Chapter 32 You still owe me a huge debt of gratitude.
Madam Chen looked at Achan with hopeful eyes: "What method?"
"There is a type of incense that can keep a corpse in its best condition before it was alive."
"real?"
What kind of incense can have this effect?
In Chen Hui's mind, this was utterly impossible. But since a dead person could sit here, it seemed like nothing was impossible for her.
"real."
Achan didn't tell Chen Hui that the recipe was for fumigating sacrificial offerings. There was a strange tribe that offered sacrifices to their ancestors every year, presenting them with the best prey they had hunted.
But before offering sacrifices, they wanted to make the offerings look nice, so they developed this kind of incense.
This ensures that the offerings placed on the altar are still in their freshest state.
It sounds a bit strange, and it really is.
Achan had never seen it, yet it was as if she could see the past of her mother's tribe through the records in those books, so vivid and interesting.
"only……"
Then Achan hesitated for a moment. She calculated the materials needed to smoke one person's cigarette, and her vision went black. She counted on her fingers twice, but she still didn't have enough money.
"Just what?"
"I don't have enough money to buy materials." Achan was a little embarrassed, as it was a bit shameful to say such a thing.
Madam Chen forced a smile onto her stiff face: "It's alright, I have five hundred taels of silver saved at home."
That was when she was divorcing her ex-husband. Her ex-husband was forced by Yan Liru to give her the money from her dowry. She used it to buy a shop and put the rest of the money away.
She thought her life would get better and better from then on, but fate played such a cruel joke on her.
"Alright, once we get the money, we'll split up and go buy the materials."
As the two were talking, the dark spots on Madam Chen's face had faded to just one patch.
Ah Chan took out another fragrant pill. After Chen Niangzi ate it, the ulcers on her face and body healed.
She looked no different from when she was alive, except that she had no heartbeat.
Achan said to her, "Although you don't need to breathe, it's too easy for people to notice something is wrong. You should get used to breathing and make your heart beat. You can do these things."
This is just the most basic body manipulation; once she becomes a zombie, Madam Chen should possess this ability.
Madam Chen nodded. Following Achan's instructions, she began to breathe, making her chest rise and fall, and simulating a heartbeat.
It wasn't easy at first; she would often catch her breath and her heart would beat frighteningly slowly. But gradually, she began to get the hang of it.
Ah Chan thought to herself, "Chen Niangzi is indeed a clever person; she understands things very quickly."
The next day, after noon, although the sky was still overcast, at least it stopped raining.
Achan took the money that Chen Niangzi had kept at home from her, and the two went to different markets to buy materials.
Achan still went to the West Market. There are two special materials, cartilage vine and tiger dragon skin, which can only be sold in the hunting shops in the West Market.
However, this time she changed hunting shops. The transaction was the same as before, but because it was urgent and needed for the next day, it was slightly more expensive. The soft bone vine was fine, only fifty taels per catty, but the dried tiger dragon skin cost her two hundred taels for three pieces.
Ah Chan started reminiscing about how she used to be able to kill a whole pond of tiger-dragons with a single swipe of her claws; she had wasted so much silver.
After placing the order, she returned home, and Madam Chen had also bought all the materials that A-Chan had specifically requested.
Madam Chen mostly bought various herbs and branches. The more common ones were fine; you could find them at stalls selling fodder and firewood. But for some special ones, you could only buy them at Datongfang.
Datongfang was a gathering place for all sorts of people. Chen Hui had only heard about it before and never dared to go there on her own.
Now, draped in a cloak, she broke the hands of two men who tried to pull it off, and no one dared to point fingers at her anymore.
In addition to these, she bought a large vat and finally spent money to hire a cart to deliver the items to Achan's house.
It was already evening, the sky was dark, there were few pedestrians on the road, and the surrounding shops had hardly any customers all day and had closed early.
Only Achan's house was still open, seemingly waiting for her to return.
After unloading the goods at the door and settling the payment with the delivery person, Chen Niangzi began carrying the goods into the house.
She gripped the edge of the water vat with both hands, and with just a little effort, she lifted the vat, which could hold a person.
