Jiang Prefecture, West River County, Qingliang Town.
At eleven o'clock in the evening, a house on the west street of the town was brightly lit.
Outside the door hung a white banner and a big trumpet was playing funeral music.
In the mourning hall, an old man in a shroud lay quietly. His corpse was covered with a layer of white cloth.
In the courtyard, the filial sons and grandsons were dressed in plain clothes. Some wiped tears from the corners of their eyes, while others were silent and solemn.
Beside the corpse, the manager looked at his watch and said to Xu Chen,""It's time."
Xu Chen nodded at the manager and took out the bell from his pocket.
Then, Xu Chen shook the bell with his left hand.
Ding! Ding!
With a crisp sound, Xu Chen formed a seal with his right hand. Finally, he bent three fingers and pointed his index and middle fingers at the dead man.
"Rise!"
Along with Xu Chen's voice, the dead body that was lying flat suddenly sat up and then stood up straight.
A series of low exclamations came from outside. Most of them came from the mouths of the young people, but the older ones were not surprised.
"The time has come," the steward shouted loudly."The filial sons and grandchildren respectfully send the old master off on his last journey!”
Whoosh!
In the courtyard, the filial son Xiansui knelt on the ground, crying and sobbing.
Xu Chen stood behind the corpse and rang the bell. The corpse's legs automatically took a step forward.
A man and a corpse passed through the kneeling crowd and stopped outside the gate. The filial sons and grandchildren followed the two figures and climbed onto the street.
The manager walked up to Xu Chen and handed him a white bag.""Master Xu Chen, I'll have to trouble you next.”
Xu Chen took the white bag and weighed it. There were about 30 pieces. He was delighted, but his expression was still serious.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely let Mr. Zhang rest in peace.”
......
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The crows on the branches were cawing.
"Yin people borrow the road, ghosts retreat, ghosts do not disturb, living people do not approach.”
Xu Chen shook his head and chanted an incantation. He rang the bell and drove the corpse into the night amid the cries of the family members.
Outside the town was the field. There was no one around. Xu Chen put away the bell and stopped chanting.
Xu Chen was a corpse transporter.
Yes, it was passed down from generation to generation.
Since ancient times, Qingliang Town had always been a poor and remote place.
Once they encountered war, plague, or famine, the poor people of Qingliang Town would be forced to seek a living outside, and many of them would die in foreign lands.
And Qingliang Town was especially particular about returning to one's roots and resting in peace.
Thus, the profession of corpse carrier came into being.
Since the Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of the Xu family had started to be corpse carriers, carrying the bodies of their loved ones back to their hometown for burial.
In the Qing Dynasty, an ancestor of the Xu family happened to meet a Taoist priest who had just died.
He obtained an incomplete booklet from him, which recorded the secret technique of controlling corpses.
After learning the secret technique, the Xu family instantly changed their weapons and completed the technical evolution.
Carrying corpses became corpse herding.
He could only carry one corpse at a time, but now he could only carry a dozen corpses at a time.
The efficiency had increased greatly.
Every time there was war or famine, the Xu family's business would be at its best.
And this corpse-chasing technique also made the people of Qingliang Town extremely amazed and respectful of the Xu family.
As time passed, a custom was formed in Qingliang Town.
Even if some old people died in the town, they were willing to be chased away by the Xu family. They would personally complete the last journey and climb into the coffin themselves.
They believed that if they did this, even if the Black and White Ghosts came to steal their souls, they would have to be polite to them.
Even if I die, I'll still have a big shot to protect me!
However, the world has changed and time has changed.
When it came to Xu Chen's grandfather's generation, business inevitably declined day by day.
Firstly, with the development of the times, there were fewer and fewer people who believed in old customs, and customs were gradually dying out.
Secondly, there were more and more cremations nowadays, which was more convenient and less troublesome.
Only a handful of old people still adhered to the old rules and asked the corpse transporter to send them on their way after they died.
