Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Chen Ping stood up, clapped his hands, and turned to the people around him, saying, "Dispose of the body first."

Someone in the crowd responded and began to make arrangements.

He walked out of the courtyard gate, and the crowd automatically parted to both sides.

"Chen Ping."

A voice came from behind me.

Chen Ping turned around.

Liu Laoguo found himself standing on the outermost edge of the crowd at some point.

He held a pipe in his hand, his eyelids drooping, his cloudy eyes fixed on the withered corpse, the skin on his old face taut.

Chen Ping walked over.

Old Liu didn't look up, his voice low: "This is a case of evil spirits killing people."

"Evil spirits?"

"His blood and energy have been drained, but his skin is intact, without any wounds." Old Liu put his pipe in his mouth for a moment. "The older generation said that this is the work of evil spirits."

He raised his cloudy eyes and scanned his surroundings: "In a chaotic world where human life is as worthless as grass, it is the best breeding ground for these evil creatures. During the prosperous and peaceful times of the Great Wei Dynasty, these filthy things had long since disappeared. But how long has this war in the north lasted? In this remote and impoverished place, the evil spirits have already become uncontrollable."

After speaking, he paused, slowly raised his head, looked at the northern horizon, and lowered his voice: "This battle in the north will last for at least several more years."

Chen Ping frowned: "What's the difference between this evil spirit and a water ghost?"

"Resentment, extreme yin, and corpse transformation can all give rise to evil spirits. There are many kinds, some don't even have a physical form, while others are impervious to swords and spears. Each kind of ability is so strange that it is impossible to guard against them." Old Liu took a puff of his pipe and exhaled a puff of white smoke from his nostrils. "But I've lived most of my life and I've only ever heard people gossip about dead bodies. I've never seen a real, living one."

He turned his head to look at Chen Ping: "This matter is very serious. You must go and tell Lü Cheng so that he can take precautions as soon as possible."

Chen Ping nodded.

By this time, most of the people at the alley entrance had left, and the dilapidated door of that small courtyard was still open, the inside quiet and exuding an air of death.

Chen Ping took one last look, then turned and headed straight for the council hall.

Lü Cheng was drinking tea in the corridor of the council hall.

Seeing Chen Ping enter, he put down his teacup, squinted at him, and said, "I didn't realize it during the meeting, but you've already reached the peak of your tendon-strengthening stage?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." Lü Cheng picked up his teacup, took another sip, and asked, "What is it?"

"Master," Chen Ping said, "I just saw a corpse on the street. The death was bizarre. The skin was intact, but all the blood and energy in the body had been drained. It must have been killed by an evil spirit."

Lu Cheng paused for a moment while holding his teacup.

He looked up: "Take me to see."

Outside the small courtyard, two gang members were preparing to carry the body away.

As Lü Cheng entered the courtyard, the people around him immediately stopped and bowed, saying, "Master."

Lu Cheng didn't speak, waved his hand, walked to the corpse, squatted down, and examined it carefully.

There was silence for a moment.

"The manner of death does resemble it." He stood up, his voice low, "But how could this be?"

He turned to his gang members behind him and said, "The body has been buried. Don't make a sound."

"Yes."

On the way back to the council hall, Lü Cheng didn't say a word.

The street was bustling with people. He walked in the middle, his expression calm, but his brow remained furrowed, as if he were weighing something on his mind.

Upon entering the council chamber, he sat down in a chair and lightly tapped his fingers on the table.

Chen Ping thought for a moment and then asked, "Should we report this to Prefect Qian?"

Lu Cheng shook his head: "He won't care. Since nothing like this has happened in Shanyang City, he'll just pretend he doesn't see it. Besides, he has no experience in handling this kind of thing."

He was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes: "I'll figure out a way to handle this. Your priority right now is to break through to the Blood Refinement stage."

He stood up. "Go to Rouge Tiger and get some Qi and Blood Pills, and some Blood Ganoderma, to try to replenish my Qi and Blood and enter the Blood Refining Realm in one fell swoop."

