Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 87 The locust tree is half wood and half ghost

Wu Yong said disdainfully, "I heard he killed a maid in the manor and then fled! The manor is sending people to hunt him down. Living in the same courtyard as him is really bad luck!"

"Kill a maid? Has he gone mad?" Lin Yuan found it hard to believe. Even if he couldn't curry favor with the immortals, he was still a superior person in Lin Yuan, living a comfortable life. Why would he seek his own death?

"Who knows? That's what they said anyway," Wu Yong said through gritted teeth. "Just now, Old Li led some men to search his house and interrogated me. Old Li wants you to go see him as soon as you get back. Let's go together."

"it is good."

The two arrived at the main hall, where Old Master Li was drinking tea.

Lin Yuan entered the house first, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Elder Li, you were looking for me?"

Old Li stood up, picked up his pipe with both hands, put it behind his back, slowly walked up to him, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Do you know Shishu?"

"What is Shishu?" Lin Yuan asked, puzzled.

Where is Liu Jingtian?

"Old Li, I didn't see Brother Liu today—" Lin Yuan immediately explained his itinerary, "I haven't seen Brother Liu much lately, we only bump into each other occasionally."

Old Master Li nodded expressionlessly: "You two go and summon all the retainers in the manor who are not on duty."

"Yes." Lin Yuan and Wu Yong were both a little puzzled, but they didn't ask any further questions.

The two immediately called for help, and everyone gathered outside the hall. The two stood behind the Red Instructor.

Old Li raised his pipe to signal everyone to quiet down: "A maid in the manor has passed away. You gentlemen are all full of yang energy, so you will all come with me to carry the coffin for the funeral. All female guests will remain in the manor to replace the gatekeepers and guard the entrances and exits of the manor. No one is allowed to leave without my order."

Wasn't it said that this maid was killed by Liu Jingtian?

Everyone was puzzled, but no one dared to question it.

Lin Yuan guessed that wealthy families valued appearances and would not air their dirty laundry in public.

Upon hearing that they would be carrying the coffin and attending the funeral of the maid, no one wanted to go, fearing they would be tainted by bad luck. They looked at each other in disapproval.

If it's for the master's funeral, they'd all scramble to carry the coffin, but if it's for a servant's funeral, wouldn't it be enough to just find a servant?

Why seek out these retainers?

But as soon as Lin Yuan heard this, he immediately perked up, raised his head, and peeked out from behind Coach Hong, squeezing himself in front of the crowd.

Wu Yong quickly winked at him and reached out to tug at his sleeve, but Lin Yuan seemed not to notice.

The guests were delighted to let Lin Yuan step forward and readily made way for him.

Lin Yuan immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and generously declared, "I am willing to serve Elder Li!"

Wu Yong was unwilling to go forward, so he had no choice but to continue hiding in the back.

Old Li nodded to Lin Yuan, and seeing that he was alone, he angrily said to the others, "What? None of you are willing?"

All along, the only person the retainers could interact with was Elder Li, the head steward. Seeing Elder Li's anger, they had no choice but to clasp their hands and step forward.

Old Li glanced at everyone and said to the eight people at the front, "You eight carry the coffin, the rest of you escort it."

"Yes."

Lin Yuan immediately followed Elder Li to a side room in the back of the house, where the corpse had already been placed in a coffin and the coffin lid had been nailed shut.

This maid died today, and I don't know how many hours have passed. Based on past experience, her soul has probably already dissipated.

I just hope this vengeful spirit has some resentment and will stay a little longer.

Lin Yuan took the lead, searching left and right for the Yin Spirit Gathering Wind, but found nothing.

He had no choice but to try anything, so he picked up the carrying pole and started feeling around for the coffin.

He lingered by the coffin for a while and actually felt a slight chill in his left hand. He quickly closed his eyes and called out to the mirror. He felt a flash of white light in his mind and was overjoyed.

