Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

This wisp of life force is sparse, numbering only a few dozen strands, which is far fewer than the average person's.

But that's normal.

This man was in his forties and still roamed the streets. He would die as a gangster, with no exciting experiences and a short lifespan, so naturally, he wouldn't have many life threads.

With a thought, Shen Qi directly extracted five strands from it and skillfully guided them to his own life force.

Before long, assimilation was complete.

A scene flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

My gaze flickered, and I saw a pair of calloused hands gesturing on a tattered book. "Black Sand Palm."

It was an inferior cultivation method to begin with, barely enough to temper the skin and flesh. Without the aid of medicinal soups, the result was a hybrid practice, barely reaching the threshold of the Body Tempering Realm.

The scene shifts to a dark alleyway. A burly man, holding a short knife, is cursing at a member of another gang, all because of a few taels of silver in protection money owed to two shops on the street.

The next instant, a flash of cold light appeared, and a blade tip pierced his stomach.

The scene abruptly ended.

Shen Qi looked at the corpse on the stone bed and felt it was utterly absurd.

For a few taels of silver, he even risked his life?

The Dayan Dynasty left them to their own devices, letting them wallow in the mire, and they eventually died tragically in the streets. It was both cheap and pathetic.

Shen Qi was too lazy to wallow in self-pity anymore; he looked down at his palm.

Another solid, crimson thread has appeared in the lifeline.

Not bad.

Shen Qi's lips curled slightly, and he nodded in satisfaction. He wrapped up the remaining life threads, turned around, walked to the basin of water beside him, and began to work.

After an incense stick has burned.

Shen Qi removed his blood-stained sheepskin gloves, threw them into a wooden bucket, carefully washed his hands in a basin of water, and shook them dry. He pushed open the door and walked along the bluestone corridor to find Zhao Youtian.

In the accounting room in the front yard, Zhao Youtian was flipping through a booklet to assign tasks. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Shen Qi, and was immediately stunned.

"Hey, Brother Shen, what brings you out so quickly?" Zhao Youtian quickly put down his book, stood up, and put on a smile. "Is something missing? Or were those gang members' deaths too gruesome for you to bear? No problem, I'll arrange for two quick-witted men to take care of it for you right away!"

Shen Qi cupped his hands in greeting: "I'd appreciate it if you could send someone to take the body to the morgue and bring me a fresh one."

"Finished?" Zhao Youtian certainly didn't believe it.

The dead men in the gang fights outside the city are all missing limbs, disemboweled, and it takes at least half an hour to make them look like human beings.

But he naturally wouldn't show his disbelief on his face. He just rubbed his hands together and said with a forced smile, "Brother Shen is quite quick. Come on, I'll go with you to take a look, and we can get someone to push the cart while we're at it."

The two followed the corridor back the way they came.

Zhao Youtian stepped across the threshold, his gaze falling directly on the stone bed.

The burly man, who had been disemboweled and looked like a demon, now lay there peacefully. The fatal gash in his abdomen had been stitched up neatly and evenly with fine, even stitches.

Looking at his face again, the hideous, fanged look of death was completely gone. His face was full of fat, and his features were relaxed and peaceful. He didn't look like he had died a violent death at all; he looked more like he was asleep!

God's.

Zhao Youtian had worked in this mortuary for over ten years, and had seen at least eighty or a hundred morticians, but he had never seen anyone move so quickly and do the job so well!

"Brother Shen! This skill... I'm truly impressed!" Zhao Youtian repeatedly cupped his hands in respect.

But then he frowned and lowered his voice.

"But Brother Shen, you really didn't need to go to all this trouble!" Zhao Youtian pointed at the corpse on the bed with disgust, curling his lip. "These scum from the outer city gangs, they clearly have a lot of strength, why don't they find some decent work, like being a bodyguard or a镖师 (bodyguard/escort)? Why do they have to be so aggressive and violent on the streets, using their strength to fight and kill all day long, causing trouble for the court. These kinds of people don't deserve to die. Just sew them up with some coarse thread, make do with it so the parts don't fall off, why go to all this trouble?"

Shen Qi smiled and shook his head.

"Brother Zhao, this is a family tradition; you can't break the rules here." Shen Qi's tone was gentle, truly like a craftsman. "Besides, meticulous mortuary work can also temper one's character. Just deliver the body to me according to the procedure, brother."

Since Shen Qi was willing to do hard work, Zhao Youtian was naturally more than happy to oblige.

He muttered to himself: People from the Observatory are indeed beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like him; they are truly dragons among men!

"Alright, brother, you've really helped me out!" Zhao Youtian patted his chest, turned around, and shouted down the corridor, "Someone! Quickly bring two more cells over to Master Shen!"

……

As the sun began to set, its rays slanted across the stone bed through the ventilation window.

After washing his hands, Shen Qi took off his apron and exhaled a long breath.

On his first day on duty, he processed all five assigned corpses. In addition to the life thread from the first strong man, he also successfully extracted two dark red life threads from the other two corpses that died in gang fights.

Today was a very successful day.

"Brother Shen! Time to finish work!"

Zhao Youtian's loud voice came from outside the door.

According to the rules of the mortuary, no new bodies are collected after the sun sets at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM).

Shen Qi picked up her bundle and walked out of the mortuary. Zhao Youtian was already waiting in the corridor.

"Come on, let me show you the backyard. This will be your place for quiet cultivation from now on," Zhao Youtian said with a smile, leading the way.

The two walked through the morgue and pushed open a heavy wooden partition door, and the scene before them changed instantly.

Unlike the gloomy and oppressive burial chamber in the front yard, which reeked of blood, the back yard was quiet and spacious. Several old locust trees were planted there, and the ground was paved with clean blue bricks.

Zhao Youtian led Shen Qi to a secluded courtyard with a low wall in a corner, and pushed open the half-closed wooden door: "Brother Shen, this is it. I had someone clean it thoroughly this afternoon, and the bedding and pillows are all made with new quilts. This courtyard is in the most remote location, and those filthy servants would never normally come here. Go in and take a look, and just tell me if you need anything."

Shen Qi went in and looked around.

The main hall is spacious, with east and west wing rooms, and even a small courtyard at the back. It is indeed far superior to the old house in Qingping Town.

"That's great, thank you for your trouble, brother." Shen Qi was very satisfied, and then casually added, "I don't need anything else, but I need to brew some herbal medicine according to the prescription. Could you please find me a suitable medicine pot tomorrow?"

"No problem at all! I'll bring the charcoal along with it tomorrow." Zhao Youtian readily agreed, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture. "Then you rest first, brother. I'll take my leave now. Let me know if you need anything!"