Upon hearing this, Xu Qing got excited and thought, since Master Shang had such a deep impression of the Funeral Shop, could you help me recommend it to your friends, those wealthy second generations and official second generations? I just happen to have some ready-made name cards…
Shang Shaoyang's smile faded. Initially, he thought Xu Qing was joking with him, but when the latter seriously took out 'name cards and name slips,' he realized Xu Qing was serious.
"I barely have a few close friends to start with. Are you giving me these name cards because you think I don't have enough friends?" Looking at the cards that resembled ghost money from the underworld, even the fearless Shang Shaoyang didn't dare to give them to people he knew.
"It's alright, maybe you'll find a chance to use them someday. You never know..."
"..."
Seeing the conversation reach this point without Shang Shaoyang getting angry, Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "Master Shang, there's something off about you."
"Let's just be frank, why did you really come to my shop?"
Shang Shaoyang responded indifferently, "What could I possibly want? The weather is hot, so I came here to cool off, that's all."
Xu Qing dismissed this reasoning, "Isn't the Government Office's mortuary cooler than my place? Why don't you see Master Shang cooling off there?"
"That's different, the mortuary has a strong smell, I couldn't stand it. It's much more fragrant here with you, Brother Xu."
Seeing Shang Shaoyang's nostrils twitch, Xu Qing's face darkened instantly.
"If Master Shang wants a place that's both fragrant and cool, why not go to Cuiyun Building? The girls there all dress lightly and smell lovely!"
"..."
Seeing that he couldn't hide it from Xu Qing, Shang Shaoyang straightforwardly admitted, "Brother Xu, to tell you the truth, I came to Linjiang County to escape a marriage engagement..."
"Who would have thought that woman would dare to run away from home alone, considering herself as a valuable item to be escorted by a security bureau, and pursued me all the way here."
"Now she's at the Government Office, and if I hide elsewhere, the Government Officials will eventually find me. After much thought, only here with Brother Xu seems the safest."
"I refuse to believe they'll think to look for someone in a funeral shop!"
Just after Shang Shaoyang finished speaking, a rough voice came from the door of the Funeral Shop, "Is Brother Xu at home?"
Zhao Zhonghe stepped into the shop and immediately spotted Shang Shaoyang sitting comfortably in the Master's Chair, cooling himself.
"Master Shang, so you're here!"
"..."
Shang Shaoyang was taken aback, unable to regain his composure for quite some time.
He hadn't even warmed the seat, and yet, the pursuers had tracked him down here?
Regardless of what Shang Shaoyang thought, Zhao Zhonghe continued, "The county magistrate has instructed that if you encounter Master Shang, please ask him to return."
"If I don't go back, what would you do?"
Zhao Zhonghe raised an eyebrow and said, "If you don't return, then don't return, it's none of my business. The county magistrate only asked me to relay the message, not to expend effort on these matters of romance. However, I will give a word of advice: as a man, Master Shang should show some responsibility. The young lady has traveled so far to find you, yet you're still hesitating, unwilling to even meet one-on-one. It's really not the behavior of a husband."
"You!" Shang Shaoyang's face flushed instantly.
Seeing Shang Shaoyang also get schooled by Zhao Zhonghe, Xu Qing was inwardly amused.
"I have other important matters, if Master Shang wants to keep being a coward, go on then."
Saying this, Zhao Zhonghe turned his gaze to Xu Qing and said gravely, "A brother from the office has fallen; may I trouble Brother Xu to help arrange his funeral?"
Seeing there was serious work to be done, the two of them promptly ignored Shang Shaoyang.
Shang Shaoyang snorted coldly and left the Funeral Shop.
Finally unable to hold back, Xu Qing called out, "Wait, Brother Shang!"
Shang Shaoyang's expression relaxed slightly, thinking that Xu Qing was offering him an out, yet he heard Xu Qing continue:
"Don't forget to take the Master's Chair from the Government Office!"
"..."
Without another word, Shang Shaoyang turned and left!
"Chief Zhao, what about this..."
"The county magistrate's family matters, what concern are they of mine?" Zhao Zhonghe glanced at the Master's Chair and said in a gruff voice, "Just leave it here with Brother Xu. I'll come fetch it when the county magistrate says so."
Xu Qing shook his head in resignation and had to temporarily set aside the matter of the Master's Chair, turning to leave with Zhao Zhonghe to the Government Office.
In the mortuary, Zhao Zhonghe narrowed his eyes and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "My brother was pursuing the water bandit Yuan Hu when he was killed. That Yuan Hu took a stab from me, jumped into the river, and is still unaccounted for."
Xu Qing prepared and sewed the body of the government official, and when he finished handling the remains, he also saw the government's lantern reel.
The cause of death of the other party was exactly as Zhao Zhonghe had said, but what surprised Xu Qing was that over the past year, Yuan Hu's martial progress had improved a fair bit.
If it had been the Yuan Hu from a year ago, even if he exerted all his strength, he might not have escaped from Zhao Zhonghe's grasp.
"Is this Yuan Hu a Meridian Passage Martial Master?"
Zhao Zhonghe nodded and said, "Barely counts as one, from the looks of it, he should have broken through not long ago. Had it not been by the riverside that day, I surely wouldn't have let him escape."
Yuan Hu had been a water bandit on the Baisha River for many years, and his swimming skills far surpassed Zhao Zhonghe's. Xu Qing nodded upon hearing this and said, "Rest assured, Chief Zhao, I will make sure to handle this brother's funeral properly."
Once Zhao Zhonghe left, Xu Qing turned his attention back to the other bodies.
He hadn't come to the Government Office to visit Wang Lingyuan for several days, yet the corpses in the mortuary had increased quite a bit.
"It seems I need to visit Senior Brother Wang more often…"
Wang Lingyuan was no longer young and he had two apprentices with him now.
Seeing the two apprentices, Xu Qing happily went forward to greet them. They were the future successors of the mortuary and long-term partners of his Funeral Shop, so he had to establish a good rapport with them in advance!