I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 103 - 77: The Thief

After re-burying the empty coffin, Xu Qing acted as if nothing had happened, took a stroll, and then returned to the foot of the mountain.

Unable to hold back, Wang Liang, who had been guarding the carriage, asked:

"Sir, was there anything strange about that grave?"

"Nothing unusual." Xu Qing responded with slight dissatisfaction: "Perhaps some idle wanderer who knows a bit about feng shui also took a liking to that place and buried a close one there."

"That graveyard originally belonged to the wild mountains and zeas, and it didn’t have an owner. Since he wanted to share the site, just let him be. If you come to worship at the grave in the future, just pay attention to your own family’s grave and don’t worry about whether he’s left out."

Xu Qing wasn’t sure if the Third Prince’s people would come to pay their respects in the future.

For now, the best thing for Wang Liang to do was to act as if nothing had happened, which was the safest way to handle the situation.

Anything more, whether relocating Wang Qiao and his wife’s graves or moving the Crown Prince’s grave, would be akin to covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.

Ultimately, it came down to the shamelessness of those dealing with the Crown Prince’s affairs.

They not only coveted the feng shui treasure Xu Qing chose for the Wang Family but also planned to take advantage of it for free.

After all, since the graves of Wang Qiao and his wife were also there, when their family members came to pay their respects during holidays and saw the adjacent grave neglected, they might feel compelled to help out a bit.

At the lightest, it could be seen as taking advantage; at the heaviest, it’s stealing someone else’s luck and fortune dedicated to their ancestors.

If they encountered someone with a bad temper, they wouldn’t just help; they might even topple the grave!

This indicated that the people in charge of this matter had some respect for the Crown Prince, but not much.

If not for Third Prince Zhao Rong’s specific instruction, these two might have just left Zhao You’s body in the mountains for wild animals to devour.

"I will listen to you, sir." Wang Liang agreed promptly, then diligently walked to the front of the carriage to lead the horse.

Xu Qing’s gaze fell on the boy leading the horse, his nostrils flaring slightly.

Since meeting Wang Liang on the road, he had smelled the persistent scent of blood on him.

As a Zombie, his sense of smell for such things was keen.

It was the sweet scent that only human blood had.

"A-Liang, you went up the mountain today, was it really to worship your elders?"

Wang Liang’s eyelid twitched slightly, hiding his emotions: "Why do you say that, sir? Today is the anniversary of my parents’ death, naturally, I have to come to pay my respects."

"Anniversary?" Xu Qing said with a half-smile: "I’ve only heard of the seventh day and the forty-ninth day, but never of a ten-day ceremony."

Funerals were his specialty, and no one knew more than him about the intricacies of this. According to the old customs, on the seventh day after death, the deceased’s spirit returns home to visit, and the family members prepare a meal, burn paper offerings, recite scriptures, and pray for them.‌

This is called the "Seventh Day," and the dates are counted from the day of death, with every seven days serving as a memorial day.

For instance, the fourteenth day, the twenty-first day... totaling forty-nine days, with the final day being the "End of Sevens."

The ten-day period since Wang Qiao and his wife’s death did not align with any special tradition, making it unnecessary to hold a memorial.

If Wang Liang had simply said he missed his parents and wanted to pay respects, that would be fine. But he insisted on inventing a ten-day ceremony, which was suspicious.

When it came to funerary knowledge, Xu Qing could write volumes; it wasn’t something the boy could easily deceive him about.

Wang Liang’s face changed after hearing this, and finally, he gritted his teeth and said: "I won’t hide it from you, sir, I..."

"I’ve just killed someone!"

"Hmm..." Xu Qing sat calmly in the carriage’s front compartment, nodding slightly before closing his eyes to rest.

"Sir, I said I’ve just killed someone." Wang Liang looked back while leading the horse, his face grave.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and glanced at the persistently repeating country boy.

Thinking to himself, "I’m not deaf, do you want an award or something?"

Wang Liang didn’t receive the expected reprimand or lecture from the teacher after confessing his wrongdoing.

Were today’s teachers so lenient?

Faced with Xu Qing’s indifferent reaction, Wang Liang felt a great weight on his chest, an urge he could no longer suppress.

"Sir, it wasn’t my intention. If the other party hadn’t pushed me too far, I would never have done it."

Usually composed and silent, this was the first time Wang Liang actively wanted to confide in someone. freёnovelkiss.com

"The man I killed was a local thug, Zheng Erhu. His uncle is the county magistrate, and he often bullies people in the village. Yesterday, that scoundrel came to my house, demanding to use my home as his bridal chamber.

My aunt and uncle assured him that they would return the property once I came of age."

"This property was left by my parents. If taken by someone else, it’s a small matter if I’m left homeless, but my grandmother and little sister would suffer with me."

"My aunt and uncle passed this message to Zheng Erhu, but who would have thought that the next day, he would come back with a matchmaker, saying he would find good husbands for my sister and me, sending us off as servant girls in a large household."

"Today, Zheng Erhu went up the mountain with two companions for hunting. I was so enraged that I killed them all."

"Whoa—" Xu Qing lightly called out, and the horse in front, without him even pulling the reins, obediently stopped by the roadside.

Seeing this, Wang Liang couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. He quickly turned back and stood in front of the carriage, waiting quietly for the teacher’s guidance.

"You..." Xu Qing pondered briefly, his expression serious.

"After killing those people, where did you hide their bodies?"

"Ah?"

Wang Liang was at a loss: "I dismembered them and scattered the pieces in the forest. By now, the wild animals have probably devoured everything."

"..."

What a waste.

Xu Qing’s gaze turned deep, making Wang Liang uneasy.

"A-Liang, no matter if you’re killing or saving, there’s no need to tell me."