Gou Zai, a corpse sewn into a spirit in a mortuary during the Republic of China era, became a spirit

Following the illustrations in the book, Xie An assumed the starting stance of the Hunyuan stance under the old locust tree in the courtyard:

Stand with your feet parallel, shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent and not extending past your toes; arms loosely clasped in front of your abdomen, as if embracing a ball; relax your whole body, head upright and neck straight.

The posture looked simple, but after standing for less than a quarter of an hour, Xie An was sweating profusely and his hands and feet were twitching.

The original owner of this body grew up in the previous dynasty, and Yongning County is adjacent to Tianjin, the center of the martial arts industry. From a young age, she was influenced by what she saw and heard martial arts students practicing.

He discovered that the Hunyuan stance he was practicing was completely different from the bow stance and horse stance commonly seen on Xiaochangkou Street.

The bow stance, like the Xingyi San Ti Shi, is a fighting stance that integrates offense and defense. The front and back feet are positioned separately like a drawn bow, with the center of gravity distributed 30/70. It emphasizes the transition between movement and stillness and the ability to explode instantly.

The horse stance, like the Baji Liangyi stance, is the foundation for hard-hitting and brute force. It involves wide-open legs, sinking the waist and hips, and training the root strength and brute force of Mount Tai pressing down.

At this moment, Xie An was standing in the Hunyuan stance, which had neither the sharpness of the bow stance nor the domineering nature of the horse stance, but only a calm and inward-looking "harmony".

But it is precisely this seemingly simple piling frame that is the most difficult to master.

It doesn't train muscle strength or explosive power; it focuses on cultivating one's "qi" and nurturing one's "spirit."

As the practice continues, the breathing should be gentle and unhurried, always maintaining a steady breath.

But that's too difficult.

When you stand in a standing posture for a long time, your whole body muscles twitch, your heart rate suddenly increases, and your breathing becomes rapid.

Xie An could only hold on for less than fifteen minutes before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily, his inner lining soaked with sweat.

"This Hunyuan stance is a bit difficult... Even a martial artist with superhuman external martial arts skills couldn't do it, right?"

"Could it be that Zhou Fu deliberately chose the most difficult stance training for me? So I'll give up easily? Is he just trying to freeload off my dad's two jars of baijiu for twenty years...?"

Xie An wasn't stupid. Judging from Zhou Fu's sloppy and perfunctory manner, he knew that Zhou Fu didn't think he could master the stance training.

Having just experienced what happened with Wang Qinian, Xie An regarded martial arts as a means of self-protection, so how could he easily give it up?

"Again..."

After a short rest, Xie An, disregarding his fatigue, got up again and assumed a fighting stance.

He tried again and again, but apart from his hands and feet becoming increasingly sore and numb, he could only last for a quarter of an hour each time. The convulsions in his body and the hopeless state of his stance training were telling Xie An that he should give up.

But Xie An persevered on sheer willpower.

They persisted until dusk, when suddenly something unexpected happened.

The chilling, oppressive energy that had accumulated within him from absorbing the essence of the corpse demons subtly resonated with the key principle of stance training: "qi sinking to the dantian." Without any deliberate guidance, the cold energy seeped from his bone marrow and sank to the Yongquan point on the soles of his feet. His feet felt as if they were rooted to the ground, allowing him to clearly perceive the undulations and coolness of every inch of soil and stone.

His breathing slowed down.

He tried the "reverse abdominal breathing" described in the book—when inhaling, the lower abdomen slightly contracts and the diaphragm rises; when exhaling, the lower abdomen relaxes and the breath returns to the dantian.

With each inhale and exhale, the chilling current surged like an undercurrent in a well, slowly rising and falling along the spine. Wherever it passed, the aching muscles thawed as if ice had melted, transforming into a deep, pervasive relaxation.

Sweat seeped from deep within the skin.

It wasn't hot sweat, but fine, slightly cool beads of sweat that covered my forehead, back, and palms.

A person is like jade that has been bathed in warm water, outwardly calm but inwardly radiant, their mind gradually becoming clear and serene.

He glanced at his pocket watch; it was the first time he had practiced stance training for more than fifteen minutes. And… his hands and feet even felt lighter.

"Everyone says the core of Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) is finding the feeling of the stance, and it seems I've finally gotten the hang of it. Pork ribs are really great! If you could find me a few more pieces, my martial arts training would take off!"

This is neither the "accumulated strength" of the bow stance nor the "initial stability" of the horse stance. This is the unique "initial emergence of Qi and self-illumination of spirit and form" of the Hunyuan stance.

Zhou Fu asserted that he "wouldn't be able to stand up for five years," but unexpectedly, the bone reshaping from the "pork rib" that came from the evil spirits created a strange harmony with this Hunyuan stance for cultivating internal energy.

