Song Yinjian (宋吟剑)
Protagonist
Transmigrated funeral entrepreneur
Shameless, calculating, but competent
Low cultivation talent, relies on schemes instead of brute force
Uses funerals to make money, expose crimes, and build influence
Nicknamed "Sending People to the Afterlife" (a pun on his name)
Shenhe (申鹤)
Senior Sister / Core Female Lead
Cold, taciturn, emotionally restrained
Ice-element user; creates ice coffins to preserve corpses
Acts as both enforcer and moral counterweight
Gradually softens through interaction with Song Yinjian
One of the most important long-term heroines
Hu Tao (胡桃)
Rival / Comic Foil
Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
Cheerful, chaotic, sharp-tongued
Constantly competes with Song Yinjian for business
Frequently outwitted, yet keeps coming back
Provides much of the novel's comedy
Zhongli (钟离)
Observer / Deadpan Straight Man
Consultant at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
Calm, logical, financially disastrous
Often dragged into Hu Tao's problems
Acts as a voice of "reasonable absurdity"
Keqing (刻晴)
Liyue Qixing / Law Enforcement
Sharp, pragmatic, easily irritated by the protagonist
Frequently involved in murder cases connected to funerals
Dislikes Song Yinjian personally but relies on his competence
Ongoing "business negotiation" tension (especially about grave land)
Li Shui Zhenjun (理水真君)
Immortal Uncle Figure
Loud, blunt, drinks heavily
Teases Song Yinjian for his terrible cultivation talent
Promises to teach him lightning techniques if he reaches Foundation Establishment
Provides cultivation world exposition
Pan Huilian (潘慧莲)
Early Arc Antagonist
Wealthy widow
Involved in poisoning her husband
Uses seduction, manipulation, and false grief
Ultimately exposed through funeral investigation
Zhang Feng (张丰)
Accomplice
Butler and lover of Pan Huilian
Attempts murder
Collapses under interrogation
Xinyan (辛焱)
Musician / Side Ally
Hired to perform rock music at funerals
Financially struggling
Blunt, passionate, practical
Represents Song Yinjian's "outsourced mourning services"
Chongyun (重云)
Temporary Ritual Stand-In
Hired as a symbolic descendant for a funeral
Naive, earnest, easily guilt-tripped
Used to complete ritual requirements
Chapter 1: Widows Are Truly Wonderful
Morning sunlight poured over the bustling streets of Liyue Harbor, scattering across the stone-paved road like fragments of gold.
The streets were already packed with people, lively and noisy.
All of a sudden, a lively girl dressed in brown-and-black traditional attire came sprinting down the road, dragging along a tall, steady-looking man. Their reckless dash instantly caused a small commotion.
"Consultant Zhongli, can't you move any faster?" the girl called out. Her voice was crisp and pleasant, though laced with urgency.
Zhongli, however, remained completely unhurried. "Director Hu Tao, there's no need to rush. Mister Zhang already settled his posthumous arrangements with you."
Rather than slowing down, his words only seemed to make Hu Tao quicken her pace.
"Settled or not doesn't matter! That bastard Song doesn't care about agreements at all," Hu Tao snapped irritably. "If he gets here first, he'll definitely use his disgusting sweet talk to snatch this job away!"
Hearing this, Zhongli quietly lengthened his stride.
After all, his mounting expense reports were already pushing Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
toward a financial deficit. He really didn't want to see it go under.
After nearly a quarter hour of sprinting, the two finally arrived at their destination—a grand, imposing estate, lavish beyond comparison.
At the front gate, a donkey cart stood quietly in place, fully loaded with all manner of funeral supplies. Everything one could possibly need was present.
Standing beside the cart was a slender, aloof woman.
She wore a tight black one-piece outfit that clung closely to her body, outlining her graceful figure with striking clarity. A short white top covered only half her upper body, stretched taut by her full chest, while a red cord hung loosely, fluttering gently in the breeze.
Her waist was slim and supple like a willow branch, elegant and perfectly proportioned. Below that, her long, straight legs were flawless—lean and sculpted, reminiscent of an ancient statue.
The moment Hu Tao saw this scene, her anger flared like dry tinder catching fire.
Without hesitation, she strode straight up to the woman, forcibly suppressing her irritation as she spoke in what she tried to make a calm tone.
"Shenhe-jiejie, has that bastard Song already gone inside?"
Shenhe frowned faintly, her expression cold and detached. "My junior brother's name is Song Yinjian. Not 'Bastard Song.' He went in quite a while ago."
Her voice was like water drawn from a frozen pool—icy and emotionless. Hu Tao's heart immediately sank.
Not bothering with anything else, she spun around and rushed toward the estate gate.
But before she could reach it, a tall, burly guard stepped forward and blocked her path, his voice cold.
"Without the madam's permission, no one may enter."
Hu Tao lifted her chin proudly. "I am Hu Tao, the seventy-seventh Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! I already reached an agreement with Mister Zhang—his funeral arrangements are to be handled by Wangsheng!"
The guard merely shook his head. "The master's funeral has already been entrusted by the madam to Boss Song of Adeptal Rites. You should leave and stop causing trouble."
"But—" Hu Tao tried to argue.
Before she could finish, the guard grew impatient and raised his voice. "This household is currently conducting funeral rites. It is a solemn affair. Are you trying to cause a disturbance and disrupt the peace of the deceased?"
Hu Tao instantly deflated, like a punctured balloon.
In matters of burial, the dead came first. Even if she was in the right, how could she disturb the deceased at such a time?
She bit her lip, her heart filled with frustration and unwillingness. Just then, a young man slowly walked out from within the estate.
He wore a dark teal daoist robe, handsome and refined, his every movement carrying the faintly ethereal air unique to adeptal disciples.
But in Hu Tao's eyes at that moment, he was nothing but an utterly shameless scoundrel.
Her cheeks flushed red with anger, her face puffed up like an enraged kitten as she pointed straight at him.
"Bastard Song, have you no shame at all? I already had an agreement with Mister Zhang—his funeral was supposed to be handled by Wangsheng! And yet you barge in and interfere!"
Faced with her accusation, Song Yinjian's expression didn't change in the slightest. A faint smile still rested at the corners of his lips as he calmly replied,
"If you truly had an agreement with Mister Zhang, then why did you only arrive on the second day after his passing?"
Hu Tao froze.
"That's not right…" she muttered. "According to my calculations, he should have passed away today. Could it be… did I miscalculate?"
She clutched her head in frustration, her face full of regret.
She failed to notice that when Song Yinjian heard her words, his expression subtly shifted—only to return to normal an instant later, as though nothing had happened.
Without another glance at Hu Tao, he stepped around her and walked directly up to Shenhe. Bowing slightly, he spoke politely.
"Senior Sister, I'll have to trouble you again this time."
Shenhe remained expressionless, merely nodding once without saying a word. Song Yinjian paid it no mind. His senior sister had always been this aloof.
The two of them then turned and headed back into the estate together.
Inside the spacious, well-lit main hall, a corpse lay quietly in the center, covered with a pristine white shroud.
Nearby, a young widow dressed in white mourning robes knelt on the floor, sobbing softly.
The mourning clothes clung to her body, accentuating her graceful figure and making her appear especially pitiful and fragile.