I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 112: Double Capture

A hundred miles downstream of the Baisha River, Xu Qing and his two companions carried Shi Quan's body and searched along the case for the ferry or people, intending to return to Linhe.

At Baisha Ferry, Xue Yachai, who had deserted the battlefield, sailed with a group of deserters and defeated soldiers overnight, and soon arrived at the riverside pier.

Manager Cai, who had been hiding in the cabin, was exhausted and had obviously been frightened.

The yamen runners helped and helped Cai, the steward who was traveling with them, to the patrol yamen.

Upon hearing the bad news, County Lieutenant Dong Heng and Legal Adviser Tang Zhou ignored their subordinates' affairs and hurried to the yamen for questioning.

When they learned that Captain Zhao and others were killed by the evil spirits in Tianwu Temple and were taken into the water by water ghosts, and their life or death was unknown, they were all shocked.

We have known each other for many years, but now we are separated by heaven and earth in just one night. This is hard for anyone to accept.

Even a person who doesn't understand humanity would shed a few tears at this moment.

Xue Yacha was obviously the best among them. He cried the most emotionally among the other Yachas. He looked as if his own brother had died.

"Captain Zhao put me at the helm when we entered the water, entrusting the lives of everyone on board to me. If I don't bring my brothers back to the port alive, how can I be worthy of Captain Zhao's trust?"

"So I had no choice but to cruelly take my brothers back. That demon is cunning, and the water ghost is vicious. Now that the night is almost over, I'm afraid the captain is in great danger."

After saying this, Xue Yachai beat his chest and stamped his feet in front of everyone, wailing repeatedly.

The other yamen runners knew that what Xue said was not entirely true, but no one spoke up to correct him.

After all, several people at that time also silently chose to protect themselves.

Instead, Shiquan, who could not float on water, jumped into the water without hesitation.

Seeing the frustrated faces of the yamen runners, County Magistrate Dong frowned and said, "Why are you panicking, Master? Go find the Chief Magistrate Wu and have him ask the Demon Hunter to search along the river. Perhaps Captain Zhao is still alive."

Seeing Master Tang walking out of the courtroom quickly, the coroner Wang Lingyuan followed closely behind. When he got close, he hurriedly said, "Master, slow down!"

"Master, my junior fellow apprentice is now in a state of uncertainty about his life or death. I would like to ask you to speak a few kind words to the Lord of the Court of Justice and ask them to pay more attention to him."

Jingxia Street, the coroner's shop.

At this time, it had been two days since Xu Qing went to the port to do outside work.

Xuanyu seemed not to understand the human habit of working from sunrise to sunset and resting from sunset to sunrise. During the two days when it possessed Sun Erniang to watch the shop, the shop never closed for twelve hours a day.

During this period, customers would occasionally come to purchase wreaths, paper-made items and other funeral supplies.

Ever since something happened to the Wu family next door, only Wu Yaoxing's wife was left to look after the paper-making shop.

With her husband wrongfully imprisoned and her twins having to travel far away to run the business, Mrs. Wu had no time to focus on running the store.

As a neighbor, Xu Qing simply moved the paper wreaths to the coroner's shop and sold them on behalf of Mrs. Wu.

Xuanyu had no idea about money, so when someone came to buy a wreath, she had someone supervise the delivery.

Fortunately, most customers who buy funeral supplies are in awe of these things and will not quote too low a price.

The days passed like this, and the fact that Manager Xu disappeared for two days didn't seem to have much impact on the coroner's shop.

As the acting shopkeeper, Xuan Yu, who was in charge of the store, was not worried about Xu Qing's safety.

Cat fairies have long lives and their understanding of time is far different from that of ordinary people.

In its eyes, a day or two is just a blink of an eye, and only months and years are slightly longer.

In the afternoon, the chirping of cicadas permeates the streets.

A slender figure suddenly appeared outside the deserted coroner's shop.

"Young lady, may I ask if Shopkeeper Xu is in the shop?"

Looking at the familiar figure walking in from the shop door, Xuan Yu's eyes suddenly lit up.