Achan observed from the side. Madam Chen had never practiced martial arts and had only recently become a living corpse, so she should be roughly equivalent to a first-level human cultivator. However, if they were to actually fight, she might be at a disadvantage. But living corpses have advantages in strength and speed; she should be able to easily lift five of her own and even bounce them around.
Madam Chen placed the jar in the backyard, then returned to carry away the other things. Ah Chan closed the door behind her and bolted it.
The backyard was now filled with the things they had bought during the day. Madam Chen only remembered that she had bought nine kinds of herbs and nine kinds of wood branches, which piled up into a thick layer.
Achan took about one-third of each kind, first breaking the branches into palm-length pieces, then neatly arranging them at the bottom of the jar, and then spreading herbs on top, leaving only a fist-sized gap in the middle.
Then, light the wooden branches and wait for them to burn slowly.
"The firing process takes all night; there can be no open flame, only smoke," Achan said.
“I’ll keep watch here,” Madam Chen said immediately.
Achan wanted to say no, but considering she didn't need to sleep, she didn't insist.
She was worried that Madam Chen would be bored by the vat, so she found some interesting stories for her to read, which Madam Chen gladly accepted.
The next morning, after waking up, Achan, unusually, did not stay in bed. The first thing she did was go to the backyard to check on the jar.
The plants in the jar had been smoked overnight and had turned into a layer of ash at the bottom of the jar, and a layer of ash also covered the jar walls. Achan wiped it with her finger and smelled it. The smoky smell was mixed with a hint of the fragrance of plants.
This step should be fine. Once the goods from the hunting shop arrive, we can let Madam Chen sit inside and smoke them.
Thinking of this, Ah Chan realized that Madam Chen was not there. She thought she had gone out, but then the kitchen door opened and Madam Chen came out carrying a bowl of porridge, a plate of cold side dishes, and two scallion pancakes.
Seeing Ah Chan standing there blankly watching, she asked Ah Chan, "Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"
"Eat." Achan followed closely behind.
The undead do not need to eat; even if they do, they feed on flesh and blood.
Madam Chen was a little different; she didn't react much to human food, but she just couldn't taste it.
The scallion pancakes were a bit salty, but they were still delicious to Achan.
After finishing her simple yet delicious breakfast, Achan patted her tummy and said to Madam Chen, "Thank you."
"I should thank you for helping me."
"You can thank me after you've recovered."
Achan first had Chen Niangzi take a bath and checked her body. A day had passed, and some more patches had grown on her body, but they had not yet started to rot.
It seems that two incense pills will only last for one day.
Ah Chan simply took some dragon bone powder and had Madam Chen swallow it with water. The effect was still very good, and the patches faded away quickly.
Once she had fully recovered, Achan placed wooden branches in the vat, just like yesterday, but first poured half a pound of soft bone vine into the branches, and then covered them with grass.
By noon, the hunting party's goods arrived. Sure enough, spending a large sum of money made a difference; not only was the goods delivered to their door, but their quality was also top-notch.
After inspecting the goods and completing the handover with the other party, Achan closed the door, took the items, and returned to the backyard.
With everything ready, Achan lit the tiger dragon skin with a tinderbox. The tiger dragon skin was very oily and, once lit, looked like a small candle. She placed the tiger dragon skin in the gap among the herbs and used it to ignite the wood branches and soft vines below.
The tiger-dragon skin quickly melted away, and faint smoke rose from the remaining gaps in the middle.
Ah Chan placed a stool inside, let Madam Chen sit in the vat, and then covered the vat with a large wooden lid.
Madam Chen needed to stay inside for three whole days, without being allowed to leave for even a moment.
The day after Madam Chen was placed in the vat, a group of government officials suddenly arrived in Changping Ward. Ah Chan had to stay in the shop, while Manager Xu went to see what was going on.
After he returned, he told Ah Chan, "Yao, the owner of the rouge shop on the back street, was attacked and killed by a thug yesterday."
"Were they killed?"
