I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

Seeing that Xie An agreed to help with the ancestral hall's construction, and with the relationship with Old Master Tang, both Li Hongming and Chen Lei breathed a great sigh of relief.

The immediate problem was how to deal with Chen Yuan's body.

Xie An was also slightly troubled.

Chen Yuan's corpse retained corpse poison.

From his experience with Wei Dian, Xie An knew that corpse poison would not be transmitted through smell, but most likely through blood and flesh.

The safest method was naturally to cremate the body directly on the spot.

However, Chen Yuan had children... According to custom, the body had to be transported back to Chen Yuan's home for his children to hold the funeral. The manner and scale of the funeral would be decided by his children.

Outsiders couldn't very well interfere.

So, the problem arose.

The villagers in this world didn't understand the severity of the situation, and when saying goodbye to their loved ones, they often needed to dress the deceased, apply makeup, and some would even hug the corpse and cry.

This made it too easy to be infected with corpse poison.

Just then, a martial arts school apprentice hurried over, "Master, Chen Yuan's children are outside crying and clamoring to collect Chen Yuan's body, and they even brought a young grandson who's crying his heart out. We don't dare to stop them."

Chen Lei sighed, "I know Chen Yuan's children, and I like that little grandson too. Master Xie, what do you think...?"

Xie An knew that he couldn't be soft-hearted at this time, and said, "The corpse poison on the body hasn't been cleared. If it's handed over to his children to take home, improper handling could cause infection. That would truly harm the Chen Yuan family."

Hearing this, everyone broke out in cold sweat. Chen Lei also immediately recovered, "Master Xie is right. This is a major matter, and we can't harm the Chen Yuan family because of soft-heartedness. Then, Master Xie, do you have any ideas?"

Xie An pondered for a moment, then said, "Elder Li, Master Chen. Do you have any spare houses in town? If so, perhaps we could clear out a house and transport Chen Yuan's body there, and hold the funeral for Chen Yuan in that house."

Chen Lei said, "Change to another house to place the body... wouldn't that also...?"

Xie An said, "I will stay in that house for two days and personally keep an eye on things to prevent Chen Yuan's family from having improper contact with the body. After burying Chen Yuan, we can carry out a comprehensive disinfection of the house. It's much better than taking the body back to Chen Yuan's house."

Chen Lei was very grateful, "Master Xie is benevolent. This will ensure that nothing goes wrong. I have a small, abandoned house not far from the ancestral hall..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Hongming gently kicked him, "Your small house has been abandoned for many years, and the furniture and equipment inside are old and rotten, making it unusable. It just so happens that I have a vacant three-courtyard residence nearby that I originally planned to use for my grandson's wedding, but later my grandson went to the county town to develop his career, so it has been idle. However, the furniture and supplies inside are complete, and I often have people clean it, making it the most suitable."

Li Hongming was, after all, of a higher generation. Chen Lei felt that this was too extravagant, but he didn't object.

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Xie An didn't hesitate, "Then let's do as Elder Li says. Master Chen, find two apprentices to get a stretcher and carry the body to the house. To avoid scaring the villagers, it's best to cover the body with a white cloth."

"Alright, alright, I'll arrange it right away." Chen Lei immediately arranged for apprentices to carry the body, while Li Hongming enthusiastically led Xie An to the three-courtyard residence.

With Xie An making the decision, the two prominent local figures felt a great sense of security and immediately had a backbone.

...

That three-courtyard residence was located at a street corner about two miles away from Li's pawnshop, near an ancient river in the town. The location was very good.

The courtyard had blue bricks and black tiles, with flying eaves and upturned corners, making it very impressive. The furnishings and potted plants inside were also very exquisite, with a cloister, screen wall, corridor lamps, a pond, and a gazebo.

Although it couldn't compare to the Li residence, it was definitely one of the best mansions in the entire Wubridge Town.

White lanterns were hung in the courtyard.

Chen Yuan's portrait was hung high in the hall, with the word "Dian" (奠 - libation) written below. Funeral couplets were pasted on the wooden pillars on both sides. An offering table was placed in front of the mourning hall, with sacrifices placed on top, incense and candles burning high, and the coffin placed behind the offering table.

