Xu Qing didn't hold much expectation when he arrived, but he never imagined that an old civil official past fifty would have once had a celestial encounter!
Indeed, you can't judge a book by its cover, nor measure the sea's depth with a bushel.
Unfortunately, the old official was greedy for worldly desires, putting all his energy into studying superficial techniques of divination rather than nourishing his true capabilities, and thus ended up dying at the hands of Song Cai.
After using the Qi Observation Skill for a while, Xu Qing suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if he had stood up too quickly after squatting for a long time, and everything before him turned blurry.
After about two breaths, when he came to his senses, the scene before him returned to normal, as if the colorful Gale Qi in the hall just now was an illusion.
Xu Qing realized that his cultivation was still too shallow, making it difficult to sustain the Qi Observation Skill for long.
The greater the technique, the greater the effort required; lacking power is like owning a fine horse but being unable to feed it well—ultimately it's like a child wielding a knife, unable to wield its sharpness effectively.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Qing had a measure of understanding.
The Corpse Nourishing Scripture he obtained from Liu Youdao could allow him to take the nurturing path, feeding and cultivating himself.
But the prerequisite was that he had to find a way to collect materials for nurturing zombies, only then could he formally practice.
As for how far he could go with the Corpse Nourishing Scripture, Xu Qing didn't dare to think too far ahead. After all, deep down, he wasn't a zombie who cultivated by sucking human essence. According to the scripture, feeding with supplementary materials or nurturing with Moonlight Yin Qi could also cultivate into one of the three types of Wandering Corpses, but how far he would progress depended on his fate...
In the Liu family's spirit hall, Xu Qing, who had gained quite a bit, felt pretty good and even attended to the old landlord's posthumous grooming more meticulously.
Once he had dressed the deceased as lifelike, Xu Qing gestured to the family members to come forward for one last look. After this, they would seal the coffin and hammer down the nails, never to see him again.
The first lady, Li Xiangyun, wept and lamented, saying she couldn't bear to part with her husband. She cried so plaintively that she wanted to find a white silk to accompany her husband below, so he wouldn't be alone.
The steward, Song Cai, urgently stopped Li Xiangyun, who then buried her head in his shoulder, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
The young master of the Liu family trembled, stepping up to the coffin but retreating in fright before he could take a proper look, sitting down on the ground in panic.
Seeing this, Song Cai and Li Xiangyun supported the young master from both sides and they embraced, weeping together.
The surrounding relatives were all moved, seeing the steward as loyal, the lady as faithful, and the young master as grieving...
So, they all stepped forward to console them.
Xu Qing watched the family put on their performance and felt a surge of disgust.
Enough is enough!
He was waiting to finish this job quickly so he could go back to cultivation...
Seeing the mourning had reached its peak, Xu Qing closed the coffin lid and had the family members drive in the first nail.
It was traditional for the head and tail nails of the coffin to be driven by relatives. If there were truly no family, it wouldn't matter much; some formalities were just ways for the living to feel more connected to their deceased loved ones...
When the seven red copper nails were hammered in, and Xu Qing was about to hammer the eighth, an informed guest asked:
"Little master, aren't seven nails enough to seal the coffin? Why add more?"
Xu Qing paused and replied with an air of seriousness: "The landlord held an official position in life, tinged with purple Qi, which sets him apart. So nine nails are needed, symbolizing a connection down to the Nine Netherworld, that can gain the care and support of the Nine Halls of Yama, ensuring a rebirth into a prosperous family."
The guest looked enlightened at his words.
Observe, that's professionalism!
Little did they know, Xu Qing had another reason. The main reason for not using seven nails lay with the resentful landlord himself.
The nails used to seal coffins, commonly called the "Descendant Nails", are typically seven, symbolizing the Big Dipper, implying abundant descendants.
But this landlord's case was different. Though he seemed to have a child, it was unknown that this child was not his biological one. Incredibly, before his death, the spoiled brat he raised turned his back and acknowledged Song Cai as his father.
This kind of child, and you expect to nail seven iron nails?
Sorry, Xu Qing couldn't bring himself to do such a guilty thing!
Since he took this job, he had to serve the landlord well, making sure he understood clearly and laid plainly in the coffin.
Though Xu Qing was a newcomer to the business of transcending souls, he certainly wouldn't act as unethically as Liu Youdao. By comparison, he considered himself to have some professional ethics.
Not much, but definitely close to the passing mark!
He nailed the coffin, then bound it with leather straps, three horizontally and two vertically.
Next, Xu Qing had the "dutiful son" sweep the floating dust off the coffin with a broom, symbolizing "sweeping wealth" and then placed a copper coin in one corner of the coffin, called "lifting the coffin". Then it was time for "bidding farewell".
As the coffin was carried out, they burned the paper money and smashed the funeral pot. Liu, the dutiful son, led the procession carrying the paper banner, followed closely by relatives and friends in mourning attire, wailing in unison.
Xu Qing signaled, and the drummers from the Funeral House promptly intensified the suona, its loud sound breaking the clouds, while other quieter instruments faded into the background.
Over twenty coffin bearers hoisted the coffin, swaying as they walked, accompanied by filial sons and grandsons holding Funeral Banners at the front and back, adorned with seasonal paper flowers, making for a vivid sight.
As they passed each house, the sound of fireworks crackling added to the celebration, more lively than the New Year's!
Some elders and youths, sleeves rolled, stood at the doorsteps commenting, for such a grand funeral procession wasn't seen often in years.
Some housewives, deeming it inauspicious, grabbed their children by the ears and hauled them back inside, not forgetting to shut the red-cloth-tied doors behind them.
Xu Qing wore the clothes Liu Youdao usually donned for rituals, following the procession all the way to the burial.
By the time they had led the landlord into his Yin Residence, it was already past noon.
By custom, funerals were best held before the mao hour, but Song Cai insisted on burying at the peak of noon's Yang Qi.
The back and forth had Xu Qing exhausted, wanting to bury the fellow himself.
As for Song Cai's intentions, how could Xu Qing not guess?
With a guilty conscience, Song Cai clearly feared the landlord returning as a ghost, crawling out of the coffin at midnight to settle scores.
Xu Qing wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, smeared with the secret sunscreen of corpse drivers, walking in the shade as much as possible.
Returning to Liu Mansion, Song Cai lifted his chin, gesturing the direction with it, saying: "I've informed the accountant. You can go there to settle the remaining payment. I have important matters to discuss with the lady, so I won't accompany you."
Important matters?
Could it be a multi-billion project?
Xu Qing shook his head and went to find the accountant.
The elderly accountant, over sixty and bearing an eighty percent resemblance to Song Cai, smiled warmly when Xu Qing arrived to settle accounts, picking up an abacus and tapping away.
"The initial payment was five hundred, the remaining balance is five hundred. I have a kind heart, how about rounding it to five taels of silver?"
"Five taels?" Xu Qing's face darkened. In the Dayong Dynasty, one tael of silver was equivalent to twelve hundred wen, so rounding it up added a hundred wen, appearing generous but in truth was extortion!
Xu Qing knew from the servants that the due balance was not merely five hundred wen, but an actual five taels of silver, six thousand wen, with the initial payment being extra.
Now, the five taels of silver had been cut down to six hundred wen. This wasn't just extortion; it was daylight robbery!
"Half a tael of silver is more than enough. After all, a master's rate is different; you, as a novice, naturally earn a novice's wage."
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's already cold face turned even colder.