The grievance dissipated, and the corpse of Empress Duanrong rapidly decomposed, losing its human color in a mere moment.
Painted skeletons, flesh on bones, are nothing more than this.
Xu Qing carefully stored the corpse, then eagerly came to the front shop with the Celestial Fragrance Pill.
Who doesn't love a fragrant cat!
"Smells so good, what is this?"
"This is a treasure I acquired while traveling. Consume it, and your body can become fragrant. It's said that a favored concubine of a celestial emperor once had such a body scent..."
Xu Qing lured gently, but upon hearing the pill's effects, Xuan Yu became even more excited than Xu Qing.
"Eating it will make my whole body fragrant?"
"Of course, this elixir pill is crafted from the fragrance of a hundred flowers, refined using the essence of the sun, moon, and seasons, with dew as a catalyst. Even the most untidy, foul-smelling person can be filled with a pleasant fragrance."
Xuan Yu's eyes sparkled even more. Just when Xu Qing thought the cat would take the bait, he heard Xuan Yu say, "Then Xu Immortal Family should eat this fragrance pill quickly, so Xu Immortal Family won't have to use makeup and can become fragrant too."
"..."
Seeing Xu Qing not speaking, Xuan Yu pushed further: "Those makeup powders smell awful, they make my nose itch, but this fragrance pill smells delightful. If Xu Immortal Family eats it, I won't be afraid of being cuddled by Xu Immortal Family anymore."
Xu Qing was speechless.
He was a zombie, using makeup powders to mask the corpse scent so that cultivators with keener noses wouldn't smell it. He always carried scent-removal powders when going out.
He never thought Xuan Yu disliked the smell of makeup powders.
Hearing Xuan Yu's words, Xu Qing suddenly realized.
No wonder the cat always avoided him; whenever he tried to cuddle it, it would dodge away.
Turns out the cat disliked the smell of makeup powders.
Ordinarily, if Xuan Yu didn't consume the fragrance pill, Xu Qing would just store it in the Mountain and River Map as inventory to collect dust, after all, he's a tall manly zombie, how could he smell like a woman, covered in floral aromas?
But recalling how he'd always covered his corpse scent with makeup, Xu Qing felt relieved.
'If I eat the Celestial Fragrance Pill, I can seize the opportunity to cuddle the cat when I stroll down Flower and Bird Street, without having to lug around a rooster fatter than a pig to exercise my arms.'
Xu Qing assessed the pros and cons, but the thought of being able to cuddle the cat while strolling made his concerns vanish.
Thus, the zombie who originally planned to persuade the cat to take the pill ended up swallowing the Celestial Fragrance Pill himself.
The next moment, the fragrance spread widely; we don't know if it was because it neutralized the zombie scent, but now Xu Qing's aroma seemed even more fragrant than the fragrant concubine.
Importantly, the scent wasn't overwhelming; rather, it was a unique fragrance distinct from ordinary makeup.
Like the scent of locust flowers crushed by dewdrops in the locust blooming season, or the fragrance of pollen accidentally scattered by butterflies after gathering nectar. Everything was so effortless, without any artifice.
"What a fragrant Xu Immortal Family!"
Xuan Yu's slightly moist nose twitched, greedily sniffing the aroma lingering in the air.
After six months of isolation without cuddling a cat, Xu Qing seemed to have a craving for a cat. He squatted, reaching out his hand, happily waiting for the cat to pounce into his arms.
However, when Xuan Yu walked to Xu Qing, it bypassed his body and jumped straight onto the counter.
Xu Qing's smile froze. He turned his head and sternly said, "Xuan Yu, an immortal must have credibility; how could you trick me into taking the pill?"
The cat on the counter turned to Xu Qing curiously: "Trick you into taking the pill? Why would Xu Immortal Family say that?"
Xu Qing replied solemnly, "You said once I didn't have the makeup's scent, you wouldn't fear me cuddling you."
Xuan Yu blinked and said, "I'm not afraid of being cuddled, but I never said I liked being cuddled."
"..."
Xu Qing heard the cat clicking its tongue; never did he expect that after years of deceiving the cat, he would be tricked by one today.
Xuan Yu jumped back behind the counter, digging around, before running back to Xu Qing, with a jar in its mouth.
Placing the jar down, Xuan Yu excitedly said, "Xu Immortal Family, guess which insect became the Gu King in the jar."
Seeing the Thousand Insect Gu Jar, Xu Qing paused for a moment.
He had almost forgotten about this jar during his half-year absence.
Xuan Yu looked at him expectantly, Xu Qing smiled and said, "Surely it can't be that lazy white insect?"
Xuan Yu sat on the ground, lifted its two front paws, flipped the Gu jar over, and shook it down.
Plop! A fat white insect, as big as a chick, fell to the ground.
As the fat insect landed, it even bounced its belly.
Giving a sense of both plumpness and resilience.
The white insect awoke from pain, letting out a strange chirping sound.
But upon seeing Xu Qing, this white insect wriggled like a chick seeing a mother hen, trying to crawl up his boot.
Xu Qing reached out to pinch the fat insect's neck, lifting it up, puzzled: "This drowsy little pest, did it really survive till the end?"
The chubby white worm had two sesame-sized eyes, three pairs of front limbs, and no back limbs.
Now gripped by Xu Qing at the neck of fate, it continuously wriggled around, its three pairs of small claws constantly air-grasping.
But due to its plump body, its twisting motions seemed more like sit-ups, and just the bare minimum of those.
The more Xu Qing looked, the more incredible it felt.
Could this seemingly dumber than Golden Simurgh big white worm really become the Gu King?