Xie An looked up and saw that the sun was setting and dusk was falling. There was a commotion outside the courtyard, including some arguing.

Xie An pushed open the door of the west courtyard and saw many figures outside. Several workers were carrying thin bedding rolls or hastily tied a few tattered clothes with hemp rope, heads down, and hurrying towards the gate of the manor.

Li Erniu, like a restless, trapped beast, stood with his arms outstretched, blocking the moon gate leading to the front yard, his face flushed red and his voice hoarse:

"Shuanzi! You stop right there! Have you forgotten? Three years ago, you fainted from hunger at the City God Temple. It was the innkeeper who carried you back, gave you a bowl of hot porridge, and let you carry a coffin at the mortuary, so you didn't end up as a corpse lying on the road!"

The young man named Shuanzi paused, tightening his grip on the tattered cotton quilt he was holding. He lowered his head even further, not daring to look at Li Erniu, much less at Xie An who had come out. He mumbled incoherently, "Brother Erniu... I'm sorry, my mother is still sick at home... If I stay, the police will come in three days to seal off the estate and take me in for questioning... If something happens to me, my mother will have no one to take care of her..."

"Bullshit!" Li Erniu's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly turned to another man who was pushing his way out, "Sun Laoqi! Back when the grain store broke your leg and threw you on the street, who took you in, treated your wounds, and gave you a place to shelter from the wind and rain? It was the manager! Now that you're all right, before the police have even fired a shot, you're running faster than a rabbit?!"

Sun Laoqi's face twitched, but he didn't stop; instead, he quickened his pace, throwing out only a harsh remark: "Erniu, I remember your kindness. But this time is different. Officer Wang is an official; he's already given the word… our village is doomed in three days. I, Sun Laoqi, have a worthless life; I don't want to spend it in jail and get shot!"

"You...you guys!" Li Erniu trembled with rage as he watched his comrades, who used to call him brother and drink cheap liquor with him, walk past him one by one and leave.

Li Erniu reached out in vain, only to grasp at a cold twilight and billowing dust. He stamped his feet in frustration, "You can't do this! The estate is in trouble, but this is also when the manager and young master need you most. How can you leave now? What will happen to the estate?"

The men ignored Li Erniu's shouts, lowered their heads, apologized, and walked away.

Li Erniu's silhouette, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, appeared exceptionally lonely and helpless.

"Uncle Erniu, forget it."

Xie An's voice sounded behind him, so calm that no emotion could be discerned.

Li Erniu turned around abruptly and saw the young master standing in the shadows of the west courtyard porch, his face expressionless, except for his eyes, which reflected the last trace of red on the horizon, dark and colder than the late autumn evening.

Those who remained in the courtyard, apart from those too badly injured to move, were two elderly men who were too old to find work elsewhere. They squatted in the corner, puffing on their long-extinguished pipes, their eyes clouded as they watched everything unfold.

"Young master, they...they can't be so ungrateful!" Li Erniu's voice trembled with tears. "The estate isn't finished yet! The manager is still..."

"Everyone has their own ambitions, and many things can't be forced." Xie An interrupted him, "How is my father?"

"Zhou Zhang's chief physician examined him and applied medicine. The physician said... that fortunately no bones were broken, but there was a lot of blood loss, and he needs to rest." Li Erniu wiped his eyes, his voice lowered, "But... but if people's hearts are scattered, our village... won't be able to stay together."

Xie An's gaze swept over the empty and messy courtyard. The wind swirled up the fallen leaves and scattered hemp ropes, making a soft whistling sound, like a low sigh from this century-old mortuary.

He lifted his foot and slowly walked to the moon gate, standing beside Li Erniu. Looking at the men who were almost disappearing into the twilight outside the gate, he spoke loudly:

"Those who want to leave, there's no need to stop them," Xie An said, his voice not loud, but clearly carrying throughout the quiet courtyard. "How much cash is left in the counter?"

Zhou Xuli walked over from the main room with a hunched back, carrying a small cloth bag in his hand. Every wrinkle on his face was etched with fatigue: "Young master, this is all that's left in the store... I was originally planning to pay next month's 'incense money' and buy some lime incense and candles."

Xie An took the cloth bag; it felt light in his hand. He opened it and found a dozen or so silver dollars and some loose copper coins inside. He weighed them in his hand, took out about half, and handed it to Li Erniu: "Erniu, go and give each person leaving a silver dollar. Give an extra dollar to those who are injured. Tell them that once they leave this place, they are even with the Qinghe Mortuary."

"Young Master!" Li Erniu and Zhou Xuli exclaimed simultaneously.

Clutching the few silver dollars, Li Erniu's eyes reddened with anxiety: "This...this is the last bit of money our village has left to survive! If we give it to them, how will we get medicine? How will we buy rice? How will we..."

