I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality
Chapter 282 - 158: Tales at the Courier Inn, the Rat King’s Bridal Contest

Chapter 282: Chapter 158: Tales at the Courier Inn, the Rat King’s Bridal Contest

"Big rat, big rat, stop eating our grain! For three years, we’ve worked for you, yet you never cared to look..."

Exorcising demons involves a ritual; you must have a method to exorcise demons. It’s not about just using brute force to dispatch them and then thinking everything is settled.

If invited to vanquish demons, you must resemble a mage. Sometimes the incantation may not be effective, but reciting it makes you appear more professional.

Xu Qing recited anonymous verses while wielding an elm sword made of thunderstruck wood, drawing circles repeatedly.

This action left Guo Dongyang and the storehouse officer responsible for overseeing the process astounded.

To be fair, he indeed appeared quite competent!

After circling around the grain storage warehouse, Xu Qing’s frown deepened.

Yin Pupil manifested, and in the center of the warehouse arranged with the mountain and halt layout, a slight demon aura emerged from the surface. Without Xu Qing’s celestial eyes and Yin Pupil, not even a rat’s hair would be visible.

The warehouse center had the largest granary, with demon rats hiding in the deepest part of the grain cellar. It was like a turtle retracting its head; no matter how much one circled above, there was no way to access them.

The storehouse officer ran circles around the warehouse with Xu Qing, sweating profusely from his normally sedentary official duties.

The official expected Xu Qing to exorcise demons, not to lead the Imperial Court officials on a training exercise!

Suppressing his frustration, the storehouse officer wiped sweat with a handkerchief and questioned, "Mage Xu, you have observed, so when do you plan to exterminate the rat infestation?"

Ignoring the storehouse officer, Xu Qing turned to Xuan Yu and Guan Dazhuang.

Xuan Yu tilted his head, seemingly embarrassed to face Xu Qing.

Guan Dazhuang shook his head, "The demon rat is hiding in its hole. If we guard the entrance and wait three to five days, perhaps we can catch it."

"But with so much grain here, whether three to five days or even three to five years, the rat steadfastly holds its ground. What then can anyone do?"

The storehouse officer reacted unpleasantly, "If you lack the ability to exorcise demons, do not waste my time..."

Xu Qing raised a hand to interrupt the storehouse officer’s reproach, saying, "Effort makes things happen; it’s challenging but not impossible."

"Do not toy with me. If you have a solution, act now!"

Suppressing the urge to hold a funeral for the officious grain official, Xu Qing picked up a handful of soil, raised his eyebrows, and said, "This grain warehouse’s layout is rather refined."

Guo Dongyang’s interest was piqued, "What does it mean?"

Xu Qing pondered, "This warehouse uses a mountain and halt layout. In Feng Shui, halting generates wealth, the grain gathers like a mountain."

"This warehouse occupies the treasure position in the Northeast, a location for wealth storage. Setting the grain warehouse here locks the grain’s essence in place. As we entered through the southern gate—and there’s an old saying: When the southern gate opens, five grains ascend the rank of nobility..."

In terms of Feng Shui, Xu Qing hadn’t encountered a Funeral Master more adept than him. A single method permeates all; with deep knowledge of earth channels, other aspects of Feng Shui naturally become familiar.

"This warehouse is near water but not exposed to water, preventing fire dragons, with a stone to suppress water placed three steps from the granary. It was likely advised by a master during construction; this gray stone monument perfectly blocks moisture."

The storehouse officer’s face relaxed slightly, "You indeed have insight. Originally, this warehouse was constructed under the supervision of a master from the Celestial Master’s Mansion engaged by the Imperial Observatory—naturally exceptional."

"I hadn’t finished talking," Xu Qing smiled enigmatically. "A grain storage should be rectangular or square, conforming to the earth virtue of Heaven being round, Earth square, and avoiding sharp corners or curves which disrupt energy. An ancient saying goes: If granaries are irregular, rats and ants invade, family fortunes decline!"

"Yet the current warehouse has one sharp corner; sir, take a look over there, doesn’t it resemble a rat’s snout?"

The storehouse officer followed Xu Qing’s pointing finger.

Why, that place was none other than the newly constructed relief warehouse for disaster relief!

Pointing at the nine granaries, Xu Qing said, "If the grain from that warehouse could be completely released, this sharp snout layout could be resolved. Once the big rat loses its mouth, it can’t steal grain, resolving the official’s issue."

The storehouse officer’s face turned ashen, "Utter nonsense! How can the rat infestation be linked to that relief warehouse? Focus on exorcising demons, don’t meddle in other affairs."

Xu Qing looked at the relief warehouse brimming with grain essence but could only sigh in helplessness.

No wonder this world has so many refugees; turns out, there’s so much grain here.

Regrettably, they’d rather feed the relief grain to rats than truly distribute this grain to where it ought to go.

Glancing at the sky, Xu Qing contemplated briefly and then turned to walk out of the warehouse.

"Sir, let’s discuss outside."

Once the group reached the expanse of land surrounding the grain warehouse, Xu Qing began to speak, "This grain warehouse occupies a vast area, holding over a million bushels of grain, yet why do we not see a single rat today?"

"Though the demon rats are cautious, surely some lesser mice would clumsily emerge?" NovelFire)

The storehouse officer hesitated, "Mage, are you suggesting..."

Xu Qing chuckled, "The demon rat surely has scouts among its ranks. Those scouts heard of the officer inviting Cat Immortal Hall to catch rats, so they ordered the entire rat swarm to hide away."

Before Xu Qing could continue, the storehouse officer suddenly realized, "I understand, Mage suggests pretending to leave, let those covert mice loosen their guard, come out to move, then return to subdue them down..."

These officials may have dark hearts, but most are not foolish.

Xu Qing nodded, "Mice, often known as子鼠, are active during nighttime at the hour of the child; addressing them then is indeed timely."

"That makes sense." The storehouse officer nodded, "Then the few of you shall accompany me to the guesthouse to rest, then return later this evening to the warehouse to handle the rats..."

...

Twenty miles away, at the government inn.

Guo Dongyang attentively served tea and offered seats, appearing almost as diligent as an old servant despite being nearly fifty.