Headless Immortal

Chapter 82 Selection
After breakfast, Xiao Cheng's father pulled out the family's donkey and hitched it onto the cart.

The big blue donkey brayed, and the family treated it well, always leaving it a small ladle of soaked beans.

Xiao Cheng's father was an honest and simple man with dark skin, a square face, a wide mouth, and a spirited look in his eyes. At this moment, he was feeding the donkey with a gourd ladle and grooming its mane.

Bare-chested Xiao Cheng piled tofu fans on the donkey cart, filling it halfway: "Dad, we'll sell two cartloads a day, right?"

"Three buses in the morning, two buses in the afternoon."

"Let's hire two people to do it."

Xiao Cheng lifted the towel off his shoulder and wiped himself.

When he came back to help with the chores, he rediscovered the feeling of his childhood. He had been doing this kind of work since he was a child, and it could be summed up in one word: exhausting. Once he started doing it, he wouldn't think about anything else. He would throw all his thoughts of studying and martial arts to the back of his mind. So he wasn't always summoned by his family; they only called him when they were really busy.

"Hiring people doesn't make much money anymore."

Xiao Cheng's father muttered something under his breath and then stopped, as if he never complained.

Don't overwork yourself.

"Just focus on your studies and practice your skills."

The father and son spoke very little.

Old Cheng squatted in front of the winnowing basket, picking up tobacco and putting it into the tobacco pouch hanging from the pipe.

"Old man, smoke less."

"Hey."

The old man chuckled, twirling his pipe and hanging it on his dark blue leather belt.

The foreman's clothes were washed spotless, without a single patch.

The family has never been careless towards Lao Cheng.

"Let's go."

The three people rode together in a donkey cart, along with a black cat and a large gray rat.

Because of his position as the head of the household, Cheng's tofu was able to enter the county government's kitchen, which happened to be the time when Lao Cheng and Cheng Yan, who were on duty, were brought over.

Hui Bao perched on Cheng Yan's shoulder and followed him toward the post station.

There are two senior students from the academy over there; it wouldn't be right to leave them hanging.

He needed to explain the issues concerning Qingquan Temple properly, ask his two senior brothers for their opinions, and see if they had any means to contact the academy.

Old Cheng led Old Cat into the morgue of the yamen.

The morgue was built in a shady place, far from the main hall of the county government.

Firstly, the county government office wasn't big enough, and secondly, the shade would provide a place to store the corpse.

As Lao Cheng walked by, the yamen runners would clasp their hands in salute and address him as "Head of the yamen." Lao Cheng would return the salute and say as he walked, "The county yamen is a small place. Most of the corpses are sent to the mortuary outside the city after being examined by the coroner. If no one claims them, they are buried in the mass grave. Over the years, this has given rise to some strange phenomena."

The young constable beside him thought the squad leader was talking to him, so he quickly chimed in, "Squad leader, what's wrong?"

"It's a monster."

"monster?"

The young constable was both afraid and intrigued.

"Some stray dogs become sentient beings after eating a lot."

"Squad leader, I heard that the Dou family was attacked by a monster last night, which alarmed the night patrol officers and county soldiers."

“The Dou family is different.”

Stepping into the room, a chill ran through the young constable, and the gruesome corpses of the Dou family members lay there. He dared not ask any questions and stood at the door, refusing to go any further.

The big black cat followed Lao Cheng as he stepped onto the dark red bricks. The ground was also very cool, and the cat's paw pads could not block out the chilling cold.

The guard asked with a smile, "What brings you here to the barracks, sir?"

"Has the coroner examined it?"

"It's been tested."

Old Cheng chuckled and said, "Have you eaten yet? You've been so busy you haven't had breakfast yet."

He took a flatbread from his sleeve and handed it to the yamen runner.

The flatbread was steaming hot. The yamen runner took it, squeezed it, and found a silver ingot underneath. He weighed it in his hand; it was at least three taels, if not four.

The constable and another guard exchanged a glance, then laughed and said, "The squad leader really takes good care of his brothers."

He then led Lao Cheng and Black Cat inside, lowering his voice to ask, "What is it, Boss? If you don't have any money, we brothers will go through fire and water for you."

Lao Cheng didn't take the jokes and flattery to heart and said with a smile, "Well, someone asked me to buy a few heads because I heard there's a folk remedy that can cure venereal diseases and tuberculosis."