Zhou Xuli also said in a trembling voice, "Shoucheng, we can't do that... People's hearts are already scattered, if we give away our money too, we'll really be..."

Xie An raised his hand to stop them from talking and had Erniu give each of them a silver dollar.

After everyone had received their silver dollars, Xie An looked at the departing workers and spoke, word by word:

Listen up, everyone. Our Xie family has been running the Qinghe Charity Estate for three generations, starting from our great-grandfather's generation. We have never relied on ruthless methods or black hearts.

It relies on the concept of "righteousness".

The duty to the dead is to ensure they depart with dignity and find peace in their graves. The duty to the living is to provide for our workers, never withholding or delaying their wages, and always lending a helping hand when they face hardship.

His gaze slowly swept over those familiar yet unfamiliar faces, and he continued, "Now, Zhuangzi is in dire straits, his walls have collapsed, his tiles are leaking, and he has a gun pointed at his head by the officials."

Zhuangzi may fall, and the Xie family's reputation may be smashed, but the "righteousness" and "bottom line" that the Xie family has upheld for three generations cannot be lost!

This money isn't to buy you to stay. Transactions are about mutual consent; forced relationships are never sweet.

This money is the last token of our friendship. It's a token of affection and a keepsake left by the Xie family for all of you uncles and brothers.

I know this world is tough. Everyone has families to support, and life isn't easy for anyone. Today we part ways, and the world is vast; perhaps we'll never meet again.

I only ask you all—in the future, in Yongning County, in Jinmenwei, wherever you go, if you hear people mention the four words "Qinghe Charity Estate," mention my father Xie Bingxiang, mention me Xie Shoucheng… don’t rush to draw a line, don’t pretend you don’t know them at all.

If in the future, while my village still has a breath left, I hope some uncle or brother will lend a hand, pass on a message, or do me a favor…

He paused, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to the figures in the twilight:

"Please, for the sake of this dollar today, and for the sake of the days when we carried the coffin and kept vigil together—"

Raise your hand and give me a way out.

In the world of martial arts, having more connections makes the road... easier to travel.

After he finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Only the sobbing of the evening breeze through the dilapidated porch and the rustling of the old locust tree's withered branches could be heard.

Some of the waiters standing at the door abruptly turned their faces away, their shoulders trembling slightly; some sighed heavily, bowed deeply in Xie An's direction; and others, like Sun Laoqi, wiped their faces hard and plunged into the thick twilight outside the door without looking back, their steps seeming a little heavier than before.

Li Erniu's hand, clutching the remaining silver dollars, stopped trembling. Looking at Xie An's straight yet thin back, he suddenly felt that this young master, with whom he had grown up and played, seemed to have changed in some way.

It's not that they've become ruthless, but rather... like the old locust tree in this courtyard, its outer bark charred black by lightning, yet its inner core sprouts new, cold, and hard branches unseen by others.

Zhou Xuli, standing to the side, looked at Xie An with a surprised expression. Although he was reluctant to part with the money, he felt that the young master was different from usual and could really stand on his own.

Xie An glanced at the remaining workers who hadn't left. There was only the injured Liu Hu, Zhou Xuli, Li Erniu, and two experienced workers, one named Xu Chun and the other Zhang Da.

Then, Xie An bowed to everyone, saying, "Uncle Zhou, Brother Liu Hu, Erniu, Uncle Xu Chun, Uncle Zhang Da. My father and I will remember your kindness in staying. If the estate survives this calamity, we will certainly not treat you all unfairly."

Seeing Xie An's generous gesture, everyone stood up and returned the greeting with clasped hands.

Immediately, Xie An returned to the west courtyard, took out fourteen silver dollars he had extorted from Wang Qinian, and handed them to Li Erniu: "Erniu, go to the butcher shop in the south suburbs and buy some large pieces of meat, a few beggar's chickens, and two jars of good wine. Treat everyone to a good meal tonight."

Seeing Xie An take out more than a dozen silver dollars, Li Erniu was overjoyed and nodded emphatically: "Don't worry, young master, I'll go buy wine and meat right away."

Xie An nodded and then went to his father's residence.

He could say those things not on a whim, but because he had money in his pocket.

Whether it's an individual's dignity or a family's dignity, both require money to maintain.

When Xie An pushed open the door to the main room, the smell of medicine mixed with the scent of old wood wafted towards him.

Only a small oil lamp was lit in the room, barely illuminating the figure half-reclining on the kang (a heated brick bed). Xie Bingxiang's legs were wrapped in thick white cloth, his face was ashen, and his lips were chapped.

"Father," Xie An said, closing the door behind him and walking to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), "Are you feeling any better?"

Xie Bingxiang didn't answer immediately, but just stared at his son, looking from his hair to the soles of his feet, as if confirming something.

After a long pause, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "I heard everything that was happening in the yard. Those words, those dollars... you did the right thing."

