Wen Qingkong's thinking was not wrong. The White Lotus Sect's Holy Maiden had said that breaking through required a master's guidance; otherwise, attempting a breakthrough would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Wen Qingkong knew that while he was not stupid, he was certainly no peerless prodigy. The odds of figuring out a breakthrough on his own were less than one in ten thousand.
But with the system in hand, he could simply find the corpse of a Martial Arts Grandmaster or even a Grandmaster, stitch it up, gain the other's cultivation, and directly cross into the next realm.
That said, the corpses of Martial Arts Grandmasters and Grandmasters were hardly easy to find.
Viewed this way, getting involved with the White Lotus Sect might not be a bad thing.
The White Lotus Sect had quite a few Martial Arts Grandmasters and Grandmasters. Otherwise, it could not have remained so lively after all these years of pursuit by the Great Xia Dynasty's court.
If the White Lotus Sect's Martial Arts Grandmasters and Grandmasters were killed by the court, especially if they were missing limbs, they would surely come to him for stitching.
After all, Qin Tian's corpse had already made a name for Wen Qingkong. No one wanted to be buried with an incomplete body, especially those who lived in the martial world.
Wen Qingkong's stitching skills could be called unmatched. With someone like him in the sect, why would they possibly let anyone else stitch them up?
The only question was, how could he make the White Lotus Sect clash with the court?
As the saying went, justice delayed was justice denied.
Wen Qingkong never let a grudge linger overnight. The White Lotus Sect's Holy Maiden had forced him to join the White Lotus Sect, so naturally, the sooner he repaid this grudge, the better.
Knock, knock, knock!
Knocking sounded outside once more.
Wen Qingkong rose and opened the door. The visitor was a short old man with a kindly face, who cupped his hands toward Wen Qingkong. "Greetings, Master Wen."
Seeing the corpse behind the old man, Wen Qingkong understood that he had come for stitching.
"Ten taels of silver."
The old man took out a one-hundred-tael banknote from his robes.
"My young master is of noble status. I ask that Master Wen spare no effort. It would be best if you could achieve the same result as with Zhao Xuan, Chief Zhao."
Wen Qingkong's heart stirred. This man had seen Chief Zhao's corpse and come because of his reputation.
Very good. His name had already spread.
"No problem. Come collect your young master tomorrow morning, at the hour of the dragon."
"However, if your young master undergoes a Corpse Transformation, I cannot guarantee that his body will remain intact."
The old man nodded. He had heard of Corpse Transformations, but his young master's body had been kept in excellent condition before being brought here. There was absolutely no chance of one occurring.
The old man ordered the servants to carry the corpse inside and place it on the cold couch, then took his leave.
Only after seeing the old man off did Wen Qingkong have time to examine the corpse.
The body belonged to a very young man, around twenty-four or twenty-five. He had delicate features, his right arm had been severed, and a sword wound through the heart was the fatal injury.
"One hundred taels of silver. It seems they are at least a force on the level of the Dongan Escort Agency."
Wen Qingkong first gave the corpse a light cleaning, then went out to buy breakfast. Upon returning, he went upstairs and released Li Lan'er and her daughter's acupoints.
Li Lan'er opened her eyes in confusion. After recognizing Wen Qingkong and seeing sunlight streaming into the room through the second-floor window, she hurriedly got out of bed.
"This servant rose too late."
"It is fine. You must have been too tired."
"I have already bought breakfast. Wake Shuang'er and bring her down to eat."
Wen Qingkong's reassurance eased Li Lan'er's heart considerably. She quickly woke little Shuang'er, and the three of them ate breakfast.
When Li Lan'er saw the corpse on the cold couch, she realized there would be work again tonight, and a look of satisfaction appeared on her face.
The stitching business was getting better and better, which meant they no longer had to worry too much about earning money. For Li Lan'er and her daughter, who had once struggled to even eat their fill, this was a life like heaven.
Little Shuang'er was no longer afraid of corpses either. Her large black gemstone-like eyes occasionally studied the body.
Seeing this, Wen Qingkong could not help but smile.
After enough time had passed, even little Shuang'er no longer found corpses frightening.
After breakfast, Li Lan'er began handling the household chores. They did not look overly exhausting, but washing clothes, sweeping the floor, tidying the rooms, preparing lunch and dinner, and all the other trivial tasks combined were more than troublesome and tiring enough.
As for Wen Qingkong, he practiced boxing and martial arts, even bringing little Shuang'er along. This was also to give her some ability to protect herself.
The day quietly darkened amid all this busyness.
After dinner, Li Lan'er cleaned up the dishes and, as usual, took little Shuang'er upstairs to rest, while Wen Qingkong began preparing for work.
Judging from the old man's request, this young master had come from a prominent family. Even in burial, they hoped to preserve his former bearing.
Therefore, for this young client, Wen Qingkong needed to do more than merely stitch his wounds. More importantly, he had to display the young man's gallant appearance from when he was alive!
As usual, after lighting Three Incense Sticks.
He first cleaned and wiped the corpse from head to toe, leaving no trace of blood while checking for any other wounds.
Once that was done, it was time to apply makeup.
Naturally, makeup could not be applied carelessly. He had to perfectly recreate the client's handsome appearance in life and completely conceal the deathly pallor and swelling.
Fortunately, Wen Qingkong had long mastered this work. Coupled with the support of his martial arts, which made his ten fingers nimble and allowed him to control his strength with exquisite precision, he finished the makeup quickly.
Only after the makeup was complete did Wen Qingkong begin stitching.
There were mainly two areas to stitch: the severed arm and the sword wound over the heart.
This was even less difficult for Wen Qingkong.
Very quickly, the stitching was complete. The corpse looked almost exactly as it had in life, as though it were merely asleep.
Wen Qingkong nodded in satisfaction. He had earned these one hundred taels of silver with a clear conscience.
Corpse Seamstress, life's flashback, Witness the Mortal World, Obtain Supreme Treasures The host has stitched one corpse. A life's flashback appears. Before his eyes appeared the corpse's life.
The young man was named Xie Qianyu. He was the eldest legitimate grandson of the Xie Family's main branch in Yujing City, the eldest among his generation of the Xie Family's direct descendants.
From the moment Xie Qianyu was born, he had been destined to become the center of attention and to bear the mission of bringing glory to the Xie Family.
Unlike children such as little Shuang'er, who lacked clothes to cover themselves and food to fill their stomachs, Xie Qianyu had never lacked food or drink since childhood.
Yet because of the strict family rules, Xie Qianyu could not indulge his appetite excessively either.
As the saying went, do not speak while sleeping or eating. Great families had an abundance of rules.
From the time Xie Qianyu could not even walk, he had been taught the basics and learned to read. Once he could walk, he began practicing meditation and martial arts to strengthen his body.
He had never left the Xie Family estate before his coming-of-age ceremony at sixteen.
All the hopes of the Xie Family's elders rested upon Xie Qianyu.
Xie Qianyu did not disappoint them. Since childhood, he had studied literature and practiced martial arts with diligence and determination.
At his coming-of-age ceremony at sixteen, his poetry and prose were no less accomplished than those of a provincial graduate, while his martial arts had entered the Innate Realm.
He could truly be called a gifted talent accomplished in both literature and martial arts!
In the year of his coming-of-age ceremony, Xie Qianyu left home for the first time. He traveled alone to Songzhou in the northern frontier, eliminated one hundred and thirty-two bandits large and small, shook Songzhou with his might, and later challenged Songzhou's swordsmanship master, Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai, losing by a single move.
Though he had lost, even Dugu Qiubai praised him, saying that he would surely reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship one day!
Such praise brought him even greater renown.
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