Xu Qing was silent for a long time. According to Xuan Yu, the old witch who lived alone was originally a kind-hearted person. She would often offer porridge and rice to the poor and victims of disaster and even went out to provide free medical consultations to patients who couldn't afford the fees.
But this seemingly benevolent person repeatedly betrayed Xuan Yu. Once abandoned her, once even cost Xuan Yu her life.
Xu Qing was deeply puzzled. He had dealt with countless corpses, of which there were those who were fickle, those who violated morals for profit, and those who repaid kindness with betrayal and treachery.
But as Xuan Yu said, suddenly selling her accompanying Spirit Cat to a stranger appeared inexplicable for someone who had always shown kindness.
Even though Xu Qing was accustomed to human complexity, he couldn't make sense of it.
Initially, Xu Qing speculated whether the old woman had little time left, so she deliberately adopted Xuan Yu, in hopes of one day refining a Longevity Pill?
But Xuan Yu told Xu Qing that although the old woman lured her into a trap, she didn't ask the Taoist for a Longevity Pill. Instead, she requested a thousand taels of silver and one hundred gold taels.
A widowed old woman, usually living a frugal life, giving away her earnings to others, yet shows a desire for such worldly wealth.
No matter how one looked at it, the matter exuded an unusual absurdity.
"Could it be she wants to return for the immortal medicine when it's refined..."
As Xu Qing guessed, Xuan Yu's mood grew increasingly low, evidently unwilling to recall those past events.
"Does the Xu Immortal Family also desire the immortal medicine for immortality?"
"Immortality?" Xu Qing sneered: "I'm interested in a lot of things, but not that!"
Zombies are immortal, born not to die, what need do they have for so-called immortal medicine to prolong life or delay aging?
Only the living need those.
...
The next day, just as Xu Qing had arranged the affairs of the shop and planned to visit the elderly iron contract members before he left Jin Sect, Shang Shaoyang, who hadn't shown for a day, suddenly arrived.
At this moment, this young master of the Shang family appeared melancholic, speaking with a tone of helplessness.
"Brother Xu, you've really done a number on me!"
"How so?" Xu Qing was puzzled.
Shang Shaoyang sighed: "The other day, I bragged at your place about competing with the eunuch of the Mirror Office...."
"Did it settle?"
"..."
Shang Shaoyang added indignantly, "If he faced me directly and was defeated by me, I would have praised him for his stubbornness; but the old bastard fled to Jin Sect overnight and was killed by a long-lost iron fire cannon at Baishui Dock by rebel Cang Yi group."
"Isn't that annoying!"
"Isn't this a good thing? He broke your leg, shouldn't Young Master Shang be happy?"
"Don't mention it!" Shang Shaoyang sighed, "Brother Xu, you might not know. When I went to trouble the eunuch, I happened to bump into Miss Gu coming out of the Government Office. I intended to avoid her, turning towards the Mirror Office, but the little lady insisted on following, demanding to know why I was evading her."
"Could I tell the truth? I could only recount everything honestly as I heard from you, not knowing how devious this little lady was; she bet me that if Master Liao died that day, I would have to marry her."
"..."
Xu Qing listened intently, making no comment.
"Later, I found out that the eunuch died the night before in Jinmen Prefecture. Only the Government Office knew about it, and she happened to hear the news when she sought me there."
"Alas!" Shang laid himself on the Master's Chair, despairing, "Brother Xu, I'm stuck for life with her, after today, I'll have to return to Qianzhou and marry her."
"I needed someone to talk to and could only come to Brother Xu to vent."
Xu Qing's eyelids twitched: "Did you come to me hoping I'd comfort you?"
Seeing Shang Shaoyang not deny it, Xu Qing's suppressed irritation surged.
These days Xu Qing had been storing frustration, and Shang Shaoyang, being a pampered fellow, dared come to him to whine, considering he's the funeral shop's iron contract member only spared him from being stuffed into a body bag!