Chen Ping nodded and stood up.

The council chamber doors closed, and the sun outside shone on the bluestone slabs, making them hot and humid. People came and went on the street, just like usual.

He paused for a moment, then walked towards the alchemy hall.

Inside the alchemy hall, Qian Yaoguan was leaning over the counter, working on his abacus. When Chen Ping entered, he looked up and said, "Are you looking for Steward Yanzhihu? She's not in the alchemy hall today. You'll have to go to her residence to find her."

Where is her residence?

Qian Yaoguan gave an address and casually gestured the direction on the counter.

Chen Ping remembered it, turned around and went out. He walked two streets in the direction Qian Yaoguan had indicated, turned into an alley, and stopped in front of a courtyard with blue bricks.

There was no plaque above the gate, and the courtyard wall was half a head higher than the surrounding houses. Through the top of the wall, you could see the canopies of two osmanthus trees with their lush leaves that blocked out half the sky.

Chen Ping stepped forward and knocked on the door.

With a creak, the door opened a crack.

The girl who opened the door was about thirteen or fourteen years old. Her hair was neatly combed, and she had round eyes. She glanced at Chen Ping, said nothing, turned to the side, opened the door a little wider, and took half a step back to let him pass.

Chen Ping went inside.

Two osmanthus trees grow in the yard, their lush foliage blocking out most of the afternoon sun, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

There was a stone table under the eaves, and on the stone table was an empty teacup.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Rouge Tiger came out from the inner room, glancing at Chen Ping: "Come in."

Chen Ping walked into the corridor and found a place to stand.

The girl followed him in, moved a chair to the corner of the corridor, took out a book from her bosom, and slowly turned the pages with her head down. The sound of the pages turning was so faint that she seemed to be invisible.

Not long after, Rouge Tiger came out from the inner room, holding a wooden box in her hands. She opened it and handed it to Chen Ping: "Three Qi and Blood Pills, two Blood Ganoderma. Each Qi and Blood Pill is worth eight taels, and each Blood Ganoderma is worth six taels, for a total of thirty-six taels. This will be deducted from your allowance."

Chen Ping took the wooden box and glanced inside.

Three pills lay at the bottom of the box, their fragrance distinct from the strong, sweet-smelling scent of the Blood Qi Powder. It smelled like the aroma of grass and trees in a mountain stream, which entered the nasal cavity and gave one a slight boost of energy.

The blood mushroom is dark red, with fine, dense stems and leaves, about the length of a finger joint. It feels heavy in the hand and has an earthy smell.

He closed the wooden box, tucked it into his pocket, and turned to leave.

As Chen Ping reached the courtyard gate, he paused for a moment and uttered a sentence:

"There have been evil spirits in town lately, be careful."

After saying that, he stepped out.

There was no sound behind me.

The girl in the corner of the corridor looked up, glanced at the doorway, then lowered her head again and continued flipping through her book.

As Chen Ping walked out of the alley, he saw that some people were already packing up their stalls on the street, and smoke was rising from the rooftops everywhere, mingling with the smell of firewood and the aroma of food, slowly dissipating in the twilight.

He squeezed the wooden box in his arms and quickened his pace to walk back.

Back in the courtyard, the sky was already setting in the west, the sun was low, and the shadow of the courtyard wall was very long.

Chen Ping changed into his training jacket, stood in the courtyard, and a line of small characters flashed before his eyes.

[Skill: Walking (Perfect): 1992/2000]

It was so close.

He stared down at the words, something welling up inside him, which he tried to suppress but couldn't.

He took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, lowered his center of gravity, and took his first step.

Take slow, steady steps, landing firmly on your heels, allowing your blood and energy to flow down your leg bones and distribute your body weight evenly.

step.

Two steps.

The numbers on my retina were jumping at a steady pace.

1995.

1997.

1999.

The moment he took his last step and his foot touched the ground.

[Skill: Walking (Perfect) → Swiftness]

Chen Ping suddenly paused.