Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

The next few days were exceptionally comfortable for Shen Qi.

The gangs in the outer city became increasingly irritable, engaging in fights every few days, resulting in constant deaths and injuries.

The number of refugees outside the city is also increasing.

Every day, the mortuary receives a pile of corpses. Fortunately, it's almost winter, and the freezing weather helps them manage. If it were summer, the stench would be unbearable.

Zhao Youtian was so anxious that blisters appeared on his lips. There weren't enough people to handle the corpses, and if this led to an epidemic, even eighty heads wouldn't be enough to pay off his debt.

Shen Qi then approached him, saying that any difficult-to-handle corpses could be sent to his room, and the other morticians could handle the easier tasks.

Zhao Youtian was naturally delighted. Other morticians would spend two or three hours just piecing together the remains. But Shen Qi could do it perfectly in half an hour.

He simply changed the rules. For every set of clothes Shen Qi sewed, the account would record two sets. In any case, the higher-ups only cared about whether the total number was cleared, and no one cared how the distribution was done.

After disposing of the corpses each day, Shen Qi spent the rest of his time practicing martial arts and assimilating life threads.

He was extremely satisfied with his current job.

Moreover, not only has his cultivation been settled, but he has also been paying close attention to the changes outside.

Every morning, just as dawn breaks, someone carrying a food box knocks on the door of the small courtyard. Not only are there steaming hot meat buns and mutton soup, but a newly printed copy of "Chronicles of Peaceful Times" is always included.

Shen Qi sat in the main room, holding a steamed bun in one hand and flipping through coarse paper with the other.

In recent days, the newsletter has been filled with stories of refugees outside the city. A severe drought in the north, coupled with martial arts masters severing the earth's veins in a duel, has caused a massive influx of refugees into Chengping County. Although soup kitchens have been set up outside the city, it's like trying to feed tens of thousands of mouths with just a few large pots – a drop in the ocean.

Today, the front page finally had a new title.

In the most prominent position, four characters are printed in large black letters: "A family that accumulates good deeds".

The following text proclaims: The patriarch of the prestigious Yan family, witnessing the starving people resorting to cannibalism, was deeply saddened and led the way by donating three thousand bushels of grain to set up ten soup kitchens outside the city to provide relief. The entire city was deeply grateful, and the prefect personally inscribed a plaque reading "A Family of Good Deeds," which was then presented to the Yan family with great fanfare. The Yan family became incredibly famous and influential.

Shen Qi took a bite of the meat bun, picked up the bowl, and gulped down a mouthful of mutton soup.

Whether it was for fame or out of genuine sincerity, the three thousand bushels of grain truly entered the stomachs of the disaster victims, saving countless lives—that is merit.

He folded up the anecdotes and set them aside, no longer thinking about them. Those things were too far removed from him; he should focus on taking care of himself first.

Two days later, in the evening.

In the dimly lit mortuary, Shen Qi inserted a sewing needle into the flesh of a scarred corpse, and with a gentle flick of his wrist, tied the final knot.

He put away the needles, stood up, and exhaled a long breath.

This scarred man was a minor gang leader in his lifetime, and his vitality was much stronger than that of ordinary henchmen.

Shen Qi raised his eyelids and looked up at the top of the corpse's head.

A small clump of dark red life threads was suspended in mid-air.

He extended his right hand and gently brought his fingertips together.

A few strands of dark red silk obediently detached from the corpse, flowing down his fingertips and into his palm, merging into the mass of grayish-white life silk.

knock off.

Satisfied, he walked to the basin, carefully washed the blood off his hands with soap, and then changed into a clean gray cloth shirt.

His blood and energy had been increasing rapidly in recent days, and coupled with the energy expenditure from practicing the Tiger-Taming Fist every day, he became extremely hungry very quickly. His stomach started rumbling right now.

As Shen Qi wiped his hands, he thought to himself that he absolutely had to go to his usual shop on the street corner and have three big bowls of mutton noodles. Extra chili, extra scallions.

Just as the towels were draped over the wooden rack, a series of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the corridor.

"Seventh Brother!"

Before the words had even finished, Zhao Youtian's chubby face popped in, his eyes shining brightly.

He strode into the house, his thick hands bracing against the stone bed, and gasped for breath. "The Qian family, the grain merchants on South Fourth Street in the inner city, the old master is gone!"

"The old master passed away suddenly, and I heard his death was rather unseemly. Master Qian is worried about the rumors and is anxious to find someone to give him a proper send-off." Zhao Youtian spoke animatedly, his words flowing freely. "As soon as I received the news, I immediately asked a middleman to deliver a message to Master Qian. He said that we happen to have a high-ranking official from the Imperial Observatory here, whose skills in preparing corpses are superb. If the Qian family is willing, they can invite this official to come to their door in person to give the old master a dignified send-off."

At this point, Zhao Youtian deliberately paused, his fat face trembling. "Seventh Brother, guess what?"

"When that patriarch of the Qian family heard about the Astronomical Bureau, his eyes widened!" Zhao Youtian held out his palm, flipped it over, and said, "One hundred taels! He didn't even haggle; he directly placed a deposit of one hundred taels!"

"Furthermore, the host also said that there will be a generous reward later, no matter what!"

Shen Qi draped the towel over himself and turned around.

One hundred taels of silver is no small sum, and the money came just in time, as the medicine prescribed by Doctor Li had run out.

"Brother, you're really efficient." Shen Qi nodded, his tone still calm. "Looking at the dates, tomorrow is our mortuary's ten-day break. It's a perfect arrangement, as it won't interfere with our official duties."

"Hey, Seventh Brother, don't worry about rest days or anything like that," Zhao Youtian waved his hand, "Those people up there ultimately don't dare to interfere with the affairs of the Observatory."

The two didn't mind the cold and damp atmosphere of the mortuary, so they simply sat down next to the stone bed where the body had just been placed and carefully went over the route, the words, and the rules for tomorrow.

Zhao Youtian explained to Shen Qi one by one the details of the Qian family's residence on the South Fourth Street of the inner city, including which courtyard it was in, which gate to enter, how to address the steward, and where the mourning hall was set up.

Shen Qi listened attentively, occasionally interjecting with a question or two, focusing on the most trivial details.

As Zhao Youtian spoke, he became more and more fluent and convinced that this Seventh Brother was truly no ordinary person. Despite his young age, he was meticulous in his work, and partnering with him would be a reliable choice.

Before we knew it, dusk had fallen.

After the servants finished their work, the noise in the front yard gradually subsided, and the entire mortuary fell silent.

"Gurgle—"

A rumbling sound rang out clearly in the quiet room.

Zhao Youtian was taken aback at first, then awkwardly touched his round belly and grinned, "Oh dear, I was so busy talking that my stomach is rebelling."

He peeked out the window at the pitch-black sky and slapped his thigh: "Seventh Brother, it's already this late, all the decent restaurants on the street are probably closed."

"Let's not go looking for anything outside today!" Zhao Youtian declared confidently. "Come on, let's go to my brother's house! Have your sister-in-law cook a few dishes, and we two brothers can have a couple of drinks!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother." Shen Qi readily agreed.

"That's more like it! No need for formalities among brothers!" Zhao Youtian laughed heartily, comically bowing and gesturing for them to proceed. "Shall we go?"