I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality
Chapter 281 - 157: The Granary’s Demon Plague

Chapter 281: Chapter 157: The Granary’s Demon Plague

Days flowed like water; a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The funeral shop welcomed and sent off; it handled seven burial services, two funeral rites, and some miscellaneous funeral trade.

Xu Qing gauged the customer flow and constantly improved his business strategy.

Those who had the ability to seek his funeral services were mostly affluent families; occasionally, someone from a modest background would visit, but they were ordinary families without the worry of meals.

However, those disaster victims and beggars would, in any case, never patronize his shop to arrange affairs after their demise.

To avoid losing potential customers, Xu Qing specially put a new notice on the city gate bulletin board, while also widely promoting under the dry bridge where refugees and beggars often gathered, in dilapidated houses, abandoned temples, and the like.

These days, the Jianghu eight sects have so many disciples that the Imperial Court can’t manage them all, and those beggars with skills in performing and singing folk songs are quite outstanding in their capabilities. After accepting Xu Qing’s gratuity, they widely spread the word about his funeral shop, proclaiming it everywhere.

Nowadays, as long as someone passes under the dry bridge, they can always hear the sound of beggars performing and singing there. These beggars are very savvy and don’t sing these gloomy verses while begging for food. Instead, they perform them as an entertainment when idle.

Right now, beside Shuimen Bridge, beggars are performing:

"Crippled beggar froze to death at the City God temple,

He borrowed incense candles and borrowed a cart.

During his life, he rarely ate his fill,

Today, paper horses are made double.

White lanterns, paper money flutter,

An old shop in the south of the city staying illuminated at night.

Three copper plates exchanged for a thin coffin,

There are still good people like Xu in the world."

These verses may lack a bit in elegance, but they are easy to remember.

Besides those talented beggars, Xu Qing also turned his attention to those children who ran around playing on the street all day.

Children holding sugar figures, pinwheels, and other small toys ran and skipped on the street while singing nursery rhymes—

"Filial son wears mourning clothes for his sick mother,

Orphaned daughter cries at the funeral lacking mourning clothes.

He cut his family’s longevity cloth,

To wrap your parents’ bones.

The Path to the Underworld is cold and windy, but there’s warmth from hearts in this world."

There are also storytellers who, having received storybooks from Mr. Xu, would insert funeral advertisements for him free of charge. At the teahouse, people often hear—

"Seats offered before the King of Hell, welcoming the guest,

The mortal world owes you a fortune of wealth,

The Underworld grants you a guide’s name.

On the Path to the Underworld, thousands of lamps shine,

All for the living ones who credited the debt..."

The atmosphere in Linhe unknowingly had a ghostly tone; during this, the government office did not frequently talk with Xu Qing. Yet, since what he was doing was legitimate business, the scribe, forensic doctors, constables, and constables from the patrol room who knew him well all turned a blind eye, considering it youthful folly. Perhaps this phase would pass.

Besides the thriving business of his shop, within this past month, the incense offerings at Cat Immortal Hall also reached ten thousand threads.

The frequently mentioned ten thousand threads of incense referred to the incense that flourishes in temple consultations reaching a certain level, often comparable to large temples and grand consultations. free\NovelFire.c o(m)

In one month’s time, the repercussions of Cat Immortal Hall’s punishment of the shepherd, the demolition of Child-Giving Temple, and the subjugation of the Demon Tiger finally thoroughly fermented; Xu Qing witnessed the daily incense offerings growing from nearly a hundred to three or four hundred threads a day.

However, as of today, the momentum of incense growth showed signs of decline.

Xu Qing was not surprised, as most were temporary devotees who hadn’t maintained routine burning of incense.

Those who had received favors from Cat Immortal Hall and managed to burn incense once as a token of thanks were already considered genuinely devoted. To recall worshipping again might wait until the annual festivals or when they seek divine favor, then they might rekindle that thread of incense.

Meanwhile, the sister-in-law of the Wu family from the neighboring paper mache shop, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, seemed spirited. Xu Qing also found a task for Zhang Wan, asking her to help manage the shroud store adjacent to the paper mache shop.

As long as this person has something to do, his mind won’t wander to extreme thoughts.

With Zhang Wan running the shroud shop, the two brothers Sun Erzhuang returned to Guanmen Village to continue managing the incense business of their branch hall.

However, before Guan Dazhuang left, Huang Xiaoliu from the Transmission Hall also brought the main hall a job - mouse infestation at the Jinmen grain storage warehouse.

Jinmen Grain Storage is not like an ordinary house, with numerous granaries inside, the storehouse officers and assistants often clash with these mice.

Quite a bit of rat poison has been used and many cats invited, but nothing works, until an officer inspecting the warehouse noticed a large mouse flashing by, he realized there must be a mouse that has become a king, hence it avoids poison and isn’t afraid of mortal cats.

Upon hearing about this from Huang Xiaoliu, Xu Qing went to Jinmen Prefecture City together with Xuan Yu and Guan Dazhuang.