Mr. Xu sighed: "It wasn't just murdered. I heard that someone saw the body, and it was gnawed to pieces."
Achan was startled. Why did this way of dying seem so familiar?
"Didn't those officials say anything?"
"What can they say? A bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to line their own pockets. I think this case might have to be handed over to the Mingjing Division. I hope they can solve it quickly so that the unclean things can continue to cause trouble in the neighborhood."
As predicted, on the third day, another person died. It was the night watchman, and the body looked as if it had been gnawed on by something.
At the morning court session that day, another censor stepped forward to impeach the Commander of the Mingjing Division.
"Your Majesty, I heard yesterday that a demon has broken into the city. It not only injured the guards, but also killed civilians and ate their corpses for two consecutive days, causing panic among the people. The Mingjing Division is in charge of cases involving demons and monsters, but it failed to handle them in time. This is a serious fault."
No one noticed the sudden change in Yan Liru's expression as he stood among the court officials upon hearing about the cannibalism.
"Bai Xiuming, what do you have to say?" the emperor asked.
Bai Xiu stepped forward without offering any explanation: "I am guilty, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
"Then I'll punish you..."
“Your Majesty.” Just then, Yan Liru stepped forward. “Your Majesty, all cases in the capital are first investigated by the Jingzhao Prefecture. This case is due to the Jingzhao Prefecture’s failure to report in a timely manner, so it cannot be blamed on Lord Bai.”
"Since he can't be blamed, what should we do about this case?" the emperor asked.
"The Ministry of Justice is willing to take on this case, and I guarantee that I will catch the perpetrator as soon as possible," Yan Liru added.
"Bai Xiuming, what do you think?"
"I have no objection."
"Then let's do it this way. This case will be handled by the Ministry of Justice. Yan Liru, give me an explanation as soon as possible."
"yes."
After returning to the Ministry of Justice after court, Yan Liru had Xue Mingtang summoned. Xue Mingtang entered the room and immediately closed the door.
Yan Liru was taken aback when he saw Xue Mingtang's face clearly. He looked much thinner than before, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.
"What happened?" Yan Liru asked, frowning.
"My lord, the Snow Needle Serpent has been captured by the Mingjing Division." Fear flashed in Xue Mingtang's eyes. "I was nearby when the Mingjing Division caught the snake, and they may have already begun to suspect me."
These past few days, whenever Xue Mingtang closes his eyes, it's as if he can hear the Mingjing Guard kicking down the door, as if they might come at any moment to take him away from his home and back to the town prison.
Under such immense pressure, he hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep for several days in a row.
Yan Liru's face darkened: "You have disappointed me greatly. You can't even keep an eye on a snake that has signed a contract."
Xue Mingtang retorted in a low voice, "I was seriously injured some time ago and couldn't control the Snow Needle Serpent, so it secretly escaped. My lord, what should we do if the people from the Mingjing Division trace me back to the contract?"
"Has there been any change to the contract you signed with the Snow Needle Serpent?" Yan Liru asked.
"There are no unusual developments at the moment."
Yan Liru sat in his chair and pondered for a moment before finally saying, "Find an opportunity to come to my residence the day after tomorrow, and I will terminate your contract with the Snow Needle Serpent."
"Thank you, sir." Xue Mingtang showed gratitude, but a hint of doubt quickly flashed in his eyes. "Sir, I heard that a contract can only be dissolved upon the death of one party. Could it be that..."
"What are you thinking? The Demon Seal is still in my hands. I can forcibly terminate the contract."
"That's good." Xue Mingtang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the contract was terminated, he would be safe.
He felt quite uncomfortable when Yan Liru mentioned the Demon Seal.
He had used many methods to steal that thing from the forbidden treasury. Before stealing it, he only thought it was a valuable magical artifact. Later, after handing it over to Yan Liru, he realized that it was the jade seal of the Demon Kingdom.
After the Demon Emperor died, the Demon Kingdom was destroyed, and the Demon Seal fell into the hands of the Great Xia royal family. It was kept in the forbidden treasury until recently when it was stolen.
