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

Zhou Xuli stood up abruptly, and Xie Bingxiang's eyes widened as well.

Zhou Fu also glared at Xie An, "Where is Wang Yongming?"

"The mass grave on the back hill," Xie An answered readily, then added, "My courtyard is near the back hill. Just now I saw a figure pass through the wall. Judging from his appearance, it should be Master Wang Yongming."

Zhou Xuli gasped, "A mass grave?! That place has the heaviest yin energy! If Master Wang really stayed there for a night, absorbing all that yin corpse energy..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant—the monstrous corpse was likely about to become a monster.

After saying that, Zhou Xuli swallowed hard. "Shopkeeper, why don't we send someone to inform Wang Qinian tonight? Tell him to bring a few armed police officers to handle this. No matter what the outcome, it will at least give Wang Qinian an explanation and prevent things from getting too tense and difficult to resolve."

Xie Bingxiang shook his head, "Even so, I'm afraid it will be difficult to salvage the situation. Wang Qinian has always been a proponent of new trends and once regarded our mortuary as a feudal superstition. He couldn't wait to find an excuse to shut down our mortuary so that he could get credit for it. If he finds out that Wang Yongming is in trouble, our mortuary will most likely be lost."

Zhou Xuli panicked a little. "What should we do?"

Xie Bingxiang didn't answer, but turned to look at Zhou Fu in the corner, "Master Zhou, are you confident?"

Zhou Fu pulled out an oil paper package from his pocket and slowly unfolded it—inside were a few salt-roasted soybeans. He picked one up, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it with a "crunch".

"Manager Xie, all these years you've been feeding this drunkard five silver dollars a month. What are you hoping for? Just in case something happens."

He patted the salt off his hands. His hands had large knuckles and thick calluses on his palms, especially the calluses on the inside of his index finger and thumb, which were thick and yellowish. These were marks left by years of practicing grappling and locking techniques.

Zhou Xuli was still a little worried. "Master Zhou, that Master Wang is really fierce. Just now, more than a dozen of us couldn't do anything to him with sticks. Even knives didn't work. We can't be careless. Liu Hu is already injured. If someone else dies, what will become of us?!"

"Hahaha."

Zhou Fu suddenly burst into laughter, "Chief Zhou, you've been a chief clerk for half your life, how come you've become more and more timid? Have you ever heard of that strange case involving a family of three on the Haihe River in Tianjin during the reign of Emperor Guangde of the previous dynasty?"

Zhou Xuli's eyes flickered, and after a moment of daze, he remembered the past. He clicked his tongue and said, "How could I not remember? During the reign of Emperor Guangde, there was a family by the Haihe River in Tianjin. Three people died suddenly in succession, their deaths were gruesome, and there were teeth marks on their necks. The government couldn't find the cause, so they invited a Taoist priest who claimed to be from Longhu Mountain to come and see. He said it was 'the work of a corpse demon.' The Taoist priest set up an altar and performed rituals for three days, but he was injured by the demon and fled while spitting blood."

This was the first time Xie An had heard of such a strange case, and he couldn't help but ask, "And then what happened?"

Zhou Xuli grinned. "Later, a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) passed by and heard about this. He didn't set up an altar or draw any talismans; he just carried a lantern and a jujube wood stick soaked in black dog's blood, and went into the house alone. The next day, a half-rotten corpse was carried out of the house, with three peach wood nails stuck in its chest. The nearby villagers applauded and even gave the镖师 some eggs and meat strips as a thank-you gift. The镖师 refused to accept them, leaving behind the words, 'A man of the martial world should uphold justice,' and then left. At the time, it became a well-known story in the Tianjin martial arts community."

Xie An's heart skipped a beat. "That bodyguard certainly has the demeanor of a master."

Humph.

Zhou Fu, standing to the side, snorted, "What nonsense about 'great manners'. That bodyguard was me. It's just that I'm young and vain; I should have accepted those gifts."

Zhou Xuli: "..."

Xie An: "..."

Zhou Fu picked up another soybean, twirled it between his fingertips, and then slowly began to speak:

"Manager Xie, Steward Zhou, young master. There's an old saying in Tianjin's martial arts world—'Ten years of visible skill is not as good as three years of hidden skill.'"

He raised his calloused hands and slowly opened them in the dim candlelight, the thick calluses on his palms gleaming with a waxy sheen.

"Ninety-nine percent of the martial arts schools on the market teach only the first level of kung fu, focusing on external training of the skin, tendons, bones, viscera, and blood, emphasizing proper posture and full strength. The 'whip power' of Tan Tui, the 'bridge hand hardness' of Hong Quan, and the 'drilling power' of Chuo Jiao, when trained to the end, are all called 'Ming Jin'."

He paused, a hint of mockery in his eyes, typical of a seasoned martial arts practitioner:

"One punch can shatter bricks and break wooden planks, sounds impressive. Escort services, martial arts schools, and guarding wealthy households—that's enough to make a living. That kid Liu Hu studied under Instructor Song of the 'Yongsheng Escort Agency' in the south of the city for five years, and he's only just reached the threshold of the 'Skin Membrane Gate.' He can lift a 300-pound coffin with one arm, but when he faces a corpse demon... he's a complete scumbag."

The candlelight flickered and danced in the room, illuminating the deep wrinkles on his face as if they had been carved by a knife.

