Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 315 Women’s Clothing
Yan Ciwan quickly replied, "To avoid being discovered that you're faking your death, I can only ask you to put up with this for now."

She rolled up her sleeves to reveal the crossbow strapped to her forearm, opened the quiver, and took out a short arrow.

The envoy opened his eyes wide and tried to struggle and resist, but he had lost too much blood and was too badly injured, so he was no match for Yan Ciwan.

Yan Ciwan pressed him down with one hand, and with the other hand she held the short arrow and stabbed the envoy in the forehead with the tip of the arrow.

The arrowhead pierced the skin, and the anesthetic applied to the arrowhead seeped into the envoy's body.

The envoy immediately felt his body lose all sensation and could no longer move an inch from head to toe.

Yan Ciwan sheathed the short arrow and casually closed his eyelids, making him look as if he were truly dead.

At this moment, the shop owner and another young man carried the coffin into the backyard.

They carefully placed the coffin on the ground, and the shop owner introduced himself: "My surname is Zhang, and I am the second son in my family. This is my son, Quan, who is learning to make coffins from me."

Ah Quan bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for visiting my business."

Yan Ciwan nodded slightly: "Thank you for your trouble."

Shopkeeper Zhang Erlang hesitated for a moment, but still kindly reminded her, "Young lady, this is probably your first time handling a funeral, and you don't know much about it. Before the deceased is placed in the coffin, the body must be cleaned and dressed in burial clothes. If there are any defects or damages on the body, you can ask the mortician to help with makeup and cover them up, so that the deceased can complete their final journey with dignity."

Yan Ciwan understood what he meant; the envoy looked too miserable and needed to be tidied up first.

She said, "But it's already very late, it should be difficult to find a mortician to take on this job, right?"

Zhang Erlang immediately said, "There's no need to worry about that. Our street is full of funeral businesses. The mortician lives next door to us. He's very skilled and his prices are fair. If you need him, young lady, I'll have Quan go and call him over right now."

Yan Ciwan thought for a moment and asked, "Can I go to his house first?"

"Of course." The shop owner assumed she was worried about the mortician's skills and wanted to wait and see. This kind of thing often happened before, so he didn't think much of it.

He instructed his son, "Ah Quan, you stay here and watch the shop. Keep an eye on the backyard and don't let outsiders disturb the deceased."

"I see."

Zhang Erlang led Yan Ciwan outside. As they stepped out of the coffin shop's main entrance, Yan Ciwan glanced around at the shops on both sides of the street and couldn't help but sigh.

"So this is what everyone on this street does? No wonder the street is so deserted at night, I hardly see anyone."

Zhang Erlang chuckled: "Young lady, this is your first time in Chang'an, so you don't know much about this place. Almost all the funeral shops in Chang'an are concentrated in our Fengyi Ward. During the day, it's fine, with many customers coming to patronize our business. But at night, everyone tries to avoid Fengyi Ward, afraid of getting involved with something unclean..."

He paused here, realizing that his words might frighten the other person, since it was late at night and she was a young woman who was probably very timid. So he quickly tried to smooth things over.

“I’ve lived here most of my life. Actually, this street has always been very peaceful. Those ghost stories are just people’s imaginations. Don’t take them to heart.”

Yan Ciwan then asked, "If I want to leave the city, how should I go?" Zhang Erlang assumed she wanted to leave the city to bury her servants, so he raised his hand to the left and said, "Go east along that road, and you'll see Yanping Gate at the end. Once you leave Yanping Gate, you can leave Chang'an County."

"I see." Yan Ciwan kept his words in mind.

She never intended to take the Venerable Envoy to Chonghua Lane from the beginning. Although there were people in Chonghua Lane to meet her, those people were from the Five Gods Sect and they were in cahoots with the Venerable Envoy. Once Yan Ciwan took the Venerable Envoy to find those people, they would join forces to suppress her, which would put her in a very passive position.

Yan Ciwan planned to leave the city through Yanping Gate as soon as it was light the next morning.

After leaving the house, the two turned left and arrived at a paper craft shop.

Zhang Erlang explained, "Besides applying makeup to the dead, Granny Wang also makes paper figures. Her paper figures are exquisite and beautiful, and the price is very reasonable."

The old woman he mentioned, Granny Wang, was the owner of the paper offering shop. Granny Wang looked quite old, with gray hair and a thin frame, but she was in good spirits. She was an old acquaintance of Zhang Erlang from Zhang's Coffin Shop. After exchanging greetings, Granny Wang led them to visit her workshop.

The so-called workshop was actually a small room separated at the back of the shop, filled with tools, including materials for making paper figures and various tools for applying makeup to the dead.

Several masks were also hanging on the wall, all painted by Wang Po herself, and they were very lifelike.

Yan Ciwan was surprised to find that even funeral clothes were available here, and couldn't help but ask, "Are these clothes for sale too?"

Granny Wang explained, "These were left here by Old Chen from the funeral clothes shop. He asked me to help him sell them. Do you see if any of them are suitable? If not, tell me the size and requirements, and I'll have Old Chen make a set for you tomorrow."

Yan Ciwan casually rummaged through the funeral clothes hanging on the rack. There were styles for men, women, young and old, and the materials varied in quality.

She took down one of the women's burial clothes and said, "I want this one."

Zhang Erlang was puzzled: "Isn't your servant a man?"

Yan Ciwan was a little embarrassed and explained softly, "Although he was a man, he had some little quirks that he didn't want others to know about. He used to often dress up as a woman, so I scolded him several times because I thought it was very improper of him. Now that he's gone, there's no need to use the rules for the living to judge him. I want to respect his hobby and let him be his true self after death."

While Zhang Erlang and Wang Po were surprised, they were deeply moved by Yan Ciwan's kindness and generosity.

Yan Ciwan pleaded, "When you do his makeup later, please ask Wang Po to paint him as a woman."

Granny Wang nodded knowingly: "I will do my best."

After the matter was settled, Granny Wang packed the funeral clothes and took her makeup tools with her. She then returned to Zhang's Coffin Shop with Yan Ciwan and Zhang Erlang.

The envoy remained lying on the cart in the thatched shed in the backyard, without moving an inch.

Zhang Erlang found two lanterns and hung them inside the thatched shed. After Wang Po roughly observed the appearance of the envoy, she rolled up her sleeves and began to work.

The envoy remained motionless with his eyes closed. He felt someone approaching him, and then he felt a hand groping him. He immediately felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to stand up and kill the guy who dared to offend him, but he was completely paralyzed and couldn't move a single finger.