Driving away the annoying young master, Xu Qing left the shop, riding a cart loaded with oil, rice, and eggs to visit those elderly iron contract members who had trusted Xu Qing with their final matters.
Now, with the funeral shop flourishing, there were already nearly a hundred members, and Xu Qing usually reserved the new and full moon days to visit, that is, the first and fifteenth of each month.
Although a few days earlier than planned, Xu Qing made an early round of visits, so that he could journey to Quyang County without worries.
These elders chose to trust him, entrusting their life's end to him, so naturally, he had to take care of them properly.
The Xu shop has always respected its clients.
While Xu Qing was busy, Xuan Yu wasn't idle either. Nearly all well-known rats on the journey from Xijing Mountain to Linjiang County felt the pressure from Cat Immortal Hall.
Many rats, under the stress of survival, joined Cat Immortal Hall and became subordinates under Gu Zixu, while those unwilling to surrender could only move their families away from Linjiang County to nearby Wanshou County, Baisha County, or within Jinmen Prefecture to make a living.
For a time, the fame of Cat Immortal Hall spread throughout the Jin Sect's immortal circles.
However, the bigger the tree, the more wind it catches; some older immortal families believed that the young Cat Immortal Hall didn't know its limits and shouldn't enjoy such respect.
Outside Moonlight Mountain, Hundred Herbs Cave.
A long-armed red-tailed monkey held a dragon prison staff, sour with jealousy.
"A little kitten barely weaned, who hasn't survived a single disaster, how could it have such a big name?"
"Back in the day, the big cat at Old Platform Mountain had to avoid me; but now, after all the hard work to return, my Monkey Immortal Hall's descendants can't even compare to a little cat."
White Immortal Aunt heard the red-tailed monkey's resentful words, retorting, "The incense in Cat Immortal Hall is earned by solving people's problems, and gaining through hard work. Without it, whence come the devotees? You've been away from Xijing Mountain for years, and the monkeys under no watch, stealing and robbing among the villagers. Be thankful that they didn't tear down your Monkey Immortal Hall, based on old times' sake. How can you blame others?"
Embarrassment and anger flushed the red-tailed monkey, unable to retort.
Nonetheless, this monkey marked Cat Immortal Hall secretly.
A little kitten; was six hundred-year of cultivation not enough to intimidate it?
...
Linjiang County.
The Funeral Shop on Underground Street suddenly posted a notice about going out for a funeral arrangement, return date undecided.
The Cat Immortal Hall's staff didn't understand, assuming that the Sect Leader and Sitting Hall Cat Immortal were both on duty.
At the Jin Sect port, Xu Qing and Xuan Yu boarded a ferry, heading south along the water route.
On the journey, Xu Qing behaved like a scholar touring the lands, without the urgency of seeking revenge thousand miles just to commit a murder.
Initially, Xuan Yu was rather tense, but as it encountered the lively customs and various sceneries outside Jin Sect, it gradually forgot about it.
Cats are easily distracted by new things.
Despite being a zombie and a cat, as soon as they arrived in Qianzhou, they heard that the young master of the Shang family was to wed the young lady of the Gu family soon. One was from a thousand-year-old family with profound heritage, another was a talented daughter of the Gu military family, from Huaainan Province; their marriage was talk of the town within days.
Upon inquiry, Xu Qing realized it was indeed the Shang family to which Shang Shaoyang belonged!
What a coincidence!
Back in Linjiang County, Shang Shaoyang had invited him to join his wedding feast in Qianxi.
At the time, Xu Qing didn't give this pampered heir any thought, but little did he know that Quyang County in the southwest was right next to Qianzhou.
"Does the Profound Jade Immortal Family want to attend the feast?"
Destiny works in mysterious ways; Xu Qing feels that since it was coincidental, they might as well detour for a visit.
Excited at the new prospects, Xuan Yu seemed to forget their intentions for travel, suggesting that their journey was more about visiting friends and sightseeing.