Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Xishan, cemetery.

The mountain is nameless, and the tomb was carved by a newcomer.

Until eight years ago, Xishan was just an unnamed hill outside Qing'an County, hidden among the Anshan Mountains, with nothing special about it.

Eight years ago, in the height of summer, Mu An buried the first tombstone on this hilltop, and Xishan Cemetery gradually became the burial ground for the Anshan Patrol Office.

Initially, only the dead patrol soldiers were buried there. As the number of graves gradually increased, Mu An took the opportunity to spend some money to hire two old men to look after the cemetery and named the mountain West Mountain.

As time went on, everyone in the city came to know that there was a Western Hill outside the city, and a cemetery on the hill.

There are many people buried in the garden, so those who have gone underground will have company and won't be too lonely.

Gradually, as its reputation grew, some poor people in Qing'an County also began to bury the deceased in Xishan.

It's always good to have someone to take care of you.

With so many graves, Mu An simply spent some money to hire a few more elderly people living alone and built a cemetery in Xishan under the name of the patrol office.

Xishan is very large. The Anshan Patrol Office enclosed a plot of land, designated a separate area for its own use, and left the rest to the people of the city.

Eight years have passed, and there are now nearly a thousand tombstones on the mountain.

There are tombstones belonging to the patrol and inspection bureau, the Anshan trading company, the people of Qing'an County, and many nameless tombstones whose burial is unclear.

Today, more than twenty new graves have appeared in the Xishan cemetery.

An attack killed about a hundred people.

There were soldiers and guards, but most of them were ordinary civilians.

They suffered an undeserved disaster amidst the chaos.

Even worse, some were not killed by the Blood-Clad Cult members, but were mistaken for assassins and killed while fleeing in a panic.

Mu An did not comment on this, but simply distributed the three thousand taels of silver bestowed by Princess Yongning equally among the dead people.

The scene was too chaotic, and the county town was too big to take care of everything. When something like this happens, you can only accept your bad luck.

Nine people from the Anshan Patrol Office died. They were all guarding the city gate before they died. The one who did it must have been the Lingxiao Sanren, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Ultimately, Mu An's abilities were limited. Despite his meticulous planning and ordering his soldiers to act only at the last moment, he couldn't have foreseen an unexpected turn of events like the departure of Ling Xiao Sanren.

Princess Yongning's body was collected and sent back to her hometown by her guards.

Perhaps in an effort to win over the hearts of the people, Jun Yunxin treated everyone equally, personally funding the compensation for all the fallen soldiers at five times the standard amount provided by the imperial court.

Jun Yunxin also provided double the standard compensation to the six guards of the merchant guild who died, and together with the compensation from the Mu family merchant guild itself, the total amount was no less than that of the soldiers.

If used sparingly, it's enough for a small family to live on in Qing'an County for thirty years.

But there are always some people who go their own way, and even the business doesn't know where their relatives are.

Following past practice, these people were all buried in Xishan.

Half of the compensation money was left in the merchant's office, to be collected by any surviving relatives.

Half of the money was given to their closest colleagues. With the pension came the responsibility to offer sacrifices at every memorial service to ensure that the incense offerings would not be cut off.

"Huffing and puffing—"

As the last shovelful of soil was added to the mound, Mu An wiped away non-existent sweat and stood still in front of the grave.

There were no tears, nothing else; we simply went through all the necessary procedures and stood before the grave for a long time.

During the long silence, Mu An would occasionally glance at his family members who were crying and lying on the ground, and occasionally at the soldiers with red eyes beside him.

Some were sincere and heartfelt, while others didn't have much thought behind it and were just going through the motions out of habit.

Funerals are the same in every era.

No matter how much you tell yourself that a man doesn't easily shed tears, or that you should present your best self at a farewell, or other similar words.

It's all just self-deception. Sadness is sadness, and grief is grief. Why suppress the expression of emotions?

Who would know what you keep hidden and never say?

I heard cries and the mournful wail of the suona.

Mu An lowered his head slightly and made a promise in a tone that was neither too loud nor too soft, pointing towards the direction of the grave.

"The Blood Robe Cult Protector—Lingxiao Sanren, I've memorized his face. Sooner or later, I'll bring you his head."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone present to hear.

The woman kneeling on the ground suddenly raised her head and struggled to stand up, as if she wanted to say something to Mu An, but was pulled back by the old man beside her, who kept shaking his head at the woman.

Seeing all this, Mu An said nothing, but stood in front of the grave for a long time until the sun set, before walking down the western hill with a long shadow.

In this era where human life is as cheap as grass, there's really not much he can do.

The promise is true; sooner or later he will come carrying Lingxiao Sanren's head.

But not now, but at the end of Lingxiao Sanren's life.

Even a Celestial Martial Saint, at the end of his life, cannot escape the inevitable fate of decay.

……

child time.

After seeing off Lin Zhimin, who had made a sudden visit, Mu An fell into a daze and sat there for several hours.

Sitting at the empty desk, Mu An's gaze was somewhat unfocused as the events of the past few days flashed through her mind.

There were members of the Blood Robe Cult, people who died, and several Martial Saints who appeared, but the final image was fixed on Jun Yunxin's blood-splattered face.

He bled so much blood, yet he's still alive.

I have no idea what the princess's body is made of; it's truly unbelievable!

Mu An tapped the table lightly, recalling her conversation with Lin Zhimin not long ago.

"You've finally met the Martial Saint today, how does it feel?"

"Very strong, extremely strong. The Celestial Martial Saint is much more powerful than I imagined. It would be difficult for any one of those four to win by sheer numbers."

"No, a complete army formation should be able to fight them, but it would require at least several thousand men, and they would need to be trained using military tactics."

"It would be even more difficult to kill them. It would require tens of thousands of elite troops, forming a military force, and finding a special terrain to trap them in a defensive formation in order to guarantee success."

As if he had heard some earth-shattering statement, Lin Zhimin suddenly tore off a few strands of his beard and glared at Mu An: "You're actually thinking about how to kill them?"

Mu An waved his hand and pushed a plate of fruits toward Lin Zhimin.

"It's always better to be prepared than to surrender."

Lin Zhimin picked up a slice of apple, took a bite, and whispered to Mu An in an extremely serious tone.

"You've got one thing wrong. The Sage of Painting is not the Sage of Martial Arts. He is a figure who truly stands at the pinnacle of heaven and earth. When I was young, the Sage of Painting was a legendary figure. He was a true immortal."

Mu An's pupils contracted, and she exclaimed in surprise, "A terrestrial immortal?"

The perfectly timed shock made Lin Zhimin nod in satisfaction, stroke his long beard, and look at Mu An with a half-smile.

"Kid, do you want to become a master painter like him?"

After catching his breath several times, Mu An looked at Lin Zhimin cooperatively.

"How do I do it?"

"I am now Princess Yongning's personal physician, and I can help you secure a minor official position with her. Princess Yongning is the Emperor's most beloved daughter, but she is plagued by illness and will not live much longer."

"In order to prolong her life, with the help of the emperor, she collected spiritual objects from all over the world, and her resources were comparable to the treasure trove of an entire great family."

"If you join Princess Yongning's camp, thanks to my connections, you will never have to worry about spiritual items for cultivation again."

"You are naturally gifted. If you can win the princess's favor, you can use this as a springboard to enter the imperial city, receive the blessing of good fortune, and have a promising future."

After a moment of silence, staring at Lin Zhimin's expectant gaze, Mu An suddenly spoke.

"You want me to be that yandere princess's gigolo?"

"Cough!!! Cough..."