I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 70 - 59: Study Tour

This was not the first time that Hu Baosong had said these words to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing glanced at the spirited old man in front of him and said with a smile, "The current emperor can live to be about eighty years old. How old are you? It might be that I stop dealing with the dead and instead become a physician to treat the living. All of this is uncertain!"

Hu Baosong neither agreed nor disagreed. As Xu Qing was about to leave, Hu suddenly said, "Young Xu, don’t touch those two coffins in your shop. The one with red lacquer in particular; it’s a Four Seasons Coffin. Who knows what strange things are inside."

Xu Qing was suspicious and turned to scrutinize him, probing, "Old Hu, do you know something?"

"I’ve lived this long; what don’t I know?" Hu Baosong grinned, revealing his yellow, moss-covered teeth.

"That red lacquer Four Seasons Coffin was something Liu Youdao dug up from the River Mouth Ancient Path. He couldn’t make up his mind about it and didn’t dare to open it, so he came to ask if I recognized it..."

"I originally thought he might open it one day when he couldn’t resist, but he ended up dying somewhere else. It’s really a shame. This old man wanted to see what exactly is hidden inside that Four Seasons Coffin..."

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Since you’re so curious, why remind me not to open it?"

"Are you really clueless or just pretending? Earlier, we didn’t know each other well and didn’t interfere in each other’s affairs. Now we’re neighbors and get along well, so we should support each other..."

"So, you’re reminding me of this to leave a good impression on me, so I’ll care for you in your old age?"

Hu Baosong’s face lit up with a smile when he heard this.

"Old Hu, you really have a big face!" Xu Qing retorted, annoyed, "Had it been someone else, they might have opened the coffin long ago and wouldn’t be alive to hear your reminder today."

"If you’d told me this earlier, it wouldn’t have changed things. I never intended to open that coffin in the first place, and yet you have the gall to ask me to care for you in your old age?"

Hu Baosong’s face flushed, and seeing he was in the wrong, he started to play on emotions.

He said if Xu Qing agreed, he would treat him like his own son. The coffin shop, along with his savings, would be his!

Goodness, I treat you as a neighbor, but you want to be my father?

And it even sounds like I’m the one taking advantage?

Xu Qing’s face fell instantly. How could he agree to such a thing!

This old Hu clearly had a suspicious background, potentially hiding dangers waiting for him to step on.

"Old Hu, stop talking nonsense. I’m going to the Prefecture City to take the exams today, and I’ll be traveling for a few months, maybe even half a year. For your old age care, you better find someone else!"

After saying that, Xu Qing pushed the cart loaded with coffins and returned to the Funeral Shop.

Left behind, Hu Baosong stood alone, hands behind his back, sighing.

The young people nowadays really have no respect for their elders!

...

In the Funeral Shop, Xu Qing properly enshrouded Wang Qiao’s body. Before leaving, he glanced at the two coffins resting against the west wall once more.

Young people should not act too impulsively!

Even though Hu Baosong mentioned that the black lacquer coffin was less sinister than the red one, Xu Qing still didn’t plan to open it now.

He had a long time ahead of him. The coffins posed no inconvenience sitting there, so why take the risk to peek inside?

Shifting his gaze back, Xu Qing set himself a small goal.

When one day he evolves from Wandering Corpse to Three Corpse Transformations, it wouldn’t be too late to consider opening the black lacquer coffin then.

...

After visiting various neighbors all day, now everyone knew about Xu Qing’s upcoming study tour.

As soon as Xu Qing stepped outside, Cheng Caiyun from the incense shop diagonally across the street greeted him.

Her voice sweetly called him "Brother Qing."

"Brother Qing, when you pass the exam and make it big, don’t forget your sister-in-law’s kindness..."

"Of course not! Sis, do you have any chickens at home? I could use a basket of eggs for the journey; it would save me from munching on dry cakes along the way..."

"Oh, Brother Qing, it’s so cold now, it’s not that I don’t want to give them to you, but the hens at home aren’t laying eggs!"

Understandable, Xu Qing rolled his eyes. He knew this woman was all talk.

Expecting any real benefit from her, that was definitely impossible.

"Brother Qing, take your time. When it warms up, I’ll definitely save you a basket of eggs."

Xu Qing drove the rental horse cart, waving back at her.

He had hens too back at the shop. How could he not know if they’d lay eggs in this season?

As for her words, he took them as mere pleasantries.

Passing by the Paper Mache Shop, Wu Yaohua shouted, "Brother Xu, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the hens you left in my yard! I’ll count the eggs and give them all back when you return..."

That guy was definitely doing it on purpose.

Cheng Caiyun had barely gone back to the Incense and Candle Shop, but she staggered when she heard Wu Yaohua’s words, utterly mortified!

Driving all the way to the Government Office, Grandpa Qin at the gate took the wine Xu Qing handed him with great enthusiasm.

"You didn’t have to bring anything..."

"Just park the cart there, don’t worry, I’ll look after it. Nothing will go wrong!"

Grandpa Qin was too busy enjoying himself to know that the wine he’d been drinking was fake, brewed by Xu Qing with his Wine Worm...

The Wine Worm, classified as human lower-grade, doesn’t belong to any species of shell and scale insects on earth but is rather a false insect or drunken worm found on alcoholics.

Its effect is to impart a fragrant wine taste when placed in water.

This reward was something Xu Qing got when he opened the Corpse Worker Mill.

Familiar with the place, Xu Qing went straight to the Civilian Office Courtyard. Upon entering, he saw Tang Zhou, the teacher, pouring out some medicine residue.

"Teacher Tang, are you feeling unwell?"

With a shift of his eyes, Tang Zhou smiled while putting away the clay pot he had used to boil the medicine. "Lately, I’ve had sleepless nights, so I went to the clinic for a sedative. Nothing serious."

Turning his eyes to the corner’s medicine residue, Xu Qing instinctively activated the Hundred Herbs Collection he’d learned from Old Doctor Yang Chunfu.

"Schisandra, Morinda Root, Cornelian Cherry, Cistanche..."

Xu Qing quirked an eyebrow, "Teacher Tang, is it really just insomnia? These herbs are good for boosting energy, nourishing the kidneys, and calming the mind. Hey! And also for supplementing kidney Yang and strengthening the bones. Could it be that Teacher Tang is suffering from kidney deficiency?"

"Hush, keep it down!"

Tang Zhou’s face instantly grew tense, worried that familiar colleagues might hear such rumors.

"It’s all nonsense. There’s nothing wrong with me! Go to the Funeral Shop if you need to, and stop gossiping here."

Xu Qing had no idea. Ever since Tang Zhou had a big dream at the Pear Garden Theater, he was determined to polish his rusty ’sword,’ hoping to have a daughter in his lifetime. With both son and daughter, Yin and Yang in harmony, he might just change his fate as in the dream, shedding his subordinate status and advancing his career...

In the Funeral Shop, Xu Qing explained his study tour plans again to Wang Lingyuan.

"How long will you be on this tour, Junior Brother?"

"Three to five months at most, one to two weeks at least."

Xu Qing couldn’t be certain about the duration, as his return depended on the success of this ’study tour.’