Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

The large ship slowly sailed into the waters of Xiahe County.

Chen Ping stood at the bow of the boat, his clothes fluttering in the river wind.

Although he had heard from his one-eyed deputy that Xiahe County was a bad place before he came, Chen Ping still felt a chill that went straight to his bones when the county's dock actually appeared before his eyes.

It's so quiet here.

This stillness is not tranquility, but deathly silence.

The image of Qingkou Wharf involuntarily came to Chen Ping's mind.

What a lively and bustling scene it was! Bare-chested porters shouted deafening work chants, carts laden with goods rumbled over the bluestone slabs, and roadside vendors enthusiastically hawked freshly steamed meat buns. The air was filled with the smells of sweat, dust, and the warmth of everyday life.

And here is the Xiahe Wharf.

On the vast dock, only a few dilapidated fishing boats were moored forlornly to rotten wooden stakes, swaying weakly with the waves.

The rows of buildings along the shore that should have been warehouses and teahouses are now mostly closed, with their doors and windows tightly shut and covered with faded and white seals.

Occasionally, you can see a few living people, but they are all ragged and emaciated refugees.

They were like a group of soulless ghosts, hunched over as they searched through the mud and garbage heaps on the shore.

Even a piece of rotten fish bone or half a moldy steamed bun can attract several pairs of murky eyes to stare intently.

In the backwater below the pier, there are many pieces of rotten wood and garbage floating around.

Chen Ping strained his eyes and saw what was mixed in with the "garbage": several swollen, pale corpses, their faces already blurred, thumping against the ship's side with each rise and fall of the waves.

The refugees on the shore ignored them, as if the corpses and rotten wood were no different.

"arrive."

The one-eyed deputy had somehow appeared behind Chen Ping. His single eye reflected the desolate scene, and his voice was hoarse as if grinding sand: "This is Xiahe County. Remember, here, human life is cheaper than rice."

The ship jolted violently and pulled alongside the pier that seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Before the gangplank on the ship was even set up, a burst of extremely jarring and incongruous laughter abruptly shattered the deathly silence of the dock.

"Hey! The fat sheep's here! Brothers, let's open for business!"

A group of men dressed in ravenous shorts and with fierce faces jumped off several large ships moored on the shore.

Although those boats were also covered boats, they had eye-catching white lanterns hanging from their bows and their hulls were painted black, making them stand out conspicuously on the drab dock.

The group consisted of about twenty or thirty men, all of them plump and strong, with gleaming knives and axes at their waists.

The leader, a minor gang leader, had a pockmarked face, a toothpick in his mouth, and was even carrying half a juicy roast chicken in his hand.

As he walked, he tore off a piece of chicken skin and threw it on the ground.

The moment the muddy chicken skin hit the ground, two refugees huddled in the shadows pounced on it like mad dogs, wrestling and growling like wild beasts over the scraps.

"Hahaha! Grab it! Grab it for me!"

The pockmarked leader laughed so hard he almost fell over, his eyes full of mockery.

His followers also joined in the commotion.

"Look at that! That old man is as skinny as a stick. If you chopped him up, you wouldn't even have enough meat for two pounds!"

"Hehe, if we can't gather all the bones, we'll just make soup. We'll crack the bones and suck out the marrow; that's the real deal!"

"Come on, you complained about how tough the last one was. This time I want the smaller one, it's tender!"

Chen Ping stood at the bow of the boat, watching this scene with cold eyes.

A chill ran through the air.

This is the truth of chaotic times.

There is no logic, only strength and weakness.

The one-eyed henchman took a deep breath, straightened his collar, put on the obsequious smile of a seasoned gangster, and strode forward. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and greeted the leader with a smile.

"Friends, we are here to greet you. The white banner on the bow is for traveling to the underworld, and the ballast at the bottom is for covering with soil and ash. We are just passing through the waterway to escort the master's grandfather back to his hometown for burial. Please be kind enough to help us."

The pockmarked leader glanced sideways, casually tossed the half-eaten roast chicken to his men behind him, and then spat a glob of phlegm at the feet of his one-eyed deputy, almost splashing it onto his shoes.

"Could I borrow some water?"

The pockmarked leader picked his teeth with his greasy finger and said in a sarcastic tone, "This river water isn't borrowed for nothing. There are many wronged souls in this water, and the waves are huge. It would probably take some river-suppressing silver to calm them down."

The one-eyed deputy's expression stiffened slightly, but he didn't stop moving.

He pulled out a pre-prepared travel document from his pocket, underneath which was a heavy bag of silver, and handed it over with both hands:

"This is a common practice; we buy wine for the brothers to drink and to ward off the evil spirits in this river."

That bag of silver contained at least ten taels, enough to fill several large ships under normal circumstances.

Unexpectedly, the pockmarked leader snatched the money bag, weighed it in his hand, and a greedy, contemptuous sneer appeared on his lips:

"Standard practice? That's from the old Chinese almanac!"

He pointed north with his greasy finger, his expression extremely arrogant: "There's a war going on in the north right now, and the waterways are dangerous. Our White Gang is risking our lives to protect this area. This little bit of money is barely enough to feed a beggar!"

"What does that friend mean?" The one-eyed deputy's voice turned somber, his hand clenching into a fist hidden in his sleeve.

"Double it!"

The pockmarked leader held up two fingers, his fleshy face trembling as he spoke: "Not only will it double, but you also have to pay a 'soul-pacifying fee'! Look at those big coffins at the bow of your ship, the paint so shiny, quite impressive, huh? What if they're hiding some contraband inside? For safety's sake, brothers, we need to open the coffins and check!"

