It was better when he stayed back, but when he came forward, the child cried even more heart-wrenchingly. It would have been fine if he cried for Feng Er'ye, but what was up with him calling out "Uncle Xu" at the top of his lungs?
"Uncle Xu, father left me and mother behind, what should I do now..."
You ask me, who do I ask? Am I supposed to be your father?
When Xu Qing sent others off, no matter how much the family mourned, he would not be moved, having seen more partings of life and death than meals or drinks. Yet, facing the cries of a friend's son, he truly couldn't handle it!
After barely managing to console the big nephew in front of him, Xu Qing stepped in as the only elder of the Feng family, not only taking on the task of hosting the mourning guests but also personally arranging all the funeral matters for Feng Er'ye.
As the seventh day passed, a funeral procession of thirty-two pallbearers appeared, all in white, stretching from one end of the street to the other, a spectacle that opened the eyes of everyone in the circle of hooligans.
Xu Qing, dressed in a Taoist robe, led the procession holding a Dharma Artifact.
Just like his uncle, Huang Laoxu, who had mediocre talent and was already old, Xu Qing too persevered with spirit, walking in front of the coffin to send Er'ye off.
Feng Er'ye's friend, Ji Ruinian, tirelessly dragged his old body, supported by the younger generation, to send off his dear friend on his final journey.
The mournful music played, and the musicians accompanied the procession all the way.
There were children leading 'soul-carrying' paper horses, while monks and Daoists followed to clean the path...
Besides these, at the front of today's funeral procession, there were two nine-foot-tall 'exotic immortal cranes', each with a floral garland around their long necks, symbolizing the soul riding on a crane to the western sky.
Feng Xiaosheng felt a sense of closeness at first sight of these two cranes.
In the human world, he was undoubtedly a figure who could compete with Zhong Kui, while in the crane world, Xu Qing's two cranes were outstanding among them!
Generally, even if a crane wanted to grow into such an ugly form, it wouldn't be very easy.
Unaware of what was going on, they were told by the sect leader since they were young that they were immortal cranes, and their godfather, the Golden Simurgh, also said what hatched was indeed an immortal crane. The lady boss of the Incense and Candle Shop diagonally opposite often fed them and told others that they were the most exotic foreign cranes.
Since everyone said so, they firmly believed they were immortal cranes. If anyone dared to say otherwise, they would definitely become furious!
In another place, these two ugly birds might invite ridicule, but in the Xu family's funeral business, these black-and-white cranes became a trademark of the shop, something the customers found delightful.
After all, who wouldn't want their loved ones to ride on a crane after they departed, journeying to that mythical land?
Raising the coffin, holding the funeral, and burying.
In just one day, a dear friend moved from above ground to beneath it, while in the cold winter of the Jin Sect, the first snow fell.
Watching the snowflakes, Xu Qing felt as if they were deliberately toying with his emotions.
This couldn't be allowed!
That very night, seeing the snow falling heavier and heavier, and as the spirit theatre troupe started to perform in the wind and snow, a lone figure at the end of the street suddenly spoke:
"Wind, cease. Snow, stop. Clouds, part. Mist, disperse."
In the next moment, the bright moon shone, and the street that was just covered with wind and snow showed a clear face.
"The living are but passersby, the dead return home. The world is a traveling inn, sharing the eternal dust of sorrows."
Xu Qing recited a poem while stepping on the moonlight, and his figure gradually faded at the end of the street, with a cat, a mouse, and a chicken unknowingly appearing behind him.
Besides the living, Feng Er'ye's send-off included zombies and immortals.
Like Xu Qing, Xuan Yu had known Feng Er'ye for a long time; Huang Xiaoliu often wandered in the immortal circle, and he knew the deceased's Galloping Immortal Disciple; as for the insects the Golden Simurgh consumed, many were obtained by Xu Qing from Feng Er'ye, earning some favors over time.