If only that treasure could stay with me, it would be wonderful. But it ended up in the hands of Yan Liru, a person who cannot cultivate. It's such a waste.
Of course, Xue Mingtang would never dare to reveal this thought.
With the life-or-death crisis temporarily resolved, he remembered to ask, "Did you summon me here to give me some instructions, sir?"
Yan Liru nodded: "Recently, a zombie may have broken into the capital. It killed two people in Changping Ward. You need to capture it as soon as possible and then destroy the evidence."
Xue Mingtang did not ask why, but immediately replied, "Your subordinate understands."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Xue Mingtang stepped forward to open the door, and standing outside were Yan Liru's confidants.
After entering the room, the man said to Yan Liru, "As you predicted, the corpse of the living corpse is indeed gone. I think it's possible that you, young master, were unwilling to cut off the living corpse's head."
The living corpses would die after their heads were cut off. Yan Liru had asked his son to deal with the living corpses that day, but he never expected that his son would dare to disobey him.
He closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his anger, and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Furthermore, as instructed by the master, I went to the mountain where Chen Hui was buried, but that mountain was struck by lightning a few days ago, and everything on the mountain turned into black ash, so there was no way to find the body."
"Even if it was struck by lightning, there should still be some remains." Yan Liru felt that something was wrong.
"I didn't find any remains," the subordinate said. After that, he tentatively asked, "Sir, Chen Hui was eaten by zombies. Is it possible that she also turned into a zombie?"
The higher the rank of the undead, the more potent the corpse poison in its saliva and blood, and the more likely it is to turn the people it has eaten into undead.
The one that the lady and young master raised is already a second-tier living corpse, equivalent to the second realm of a human cultivator, which is extremely rare.
Yan Liru pondered for a moment, then turned to Xue Mingtang and said, "I will give you a portrait in a little while. When you go to Changpingfang to investigate the living corpses, also check if the woman in the portrait has appeared recently."
"Rest assured, sir, I know what to do."
All the major events happening in the court have nothing to do with Achan. Today is the last day of burning incense. Once the smoke dissipates, Madam Chen will be able to come out.
Ah Chan is sewing sachets in the shop. Although her skills are still not very good, after Chen Niangzi's guidance, she can already see the shape of the sachet.
Just then, a commotion arose outside. Ah Chan walked to the door and saw Manager Xu and his shop assistants looking out.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I heard that the Ministry of Justice has arrived, searching house to house for zombies, and apparently they're also looking for people." Shopkeeper Xu sighed, "This world, even zombies are coming out."
Achan's expression changed slightly. Just as she was about to go to the backyard, she saw Xue Mingtang leading a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice walking towards her.
Xue Mingtang spoke coldly, as if he didn't recognize A Chan: "You're the owner of this shop?"
"yes."
"Men, go in and search."
Seeing the person behind him barge into her shop, Achan was worried that Madam Chen in the backyard would be discovered, and for a moment she didn't care that her incense balls were being thrown around.
A clerk suddenly shouted, "Sir, there are people in the backyard!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a beautiful woman in her early twenties walked in from the backyard. She was wearing a cloak and her long hair was not tied up, making her look somewhat disheveled.
After coming out, she asked Ah Chan with a blank look on her face, "Miss Ji, how come someone suddenly barged in?"
When Achan saw the woman whose face looked somewhat familiar, she paused for a moment, then replied, "It's nothing, the officials from the Ministry of Justice are searching for wanted criminals."
Xue Mingtang glanced at the young woman who came out, compared her to the portrait in his hand, and felt that she seemed somewhat similar, but the age obviously did not match.
The clerk from the Ministry of Justice who had entered the backyard quickly came out and walked to Xue Mingtang's side, saying, "Sir, there is a vat in the backyard, and it seems that something is being burned inside."
“Those are the spices I’m currently preparing; they’re quite valuable.”
"Shut up, you have no right to speak here." The clerk from the Ministry of Justice glared at Achan fiercely.
"Alright." Xue Mingtang immediately stopped his subordinate, then gave Achan a deep look. "Let's go."