As a result, Xu Chen's grandfather, Xu Jingming, often sighed.
These days, it was getting harder and harder to get a job.
If this continued, the craftsmanship passed down from their ancestors would be lost.
The business was getting less and less. When it came to Xu Chen's father's generation, the Xu family had no choice but to change their profession.
Xu Chen's father, Xu Deheng, was like an emperor. He was not skilled, so he turned to an official career.
With the reputation and prestige that the Xu family had accumulated in the village for hundreds of years, he became the village chief as he wished.
Village officials were also officials. As the only second generation of officials in the village.
Xu Chen had high hopes for his grandfather and father since he was young.
The corpse transporter profession was destined to die out. Xu Chen's grandfather and father hoped that Xu Chen could get into the civil service and eat the country's royal food.
In the words of Xu Chen's father, how could a corpse transporter be as dignified as a national cadre?
Therefore, Xu Chen had just entered his fourth year and returned home to focus on the public examination.
Occasionally, when an old man passed away in the town and wanted to hold a funeral according to the old customs, Xu Chen's grandfather would send Xu Chen to work part-time to earn some extra money.
After walking for more than half an hour in the night and continuously casting spells, the corpse did not feel tired, but Xu Chen was a little tired.
Xu Chen found a big smooth rock by the roadside and sat down. He said to the corpse,"
"Old Master Zhang, let's rest here before we continue our journey.”
After saying that, he ordered the corpse to lie down against the stone.
Xu Chen wiped the sweat off his face and took out a white bag from his pocket.
After opening it, there was a small stack of red banknotes inside. There were a total of 30 notes.
Xu Chen beamed with joy.
Xu Chen could not help but sigh as he stuffed the money back into his pocket.
The profits from corpse herding were indeed not bad. Unfortunately, in this year, there were fewer and fewer old people who believed in the old customs. Usually, they might not even get a chance to catch a corpse once every two or three months.
When all the elderly in the town died, the Xu family would have to change their profession completely.
While Xu Chen was resting, two rays of light shot over from afar.
A van slowly drove over.
The van was getting closer and closer. The high beam lights were too dazzling. Xu Chen could not help but cover his eyes with his hand.
When the van was far away, Xu Chen had rested enough and continued to drive Old Master Zhang's body.
What Xu Chen did not know was that the faces of the two people in the van were pale.
"Brother Li Li, did you see that just now? There's a dead person lying on the side of the road."
the man in the passenger seat stuttered.
Brother Li was driving. He took a deep breath and subconsciously stepped on the accelerator. He nodded and said,
"I saw it too. The person beside the corpse even covered his face with his hand, as if he was afraid that we would see his face clearly.”
The co-pilot's teeth were still chattering.
"W-could he be a murderer?”
Brother Li's expression was solemn as he analyzed," There's no mistaking it. It's so dark and windy. They must have killed someone and prepared to dump their bodies in the wilderness."”
He turned to look at the passenger seat.
"Hurry up and call the police. If you're late, the murderer will run away. It's not easy to find him in the middle of the night.”
......
Liu Heng was the deputy director of the Xijiang County Police Department and the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team.
This morning, someone called the police and said that an unknown female corpse was found in Xitang Town. She died from a knife wound in the neck. It was a murder case.
For the entire day, Liu Heng led the team to investigate the identity of the corpse and the clues related to the murder, but there was no progress so far.
They were busy until 11 p. m. Liu Heng had no choice but to bring the police back to the county bureau and come back to Xitang Town tomorrow to investigate.
On the way back to the county in the police car, his phone rang.
When he picked up the phone, Liu Heng's expression suddenly changed, and he instantly sat up straight.
"What?! Another murder case?"
"Alright, I'll rush over immediately."
After putting down the phone, Liu Heng took a deep breath and said to the driver,
"Xiao Wang, turn to Qingliang Town immediately. We received a report from the public that someone is dumping the body on the 102 village road.”
.............
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