Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

noon.

Lin Yuan and his two companions returned to the Hu family home and ate a special meal prepared by the family. Today, they had stewed mutton, which was brought from the north. The meat was tender and smooth, and it didn't have a gamey smell.

Such sheep are not found locally; they are a rare commodity, costing several times more than pork. Only wealthy families can afford them. This one was obtained by Hu Cai's elder brother from the government office and sent back for Hu Cai to eat while practicing martial arts.

Lin Yuan benefited from this. Since Zhou Dali started studying, he no longer hunted wild game, and his elder brother could only bring firewood and fish. The main meat supply still came from the Hu family.

He plans to send more gifts to the Hu family during the Dragon Boat Festival.

After finishing his meal, Lin Yuan wiped his knife in the courtyard. Although the knife was not sharpened, he had to wipe it with knife oil after each use to prevent it from rusting.

Just then, a shop assistant came over to Lin Yuan: "Young Master Lin, the second master of the Zhang family's wife has passed away, and the shop is about to send her coffin to Shangwei Village. Would you like to come, young master?"

"Hmm." Lin Yuan nodded, sheathed his sword, and took out some copper coins from his pocket to send the waiter away. The waiter was clever and knew how to handle things, so he told him to inform him promptly if there was any news.

Hu Cai, seeing this from the side, didn't mind, assuming that Lin Yuan was just embarrassed to eat and drink for free, which was why he was so eager to help out at the shop: "Junior brother, Shangwei Village is too far away, you shouldn't go."

Lin Yuan readily agreed, "It's alright. I was just planning to go home and visit someone, and I'll also go to Shangwei Village to lend a hand."

Hu Cai, unsuspecting, reluctantly sheathed his knife: "Let's go together. If we take a boat, we can make a round trip in half a day. I haven't been out in a long time."

Lin Yuan nodded, then asked, "Is Senior Brother Wu going?"

After a slight hesitation, Wu Yong told the truth: "My family used their connections to let me become an apprentice of Instructor Wei and learn swordsmanship from him. I have to go back this afternoon to prepare, and I'll go to formally become his apprentice tomorrow morning. I originally wanted to put in a good word for my two junior brothers as well, but Instructor Wei didn't agree, so..."

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised, but they did not blame each other. This was a great favor that required a lot of people's help, not a simple favor, and they could not be blamed.

Even if Lin Yuan didn't want to go to the trouble of asking Li Shi for help, he couldn't blame anyone else.

Lin Yuan smiled calmly: "Doesn't your Wu family have a family-inherited sword technique?"

"Alas, this is a long story, I will tell you in detail with Junior Brother Lin later."

Wu Yong usually looks mature beyond his years, but he still has the mindset of a young man when he speaks and acts. At this moment, his sadness was written on his face, and Lin Yuan and the other man wisely did not ask any more questions.

The three parted ways.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai, along with a group of workers, carried two coffins out the door.

Now that he is in the late stage of Body Tempering Realm, he no longer needs anyone to help him carry the coffin. It is very easy for him to carry it. As he has carried the coffin more and more often, he has become more and more adept at it.

"The paint's just been applied, it's not completely dry yet. Be careful not to bump into anything." Uncle Gu directed everyone onto the ferry, then smiled and praised Lin Yuan and Hu Cai, "You two have become much more skilled at carrying the coffin, not bad!"

Lin Yuan put away his carrying pole and casually asked, "Uncle Gu, didn't the Zhang family order a coffin a while ago? Why isn't the lacquer dry yet?"

"You're an amateur when it comes to this. Coffin making has to be done according to a set procedure. If you skip any steps, the coffin will be of poor quality. You can't tell when it's on the ground, but it will deform once it's buried. Our Hu Family Coffin Shop is famous far and wide because of our reputation. If the Zhang family hadn't been in such a hurry, the lacquer wouldn't have been applied for several more days. There's nothing we can do about it; death is the greatest event."

Lin Yuan asked casually, but his useless knowledge increased.

"Then why carry both coffins together? Can't we just carry one and use it first?" Hu Cai asked, puzzled.

"If Master Zhang insists on doing this, we have no choice but to comply since he's a customer." Uncle Gu subconsciously looked for his pipe next to him, but realized he hadn't brought one, so he reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Traveling by boat, the group quickly arrived at Shangwei Village. The roads in the mountain village were uneven, so instead of using a cart, they carried the boats themselves, which was faster.

Zhang Dengyun's family now lives in a thatched house in the village. It is said to belong to the clan. There are some white cloth strips wrapped around the gate. There are not many people helping out in the yard, and it is deserted.

The clansmen had been acquainted with the Zhang family for generations, and many had received favors from them. However, out of fear of the Marquis's mansion, most of them dared not come, but a few did come to help.

Today's funeral is being presided over by the fourth master of the Zhang family, the same one who handled the funeral for old master Zhang last time. He's not very capable, but he's a decent person.

Seeing that there was only one main gate to the courtyard, Uncle Gu had no choice but to wave everyone in, as poor families couldn't be too particular.

Two coffins were carried in through the main gate, one to the main hall and the other to the woodshed.

