During Xu Qing's retreat, there was no shortage of customers coming to the Funeral Shop to ask about geomancy, feng shui, and funeral services. These were all minor tasks for him. When they couldn't find the shopkeeper, they naturally went elsewhere.
The only noteworthy visitor was a coroner from the government office who suddenly came to visit.
"I thought Liu Youdao had left Linhe, but I didn't expect someone to still come looking for him."
"I just don't know what kind of old acquaintance this so-called friend is..."
After sending Wu Yaohua away, Xu Qing returned to the shop and began to ponder and deduce the events of the past few days.
The coroner from the patrol office, an old acquaintance of his mentor, had no connection with him, but Xu Qing wasn't worried.
When he inherited the Funeral Shop, he had already prepared his story. It's hard for people to lie convincingly, but if there's seven parts truth and three parts lies, even ghosts and gods would be hard-pressed to distinguish.
His apprenticeship was false, but his learning was real. As long as he had the corpse driving skills taught by the 'master,' who would doubt him if he claimed to be Liu Youdao's disciple?
Moreover, Liu Youdao was indeed killed by the evil people of the Celestial Heart Sect. Even on the surface, he would have an irreconcilable enmity with the Celestial Heart Sect!
Because this would be the expected reaction and mindset of a disciple who lost his mentor.
Only after thoroughly thinking through all possible issues and crafting corresponding solutions did Xu Qing set the matter aside.
...
On February 8th, today was the first day of reopening for the Funeral Shop.
Xu Qing ate two candles and about ten pounds of raw eggs. Once he was sufficiently full, he sat comfortably on the lounge chair behind the counter, enjoying a Spirit Incense.
"The Corpse Nourishing Scripture says that once the Iron Armored Corpse is refined, its body would be as tough as iron, impervious to blades and spears. I wonder if it's true?"
Fully satiated and with boundless energy, Xu Qing's eyes suddenly brightened. He got up and went to the kitchen, retrieving a high-quality vegetable knife. He used the sharp blade to slice his palm, but it only left a faint white mark.
Gently rubbing his palm, even the white mark disappeared after a moment.
Seeing this, Xu Qing's confidence grew, and he placed his hand on the chopping board, experimenting with force. The kitchen resounded with the clang of metal on iron.
After a series of slicing and chopping, the sharp knife he bought for three hundred coins was completely ruined, but his hand, aside from some faint white marks, wasn't injured at all.
He estimated that with his current physical condition, he was no weaker than any externally trained martial artist, and might even rival those who practiced inner cultivation.
After testing his physical strength, Xu Qing felt the power within him and couldn't resist going to the backyard to practice a set of Tiger Seal Dragon Form Fist.
After evolving into an Iron Armored Corpse, his strikes were exceptionally fierce. Each punch broke through the air with the roar of a tiger and the cry of a dragon, as if real tigers and dragons dwelled in his fists and sleeves.
The pomegranate tree in the courtyard, just budding, trembled constantly due to the force of his punches. It only stopped after he finished his entire routine.
Feeling the tangible improvement in his strength, Xu Qing thought it was time to settle some long-overdue scores.
Back when he was grinding at the Corpse Worker Mill, their employer hadn't even paid him a cent!
Xu Qing wasn't overly magnanimous. He wouldn't curse the heavens during a thunderstorm, nor would he praise the clear sky, as those were natural cycles beyond human control.
But matters between people weren't so easily brushed aside.
...
That night, deep into the quiet hours, Xu Qing donned Finger Tiger weapons and concealed a blade in his waistband. His current state was entirely different from when he fled Cui's Mill.
Back then, he was a fledgling with nothing in hand, driven by desperation. Now, he was armed to the teeth, with a body honed to rival inner-trained martial artists.
It was the perfect time for a night raid on the black mill to offer peace to those restless souls.
Cui's Mill was impressively large, with residential quarters for the stewards and workers in the front, and workshops divided by the heavenly stems in the back.
Following his memory, Xu Qing made his way to the Bing-labeled production line where he used to work.
After Liu Youdao's Corpse Workers were rejected, the vacant positions in Bing-labeled yard were filled by Corpse Workers made by other corpse drivers.
Xu Qing scaled the high wall. Deep into the night, no servants or guards watched over this yard where the Corpse Workers resided.
The mill didn't fear thieves; anyone trespassing would be scared out of their wits encountering walking corpses grinding at night—hardly the time to contemplate theft.
Anyone not scared witless, running back home, would count as exceptionally brave!
The Bing-labeled yard had ten Corpse Workers, and the neighboring Jia and Yi yards had at least thirty combined.
Xu Qing's night vision was like daylight, and under the moon's glow, his eyes gleamed green. He looked at the walking corpses with the eagerness of a monk visiting Cuiyun Building for the first time after a lifetime of austerity.
It was really hard to resist!
Tonight would be a sleepless one.
Chanting the Sutra of Transmigration, the Sutra of Salvation turned page by page. In no time, the past grievances, kindnesses, and enmities of this courtyard's inhabitants unfolded.
Upon evaluation, the ten corpses in Bing-labeled yard were rated at the human level, and the Sutra of Salvation's blessings were varied:
A manual of palace secret techniques, a dried black wine worm, some gold and silver trinkets, a bottle of cooling powder, and a Truth Pill.
The palace secret technique was titled 'Thirteen Methods of Identifying Female Chastity,' detailing thirteen ways to discern it. It was a secret art used by a eunuch in charge of verifying the purity of palace maids during his youth.
Later, the eunuch, aged and dismissed from the palace, went through many trials and ended up in Jinmen Prefecture City. Unfortunately, his luck ran out when he was beaten to death in the street after helping a friend verify a fiancée's purity.
Approaching it with a learner's mentality, Xu Qing found the palace secret art's methods similar to the medical dao's observing, smelling, asking, and palpating techniques. Instead of feeling pulses, it involved physical tests akin to how a maid tests a bridegroom's abilities.
Except here, the maid was replaced with other objects or methods, closely kept palace secrets not shared casually.
Beyond observing, smelling, asking, and palpating, the palace secret art also included the skill of preparing and applying Guardian Sand.
As long as a girl was chaste, applying Guardian Sand could monitor her purity.
After learning these miscellaneous skills, Xu Qing felt odd. What had he been studying all this time?
While this might help a young man seeking marriage, it was quite too niche for someone like him who only sought the Dao.
Shaking his head, Xu Qing took out another reward: a shriveled, completely black wine worm.
It wasn't just any worm, but one from a true alcoholic's body.
Once put in water, it would give the liquid a rich wine flavor.
Thinking he didn't drink, Xu Qing realized no proper zombie would carry a wine jug, hopping around drunkenly!
Besides the wine worm, he had a bottle of cooling powder from a night watchman, meant to relieve fatigue and boost energy.
It even came with aftercare, perfect for sobering up!
Almost laughing, Xu Qing thought, these mundane but complementary items weren't much help, maybe almost none.