The person who appeared before it was not someone else, but Huang Laoxu, a yellow fairy with yellow-brown fur, short limbs, and the ability to speak human language.

"Xu Xianjia is away traveling. If you have anything to say, you can tell me."

"May I ask what is the relationship between you, fellow Taoist, and Shopkeeper Xu?"

"You, the old marten, are really blind. How come you can't even recognize me?"

The black jade turned into a puff of black smoke and escaped from Sun Erniang's body.

The next moment, a black cat came out from behind the counter and jumped onto the counter.

"It turns out to be Fellow Daoist Xuanyu."

Huang Laoxu's pair of sharp, thieving eyes darted around.

It came back to its senses, cupped its hands and smiled, "With the Xuanyu Immortal Family here, I can finally feel at ease."

As Huang Laoxu spoke, he made hand gestures and chanted a spell, causing a gust of yellow wind to blow. When the yellow wind died down, a basket of eggs appeared in front of him.

"These are twenty pairs of boiled eggs, ten pairs with single yolks and ten pairs with double yolks. I specially give them to you, fellow Taoist, to try." Putting the basket on the counter, Huang Laoxu spoke in a flattering tone.

Xuan Yu looked at the basket and remained unmoved.

The weasel may have good intentions when it pays a New Year's greeting to the cat, but it is definitely not pure.

"Huang Laoxu, if you have something to say, just say it honestly. Don't try to trick me with some eggs." Xuanyu has a natural sensitivity to minks and the like. It can tell at a glance that the other party has bad intentions.

Huang Laoxu said with a smug look on his face, "How could that be possible? I'm simply here to visit my fellow Taoist. If there's something wrong, then that's a good thing."

"Well, I thought your Cat Fairy Hall had just been established, so I don't think there's much work to do. I just happened to have a job recently. If you're interested, I can transfer it to the Cat Fairy Hall."

"These twenty pairs of chickens are a deposit. There will be incense offerings, rice, flour, oil, grains, three kinds of meat, fish and meat, and the crooked-necked little phoenix will not be lacking."

"Three animals?" Xuan Yu's eyes widened. "Three animals are only slaughtered during grand sacrifices. What kind of work did you take that would allow you to offer such a generous offering?"

Huang Laoxu was about to speak when he heard some movement coming from behind the coroner's shop. He looked sideways and saw a majestic big rooster walking in square steps from the second door of the backyard into the front shop.

The yellow fox delivering boiled eggs met the golden rooster, the nemesis of evil. The two were natural enemies, and the moment they met, it was like thunder and lightning, and they were extremely jealous of each other.

Huang Laoxu didn't bother to explain why he came out as a horse, because the golden rooster of unknown origin had already pounced on him.

Outside the newly built city gate of Linhefang, Zhao Zhonghe and his nephew, who had been out of contact for many days, finally rushed back to their own territory.

The uncle and nephew had a bumpy journey until the evening of the second day after they fell into the water, when they finally walked out of the river and found some human habitation.

If a few people take the ferry back by water, they can reach Linhe in less than an hour or two.

But in Zhao Zhonghe's eyes, he always believed that the Water Monkey and the Tianwu Temple demon were still alive and well.

If he still takes the waterway, it would be like an old man hanging himself, and he really wants his life to be too long.

So, the two people who suffered from temporary hydrophobia chose to take a detour and went to Shuyang County, 200 miles away, and borrowed the ferry bridge there to cross the river.

After resting for one night in Shuyang County, they hired a carriage, bought a straw mat, wrapped Shiquan's body and placed it on the carriage.

It was two days later when we finally returned to Linhe after a long journey.

"Please, Manager Xu, collect my brother's body. I will return to the yamen, take care of the matters at hand, and then go to Jingxia Street to see my brother off."

Xu Qing waved his hand and parted ways with Zhao Zhonghe and his nephew.

The uncle and nephew returned to the yamen on foot, while Xu Qing asked the driver to drive and transport Shi Quan's body back to his own coroner's shop.