He was leaving, but Achan wasn't going to let him go so easily.
Her voice rang out from behind: "Lord Xue is so imposing, having his subordinates destroy the incense pills and spices in my shop, and you just intend to leave like this?"
What do you want?
“I’ll lose money,” A-Chan said matter-of-factly. “Fifty taels isn’t much.”
"Insolence!" Before Xue Mingtang could even speak, his subordinate had already turned hostile.
Achan was not afraid. Instead, she deliberately provoked Xue Mingtang's anger: "If Lord Xue doesn't have any money, you can borrow some from your sister."
Xue Mingtang's face was ashen: "Ji Chan, you are provoking me."
“I thought it was only right to compensate for damaging other people’s property. If you don’t want to compensate me today, that’s fine. I’ll have Lord Bai come and collect it another day.” As she spoke, A-Chan chuckled. “Lord Xue can go back and consult with your sister. She should already be familiar with Lord Bai’s style.”
Xue Mingtang knew all too well about Bai Xiu's mission to the Marquis of Jinyang's residence to demand dowry for Ji Chan. Now that it was being brought up again, he still felt aggrieved for his elder sister.
He took a few deep breaths, and finally tore off the money pouch from his waist and threw it at Achan's feet.
"Please take care, Lord Xue."
After being threatened by Achan and watched by so many people, Xue Mingtang stopped searching the street and let his subordinates continue while he and the others quickly left.
The shop owners who had come to watch the spectacle all went home satisfied.
They had already discussed Ah Chan's relationship with the officials before, so it wasn't anything new. However, today they could confirm one more thing: Miss Ji's backing was indeed very strong.
Other families paid money to get rid of those plague-like people, but she swindled them out of fifty taels of silver with just one sentence. Fortunately, this Miss Ji was kind-hearted and gentle to everyone she met, so they weren't worried about inadvertently offending anyone.
With the troublesome person gone, Achan closed the door before turning to look at Madam Chen, who looked more than ten years younger.
She looked exactly like a living person, with elastic skin, bright eyes, normal breathing and heartbeat, all of which proved that she was a living person.
Even Xue Mingtang, a cultivator, did not notice anything unusual.
When Achan turned around, Madam Chen suddenly knelt down.
Achan was taken aback, and then heard Madam Chen say, "I will never forget your kindness in saving me, Miss."
She stepped forward and helped Madam Chen up: "You can just call me Achan."
Madam Chen smiled, her facial muscles no longer stiff, and her smile was very beautiful: "Then Achan will call me Huiniang, that's what my parents call me."
"Huiniang, what are your plans?"
Chen Hui's desire to regain her human appearance is certainly not due to a love of beauty.
Hui Niang touched her face now; this was what she looked like in her twenties. Yan Liru should find it familiar.
Remembering how that person had told her countless times that she was the only one in his heart, Chen Hui thought it was time to put it to the test.
She said, "I'm going to the Yan family. Someone has to avenge my whole family."
“Yan Liru is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. His home is not a safe place. You are not powerful enough.”
“I know.” Hui Niang smiled. “Fang Yu is the only daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei. She is always accompanied by guards. If I want to take revenge, I can only use other methods.”
Even if you might be discovered and die again?
"right."
Achan was not surprised by Chen Hui's choice, even though she did not approve of it and did not intend to stop her.
She helped Chen Hui simply because she felt it was a shame for her to die like that. But it was Chen Hui's own choice.
Ah Chan sighed softly, "Hui Niang, do you know the phrase 'spreading rumors and misleading the public'?"
Chen Hui looked doubtful.
“Demons have their own language, and corpses have their own words. Some people are born with a strong will and are hard to be bewitched, but there are ways to do so.” Achan looked at her. “Start with small things. The first time he agrees to something, your influence on him will increase. If you can successfully bewitch him a thousand times, you will have succeeded.”
Achan smiled and said, "Huiniang, you still owe me a huge debt of gratitude. I'll wait for you to repay it. Please don't make me wait until the next life; I don't believe in the next life."
Chen Hui nodded emphatically: "Okay."
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