Chapter 77

Chapter 77

I knew it had been a dream, but the abrupt transition from that world to reality still left me dazed.

I shook my head.

Then I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.

Only then did I wake fully.

Outside the window, the sky had begun to brighten. Thin mist wound among the grass and trees.

Dawn was approaching.

Whew…

I released a long breath of stale air.

Thank goodness. I finally understood what the female corpse wanted.

Now I could fulfill the nether covenant between us.

Otherwise, not knowing what the other party wanted would have left me groping blindly around an elephant.

According to Master, when a human entered a bargain with a ghost, corpse, or monster and neither side specified a deadline, the task did not have to be completed in a frantic rush.

As long as I kept it in mind, I could proceed step by step.

Of course, I could not deliberately drag my feet or “grind foreign labor,” a Sichuan-Chongqing expression for intentionally doing as little work as possible.

After rising, I practiced a full set of unarmed techniques in the courtyard as usual.

Once sweat covered my body, I washed my face and continued familiarizing myself with and memorizing the two great feng shui works, The Classic of Dwellings and The Book of Burial.

By the time I completed both tasks, it was time for breakfast.

Weekends were wonderful.

I could see my parents and spend long hours with Master.

She often carried a slender bamboo switch to frighten me and threatened to beat me if I did not study diligently or failed to learn something properly.

But she had never truly used it on me.

And she was so beautiful that even her threats did not frighten me.

Naturally, I would never dare say any of that aloud.

Otherwise, Master might genuinely beat me.

Weekends always passed quickly.

After lunch on Sunday, I set out for Lianghe Town again.

When I reached Old Cao’s coffin shop, I saw him bent over in a corner, laboring to build a new coffin.

One glance from a distance made me exclaim inwardly.

Well, would you look at that!

It was made of rosewood.

That was valuable.

Using rosewood for a coffin was extravagantly luxurious.

“Old Cao, I’m back.”

As I spoke, I crossed the threshold without difficulty and entered the shop.

He raised his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled.

“You’re back, Xiao Wu? Sit and rest. Tell me, what did the Immortal Lady say when you asked about the corpse core? Uh… wait! You–you!”

Old Cao’s expression changed dramatically.

He stared at me in astonishment.

His reaction startled me.

“Old Cao, what’s wrong?”

He dropped his coffin-making tools, hurried over, and seized my wrist. After sensing me carefully, he stared as though he had seen a ghost.

“Xiao Wu, what kind of miraculous elixir did you take? It has only been two days, yet the qi inside you has more than doubled. Your strength must have increased enormously. How did you do it?”

Old Cao’s shock filled me with secret pride.

I smiled. “I didn’t take any miraculous elixir. I simply ate that corpse core.”

My answer left him even more astonished.

His eyes almost bulged from their sockets, and he could not stop himself from cursing.

“Holy hell! A corpse core? You can eat that thing?”

He quickly composed himself and spoke as much to himself as to me.

“Then again, you’re the Immortal Lady’s disciple. Her abilities are unfathomable. Perhaps she truly can let someone increase his own qi by consuming a corpse core.”

There he went again–Master’s devoted old admirer had returned.
I told Old Cao to calm down. We each carried over a low stool and sat while I recounted everything that had happened over the weekend.

I told him what Master had explained about the corpse core, how she helped me absorb its power, and everything that happened inside the dream involving my nether covenant with the female corpse.

After listening, Old Cao showed a complicated mixture of joy and concern.

“Xiao Wu, your enormous increase in strength is good news. After only three months of training under the Immortal Lady, you were already far stronger than someone who trained under an ordinary teacher for three years.”

“Then, through an extraordinary stroke of fortune, you received most of the power of a vicious corpse at the very highest level. You absorbed it into your body and merged it with your own qi. Now you may equal most esoteric practitioners who have trained for seven or eight years.”

“Your future is truly limitless. But…”

Old Cao’s tone changed, and worry returned to his face.

“I suspect that fulfilling the nether covenant with that vicious corpse will be anything but easy. Especially since you believe she was a victim herself, controlled by an unseen hand behind the scenes.”

I nodded and sighed softly.

Of course I knew the affair would be extremely dangerous.

But events had already reached this point. I had accepted her benefit in advance, so naturally I had to perform the task.

After a moment of silence, I laughed and slapped my thigh.

“Damn it all! What’s there to fear? A man grows only by weathering storms and facing danger. I’ll resolve this female corpse’s nether pact properly and show Master what I’m capable of.”

“Good!”

Old Cao smiled and clapped. “That’s the spirit. If you need my help, say so. We’re already friends despite the difference in our ages. When Xiao Wu is in trouble, I’ll join him.”

I had to admit that his declaration moved me.

This was originally my personal affair, and it might be extremely dangerous.

Old Cao had no obligation to involve himself.

Master had initially asked him only to let me stay at his shop so I would have somewhere to sleep at night.

Helping him build coffins and taking part in coffin processions were things I needed to learn anyway.

I had to master the methods of both coffin bearers and funerary-paper artisans.

So even when I helped carry coffins, I was benefiting from the experience.

“Thank you, Old Cao.”

I spoke sincerely.

“For now, I don’t think I need any special help. I’ve considered it, and my first step should be visiting the house where the female corpse lived and meeting her parents. Once I learn the details of her life, I can begin investigating. There’s no urgency, so I’ll take it slowly.”

Seeing that I already had a plan, Old Cao said no more.

Of course, I was not stubbornly inflexible.

I did not want to drag Old Cao into my private nether covenant, but if I encountered real danger, I would certainly admit defeat and call for his help.

Staying alive mattered most.

After we finished discussing the corpse core and the nether pact, I looked at the half-built rosewood coffin inside the shop and offered to help him make it.

Even assisting with the basic work would familiarize me with the coffin bearer’s craft.

Old Cao smiled and waved me off. “No need. This is hard labor without much technique involved. Don’t you still need to visit the mysterious female corpse’s parents? You had better go while it’s light.”

“All right. That works too.”

I nodded.

Old Cao chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “Before you leave, though, would you be interested in testing yourself against me in a formal contest?”

“What?”

I stared at him, then shook my head vigorously.

“Old Cao, what are you saying? You want me to fight you? How could that work? You could probably knock me flat with one hand.”

The suggestion seemed absurd.