If Huang Xiaoliu had brought another job, Xu Qing wouldn’t guarantee success, but dealing with mice...

The big and little cats at his Cat Immortal Hall aren’t just for show.

Arriving at Jinmen Prefecture, Xu Qing followed the protocol, persuading the eloquent Guo Dongyang to be a mediator, to introduce him to the storehouse officer in charge of the grain warehouse.

In recent years, the Dayong Dynasty experienced many disasters, during Emperor Longping’s reign, he rarely contemplated his own mistakes, instead attributing the consistent misfortunes of the realm to ghostly influences.

At that time, Emperor Longping was unwilling to allocate relief funds but lavishly spent large sums to build a Heavenly Sacrifice Platform over a hundred feet high, simultaneously promoting sacrificial ceremonies and advocating for ceremonial acts wherever things went wrong.

When Emperor Jingxing, Zhao Rong ascended to the throne, he not only inherited the tradition but also inherited the nearly completed Heavenly Sacrifice Platform, elevating the ritualistic fervor in the Dayong Dynasty to unprecedented heights.

In Xu Qing’s view, the ritualistic fervor in Dayong can, in a way, reflect the nation’s critically ill state.

Otherwise, after the Jinmen Gang’s eradication, the authorities wouldn’t have held Buddhist ceremonies at the port and invited monks from Baishui Temple to expound on Buddhist teachings. View the correct content at NovelFire

The storehouse officer at Jinmen Grain Storage was evidently knowledgeable, since the Cat Immortal Hall is so effective, they allocated funds and grains from the storehouse for sacrificial rituals.

Normally, the Cat Immortal Hall wouldn’t need such pretenses, but the storehouse officer insisted if Xu Qing doesn’t accept the grand ceremony, then the warehouse issue needn’t be handled by the Cat Immortal Hall, he could turn to Baishui Temple monks just the same.

A monk catching mice...

Xu Qing found it hard to imagine how the storehouse officer considered these two things together; the business doesn’t align well!

Xuan Yu was excited about the sacrificial ceremony all day; this is the treatment reserved for big temples and grand views. For the Cat Immortal Hall to receive such a reception from the authorities, doesn’t it mean his and Xu Qing’s hall has entered the upper circles?

However, the next day, Xuan Yu stared at the small three-by-three altar, with just a few fruits on it, the cat was shocked speechless for a long time.

A dedicated sacrificial fund of five thousand silver, and they just made this tiny altar?

Even the altar Xu Qing uses to chant the Rampage Soldier Spell is much bigger than this little table.

Guo Dongyang wasn’t surprised, he wasn’t very interested in the sacrificial matter, instead, he was attentively focused on whether Xu Qing could eliminate the mouse infestation.

A young scholar who ranked fourth in the initial imperial exam, yet shows no intention of seeking fame in the officialdom, instead choosing to run a funeral business, and now leads a mysterious cat to eliminate the demon mice in the grain storage warehouse, such bizarre and exceptional occurrences are rare; if Xu Qing truly subdues the demon mice...

Guo Dongyang thought perhaps he could add a new Chapter to his Dongyang Travels.

Jinmen Grain Storage covers an expansive area, measuring around 240 yards long from east to west, and 320 yards wide from north to south, housing dozens of jar-style underground grain cellars, the widest mouth nearly ten yards across, the deepest grain cellar reaching five yards from the surface, with a total storage capacity of millions of stone.

It’s not just a place for long-term storage of rice and grains, but also a hub for canal transportation and transfer of food supplies in Jin Sect.

Xu Qing expanded his Qi Observation Skill and found the grain storage warehouse was filled with the energy of abundant crops, not a trace of demonic aura in sight.

"Really a demon mouse in the grain warehouse?"

"Of course, I saw it with my own eyes, it’s not a false claim, is it?"

Xu Qing suspiciously asked, "If there is indeed a demon mouse, why not have the Demon Hunting Bureau catch it?"

The storehouse officer shook his head and said, "The Demon Hunting Bureau came once, but this demon mouse can tunnel through the ground, the warehouses and grain cellars are quite deep, we can’t just move all the grains when the demon mouse escapes there."

"The demon mouse hides deep within the food supplies, which have become its reliance, the Demon Hunting Bureau can’t set fire or use poison, this issue is like an unsolvable disease, otherwise, why would I be desperately seeking remedy from you, a ’country physician’?"

Xu Qing glanced at the officer, can a country physician be worth a five thousand silver sacrificial reward?

"How do you plan to deal with that demon mouse, if there’s truly no way, perhaps leave some poison bait or the cat here, can’t let this trip be in vain."

Xu Qing squinted at the outspoken officer and said, "You mentioned you can’t subdue the demon mouse, but if I do, then what?"

The officer laughed, "If you subdue the demon mouse, there will be a reward of silver."

Xu Qing shook his head, "We Galloping Immortals aren’t greedy for worldly silver, we only hope that when the time comes, you can parade the demon mouse and tell the citizens of Jinmen about the accomplishments of my Cat Immortal Hall."