"Then... what about the second floor?" Xie An pressed, feeling his breathing quicken.

Zhou Fu put down the bowl, wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and his eyes suddenly became sharp as needles:

"The second level is called 'Hidden Strength'." Zhou Fu slowly inhaled, his chest slightly expanding, and then slowly exhaled.

With just this simple breathing movement, Xie An heard a very faint "gurgling" sound coming from his body, like water flowing over pebbles.

"After passing the five external martial arts tests, your Qi and blood are nourished to the point of overflowing, and a breath of 'living Qi' is gently nurtured in your Dantian." Zhou Fu extended his index finger and lightly pointed in the air. "This breath travels through the meridians, penetrates the pores, and can transmit power through objects. In the martial arts world, this technique is called 'hitting a cow across a mountain' or 'needle in cotton.'"

"In the early days, 70% of the masters registered with the Tianjin 'Chinese Martial Arts Association' were skilled in Ming Jin (manifested strength), and 20% were only half-baked in An Jin (hidden strength). Those who truly mastered An Jin could be counted on two hands." Zhou Fu's tone was calm, but every word resonated deeply. "Why so few? Because An Jin training doesn't focus on muscles and bones, it trains one's life force."

Xie An's eyes blazed with intense light. "Refining life? What does that mean?"

"Abstain from lust." Zhou Fu uttered two words. "Not just for a year or two, but at least for one 'small circulation'—five years. During these five years, one's essence and blood cannot be depleted, and one must nourish the 'qi' in the dantian day and night. How many martial artists have fallen at this hurdle? Abandoning their wives, children, and warm beds? Giving up brothels, drinking, and gambling? It's difficult."

Zhou Fu glanced at Xie An: "Young Master, do you know what it looks like when a hidden force strikes someone?"

Xie An swallowed hard. "Please, Master Zhou, speak frankly."

"There's no visible injury, just a red mark at most." Zhou Fu reached out and gently pressed on the tabletop, "but the hidden force penetrated in—" Before he finished speaking, a crisp "crack" came from the blue brick floor under the table legs, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the brick surface.

"His bones and internal organs are riddled with hidden injuries from the shock. Some can't get out of bed for three days, while others... die vomiting blood after half a month, and the doctors still can't find the cause." Zhou Fu withdrew his hand, his tone chilling. "That's why the slang in the martial arts world says—'Explicit strength takes money, hidden strength takes lives.'"

Xie An felt a chill run down his spine: "Then... how do we deal with things that turn into zombies?"

"Good question." A glint flashed in Zhou Fu's eyes. "This is the true value of hidden strength—'Explicit strength only strikes people, but hidden strength can strike ghosts.'"

He stood up, slowly assuming a stance, his arms slightly bent as if embracing a circle, his feet neither too far forward nor too backward, precisely the "Two Forms Stance" of Bajiquan:

"What does the corpse-evil spirit rely on to cause trouble? A breath of yin energy. This thing gathers in the corpse's mouth or dantian, making the dead person's joints bend, nails grow, and their strength terrifying. When you strike it with Ming force, it's like hitting a cowhide drum with a stick, making a 'bang bang' sound, but it can't shake off the yin energy inside."

"But hidden force is different." Zhou Fu slowly raised his right fist, his elbow slightly lowered, and his fist loosely clenched. "Hidden force penetrates the body and specifically breaks through the 'yin energy' inside. Back then, on the 'corpse demon' by the Haihe River, I used the 'top-heart elbow' of Bajiquan—the elbow tip carries hidden force, and the moment it hits its heart, the hidden force penetrates like a needle, instantly dispersing 70% of its yin energy."

He lowered his stance, sat down again, and his tone returned to its usual calm:

"As for the 'fierce corpses' passed down by the older generation? To put it bluntly, they are just yin spirits that have absorbed enough earth energy to become powerful. Their strength is several times greater than that of ordinary corpses, and their fingernails are as hard as iron, making them difficult to harm with ordinary swords and knives." Zhou Fu grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "But no matter how fierce it is, it is still an inanimate object. Inanimate objects have their own ways of being defeated—using hidden force to break the yin spirits, sealing the corpse's orifices with peach wood nails, and splashing black dog blood on its body to suppress any remaining filth. After a set of these, no matter how ferocious it is, it will have to obediently lie back in its coffin."

Silence fell in the room, with only the flickering candlelight.

Xie An's heart was pounding wildly.

There really are extraordinary skills and techniques in this world... I didn't know before simply because the original owner was shallow in knowledge and hadn't been exposed to enough levels of knowledge.

But to everyone's surprise, the resident monk whom his father supported with sixty silver dollars a year... turned out to be an astonishing master of internal strength.

In this way, the last piece of Xie An's plan for the future was complete.

The next step is to learn the craft from Master Zhou...

"Manager Xie, the five silver dollars you pay each month aren't just buying me as a person." Zhou Fu slowly stood up, clenched his fist, and cracked his knuckles. "What you're buying is my hidden strength from the Cangzhou Bajiquan lineage. You're buying my ability to use this hidden strength to protect your mortuary's three-generation foundation."

He looked out the window at the dark night, and faintly heard the mournful cry of an owl coming from the direction of the back mountain:

"Let's go. Before that Master Wang has absorbed enough of the Yin energy from the mass grave, let's loosen his muscles and bones."