Emperor Jing's Funeral Procession

"The funeral procession has begun!"

Zhang Xuezhou's luck was just average. He was thinking that he wasn't unlucky and was preparing to increase the number of patients he treated to boost his income when Emperor Jing's funeral was held.

White lanterns were lit throughout the streets of Chang'an City, and large fires were set off everywhere.

The white lanterns were meant to illuminate the way for Emperor Jing's departure, while the flames were meant to burn away all gloom and darkness, dispelling bad luck and welcoming a new beginning.

A large fire was burning on the street dozens of meters away from the inn, with flames rising as high as two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).

The bonfires were surrounded by Union soldiers maintaining order.

Looking at the numerous armored and armed Northern Army soldiers, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but sigh.

The funeral procession of Emperor Jing meant that the northern army soldiers needed to return to their camps, and it also meant that his good days of lounging in the guesthouse and collecting money were over.

"I've only earned about four hundred and a half taels of silver. With such average luck, I'm sure I won't become rich!"

Zhang Xuezhou was thinking of increasing the number of times he would cast the spell each day, but little did he know that these people would all have to return to the military camp after the ceremony.

He touched the half tael of coins he had earned and finally decided to wait until after Emperor Jing's funeral to go out and set up a stall to make a living through hard work.

Leaning on the open windowsill of the guesthouse, Zhang Xuezhou watched the funeral procession outside with nothing to do.

As the sound of a large gong drew near, he couldn't help but roll up his sleeves, cover his face, and wail a couple of times.

"Cousin, do you think the late emperor could turn into a zombie or a vengeful ghost after he died?"

Lying down next to Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding couldn't help but ask a couple of questions in a low voice.

"Given the right conditions, there's definitely a chance, but nobody wants to see that happen," Zhang Xuezhou said, shaking his head.

"That's such a pity," Rong Tianding sighed. "Daoist Mu once told me that the more powerful one is in life, the more powerful the zombie or vengeful ghost one becomes after death. Imagine how powerful it would be if all the important figures here turned into zombies or vengeful ghosts after they died, accumulating year after year!"

"I think your idea is very good," Zhang Xuezhou said, "But only the state can do this kind of thing!"

"What? Can't we do it on our own?"

"This requires creating a Spiritual Qi environment to nurture zombies and vengeful spirits. The higher the cultivation level of the deceased, the higher the requirements. It also requires constant maintenance of these spirits and prevention of rebellion if they get out of control. The difficulty of truly making it successful and large-scale is even greater than raising people!"

Zhang Xuezhou stated some preconditions, which immediately extinguished Rong Tianding's ulterior motives.

Clearly, his idea was not unique; many people had tried it, but no force had ever bred an army of vengeful ghosts and zombies to dominate a region.

"Wait until we're rich and powerful!"

He muttered something to himself and accompanied Zhang Xuezhou to the funeral to pass the time.

Knock knock knock!

A knock came at the door. Rong Tianding glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou also glanced at Rong Tianding.

"Looking for you!"

"Looking for you!"

The two said the same thing in unison, and in the end, Rong Tianding went to open the door.

At the doorway, Wei Shao'er frowned, only managing a weak smile when Rong Tianding opened the door.

"You seem pretty normal," Wei Shao'er said.

"I'm perfectly normal!"

Rong Tianding smiled back.

He didn't add any further questions like, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" and just let Wei Shao'er observe his condition.

"Do you feel thirsty and weak all over?" Wei Shao'er asked. "Do you get hungry easily?"

No, no, no!

Rong Tianding replied with three "no"s in a row, directly rejecting Wei Shao'er's numerous questions.

Ever since learning from Zhang Xuezhou that this woman was highly skilled and ruthless, Rong Tianding had been extremely cautious whenever he interacted with her, trying his best not to offend anyone and answering only her questions.

Wei Shao'er glanced at Rong Tianding, then at Zhang Xuezhou, who was pretending to wail and cry at the funeral by covering his face with his sleeves at the window, and finally had no choice but to go downstairs.

She ordered two more pounds of beef!

Rong Tianding craned his neck to take a look, and when he saw Wei Shao'er buy two catties of cold beef from the shopkeeper, he felt that the other party's appetite was no smaller than Zhang Xuezhou's a few days ago.

"Eat more during your pregnancy!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

He was just a doctor who treated sprains and bruises, so Zhang Xuezhou didn't ask any further questions.

If Wei Shao'er does things well, he gets no credit; if he messes them up, he gets nothing but trouble.

If Wei Shao'er bleeds again, Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou will help with the treatment, but he will not get involved in anything else to avoid getting himself into trouble.

Zhang Xuezhou was plotting his money-making schemes, while Wei Shao'er, who was eating on the first floor, also sensed a big problem.

She looked at the empty plate in front of her, but still felt hungry.

Compared to usual, her eating and digestion are now several times faster, and there's even a possibility that her appetite may increase.

Her biggest problem right now isn't the uterine bleeding, but her insatiable hunger.

In short, it all boils down to money.

Only with enough money could she buy enough meat.

When Wei Shao'er received medical treatment, she gave Zhang Xuezhou a gold nugget worth one tael. This act seemed extravagant, but she was not actually a wealthy person.

At that time, all she wanted was for her injuries to heal, and then she would escape Chang'an City to refine elixirs and take medicine, becoming invincible and becoming a little more generous.

She was willing but unable to ask Wei Shao'er to spend a large sum of money again.

Feeling the loose silver and gold in her pocket, Wei Shao'er felt she had to find a source of income immediately, otherwise she wouldn't last more than half a month on this diet, and if her condition worsened, eating meat might not be enough to satisfy her body's needs.

"I need to make a lot of money!"

Wei Shao'er touched the short sword.

For someone with martial arts skills like her, solving problems in a simple and brutal way is obviously the most direct approach.

However, with the Chang'an City under heavy security at present, it would be very difficult to do anything illegal.

After Zhang Xuezhou waited by the window for the final national mourning ceremony to end, Wei Shao'er also waited by the windowsill of her own room.

Unlike Zhang Xuezhou, who put on airs to cooperate with the national mourning, Wei Shao'er was more focused on observing everyone walking along the street participating in the national mourning.

Who is rich, who is poor, who is valued by the Lineage, who is not valued, and who controls the economy—as long as they catch her eye, Wei Shao'er can see through their background.

"That guy is not bad, this one seems to be rich too, and that one is dressed in fine clothes. The jade pendant he's wearing is nice; he must be very popular with his elders!"

Wei Shao'er not only targets wealthy people, but she also chooses those she can defeat in a fight.

After peering out the window for a long time, Wei Shao'er finally spotted his target, then left the inn and mingled with the crowd watching the spectacle on the street, continuing to move with the flow of people.

"That woman has gone out!"

Rong Tianding murmured something.

"I'm thinking of moving to a different place!"

Rong Tianding could see it, and Zhang Xuezhou could see Wei Shao'er's behavior as well.

Despite being unwell, he still left the inn. Zhang Xuezhou didn't even need to think to know what Wei Shao'er was up to.

However, unlike Zhang Xuezhou who made money through legitimate means, Wei Shao'er clearly had the idea of taking a shortcut.

Thinking about the possibility of being implicated, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but consider moving to another place to live.