My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Chapter 338 - 335: Truly Worthy of Me

Chapter 338: Chapter 335: Truly Worthy of Me

Qin Liuxi didn’t end up meeting the man that Chen Pi mentioned, and she didn’t care; business was something she wasn’t short of anyway. Since the person didn’t come, and she had other things to do, she stayed in her room, fully focused on carving the shop’s signboard.

There indeed remained quite a bit of wood left in the Coffin Shop, all accumulated by Old Guantou from before, including two pieces of fine cypress wood and one piece of paulownia wood. There were other types of wood as well, but not much left, especially the cheaper kinds.

It seemed Old Guantou knew his days were numbered, so he didn’t bother to acquire more wood.

Originally, Qin Liuxi wanted to use peach wood for the signboard, but then she seemed to remember something and changed her mind, opting for a piece of yew wood instead.

Peach wood could ward off evil, but what if the shop was visited by souls of the departed, seeking help?

The process of making the signboard wasn’t simple. Even though the material was sourced, it still required writing, carving, painting, and gilding, all of which tested one’s overall ability. Though Qin Liuxi wanted to do the work personally, she wasn’t going to tackle the complicated crafts. Instead, she simplified as much as possible, at least avoiding any decorative carvings.

Such things are complicated and of no use.

Oh, except maybe to elicit a smile from a beauty!

Qin Liuxi opted for simplicity, but when it came to writing and carving, she cast aside external influences, immersing herself in the task, and meticulously engraved the three large characters for Feichang Dao.

The characters were written in seal script, the strokes full and round, the lines fine and even, dignified yet not lacking in robustness. Most importantly, each stroke carried the essence of Dao, with a hint of light seemingly flowing through them.

After finishing the shop’s name, she carved several runes into the remaining space on the signboard. At that moment, she forgot about the complexity she despised, fully engrossed and losing herself in the work.

As each rune was carved onto the signboard, Qin Liuxi’s state of being ventured further into the Void, her spiritual platform was serene, and around her seemed to flow a faint golden light.

Teng Zhao, who was outside the room, seemed to sense something. He stood up, walked to the doorway, and stared blankly at the person who was kneeling and carving, enveloped in a soft golden light. Subconsciously, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes slightly, and formed Sealing hand gestures, recalling the Taoist Scriptures that Chi Yuan once mentioned.

The scripture cycled through his mind once, and like an invisible breath, it traveled through his limbs and filled his meridians. Eventually, it gathered into a solid sphere of energy that settled into his Dantian, full and substantial.

Qin Liuxi’s carving knife paused, and she looked up to see Teng Zhao sitting at the doorway cultivating. She smiled, curved her eyes, and lifted the corners of her lips, then resumed her carving. However, from her mouth, flowed a series of smooth scriptures.

"Superior elixirs are third-rank, where spirit, qi, and essence converge, vague and illusory, profound and obscure..."

These were lines from the Supreme Jade Emperor’s Heart-Seal Wonderful Scripture, a life-sustaining cultivation technique. Persistent cultivation would benefit the body and mind, progressively leading to enlightenment and the ascension of truth.

The words that Qin Liuxi recited acted like waves of Daoist essence that stroked Teng Zhao’s mind, unconsciously he savored and contemplated the scripture, feeling his spiritual platform becoming more clear and bright.

The master and disciple, one carving, the other cultivating, were in perfect harmony.

Chen Pi, holding Wang Chuan’s hand, arrived at the courtyard and was slightly taken aback by the scene.

"Brother..." Wang Chuan was about to call out but was quickly silenced by Chen Pi, who swiftly covered her mouth and carried her to the front of the shop.

"Don’t disturb them," Chen Pi placed her on a chair behind the counter.

Wang Chuan felt a bit wronged: "Why can’t I join Master and senior brother?"

Chen Pi said: "Your Master is making the signboard, and your senior brother is cultivating. I see he has entered a state of meditation. If you barge in rashly, you’ll interrupt him. If it happens to be the moment he realizes the essence of Dao, and you disrupt it, the chance will vanish and become unattainable."