Chen's children, wearing mourning clothes, knelt in front of the coffin, wailing.

Chen's clansmen from the town, including the Li's clansmen from Li's residence, the pawnshop's clerks, etc., all wore mourning clothes and came to pay their respects.

According to custom, the burial required several days of procedures, and the funeral could not be held until the seventh day, when the body would be buried in the ground.

However, because Chen Yuan's death was special, Li Hongming and Chen Lei decided to bury him on the same day. Although Chen's children were reluctant, after seeing the appearance of their father's body, they knew that something was wrong, so they agreed to bury him on the same day so that their father could rest in peace as soon as possible.

As for Li He, who had gone to the county town to invite the coroner, because he had not returned for a long time, Chen Lei decided not to wait any longer.

And Xie An, in order to avoid accidents, was present throughout the entire process.

Listening to Chen Yuan's children crying their hearts out along the way, especially the six-year-old grandson who cried even more miserably.

Chen Lei and Li Hongming, two prominent local figures, personally came to the scene to direct the operation.

Especially Li Hongming, who was particularly attentive, requiring the clerks to disinfect carefully again and again, and not to miss any corner.

Taking advantage of the few people around, Chen Lei stepped forward and whispered, "Elder Li, this house of yours was prepared for your grandson's wedding, there's no need to take it out for Chen Yuan's burial."

Li Hongming said, "Why do you think I kicked you in the first place? Was it to compete for something? You still don't see far enough."

Chen Lei was very puzzled, "Please enlighten me, Elder Li."

Li Hongming said, "Master Xie is willing to join the Wu Shrine, that's giving face to the villagers of our Wubridge Town. His future prospects are even more remarkable, and he will surely become a first-class figure in Wubridge Town. How can we not give Master Xie a place to settle down?"

Hiss.

Chen Lei took a deep breath, "Elder Li sees far ahead, I was rash."

The Great Qian Dynasty is not like modern times, a house often passes on for several generations, and people don't avoid the dead. Houses bought and sold by brokers have also had people die in them, but the buyers don't mind.

It's not the real estate era, there are only so many houses, so there aren't so many taboos...

Xie An and Yu He stood under the cloister in the courtyard, watching the busy clerks, Xie An felt very uncomfortable.

Wei Dian was gone, and Chen Yuan was also gone.

Although worldly affairs are unpredictable and everyone has their own destiny.

But when truly facing it, Xie An still felt sad and regretful.

And all of this... was because of the Corpse Refining Hall.

It would be unrealistic to say that he didn't have any hatred in his heart.

"Master, this servant has something to say, but I don't know if I should."

Xie An then noticed that Yu He had been following beside him, "Speak."

Yu He said, "When I was in the Tiger Wolf Gate before, I followed Chen Qinglang to the Great Yin Mountain twice. I have seen the evil cultists of the Corpse Refining Hall. As the name suggests, the Corpse Refining Hall refines corpses. They can refine a monster called the Azurewood Black Corpse, which specializes in surviving by sucking the blood of living things.

The Azurewood Black Corpse is humanoid in appearance, with dark skin and a terrifying appearance. The Black Corpse has four sharp fangs, and only needs to bite a living thing with its fangs to immediately suck all the blood from the living thing's body, causing the living thing to directly wither into a dried corpse. The methods are extremely cruel."

Xie An felt a chill run down his spine as he listened, "Are you saying... that the one who killed Chen Yuan was this Azurewood Black Corpse?"

Yu He said, "It should be so."

Xie An had lived in this world for thirty years, and it was the first time he had heard of such a monster.

Azurewood Black Corpse...

Even with Xie An's strength at the Second Gate Refined Flesh Realm, he still felt a chill in his heart, "Is this Azurewood Black Corpse easy to deal with?"

Yu He shook her head, "Once Black Corpses reach adulthood, they are extremely difficult to deal with. They are incredibly strong, agile, and don't need to breathe, and are invulnerable to swords and spears. As long as they keep sucking the blood of living things, they will constantly grow stronger and can even be immortal."

Getting stronger by sucking blood, Xie An could understand. And he didn't think there was anything wrong with that...