"I used to think you were too young and impulsive, always fooling around with those students outside, and that you weren't very responsible. I was afraid you couldn't handle this business, afraid that this century-old estate... would end in my hands, Xie Bingxiang."

But today… as I lie here, though this leg is throbbing with pain, listening to what you said outside, I… actually feel at ease.” He took a deep breath, the air swirling in his chest for a long time before he exhaled with a trembling voice, “Shoucheng, you’ve grown up. You’ve really grown up.”

Xie An remained silent, simply holding his father's hand and listening quietly to his father's teachings:

"In our line of work, we've seen countless lives and deaths, and we've seen through the ways of the world. But the more we see these things, the more we must remember—to leave a way out for the living, and to have a thought for the dead. This isn't foolishness; it's the foundation that allows our line of work to stand firm in this world."

Today, you've established this foundation. Not through money, but through winning hearts and minds.

"Father..." Xie An finally spoke, his voice steady, "Don't worry about recovering. I'll take care of the estate."

It's a very simple sentence, with no promises or grand pronouncements.

But Xie Bingxiang listened as if he were hearing some incredible vow. He closed his eyes, nodded, and two streams of turbid tears finally squeezed out from the corners of his eyes, flowing down his deep nasolabial folds and soaking into the patched coarse cloth on his pillow.

"Good...good..." he repeated, gripping his son's hand tightly. "This burden was passed down from your great-grandfather to your grandfather, from your grandfather to me, and now...it's time to pass it on to you. Regardless of whether our village can survive this calamity, you are a good child of the Xie family, and the pride of your father."

The flame of the oil lamp flickered again, stretching the shadows of the father and son cast on the wall until they overlapped tightly.

Outside the window, night had fallen.

But in this dilapidated mortuary, there was a small lamp, and two hands clasped tightly beneath it, stubbornly shining and warming in the boundless darkness.

……

Because Xie Bingxiang had difficulty walking, he didn't eat dinner with everyone. Instead, Xie An took his father's place and gathered with the remaining workers, drinking and eating heartily.

Although everyone thought that Zhuangzi would be sealed off by Wang Qinian in three days and that he would be taken in for questioning and possibly even imprisoned, no one backed down or ran away, and no one said anything unlucky.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Zhou Xuli, clutching a rough porcelain wine bowl, his eyes sunken in the dim light, said, "I came to the manor at fifteen and learned the 'Commentary on Funeral Rites' from the old master, and I learned to identify coffin wood. In my life, I've sewn more corpses than I've seen living people."

He tilted his head back and took a gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing. "This... has long been home. If home is collapsing, why would I run away?"

Xu Chun and Zhang Da exchanged a glance. Xu Chun wiped his greasy mouth, his voice hoarse like an old bellows: "We're both childless, without any children. We used to work as coffin bearers, but we hurt our backs and were kicked out. It was the shopkeeper who took us in and gave us a hot meal."

Zhang Da chimed in, his words brief and forceful: "The coffin lid is the sleeping mat, the mortuary is the eaves. Where will you sleep after you're gone?"

Liu Hu, who had been engrossed in gnawing on a chicken leg, suddenly slammed the bone onto the table with a loud bang. His neck was still wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage, but his eyes were wide open: "This old man's life was saved from under Scarface Liu's stick by the shopkeeper! Back then, I was so hungry I stole offerings and almost got beaten to death. The shopkeeper said, 'Kid, eat a proper meal.' I'll eat this meal until I die!"

Li Erniu's eyes were already red with tears. He suddenly stood up, knelt down with a thud facing the main room where Xie Bingxiang lived, and kowtowed three times. When he looked up, his forehead was covered in dirt, and his voice was choked with emotion: "After my father sold me... I was born into a lowly family, my life was as fragile as paper. It was the shopkeeper who burned the contract and said, 'Erniu, from now on you will live standing up.' This kindness... I will repay it with my life!"

The candlelight flickered and danced, illuminating the mess of bowls and plates on the table, and the flushed faces.

There were no grand pronouncements, just rough, manly talk.

Xie An picked up the wine jar and filled everyone's bowls with the remaining wine. "Although the manor is a bit deserted now, everyone here is a true person. Come, let me toast you all."

The wine swayed, reflecting the incense smoke that had lingered on the roof beams for a century, and the faint light from a small group of people huddled together for warmth in this chaotic world.

……

When I got back to the West Wing, it was already past 10 p.m.

Taking advantage of his slightly tipsy state, Xie An practiced a set of Hunyuan stances. After midnight, when everyone had rested, Xie An quietly pushed open the back door and left the manor, heading straight for the mass grave on the back mountain.

Although Wang Qinian is dead, the police will most likely send someone to question him in a few days.

Xie An wanted to evolve Luo Bu Si immediately to see what she would be like after becoming a level three skeleton.