I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 43 - 33 The Zombie King Can’t Lose Face

The corpse soldier nurturing technique rewarded by the Sutra of Salvation is much better than the one practiced by Shi Jiulv, or rather, this is the true Dao soldier nurturing method of the Sect Martial Mansion in the Shu Region.

"Close the door and windows, prevent fires and theft——"

At the second watch of Hai hour, Xu Qing, who had been sitting still for an hour, suddenly opened his eyes. Countless sigils and spells formed and coalesced before his eyes.

He had already grasped the essence of nurturing corpse soldiers.

Fetching the white seal military token that controlled the Dao soldiers, Xu Qing forced out a wisp of pure yin energy and infused it into the token. Then he took out the Vermillion Talisman Brush from his coat and began to casually draw on Shi Jiulv’s body.

Before long, various eerie sigils began to crawl from Shi Jiulv’s chest, spreading fully and wildly over his entire body.

At first glance, it seemed like the forbidden curses etched on the bodies of witches.

The moment Xu Qing’s hand stopped, the corpse before him moved!

Shi Jiulv opened his muddy gray eyes, glanced around, and finally fixed his gaze on the person drawing the characters.

Xu Qing stood up, took two steps back, and the revived corpse of Shi Jiulv also straightened up, following closely behind him.

First the right foot, then the left foot, left-right-left-right, right-right-left-left.

Well! Instead of refining a corpse soldier, it seemed he had crafted a tango partner.

However, Xu Qing knew that the reason for this behavior was not due to a problem with the nurturing method, but because he had used the Sutra of Salvation to transcend the other party.

Like the cat-faced corpse soldiers crafted by Shi Jiulv, which are more agile because of the remaining souls in the bodies.

But the Shi Jiulv before him had been completely transcended and was now a mindless walking corpse, controllable only through the Corpse-Driving Technique and of little use.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then simply went to the place where he stored his tools and took out a hoe and shovel, which were needed to bury bodies and dig graves.

Behind him, the fish-eyed corpse of Shi Jiulv still followed step by step.

Xu Qing went to the center of the yard, selected a spot to start digging, and began to demonstrate the hoeing and digging moves for Shi Jiulv to imitate.

After the pits were dug one by one, he came to the first pit and grinned menacingly at the not-so-bright Shi Jiulv.

The latter also tried to grin back but merely trembled his facial muscles slightly, failing to succeed.

Xu Qing scratched his head, pondering how to deal with this clueless thing.

Unexpectedly, the other tilted his head and also started scratching it.

"..."

Can this dummy really become a corpse soldier to fight in battles?

Xu Qing silently jumped into the pit, saw Shi Jiulv follow, and then casually raised the hoe in his hand, striking the other’s head with a clang, burying him directly into the earth.

The Zombie King’s first underling couldn’t be an idiot; otherwise, if word got out, he’d lose all face!

...

Under the moonlight, the diligent gardener was covering the fresh soil.

Xu Qing patted down the last bit of loose soil with his shovel, then thought for a moment and dug two more pits beside it.

It was now midnight, the clouds in the sky were thickening, and the entire yard was gradually filled with mist.

Xu Qing opened the yard gate, pushed an empty handcart along the street, and melted into the night.

He had not forgotten that tonight in Linhe District, there were still two clients waiting for their burial, and he couldn’t keep them waiting long.

Following Shi Jiulv’s memories, Xu Qing crossed Shuimen Bridge, passed the vegetable market, and wandered to the gate of a household.

The gate of this household wasn’t high; two low doors combined to the height of a person, with a gap about a foot wide at the top—a typical defense against small people, not gentlemen.

Was Xu Qing a small person?

Not entirely.

Was he a gentleman?

Not entirely either.

He was just a living dead, someone unaccepted by worldly norms.

So Xu Qing put on the Finger Tigers and politely knocked on the gate.

In the courtyard, one could vaguely see the light of candles through the thin mist from the windows.

"Shuangxi, go see, perhaps Old Shi has finished the job and returned..."

"You’re closer to the door, why don’t you go?"

"Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors; the loser goes to open the door."

"What the heck, it’s just opening a door. Could there be a ghost?"

"..."

Hearing the noises inside, Xu Qing suddenly had a thought and realized.

The other party was human, he was a zombie. As a supernatural being, should he not follow local customs and act like a ghost?

The more Xu Qing thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Upon realizing this, he turned his back, showing only the back of his head to the gate.

In the yard, Li Shuangxi, who had just finished drinking, walked dizzily to the gate, on his heels.

"Hey, Old Shi, why did you take so long..."

Opening the gate, Li Shuangxi saw someone standing with their back to him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Before his voice fell, he was waiting for the other to turn around when he saw the back of the person’s head twist and shift as if there were eels inside the scalp, and suddenly a face full of sinister smiles emerged.

"Do I look like a human or a ghost to you?"

In the dead of night, with someone asking you if they look like a human or a ghost while their face is at the back of their head, doesn’t that give you chills?

Li Shuangxi had worked as a Corpse Driver and had seen and heard strange things; otherwise, he might have shat his pants on the spot.

Even then, most of his intoxicated state evaporated in shock.

Without thinking, he turned to run back into the yard, but Xu Qing didn’t give him a chance. With a swift Hidden Blade Skill from the Double-edged Blade technique, Li Shuangxi’s head was off and on the ground in a thud!

Xu Qing tilted his head, noting that today’s Corpse Drivers were not sturdy enough; their skin was too delicate. Remote corpse-controlling was okay, but up close, they were powerless, as useless as a son fighting a fisherman on a boat!

After dealing with Li Shuangxi, Xu Qing turned around, his face returning to normal, and looked toward the main house.

Another drunk man had come out, hearing the noise, wielding a knife.

Seeing his brother’s headless body, and the cold, white-faced young man in the courtyard, Qiu Ping trembled all over, feeling a chill run up his spine into the top of his skull.

Who was this person? They had just arrived in Linhe and committed few crimes; there hadn’t even been time to make enemies...

Could it be that the Sect Martial Mansion sent someone to catch deserters, and they chased them here?

"Who are you, and why did you kill my brother?!"

Xu Qing smiled: "Me? Like you, I’m also a Corpse Driver in the supernatural business."

"If we’re in the same trade, why commit murder at midnight? We haven’t offended you..."

Qiu Ping, while talking, stretched a hand to his waist to grab his Daoist Soldier Yin Talisman.

Xu Qing didn’t give him a chance, launching himself forward like a human cannonball with his iron-clad body, appearing in front of Qiu Ping in an instant, following with a fierce Tiger Seal Dragon Form Fist!

In the next moment, the opponent flew far like a rag doll, slamming solidly against the wall!

Without a doubt, fetching the Daoist Soldier Yin Talisman was impossible; his bones were likely shattered, leaving no strength for anything else.

Stepping forward, Xu Qing threw a couple more punches, and seeing the opponent was completely out of breath, finally said:

"Fate brings enemies together, woe to us being in the same profession."