Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment!

The storyteller placed the purple clay teapot steadily on the table and slammed the gavel down heavily on the table.

After a brief silence, the lobby erupted in chaos.

"Damn it! They're doing this again!"

"Old man, finish what you're saying! What exactly did the founding emperor say?"

A burly man with a fierce face suddenly stood up and slammed his large, fan-like hand on the octagonal table with a deafening roar. "I've already given you the money, and you dare to interrupt me here? Believe me or not, I'll smash this table!"

The crowd was outraged. The tea drinkers on the second floor also joined in the commotion, throwing sunflower seed shells and peanut skins onto the table like rain.

Downstairs, the storyteller remained completely calm in the face of this menacing scene.

He bent down with a smile, scooped up handfuls of copper coins and silver scraps scattered on the table, and skillfully stuffed them into the cloth bag at his waist. The bag quickly became bulging, swaying precariously as it hung at his waist.

"Please calm down, everyone," the storyteller said, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture towards the audience. "Storytelling is hard work, and my voice is truly hoarse. We'll continue the tale of the Emperor Taizu's divine might tomorrow. Please come early tomorrow, everyone!"

After saying that, the old man ignored the shouts and curses from his subordinates, slipped away, and disappeared behind the curtain in the backstage area, never to be heard from again.

"What the hell is this bad luck!"

"That old fox ran fast!"

Shen Qi sat in a private room on the second floor, watching the farce unfold below, and took a sip of his slightly cold tea.

This storyteller was quite adept at manipulating people's hearts, knowing exactly where to end a chapter to captivate them.

However, the founding emperor?

The Great Ancestor of the Great Yan Dynasty was able to overthrow the previous dynasty and establish his rule over the world, so he must have possessed a top-tier destiny.

Yan Qing, a scholar who had not yet entered officialdom, possessed a destiny marked by the extraordinary auspiciousness of "Danxia arching over a tree." What must the founding emperor have looked like?

Is it a true dragon coiled up? Or is it an aura that can swallow up thousands of miles?

It's a pity that he was a person from a thousand years ago. If he were born in this era, he would really like to see with his own eyes what kind of outstanding person he was.

He shook his head, trying to banish these unrealistic thoughts from his mind.

Forget about the founding emperor; the most important thing right now is to find a way to get an earlier version of "Yuanming Sui".

It's not an option to go through Jiang Xinyue for the time being.

If you try to force yourself to ask, it will only annoy people.

We need to find another way.

Shen Qi stood up and casually tossed two copper coins onto the table.

He walked down the stairs, through the noisy lobby, lifted the heavy cotton curtain, and stepped out of Chunhe Teahouse.

……

Shen Qi quickened his pace and headed towards South Street.

Just as I turned a corner, a dull thud came from the intersection ahead.

Clang, clang—

Accompanied by the rough sound of wooden wheels rolling over stone slabs, a squad of armored soldiers from the patrol battalion turned from the end of the main street.

The squad consisted of more than thirty armored soldiers, all clad in armor and armed with weapons. Their standard-issue longswords were still sheathed, with dark red bloodstains remaining on the blades.

The leading officer rode a tall horse, his face ashen.

In the center of the procession, three heavy wooden prison carts were being transported.

Shen Qi squinted and looked over.

There were five men imprisoned in the prison van. They were dressed in tattered clothes with bird patterns embroidered on their lapels and cuffs, and their attire clearly indicated that they were members of an outer city gang.

At this moment, all five men had disheveled hair, and their hands and feet were tightly bound by heavy wooden shackles. Their bodies were covered with knife wounds and club marks, and blood seeped out from their torn clothes.

Two of them had already passed out completely, swaying back and forth with the jolting of the prison van. The remaining three were still awake, but their faces were ashen, their eyes unfocused, and they didn't even have the strength to groan.

Shen Qi slightly raised his gaze and looked up at the top of their heads.

Its life force is short and thin; it's clear it doesn't have many days left to live.

After the procession had gone some distance, Shen Qi continued walking towards the mortuary.

From afar, he could see the peeling paint on the door of the government-run mortuary wide open.

Zhao Youtian stood on the steps by the door, his hands tucked into the wide sleeves of his cotton robe, his neck hunched low. He stared intently in the direction the prison cart procession had disappeared, muttering something under his breath.

"Brother, what are you looking at so intently?" Shen Qi stepped forward and glanced in the direction of his gaze. "That troop of soldiers just now, they were quite a sight to behold."

Zhao Youtian was startled by the sudden sound, his whole body trembled, and when he turned his head and saw that it was Shen Qi, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Hey, Seventh Brother, why are you walking so quietly!" Zhao Youtian quickly pulled his hand out of his sleeve, grabbed Shen Qi's arm, and dragged him into the yard. "It's windy outside, let's talk inside! Let's talk inside!"

The two entered the accounting room, and Zhao Youtian quickly closed the door tightly and added two more pieces of silver wire charcoal to the charcoal brazier.

"You saw all those people just now?" Zhao Youtian was clearly intrigued and lowered his voice.

Shen Qi nodded and sat down on the bench next to him. "I see them. Three prison vans carrying five people. Judging from their clothes, they seem to be gangsters. What did they do wrong?"

"They're courting death!" Zhao Youtian spat heavily on the ground, his face full of sneer. "The prefectural governor's office just posted a notice for a crackdown, and these idiots, instead of doing anything else, were actually fighting in East Street this morning over territory! They ran into the patrol battalion's cavalry and were hacked down on the spot!"

"The remaining five survivors, chain them up. Tomorrow at noon, at Caishikou, they will all be executed!"

At this point, Zhao Youtian sighed, rubbed his frozen, chubby face, and complained with a bitter expression, "The resentment of these beheaded corpses is so strong that the families don't dare to take them in. In the end, they have to wrap them in tattered mats and bring them to our mortuary. Stitching up the head is the most troublesome part. If the stitches are too thick, the neck won't stand up, and blood will keep gushing out. Seventh Brother, I'm afraid you'll have to work hard again tomorrow afternoon."

"It's only right to endure some hardship while working for the government." Shen Qi picked up the fire tongs and poked at the charcoal fire, his tone gentle and calm. "Don't worry, brother, I'm skilled at sewing corpses, so it won't delay your reporting to your superiors. You just need to register the names properly."

"It's all thanks to you, Seventh Brother! You're so loyal!" Zhao Youtian was overjoyed, giving a thumbs-up and flattering him repeatedly. "With you here, I can finally relax!"

Zhao Youtian went out to make arrangements with a satisfied heart, leaving only the soft crackling of charcoal fire in the accounting room.

Shen Qi stared at the leaping flames, his eyes gradually growing deeper.

Suffering?

What others would find unlucky is something to avoid at all costs, but for him, is there any job in the world more comfortable than this?

He turned his head and looked out through the half-open window at the gloomy northern horizon.

With a storm approaching, he must seize every opportunity to become stronger.

At noon, at Caishikou.

Shen Qi's lips curled up slightly.

He withdrew his gaze and opened the book "Yuanming Sui" on the table to continue reading.

The wind was strong outside the window, making the bare branches of the tree whistle and howl.

Tomorrow will be a good day.