I found a bargain!

"Be careful, everyone, lift the coffin!" Old Li urged.

Lin Yuan quickly opened his eyes, got up, and carried the coffin out of the side gate of the mansion.

There were horse-drawn carriages and flatbed carts outside the gate, but no canopy.

After everyone placed the coffin down, Old Li had a white cloth covered it and then had the martial arts masters surround it from all sides to escort it.

Upon arriving at the city's dock, Lin Yuan and his eight companions carried the coffin onto the ship, and the rest of the group followed to escort it.

The boats passed through the water gate and entered Yuanhu Lake.

On the boat, Old Li led everyone to sit in a circle around the coffin. Lin Yuan didn't dare to look at the mirror in public, so he chatted with everyone.

But with Mr. Li around, everyone was a bit reserved and not very talkative, just making small talk here and there.

When we arrived at Taoli Ferry.

Lin Yuan and his eight companions carried the coffin off the boat again. He suddenly noticed that a corner of the lacquered surface on the side of the coffin had been chipped, revealing the wood underneath. He didn't know when the chipping had happened.

He stayed at Hu's Coffin Company for almost a year, occasionally chatting with Uncle Gu and the other workers, and learned a little about coffins.

Therefore, I recognized the wood's color and realized it was locust wood!

Although he wasn't a true expert, he knew that a good coffin should be made from a single piece of wood, with the top and bottom forming a single unit.

In other words, good coffins are all made of locust wood, and even the coffin nails may be made of locust wood.

This is a bit strange!

Generally speaking, nobles and high-ranking officials used Phoebe zhennan and Catalpa wood, while other families mostly used cypress, pine, and elm. If all else failed, they would use willow. As for locust wood, it was rarely used.

The locust tree is considered yin in nature. The Chinese character for locust (槐) is composed of half wood and half ghost. Uncle Gu said that locust wood has the effect of gathering yin and locking away souls.

Gather Yin and lock the soul!

Lin Yuan suddenly realized that the reason he was able to pick up the Yin spirits could be because of this.

Lin Yuan was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't this maid a victim?

Why use a coffin made of locust wood for her?

Is it because you don't want her soul to be reincarnated?

Why make such a big fuss and only allow male retainers to carry the coffin and attend the funeral, while not allowing servants to do so?

It's likely that the retainers were all martial arts masters, full of masculinity and unafraid of evil spirits.

Lin Yuan suddenly realized that this was a hot potato.

It seems I'll have to be more cautious next time I encounter a corpse and not rush into contact with it.

Master Xu is right. One must be cautious every day, as if facing an abyss or walking on thin ice, in order to survive to the end.

He quickly observed Elder Li and the others, and it seemed that no one had noticed that he had absorbed the Yin spirit, so he gradually felt relieved.

Fortunately, the mirror's ability is quite strong.

He then thought that this maid's identity or what she knew must be extraordinary, otherwise she wouldn't be treated with such high regard.

It seems I'm about to get another great opportunity!

Indeed, risks and opportunities coexist, and as the tide rises, so does every boat.

The group escorted the coffin to Dragon Beard Mountain.

This is the ancestral cemetery of the Li family. The cemetery covers a vast area and is quite magnificent, with servants specifically assigned to guard it.

Lady Li reserved a place for all four branches of the family, and even for the servants who would serve their master until their death, signifying that they would serve their master for generations to come.

However, the servants' graves were located in a low and shallow area, and the mounds were also low.

Old Li led the group, carrying the coffin, around the servants' graves, to a shady spot on the back hill.

The servants had dug the pit beforehand, and Old Master Li waved his hand to signal the servants who hadn't practiced martial arts to move away.

Only then did Old Master Li give the order: "Lower the coffin!"

Lin Yuan and the other eight adjusted the position of the coffin.

"Let's put it in the ground!" Old Master Li directed the other disciples to shovel soil themselves.