Uncle Gu and Hu Cai finished their business this time, but they didn't leave immediately.

Lin Yuan was waiting for the corpse, hoping to try his luck, so he didn't leave. He asked Hu Cai, "Hasn't the bill been settled yet?"

"It was settled a long time ago! It was settled when the second master of the Zhang family was laid to rest. It's just that my father said he wouldn't come to pay his respects in person, and asked me to burn some paper money for the Zhang family while I was at it." Hu Cai thought for a moment, and then repeated his father's original words, "After all, they are old customers. Even if they are down on their luck, we still have to burn some paper money for them."

Lin Yuan nodded. In small places, business is all about personal connections. Without connections, there's no business. This paper money isn't burned for the dead; it's burned for the living to see.

After a while, Zhang Dengyun's wife's body was placed in the coffin. Hu Cai then gave two taels of silver and was invited into the mourning hall. Lin Yuan took the opportunity to give two taels of silver as well and followed him in.

Zhang Dengyun was not in the mourning hall. There was only a little girl of seven or eight years old dressed in mourning clothes, her eyes red and sobbing from time to time. Occasionally, she would put paper money into the brazier to keep the fire from going out. She looked at the people who came in, her eyes big, round, watery, and blank.

This was the first time Lin Yuan had seen Yu'er up close. She was a fair-skinned little girl with rosy cheeks, clearly raised in a wealthy family. She was cute and pretty, much prettier than the country bumpkins in the village.

He nodded slightly to Yu'er, took the yellow paper from the side and handed it to the brazier, then followed Hu Cai's example and bowed to the coffin in the mourning hall.

Lin Yuan deliberately lingered in the mourning hall for a while, looking around, but he didn't find any ghosts. After a while, he had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

It seems that Zhang Dengyun's wife left nothing behind.

Hu Cai was waiting for him outside: "Why did it take you so long to come out?"

Just as Lin Yuan was about to speak, he heard someone shout and cry out from the east room, "Oh no! Something terrible has happened!"

Fourth Master Zhang rushed over in a panic: "What's wrong?"

"Fourth Master, Second Master... he's hanged himself! Help!" A maid rushed out of the east room.

"What?!"

Chaos erupted in the courtyard immediately.

Lin Yuan immediately rushed into the east room, shouting, "I've come to save them!"

When he entered the house, he saw Zhang Dengyun dressed in funeral clothes, hanging himself from the roof beam. He subconsciously drew his knife, but found nothing at his waist. He had no choice but to pick up the man and lift him up, while looking around for the gathering of Yin spirits, but he saw nothing.

The person isn't dead yet?

Or did the spirit dissipate?

Suddenly, he felt a flash in his mind, and he quickly closed his eyes to look. Sure enough, there was a small figure standing in the mirror.

It was Zhang Dengyun!

At this moment, Hu Cai came in and hurriedly took a stool to untie the white cloth. When he put the person down, the person was already dead, but the body was still warm, obviously having just died.

"Everything was fine just now, how could this happen so suddenly!"

As soon as Master Zhang entered, he burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Yuan did not leave immediately as before, but observed Zhang Dengyun's cause of death and found that apart from the ligature mark on his neck, there were no other marks. The ligature mark also matched the position of the rope when he was hanged.

After searching for a while, Lin Yuan pulled out another piece of paper from Zhang Dengyun's arms. He glanced at it briefly and handed it to the Fourth Master of the Zhang family: "Fourth Master Zhang, this is the will of Second Master Zhang!"

"Alas!" Master Zhang wiped away his tears, glanced at the will, and his hands trembled. "I can't read, young man, please read it to me!"

Lin Yuan immediately read aloud: "Fourth brother: I have left without saying goodbye, so please do not worry about me. Please bury me and my wife next to Father's grave..."

Now that I'm gone, my only worry is for Yu'er. She is my eldest brother's flesh and blood, and I hope my fourth brother will treat her well.

But my eldest brother has committed a crime that has implicated the whole family, and the clan avoids him like the plague. I know my fourth brother is also in trouble. If he is in trouble, he can entrust Yu'er to her wet nurse, the Zhou family, for upbringing. He can give her some money.

I placed some silver coins in the bamboo pillow on the bed, asking my fourth brother to decide what to do with them. I entrust my affairs after my death to my fourth brother!

After reading the will, Lin Yuan found the handwriting to be neat and beautiful, like a small regular script calligraphy model. It was indeed worthy of someone who had served as an official for many years.

Considering Zhang Dengyun's previous actions, it is highly likely that he had been preparing for this for a long time, and suicide is the most probable possibility.

At this moment, Master Zhang immediately took the bamboo pillow, but couldn't open it. He had to ask Lin Yuan to help him forcibly open it, and sure enough, there were dozens of silver notes inside.

Lin Yuan glanced at it and handed the bamboo pillow to the fourth master of the Zhang family.

At the same time, he took Hu Cai away from the east room. What happened next was a private matter for the Zhang family, and it was not convenient for them to interfere.

But he didn't leave. He wanted to see how the Fourth Master of the Zhang family would deal with Yu'er and wait for the outcome.