In mid-July, the summer heat waned, but the autumn tiger would still occasionally leap out and show its fangs.
Inside the Funeral Shop, Xu Qing was lying in a coffin, having a good rest, when suddenly he was disturbed by the shrill sound of cicadas ringing in his ears.
Sitting upright, Xu Qing saw Xuan Yu holding a constantly flapping cicada in its mouth as it slipped into the shop.
Before Xu Qing could speak, Xuan Yu, seeing him sit up, leaped onto the edge of the coffin, spat out the cicada, pinned it with its paw, and asked, "Does Xu Immortal Family want a taste?"
Looking at the lamenting cicada, Xu Qing felt a strange pang of guilt and said, "Please, don't let it cry out, it's just annoying..."
"Okay."
Xuan Yu opened its mouth, swallowed the cicada, chewed it, and swallowed, instantly bringing a peaceful silence to the Funeral Shop.
Feeling much more at ease, Xu Qing stretched lazily and pushed aside the now useless suppressing items in the coffin.
These suppressing items included voodoo dolls, thousand-year coffin nails, white-furred turtle corpses, hanging ropes, statues of the Evil God, and the like.
All these were extremely yin and evil objects; Xu Qing used talismans on his left hand to absorb all the curses from the suppressing items.
Extreme yin begets yang, and extreme death turns to life.
The Undying Bone contained the power of regeneration; it needed to nurture a breath of life, and Xu Qing used yin and turbid objects to completely turn his left hand into an ominous object.
Now his left hand was entirely ashen, and even in the face of the autumn tiger, a layer of bone-chilling white frost had formed.
Putting on gloves sewn by the seamstress with the finest mulberry silk, Xu Qing attempted to lift his arm, only to find that his entire left hand was stiff and immobile.
Raising it to shoulder height, Xu Qing was utterly speechless.
Luckily it wasn't both hands being nurtured, otherwise, anyone would suspect he was a zombie.
Letting the dead qi-condensed left hand droop inside the wide sleeve, Xu Qing avoided exposing his left arm unless necessary to prevent others from detecting anything unusual.
Apart from that, his left arm couldn't casually touch living people, or else the living would be corroded by the dead qi, losing at least half their life if not worse.
"How did I end up cultivating into a one-armed hero?" Xu Qing couldn't help but lament, thinking perhaps he might start a tomb sect if he ever strolled through an ancient tomb.
Climbing out of the coffin, Xu Qing continued living his unorthodox life.
Despite the scorching sun outside, Xu Qing thought no one would come to his shop around this time, yet someone did come against his expectations.
And it was a familiar, frequent visitor at that.
Shang Shaoyang carried a Master's Chair into the Funeral Shop, dropping the ponderously heavy rosewood chair onto the shop floor with a bang.
"What's this! Whose chair is this? Don't bring just anything into my shop..." Xu Qing raised his eyebrows as he glared. If it weren't for Shang Shaoyang having a VIP token for his shop and buying a plot, he would definitely have kicked him and the chair out.
Shang Shaoyang leaned back in the Master's Chair, humming contentedly, "It's still cooler here in your shop, you have no idea how hot it is at the Government Office..."
Fanning himself with a folding fan, Shang Shaoyang sat in the Master's Chair with his legs stretched out onto Xu Qing's coffin, giving the impression the shop was his own home!
"My shop only accommodates the dead, not the living; you better hurry back home!"
Shang Shaoyang didn't mind Xu Qing's comments; instead, he confidently took out the VIP token hanging at his waist and said, "Early or late, it's the same; you go ahead with your work, don't mind me, I just want to cool off."
Seeing this made Xu Qing's eyelids twitch; anyone would think this brat had a screw loose; what sane person would come to a Funeral Shop to cool off?
Looking again at the VIP token on Shang Shaoyang's waist, who would replace their accessory with a funeral brand? Where did your fake Jade Pendant go?
Lying lazily in the Master's Chair, Shang Shaoyang sighed, "There are two things in Linjiang County I can't forget; one is the Master's Chair in the Government Office, and the other is your shop."
"If only I could enjoy the respite from the heat by lying in a Master's Chair in your shop, it would be more carefree than being an Immortal."
Xu Qing sensed something amiss, "Don't tell me you stole this Master's Chair from the Government Office!"
At Xu Qing's words, Shang Shaoyang sat up with a chuckle, "I moved it out through the front doors of the Government Office; how can that be considered stealing?"
"That's outright robbery, worse than stealing!"
Xu Qing squinted his eyes at Shang Shaoyang, realizing more about this nobleman's character.
He reevaluated; this guy truly was a spoiled brat!
"Quickly move the chair back; otherwise, the Government Office might come looking to blame me."
"Ah, no worries! Brother Xu, no need to be so cautious."
Shang Shaoyang dismissed his concerns and said, "The county magistrate's wife also has the surname Shang. What's the harm in borrowing a chair?"
Xu Qing was surprised, "Really? But I remember when the magistrate arrived in Linjiang County, you said you only met him by chance on the road, and he lent you his carriage because you hit it off..."
Back when Linjiang County officials welcomed the new magistrate at the city gates, Xu Qing was present, only to see a scholar with a sword at his waist emerging from the official carriage.
That scholar, of course, was none other than Shang Shaoyang.
Shang Shaoyang blinked and laughed, "I was just making that up; I couldn't very well say the magistrate was my relative in front of everyone..."
"Let's not dwell on me, Brother Xu; this doesn't even compare to you."
"What do you mean by that?"
Closing his folding fan, Shang Shaoyang said with a grin, "I clearly remember the day Brother Xu was beating the gong at the city gates to drum up business, openly selling funeral supplies on the day the magistrate assumed office; such a memorable spectacle."