The atmosphere on the ship froze instantly upon hearing this.

Exhuming a body for examination is a grave disrespect to the deceased and a great humiliation to the family.

If they were to actually open the coffin, not only would the contents of the food inside be exposed, but the humiliation alone would be unbearable for the Green Robe Society, and they would have no future in the martial arts world.

The members of the Green Robe Society on the boat gripped their knife hilts tightly, glaring angrily, as if sparks were flying in the air.

Seeing this, the pockmarked leader became even more excited. He stepped forward, pointed to his own neck, and shouted at his one-eyed second-in-command.

"What? Want to practice? Come on! Chop me up here! I was just worried about not having an excuse to eat at the banquet tonight! If I chop you all up, then all the cargo on this ship will be mine!"

"Hahaha! Exactly! Let's chop them up! Let these outsiders know who's the boss in Xiahe County!"

The White Gang members behind them also joined in the commotion, clattering their scabbards together, their eyes fierce, like hyenas that had smelled blood.

The veins on the one-eyed deputy's forehead bulged, and a murderous intent surged in his single eye, almost uncontrollable.

But he ultimately held back.

This is the territory of the White Gang; even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake.

The White Gang here is a pack of mad dogs; if they bite you, you'll be badly injured, if not killed.

Once things start, if anything goes wrong with this batch of goods, no one can afford the consequences.

"OK."

The one-eyed deputy gritted his teeth, his cheeks puffing out.

He then took out a gold ingot from his pocket, which was the money he had originally intended to keep for his own survival, but now he had no choice but to throw it away in front of everyone.

The gold streaked through the air with a golden light and landed steadily in the pockmarked leader's hand.

"This yellow croaker is good for the brothers, so the coffin can be exempted from inspection. After all, the dead should be respected, and I don't want to bring bad luck to you all."

The pockmarked leader caught the gold, took a big bite, and looked at the teeth marks on it before waving his hand with satisfaction, as if shooing away a fly.

"You're smart to get out of here! Don't let me see you again!"

After saying that, he turned and left with a group of his men, still cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, why didn't you just pay up earlier? You had to force me to lose my temper. Tonight, I'm going to Chunfeng Tower to pick up a couple of virgins to vent my frustration!"

The ship was brought ashore and unloading began.

Most of the grain, disguised as quicklime, was quickly transported to secret rice shops within the city.

Chen Ping then received his mission.

"Chen Ping."

The one-eyed deputy walked over, his face so gloomy it could drip water. He patted Chen Ping on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Take a few men and take these coffins and the remaining boxes of medicine to the mortuary outside the city. It's a remote place, no one will check there. You keep watch over there and don't let outsiders get close. If anyone asks, just say it's where the Ma family's coffins are kept."

"clear."

Chen Ping nodded without asking any further questions.

He called over Gouwa, who had been cowering and trembling in the back, and also ordered two honest-looking canal workers to push two wheelbarrows loaded with heavy coffins, heading out of the city.

To get from the dock to the mortuary outside the city, one has to cross half of Xiahe County.

Along the way, Chen Ping truly witnessed what a ghostly realm on earth was like.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the few that were open were all businesses with the Baiji sign.

At Bai Ji Rice Shop, a long queue stretched out in front of the shop. The price of rice was shockingly high, yet people still sold their children for half a liter of rice.

Bai Ji Gambling House was a noisy place where people were constantly being stripped naked and thrown out, lying on the roadside with broken arms and legs, wailing in agony.

The most eye-catching building is the Spring Breeze Tower in the center of the street, which is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

It was a three-story building, which looked magnificent and out of place in this dilapidated and gloomy county town.

The sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from inside the building; they were decadent tunes, mixed with the coquettish laughter of women and the rough shouts of men.

"Sir, would you like another drink?"

"Hahaha, good! Nobody's leaving tonight!"

The unrestrained voice drifted out from the open window on the second floor and landed on the street.

At the foot of the wall of Chunfeng Tower lay seven or eight already stiff corpses.

Those were refugees who starved to death.

Gouwa followed Chen Ping, trembling all over, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at a patrol of White Gang members not far away.

Those men were carrying blood-stained batons and dragging a blood-covered person into the alley.

"Big...Big Brother."

Gouwa tugged at Chen Ping's sleeve, his voice trembling violently: "Those...those are the White Gang members. I heard people say that when they can't find enough able-bodied men, they go to the mortuary...sometimes they use those corpses to make up the numbers, and even...even..."

He didn't dare to continue, but just gripped Chen Ping's sleeve tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Chen Ping stopped in his tracks, his gaze calmly sweeping over the brightly lit brothel, then glancing at the trail of blood in the alley.

His eyes were cold, as cold as a stagnant pool.

He neither comforted Gouwa nor showed any righteous indignation.

He can barely protect himself now, so how can he be qualified to sympathize with others?

In this cannibalistic world, anger is the most useless emotion; it only makes people die faster.

"Shut up, push the cart."

Chen Ping's voice was indifferent, without the slightest ripple.

"We're here to see the dead, not to meddle. As long as they don't try to take advantage of us, it's none of our business even if they cause a huge mess outside."

After saying that, he pushed the wheelbarrow without looking back.

The wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the broken stone slabs, crushing the bloodstains on the ground, and slowly drove toward the mortuary.