Wang Chuan was only five years old and didn’t understand what he meant.

Chen Pi looked at her innocent and bewildered expression, wondering why Qin Liuxi would take her as a disciple. She didn’t seem particularly clever, unlike that peculiar clean-freak.

Yes, in Chen Pi’s eyes, Teng Zhao’s behavior was indeed peculiar.

"Anyway, when your senior brother is cultivating, you must not interrupt him carelessly. Cultivation is not easy, and it’s even harder to comprehend the essence of the Dao, understand?" Chen Pi said as he gently pinched her face when he saw her staring with wide eyes.

Wang Chuan obediently uttered an ’oh’, indicating she understood she shouldn’t disturb.

Seeing her like this, Chen Pi’s heart softened and he took out the milk candy he had put away earlier from the cupboard, handing her a piece.

"Thank you, brother." Wang Chuan smiled sweetly.

Chen Pi also smiled upon seeing this.

In the backyard, when Qin Liuxi finished carving the last rune, she put down the carving knife and rubbed her sore wrist, looking at the plaque imbued with the essence of the Dao with a contented smirk, "Indeed, I deserve this."

She looked up and saw Teng Zhao had finished running his small cycle and was staring at her intensely. She beckoned, "Come here."

Teng Zhao walked over and looked down at the plaque, his gaze sharpening.

"You are meticulous and like cleanliness and order. I’ll leave the lacquering to you. Use vermillion as the base color for the shop’s name, and these runes should be painted with golden paint," Qin Liuxi pointed at the lacquer set aside, "I trust you’ll do well. Also, while painting, memorize and recite all these runes; it would be even better if you can understand the essence behind them."

Teng Zhao: "..."

Lacquering? If it gets on hands and clothes, then...

His face, which had a slight blush from running the small cycle, paled a bit at the thought.

"Xuan Yi, if you are to practice in the future, like treating diseases, practicing medicine, or ghost hunting and need to use chicken blood or black dog blood, all kinds of dirty things, and you can’t overcome your aversion—how will you manage? There are evil people, and there are Evil Ghosts. An Evil Ghost will not spare you because you’re squeamish about filth. Once you’re distracted, your Taoism will be broken. With broken Taoism, you’ll die."

Qin Liuxi sternly said, "Although we are cultivators, we are just mortals in this vast minor world, with physical bodies, not indestructible. It’s normal to die for the sake of slaying evil on the Righteous Path, but if you die because you couldn’t overcome your fear of filth and lost to evil spirits, that would be a pointless death. It could even involve the innocent. Do you understand?"

Teng Zhao tightened his little face and nodded, "I understand."

"Go ahead, overcome it bit by bit. If you get dirty, you can clean up. It’s no big deal. But if you die, you’re truly dead. You’re not a Nine-tailed Demon Fox that loses a life but still has eight tails left. So cherish your life as much as you can," Qin Liuxi patted his shoulder.

Nine-tailed Demon Fox: "?"

Who is cursing me!

Qin Liuxi saw Teng Zhao take the golden paint, then she picked up the carving knife again. She still needed to carve scriptures into the elegant room to use for Enlightenment.

But before she could carve two characters, Chen Pi came to summon her, saying the person he mentioned had arrived.

Qin Liuxi put down the carving knife and limped leisurely to the front of the Coffin Shop, where a tall man was standing with his back to her.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around. His brows furrowed upon seeing Qin Liuxi standing beside Chen Pi.

"Mr. Song, this is Boss Qin, the one I mentioned to you, as well as Master Buqiu from Qingping Temple," Chen Pi introduced with a smile.

Song Ye looked at Qin Liuxi’s overly young face, thinking that if his child were still alive, he would be older than her. He must have been out of his mind to actually take this youngster’s words seriously.

But it was also his own fault for being so anxious about his sister’s illness that he had been willing to try anything.

Song Ye cupped his hands in greeting: "Sorry, there’s an emergency at home. I’ve intruded."

He wants to leave after just exchanging greetings? Does this mean he doesn’t believe in Qin Liuxi?

Qin Liuxi: "You have kidney deficiency!"