However, none of these matters were known to others, even Feng Er'ye himself didn't expect that immortals would come to send him off after his passing.
...
In the months that followed, Xu Qing seemed to return to the days of running the shop by day and practicing at the Shuimen Bridge Villa by night.
During this time, the Chief Eunuch of the Internal Affairs, Li Shunde, came to the Jin Sect specifically to meet Xu Qing.
As the year-end approached, Li Shunde brought tribute liquor as a gift, his words hinting at Emperor's concerns, in truth seeking to inquire about the Celestial Master's Mansion and whether Xu Qing was involved.
"Mr. Xu, His Majesty has been restless lately, constantly preoccupied with the Celestial Master's Mansion. You say a person who can disregard the fate of the Empire and directly enter the Celestial Master's Mansion to take the Celestial Master's life, wouldn't he also be able to enter the Imperial City and face the Emperor tomorrow..."
Xu Qing glanced at Chief Li sideways, knowing Zhu Huai'an wouldn't bluntly send someone to probe like this, and seeing the eunuch trying to get extra answers to please the Emperor.
"Why didn't Eunuch Sun come?"
Xu Qing didn't have much fondness for this ambitious eunuch, as it was Eunuch Sun who was more pleasant to converse with.
Li Shunde grinned and said, "A few days ago, His Majesty acquired some new firearms from the Westerners. Eunuch Sun didn't think much of them, expecting them to be similar to the ones used by the troops, so he allowed someone to fire one at him."
"Who would have thought these new firearms were as powerful as thunder? Eunuch Sun, standing too close, was injured by it out of carelessness and is still recuperating."
"..."
Xu Qing's eyelids twitched; Eunuch Sun was indeed unusually daring!
Although the firearms might lack power at long range, at close range even an average master wouldn't dare take it head-on, especially with the improved new firearms.
"Let's not talk about that, Mr. Xu hasn't answered our questions about the Celestial Master's Mansion..."
Xu Qing raised his eyebrows, dodging the question and asked:
"How old are you this year, Chief Li?"
"I am fifty-six, still in good health."
Xu Qing shook his head and said, "Otherwise, old sayings go 'after fifty-five, King Yan starts counting', 'over sixty-six, something has to give'. Though you've already lost weight, you should still prepare in advance. I happen to have a worry-free elder care package, and since Chief Li is a familiar friend, I can offer you a twenty percent discount, only three hundred taels!"
"Additionally, I'll include a member Iron Token, ensuring future candle and paper money purchases at the lowest discount."
"Rest assured, Chief, even Eunuch Sun applied for this Iron Token; it's really worth it!"
Li Shunde frowned and said, "I'm not here for this, I'm asking about the Celestial Master's Mansion..."
Seeing Xu Qing suddenly turn cold with a stance of sending the guest away, Li Shunde quickly changed to a smiling face and said, "Mr. Xu is right, I should prepare in advance."
After completing the membership Iron Token, Xu Qing's expression softened, and he said, "You can tell the Emperor that the matters concerning the Celestial Master's Mansion are of no consequence, and he need not worry."
"Is that all?"
"It's just a broken mental asylum, nothing significant, what else could it be?"
Sending away Li Shunde, Xu Qing continued to manage his small business.
As for the affairs of power in the Capital City, what did they matter to him, a Funeral Master?
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two years passed.
The fifteenth year of Yong'an.
The crow that returned across the ocean finally passed through the thunder calamity.
Now, within the Cat Immortal Hall, all supervising Immortals had at least five hundred years of Dao practice.
In addition to basic Dao practice, each hall's Immortal had made respective advances in Divine Techniques and Daoist Techniques.
Following a series of assessments by the Supervision Hall, each presiding Immortal had at least mastered one Di Sha Divine Technique.
However, just as the Immortal Hall was developing rapidly,
Ancient Yin River Dao.
After handling all the affairs of the Immortal Hall, Xu Qing went alone to the True Monarch's Bone Shrine.