When they arrived at the shop door, Xu Qing had just gotten out of the car carrying the corpse when he heard a commotion coming from the shop.

Xu Qing walked quickly into the shop and saw a yellow lightning running back and forth on the beams, shelves, counters, and coffin boards. Behind it, Jin Luan was flapping its wings, chasing it up and down.

"Xuanyu!"

Xu Qing's brows furrowed, and Xuan Yu, who was watching the show at the counter, instantly gave up his interest in watching the fun. A black cat flashed by, and with a few cat-like punches, the rat and the chicken immediately became obedient.

Xu Qing put the body down, reached out to pull over a bench, and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Some of Huang Laoxu's yellow hair had fallen off, and he was holding two chicken feathers in his hand, looking a little embarrassed.

A lot of the hair on the golden luan's body had been plucked out, so it was harmless at this time. There was also a tuft of yellow hair stuck on the golden luan's beak.

Mr. Huang has been practicing for a long time and is quite famous in the circle of immortals in Xijing Mountain. He is considered to be of the older generation, so he has never suffered such humiliation.

"Today I went to see the Cat Fairy to discuss something, but this bald chicken appeared out of nowhere and caught me and gave me a good beating."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at Jin Luan.

The latter could not speak and was afraid of being punished by Xu Qing, so he turned to Xuan Yu for help.

Xuan Yu had no choice but to repeat the whole process in detail.

"Mr. Huang brought a basket of boiled eggs, and Jin Luan was saddened by the sight, so she had an attack."

Xu Qing automatically ignored the conflicts between these small animals. Chickens and yellow foxes don't get along. This is their nature and cannot be resolved with just a few words.

He looked at Huang Laoxu and asked directly: "There are so many immortals in Yanjing Mountain, why do you outsource the work you have to my Cat Immortal Hall?"

Huang Laoxu is most afraid of dealing with humans, because humans are too smart, even smarter than the yellow fox.

But Xu Qing was the Grand Master and General Manager of the Cat Fairy Hall. Now that the other party knew about this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go ahead.

"I'm ashamed to say this. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Fellow Daoist Xu. It's just that I accepted the job, but I don't have the ability to do it. I'm afraid of losing face in the immortal family and disappointing the believers. That's why I rushed to your hall and wanted to ask the Cat Fairy to help me."

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows and said, "Tell me what it is first, but I have to be frank. The Huangxian family had better not hide anything. If I feel that there is any falsehood in your words, let alone the size of the matter, even if it is a small matter, my Maoxiantang will not accept it."

"Integrity is important in business, and so is making friends. I hope Mr. Huang understands."

Huang Laoxu laughed dryly, feeling guilty and not knowing where to put his two short hands.

"This is actually my fault. A few days ago, a lot of children went missing in several villages near Yanjing Mountain, and some villagers asked the immortals to help search for them."

"A skilled gray fairy took on this job, but he never expected to hit a wall. The child trafficker turned out to be a member of the Yin Sect. He used witchcraft to turn the lost children into lambs and mixed them in with the flock."

"That shepherd boy has some skills. Although I'm not afraid of him, I don't want to provoke him either."

"These sinister people are like sticky rice cakes, so sticky and soft. You can't hit them hard, and when you want to stop, they stick to you again. My descendants in the Yellow Strip Cave are numerous, and if you offend such people, you will never have peace."

Huang Laoxu paused, then said with some regret, "I wanted to turn a blind eye, but who could have imagined that among these people there was a hunter who was so desperate to save his life."

Xu Qing listened to Huang Laoxu's narration and gradually understood the whole story.

It turned out that someone from the Yin Clan had kidnapped a villager's child, angering a hunter who was herding in the mountains. The hunter chased the shepherd, but was severely injured by the shepherd who used fire magic.

Knowing his life was in danger, the hunter used the secret method of mountain chasing to hold on for a lasting breath. Relying on his experience in mountain chasing, he found the Huangtiao Cave. Then he offered a basket of eggs and a few crooked-necked phoenixes as an offering, and asked Huang Xiantang to help.