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment. It was clearly a task that should have been done by servants, yet they were being made to watch from a distance while their retainers were being made to do the work.

Fortunately, it's finally finished.

Old Li then said, "You will be assigned to guard this place for seven days, and you must not be negligent in the meantime."

"Yes." The crowd was puzzled, but they had no choice but to obey.

Old Li directly assigned the tasks, with Lin Yuan and the seven people who had carried the coffin earlier being placed in the last group, while Wu Yong, who had been hiding at the back, was placed in the first group.

Wu Yong looked bitter and had no choice but to obey orders, but this only deepened his hatred for Liu.

Lin Yuan was helpless, but privately advised, "Senior Brother Wu, be careful. Don't be careless!"

Seeing the signal from his eyes, Wu Yong immediately nodded: "Okay."

Lin Yuan followed the others back to the city. This time, Elder Li made no demands, so everyone hid elsewhere, either chatting with someone or pretending to sleep.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Yuan found a corner, sat on the ground, pretended to doze off, and closed his eyes to look in the mirror.

A young girl stood gracefully in the mirror; she was a beautiful young woman.

Lin Yuan has been in this world for so long, mostly living in the countryside, where he rarely sees any pretty girls. Most of them are sallow-faced, thin, or have a weathered look on their faces, or a blank expression.

On the contrary, he thought that the pretty girls, such as Yingniang and Xuniang, were just reflections in the mirror.

They all have one thing in common: they come from wealthy families.

It's clear that being beautiful requires money, just like learning martial arts. You need to eat well, drink well, and dress well, and you have to do less work. Only wealthy families can afford to support that.

Even a maid in a noble family looks like a young lady, with fair and clean skin.

"Fairy Mirror, Fairy Mirror, tell me everything she experienced before and after her life?"

The mirror-like surface swirls with mist, revealing scenes from the maid's life:

The maid was a servant born into the Li family. Her name was "Shishu," given to her by Yunniang, the ninth daughter of the eldest son's family.

She was the eldest of Yunniang's four maids, four or five years older than Yunniang, and had served Yunniang closely since childhood.

Because Yunniang lost her father at a young age and then her mother, and was also very young, she was always timid and weak, and her only hobby was reading and writing.

The maidservant privately gave Miss Yunniang nicknames like "Wooden Head" and "Cowardly Miss".

Even if Yunniang heard it, she never punished her. Gradually, she became the most influential maid in Yunniang's courtyard, and the old women outside were all afraid of her.

Originally, her life was just about accompanying Yunniang day after day. She usually bossed around a group of maids and servants, and occasionally teased her master for being weak. But she would also cause trouble for the servants when Yunniang was treated unfairly. Later, she met a retainer named Wang Anren who was on duty in the mansion.

Wang Anren was not only handsome, but also a seventh-rank martial arts master. He was just over twenty years old and had once been one of the top ten young heroes on the Tiger List, famous throughout Wushan County. He was recruited into the manor by Qi Lang.

As they met more often, they gradually developed feelings for each other.

Shi Shu usually stayed in the inner quarters, and most of the men she met outside were relatives. She rarely saw or had contact with heroes like Wang Anren.

After a while, the two became lovers, and they started kissing and hugging each other.

Until one day, Wang Anren asked to see Yunniang.

Shishu refused, and the reason was simple: firstly, Yunniang was, after all, the eldest daughter of the main branch, and she needed the permission of the mansion to see outside men.

Secondly, she was worried that Wang Anren would fall in love with someone else, and was actually a little jealous.

To appease her lover, she secretly gave herself to him.

Then she hit the bullseye and got pregnant.

A maidservant is not allowed to secretly arrange a marriage with her mistress before her marriage, let alone become pregnant in secret. This would be a violation of family rules and would tarnish the mistress's reputation.

Moreover, she is an unmarried young lady, and also a young lady who has been recognized as a promising talent of the Lin Yuan Immortal Temple.