succeed, you may have your moment of satisfaction. But what happens afterward?"

"Your father's escort agency will be disbanded, and your son will have to flee with you. Is that what your father would have wanted to see?"

The elderly woman's eyes reddened. Her heart hurt as well, but she had to preserve the escort agency and her husband's legacy. She could not seek momentary gratification and allow this vast foundation to vanish into nothing.

Her daughter said nothing. She stood in silence with her fists clenched, her nails digging deeply into her flesh.

She truly hated him!

But as the elderly woman had said, those were the Black Cloaks. They could not afford to provoke them!

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a sharp shout sounded beside them.

The elderly woman and her daughter turned toward the voice and saw a fifteen-year-old youth in plain cloth robes. His black-and-white eyes shone like stars, and his upright body stood as straight as a green pine. He cupped his hands and said, "I am from the Corpse Seamstress Workshop. Your father has been separated from his head. Would you not wish for him to be restored to a whole corpse?"

The elderly woman and her daughter exchanged a glance.

Naturally, they knew of the Corpse Seamstress Workshop.

"Wasn't the Corpse Seamstress Workshop disbanded?"

People like them, who worked in the escort trade, always kept close track of the court's policies. Others might not know about the dissolution of the Corpse Seamstress Workshop, but they did.

Wen Qingkong said, "The Corpse Seamstress Workshop was indeed disbanded, but people must be buried with whole bodies. I bought a Corpse Seamstress Workshop from the court, and now I make my living sewing bodies back together."

Wen Qingkong did not elaborate, but the elderly woman and her daughter both understood what he meant. He had bought a Corpse Seamstress Workshop and taken up the business of stitching corpses.

But he was so young. How good could his skills be?

If he stitched the corpse into a complete mess, would that not be a sin?

"Rest assured, you two. Among the former Corpse Seamstresses, my stitching skills ranked first."

Wen Qingkong's eyes flashed like lightning. At a glance, he saw their concerns.

The elderly woman was surprised by Wen Qingkong's perceptiveness.

She nodded. "All right!"

At present, this youth before them was probably the only Corpse Seamstress left in the capital. They had no other choice.

"Rest assured, madam. I will return your husband's body to you whole and complete."

The elderly woman ordered her disciples to carry Zhao Xuan's body to Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine.

Wen Qingkong secretly thought that his business had finally arrived.

Once they reached Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine, they placed Zhao Xuan's body on the cold bier.

Wen Qingkong cupped his hands. "Everyone, please come collect the body promptly at chen hour tomorrow morning."

The elderly woman nodded and casually set down a hundred-tael silver note.

"Madam, ten taels of silver will be enough."

The elderly woman waved her hand. "A mere hundred taels of silver is simply a token of this old woman's regard. I hope Mister Wen will treat my husband with care and strive for perfection, so he may reincarnate smoothly."

Wen Qingkong was in this business to make money, so naturally he would not turn away a hundred-tael silver note.

"Then I will gratefully accept it. Please rest assured, madam. I will certainly satisfy you tomorrow morning."

The elderly woman gave a slight nod and left Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine accompanied by her daughter and disciples.

Wen Qingkong put away the hundred-tael silver note and was about to fetch water when he saw Li Lan'er already carrying a basin of hot water. Trembling and pale-faced, she walked over to him and set it beside the corpse on the cold bier.

Wen Qingkong noticed that her hands were still shaking, so he smiled. "You need not do this. Just take care of Shuang'er."

Li Lan'er stubbornly shook her head. "No. Mister bought me and gave me a chance to live. I am deeply grateful and can only do my best to help with whatever I can, hoping only that I will not become a burden to you."