At the end of June, several people arrived at the Funeral House in Linjiang County, each with bulging shoulders, clearly those accustomed to carrying heavy loads.
What heavy objects does a Funeral House have? Besides the heavily weighted corpses, there are only the coffins holding those bodies.
When these men reached Underground Street, they saw that the fronts of the Funeral Shops, once familiar to them, were now filled with beautiful flowers. As people walked by, a pleasing, heart-soothing fragrance of flowers filled the air.
If it weren't for the flowers being in the elegant colors of white, yellow, and gray, who would think this was a funeral street?
When the Funeral House people arrived, Xu Qing was still at the coffin shop on the street corner, using a homemade spray can to water the hanging orchids.
Xu Qing was not afraid of the coffins getting damp. Those coffins were painted with fireproof talismans, the lacquer was waterproof, and the layout of the entire coffin shop was quite interesting.
From the large varnished coffin facing the main entrance to those on the ground, hanging from the beams, and standing in the corners, the shop had every kind imaginable, big or small; you could find one suitable for yourself from inside out!
To mask the smell of lacquer and the scent of aged wood, Xu Qing cultivated flowers, carefully nurturing seeds given by Gardener Cui Shiyuan. Over two years, he harvested the seeds several times, making the whole street vibrant with colors.
With this scene, Shopkeeper Xu's name gained recognition again.
Everyone knew a flower-loving Funeral Master resided on Underground Street. If it were anywhere else, so many flowers placed at the roadside entrance would surely attract some unscrupulous hands to steal them, but not a single pot from Underground Street was ever taken into someone's home, even if left by the roadside.
Not to mention moving flowers, if a mischievous child picked one and stuck it on their head, upon returning home, their parents would casually ask where they got it, and the child, sniffling, would say, "Underground Street, those flowers are really pretty there."
After the child spoke, a bamboo stick beating would be inevitable.
"Pretty, I'll show you what's pretty! Those are the flowers of the dead, dare you bring them home, you don't even feel unlucky. You are not to go to Underground Street anymore, got it?!"
Thus, the scenery of Underground Street became even more unique.
Xu Qing enjoyed the outcome. Who would have thought a zombie could be so elegant, not only passing the scholar examination but also loving to garden and plant flowers.
No one would believe it if they heard!
Let's keep idle talk to a minimum; here, Xu Qing was nurturing his character and attending to flowers in the coffin shop when Shazhu came rushing in, saying many people from the Funeral House had come, wanting to discuss matters with him!
Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, didn't take it seriously, and continued to spray his flowers.
"Didn't you ask them what exactly they wanted with me?"
"I asked, but they didn't say, only mentioned they wanted to see the Shopkeeper of the Funeral Shop. I didn't tell them you were here..." Shazhu, once foolish, after gaining wisdom, not only became smart but also learned to read and write, even understanding much about moral essays.
Besides that, following Xu Qing, Shazhu also practiced martial arts. Compared to Wang Liang, Shazhu, who stayed in Underground Street with all his heart, actually learned more from Xu Qing.
Over the years, Shazhu's martial arts progress had reached the Condensing Gang Realm.
This was due to Shazhu's diligence and also thanks to the spirit pills Xu Qing regularly gave him.
'Fools have their fortune,' many of the spirit pills obtained from superstitions were useless to zombies, benefiting the little animals of the Cat Immortal Hall and disciples like the Iron Pillar instead.
"In the last two years, many peers have left Linjiang County. Now, there are only two funeral businesses in town: ours and the Funeral House." Xu Qing put away the spray can and pondered, "Considering the time, it's about right; you go ahead and invite them over."
Shazhu, though no longer foolish, still didn't fully grasp Xu Qing's meaning, but the master is always the master, and as a student, he just needs to follow orders!
"Alright! I'll go right away!"
...
The leader from the Funeral House was named Zhuang Honest. This man was short with a stocky build, wheat-colored skin, solid and reliable, clearly a seasoned worker of heavy, grueling tasks.
Upon entering the coffin shop, Zhuang Honest smelled a distinct scent, not the woody smell of coffins nor the unique incense candle and paper money odor of a funeral shop, but a fragrance only found deep in the mountains.
Fresh, aromatic, with a slight cool, damp clarity. If pressed to describe it, it would be like the fragrance in the yard on an early spring morning after a night of rain during the February withered fragrance season.
Looking further into the shop, various flowers and plants were arranged along paths created by assembled coffins; some pots of hanging orchids were even strung up to the beams at both ends, with a double-layered thick coffin suspended in the middle.
So elegant, too elegant!
Even Zhuang Honest, who had been carrying coffins since he was about ten and worked in the funeral industry for nearly thirty years, had never seen anything like it.
Approaching the coffin shop, Zhuang Honest saw Shopkeeper Xu in his blue and white shirt.
In his twenties, he appeared as a fair-complexioned gentleman, with a bearing completely unlike the clumsy rough men who carry coffins, resembling an actual ritual master.
This was judging by appearances; besides performing rituals, Xu Qing was no stranger to carrying coffins, digging graves, and excavating tombs!
"So it's Boss Zhuang from the Funeral House, along with Wang Bu'er, Li Jinshi... I've heard of you all for a long time."
Upon seeing the visitors, Xu Qing promptly called out several guests' names.
Zhuang Honest was surprised at heart and couldn't help but ask, "Although we are peers, I believe it's our first meeting. How does Shopkeeper Xu recognize us?"
Xu Qing replied with a smile, "The more we are peers, the more we must understand each other. Although you all haven't met me, I have paused at the street corner more than once to watch you carry coffins and bury the dead."