The key was immortality...

Vaguely, Xie An understood why the Corpse Refining Hall wanted to refine this kind of monster.

Yu He continued, "The Azurewood Black Corpse's entire body is covered in deadly corpse poison. Once bitten, even if you are not drained of blood, you will still be poisoned by the corpse. If you are a martial artist with strong qi and blood, you can resist for a while. If you are an ordinary person, you won't live for more than a few days, and your whole body will grow pustules and your skin will fester and die."

Xie An asked, "Is it possible for the person who is bitten to become the next Azurewood Black Corpse?"

If so, then this Azurewood Black Corpse... what's the difference between it and the zombies in the movies of his previous life?

With a few casual bites, wouldn't the entire Wubridge Town turn into a zombie paradise?

Xie An felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about this scene.

Yu He said, "That shouldn't be possible. The conditions for becoming an Azurewood Black Corpse are very harsh and require a special corpse refiner from the Corpse Refining Hall, going through a complicated process to refine it."

Huff.

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief.

That was good then.

Otherwise... if the Corpse Refining Hall went crazy, Wubridge Town would be overrun in minutes, and one would tell ten, ten would tell a hundred... before long, the entire Qingwu County would be gone.

However, it was still very dangerous for Wubridge Town to be targeted by an Azurewood Black Corpse.

Not to mention that Xie An had joined the Wu Shrine, and besides, the people Xie An cared about were all living in the town.

If there was only one Azurewood Black Corpse... it shouldn't be difficult to get rid of it.

Thinking of this, Xie An felt that he had to do something.

"Yu He, go back to the Black Market and bring my treasured saber and great bow. And get more armor-piercing arrows."

"Yes, Master."

Yu He quickly left, breaking through the wind and snow.

Xie An waved to Li Hongming and Chen Lei from afar, and then prepared to leave.

"Master Xie is leaving in a hurry, is there something urgent?" Li Hongming then caught up with him, leaning on his cane.

Xie An said, "Just now, I and Miss Yu He discussed it and plan to take advantage of the night to go to the back mountain of the ancestral hall to keep watch, to see if we can find the thief."

Li Hongming and Chen Lei were greatly shocked and moved.

Even Chen Lei, this old martial artist, didn't dare to take the risk.

"Master Xie is truly chivalrous!"

"On behalf of the 30,000 residents of Black Bridge Town, I thank you, Master Xie. Although I am an old man and cannot fight at the front, I still want to contribute. How about leaving this three-courtyard house for Master Xie to rest? If Master Xie needs any help, we can send someone over to lend a hand or exchange information. It's convenient to have a place to do so."

Xie An thought it made sense.

He couldn't count on them for fighting, but having a place was indeed convenient for exchanging information.

"Alright. Then I will temporarily settle here. You should go back early and tell the townspeople not to go out late at night to avoid being harmed. Come back tomorrow morning, and if you have any news about the thieves, we can exchange information."

Li Hongming was overjoyed: "Good. I and Chen Lei will take care of notifying the townspeople. Also, do you need two maids to serve you?"

Xie An saw through Li Hongming's intentions and righteously refused, "Thank you for your kindness, Elder Li, but I already have maids. No need to trouble you."

"Of course, of course, Master Xie's maids must be peerless beauties. I was being presumptuous."

Li Hongming cupped his fist and left with a smile.

In the huge three-courtyard house, only Xie An was left.

With nothing to do, Xie An practiced the Five Animals Frolic in the courtyard.

Tiger searching for food, deer running, bear moving, ape picking fruit, crane flying…

As the moves were continuously released, the courtyard was filled with vigor and the sounds of wild animals roaring.

The Five Animals Frolic had entered the final stage, and was more than halfway complete, heading towards perfection.

The power of Xie An's Five Animals Frolic was also increasing day by day.

It was no longer just a health exercise, but a means of killing that combined the characteristics of the five animals. It was even more powerful than the Fuyang Saber Technique. It was truly remarkable.

Having stepped into the Refined Flesh Realm, Xie An, combined with these Five Animals techniques, felt that his strength was being released, and every move was smooth and satisfying.