"It's just a matter of a few dead heads, take it if you want." Another bailiff waved his hand repeatedly. "Hey, I can't let you not be able to explain to the accountant, just pay whatever the ransom is."

"The squad leader is so righteous!"

"I admire you."

Lao Cheng picked up his pipe, lit the copper tobacco, took a satisfying puff, and said, "Go ahead and do your work, I'll pick some out myself."

"okay."

The two guards, sensing the danger, walked away.

Watching them walk away, Lao Cheng exhaled a puff of smoke and said in a low voice, "Uncle, you choose."

Black Cat Lu Xun went straight for the heads of the two bandits. Both of them had cultivated true qi and were his main targets. To prevent the people in the yamen from refusing to recognize the two headless corpses, Lu Xun did not take their heads after killing them.

He pressed down with his claw, and sure enough, there was a reaction; characters formed from blue smoke appeared in front of him.

The cat nodded to Lao Cheng.

It raised its paw and reached out to touch Wang Erkui, who had a stubble on his beard.

Good start.

Lu Xun noted it down and then walked over to the other corpses covered with burlap. He pressed down on one of the women, shook his head in disappointment, and then touched a half-grown child, but there was still no response.

Old Cheng sighed, "Many members of the Dou family died. I heard that out of forty or fifty people, only half remained. Most of them were killed by monsters. It's tragic. But the Dou family wasn't any better. Wealthy families are prone to wrongdoing. They ordered two bandits to plunder people who were exchanging silver. It's truly a cycle of karma, and retribution is inevitable."

"Evil people always need other evil people to teach them a lesson!"

Black Cat glanced back at Lao Cheng, who was sighing with emotion, and was surprised to find that the old soldier was quite indignant.

The cat is like a squirrel searching for good nuts.

Knock on this, touch that.

Is there a good start?
Whether it's a regular one or one that has cultivated true qi, having words on it is a good omen.

After careful selection, eight were chosen, but unfortunately only two were able to cultivate true qi.

One appeared to be a martial arts instructor guarding the courtyard, while the other was the patriarch of the Dou family. Wealthy families realize the power of martial arts early on, so they train from a young age, eat well, and can hire famous teachers to guide them. Through persistent and meticulous practice, they can eventually cultivate true qi.

However, that's all it goes; that little bit of true energy is only good for strengthening the body at best.

Compared to martial arts, there are countless examples of people who develop magical powers through reading.

It's also possible that Lu Xun, the black cat, was in the academy, which is why he sensed that many people had read his magic.

The Yi Mao class alone has thirty students.

The lawsuit against the Dou family is still ongoing, and Lu Xun has not yet taken down Master Dou's head.

Once the silver was settled, the constable brought over a sack, packed it up, and asked with a smile, "Steward, shall I take this home to you?"

"No need, I'll have the child take it back."

"The master said he wants you to go to the main hall in a little while, because he heard that someone has answered the call for help."

"it is good."

The experienced man nodded in agreement.

"Young Master Cheng is a promising young man. I heard that he has already cultivated true qi, which is no less than that of Zhao Tou'er. You can enjoy your life from now on."

"Hey, he's nowhere near as good as Zhao the Boss."

Old Cheng laughed heartily as he carried the sack out the door.

Halfway through, he couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle: "Zhao's skills are far beyond what can be measured by true qi. Back when Tieguai from Xijiang robbed a security escort agency of ten thousand taels of silver, Zhao led us to intercept that group of bandits. He alone fought two masters who had cultivated true qi. Don't underestimate him just because he didn't have true qi back then. He was born with superhuman strength and was willing to work hard. He was just one step away from achieving that."

"Shooting tigers on the Xunyang River and catching monsters in Meilan County—if it were in the government office, one would have been promoted to captain long ago."

"It's not worse now."

Old Cheng turned his head to look at the black cat, puffing on his copper pipe: "I'm old, I'm old."

If he were thirty years younger, he would definitely have gone to the county town with Zhao Tou'er.

Lao Cheng handed the sack to Lu Xun.

Seeing that no one was around, Lu Xun directly put all the heads into the strange space.

The experienced man folded the sack neatly, unfazed.

He stood with his hands behind his back, smoking a pipe.

The morning mist was swept away by the blazing light.

A man and a cat walked toward a hall in the county government office.

(End of this chapter)