And he promised that no matter whether the matter succeeded or not, he would burn incense and offer sacrifices to them during festivals and holidays.

Huang Laoxu didn't think too much at the time. He just thought that there were such good things in the world, so he agreed.

A few days later, when it went to the hunter's house to exorcise the evil spirit at the agreed time, it found that the hunter had died.

When a person dies, the debt is settled. When the person involved dies, the matter is over.

But Huang Laoxu's joy didn't last long, as the whole Yanjing Mountain suddenly began to spread the news that he, Huang Laoxu, had taken on the task of finding the lost children and punishing the human traffickers.

After careful inquiry, he finally found out where the rumor came from.

Who did you think it was? It turned out to be the hunter who had just died!

You said that as a result of this incident, all the hunters are dead and there will never be any evidence.

But Huang Laoxu actually accepted the other party's donations.

Everyone knows something about this, more or less.

But no one knew that Huang Laoxu was tricked by the cunning humans.

The old yellow-skinned man was afraid of being laughed at by his peers, and was also afraid that his reputation would be damaged because of this incident, which would affect the popularity of his Huangxiantang. So he came to Maoxiantang with the basket of eggs to ask for help.

"You old mink, you still have the nerve to call hunters cunning? You've accepted so many benefits, and now you want to outsource the work to Cat Fairy Hall for just a basket of boiled eggs. To put it nicely, this is scheming, and to put it bluntly, it's diverting trouble."

"It would be fine if I didn't kick you out, but you still want my help?"

Huang Laoxu was so anxious that he kept bowing and apologizing.

"I was indeed not thoughtful in what I did. I hope you will forgive me. As long as you are willing to help me, I will remember this friendship and will do my best to help you whenever you need me in the future."

Xu Qing stared at the yellow fox in front of him for a while.

It was not until Huang Laoxu was so frightened that he was planning to seek help from someone else that Xu Qing finally spoke.

"If you can send the hunter's body to the coroner's shop, I can consider it."

Upon hearing this, Huang Laoxu thanked him repeatedly. He had never been so grateful to a human being in his life.

However, the next moment he heard Xu Qing say:

"However, the reward for this basket of boiled eggs is still too little. It's not even enough for my Cat Fairy Hall to share."

Huang Laoxu asked tentatively, "Then I'll send you some old ginseng from the mountains, Ganoderma lucidum from the cliffs, or other mountain delicacies some other day?"

Xu Qing shook his head. He didn't need to prolong his life, so what was the use of these precious medicines?

"I don't need this, but recently I've been lacking a high-quality wolf-hair brush for writing talismans."

"."

Huang Laoxu walked away with his tail bald, while Jin Luan was gloating over his misfortune.

When Xuan Yu saw Xu Qing plucking his hair, he carefully hid his tail under his belly.

In the patrol office, since Captain Zhao had been missing for two days, Chief Xue had taken over the Captain's duties.

Some flatterers have already started calling him Captain Xue in private.

Now, Xue Yacha was chatting with several close colleagues in the classroom.

"It's Captain Xue who's really open-minded. If we were to slack off here in the past, we would definitely be scolded by Captain Zhao."

"Captain Zhao, you know, is just a crude warrior who talks a lot of shit and piss all day long. He never has a good word on his lips."

"That's not the case. Apart from his love of scolding, unreasonableness, and tyranny, Captain Zhao does have some strengths, such as his long arms." With his back to the cell door, Xue Yacha was counting Zhao Zhonghe's shortcomings.

"Ahem, Lao Xue."

"What did you call me just now?" Xue, the yamen runner, had just finished drinking and his face was flushed. He looked at the yamen runner who called him Old Xue with some dissatisfaction.

The yamen runner was silent, while his other colleagues stood up immediately, their faces changed drastically.

"Captain Xue, should I call you this from now on?"

When a deep voice came, Xue Yachai shuddered almost reflexively.

He turned stiffly and saw the familiar figure at the door.

"Zhao, Captain Zhao"

(End of this chapter)