Don't think that Xie An has been living in Black Bridge Town these past few days, his strength has been improving rapidly.

Now, if he were to face Hong Lie again, why would he need the Heavy Mountain Saber?

He could directly use the Tiger Pounce to tear him in half.

Before long, a knock on the door startled Xie An.

It was Yuhe who walked in.

She was holding Xie An's forty-pound broadsword, as well as the heavy bow and quiver filled with armor-piercing arrows.

Xie An saw… Yuhe carrying the broadsword as if it were a toy.

This woman…

Xie An regained his composure, put on the heavy bow and broadsword, and carried the quiver out the door, not forgetting to tell her, "It's dangerous, Yuhe, wait for me at home."

Yuhe rejected without thinking, "That won't do, I have to follow Master."

Xie An turned his head and looked Yuhe up and down.

Tang Qingyun had said that this woman was quite accomplished in martial arts. But Xie An didn't know how accomplished she was.

Yuhe seemed to see Xie An's worries, and without explaining, she stepped lightly to the side of the camphor tree as thick as a bucket, raised her fair hand, and suddenly slapped it on the tree trunk.

Bang.

A piercing sound exploded on the ground, followed by the tree shaking violently, and the ground trembled. When everything calmed down, Xie An took a closer look and saw a palm print left on the tree trunk, punching right through it.

Xie An was really taken aback.

This was a camphor tree as thick as a bucket.

Even if Xie An used all his strength, he wouldn't be able to punch through the tree trunk. Not to mention leaving a smooth palm print.

This woman's martial arts skills were undoubtedly far above Xie An's.

In an instant, Xie An felt a tingling in his scalp.

Refined Flesh Realm… definitely more than that.

Iron Bone Realm?

Or Five Viscera Realm?

He didn't dare to think about it.

This maid… was amazing.

Good, good, good.

Xie An cheered several times in his heart, but on the surface, he remained calm, not wanting his maid to get too cocky, "Yuhe girl is good, let's go together then."

Hehe.

Only then did Yuhe show a smile, stepped forward and took Xie An's arm to go out, "I will definitely protect Master by your side."

Xie An: "…"

…

Night.

Behind the ancestral hall mountain.

The wind and snow were continuous, and the cold wind was biting.

Xie An and Yuhe sat on a large banyan tree, vigilantly looking around.

Even Xie An needed to continuously circulate the heat flow in his body, turning it into hot spots all over his body, to resist this icy cold. But Yuhe was as if nothing was happening, sitting on the branch next to him, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

She didn't know that Xie An had been staring at her, estimating her strength.

"Master, logically speaking, it is not easy for the Corpse Refining Hall to refine a Cyan Wood Black Corpse, and they regard it as a treasure. They will not let the Cyan Wood Black Corpse go down the mountain easily, which was the agreement reached in the past. It is very unusual for the Cyan Wood Black Corpse to appear here this time."

Only then did Xie An come back to his senses, "What agreement?"

"I don't know the inside story, I heard it from Chen Qinglang. It seems that a big man from Nanyang Prefecture reached an agreement with the Corpse Refining Hall, not allowing the people from the Corpse Refining Hall to go down the mountain."

"A big man from Nanyang Prefecture?" Xie An felt that the Corpse Refining Hall was more and more unusual.

But thinking about it, it felt reasonable.

The Corpse Refining Hall is a branch of the Former Dynasty's National Religion, the Longevity Sect, what a powerful existence is that?

National Religion.

Even if a speck of dust from the National Religion fell, it would be enough to shock one side.

However, after the Corpse Refining Hall went into the Great Yin Mountain… for many years, the surrounding villages and towns have not suffered a devastating disaster, which is unreasonable.

If the big boss of Nanyang Prefecture reached an agreement with the Corpse Refining Hall, then it would be normal.

Nanyang Prefecture… is a very large territory.

The Great Qian Dynasty believes in Taoism, and after the founding of the country, it respects Taoism as the National Religion.

The number of states, prefectures, and counties are all based on the Taoist Thirty-Six Heavens.

Therefore, the Great Qian Dynasty divides thirty-six states, each state divides thirty-six prefectures, and each prefecture divides thirty-six counties. Even the townships under each county are thirty-six.

It can be seen that the Great Qian Dynasty's worship of Taoism is simply integrated into the bone marrow.

And Qingwu County is one of the thirty-six counties under Nanyang Prefecture.

Although Xie An has not been out of Qingwu County, but according to the elders' narration, and the ancient books read in the White Feather Hall's library. He probably knows that the territory area of Nanyang Prefecture is at least equivalent to the previous life's XZ + Inner Mongolia + Outer Mongolia + XJ.

And the prefect of Nanyang Prefecture is a Rank Four official.

It can be seen that the Great Qian Dynasty is really strong and big. He doesn't even know how a technologically backward empire can control such a large territory…

As for the big man who suppressed the Corpse Refining Hall and made the Corpse Refining Hall reach an agreement, needless to say, he must be an unparalleled figure with great power. That is definitely an existence that the current Xie An cannot imagine.

Just as Xie An was stunned, a subtle "rustling" sound suddenly came from the front. He immediately regained his composure and looked in the direction of the sound.

I saw a dark guy slowly walking out of the thorns in front.

The shape is human-like, about five feet tall, and has a thin body. The skin is dark, full of wrinkles, the eyes emit green light, and when you open your mouth, you reveal four sharp fangs, which are森寒 and terrifying.

It really looks like Yuhe described before.

Xie An raised the heavy bow, leaned against the tree trunk, took an arrow from the quiver behind him with his right hand, put it on the bowstring, slowly pulled the four-stone heavy bow, and aimed the arrow at the terrifying guy, waiting for it to enter the effective range.

Yuhe whispered: "It's just a little black corpse, it hasn't been fully developed yet. It is estimated that it sneaked out… Master, your four-stone bow can't shoot through its bones and flesh, but it can hurt it. Master will use arrows to block its position for a while, don't let it run away. I'll go down and catch it."

Hearing that Yuhe was going to go down to catch it, Xie An was shocked and quickly grabbed Yuhe, "No, it's too dangerous."

Yuhe gave Xie An a reassuring look, "Master, don't worry, I am now a martial artist in the Five Viscera Realm, it is easy to handle it. It's just too flexible, Master just needs to block the way."

Xie An: "…"

Five Viscera Realm…

Now…

This Versailles.

Too much!

Xie An worked hard for two years before stepping into the Refined Flesh Realm. Now tell Xie An that a little maid next to him is actually in the Five Viscera Realm… this master is really not easy to be.

In the future, Yuhe will give him a back massage and warm the bed… how can Xie An accept this calmly?

Forget it.

Fortunately, Xie An is old and open-minded, so he let go, "Be careful."

"Master, don't worry, I know what to do." Yuhe suddenly untied a long whip from the position of the belt around her waist, waved it forward, and the long whip hooked the tree trunk seven meters away, and then Yuhe borrowed strength to swing down, and the whole person was as light as a fallen leaf in the autumn wind and rushed directly thirty meters away, falling next to the Cyan Wood Black Corpse.

"Jie Jie Jie."

When the Cyan Wood Black Corpse saw someone approaching, it immediately made a hoarse cry, its eyes lit up, and its fangs opened, and it pounced on Yuhe. Obviously, Yuhe was regarded as delicious food.

But this food looks delicious, but it has thorns.

Just as the black corpse was about to pounce on Yuhe, Yuhe's figure was as flexible as a snake, avoiding the black corpse's pounce, and took the opportunity to go behind the black corpse, grabbed the black corpse's arm with one hand, and took the opportunity to exert force to bend it.

Don't look at Yuhe's thin body, but the power that erupted in an instant was quite amazing, and she actually directly broke the black corpse's right hand and tore it off.

"Woo hoo!!"

The black corpse made an exceptionally miserable cry, and suddenly窜 to the thorns in front of it.

The speed was so fast that even Yuhe couldn't catch up.

"Master!"

咻!

An arrow came through the air and instantly shot at the back of the black corpse's head.

To Xie An's surprise, such a powerful armor-piercing arrow, even a piece of iron, could pierce a small hole. When shot on the back of the black corpse's head, it made a loud "dang" sound. It was like a metal collision.