I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality

Early the next morning, Xu Qing drove the Thousand-Mile Steed, adorned with a white flower on its chest, pulling a thin-skin coffin to the Government Office entrance.

The Thousand-Mile Steed was once ridden by Xu Qing from the East City Road Ferry all the way to the Imperial Mausoleum in the northwest.

Xu Qing didn't care for the horse back then, though he only rode it once, he pushed the horse's strength to its limits, feeding it Fasting Pills, Breath-Gathering Powder, and Strength Pills all at once. The horse had never run so fast in its entire life!

Afterward, Xu Qing was preoccupied with his own affairs and just left the horse to go on its own.

As it happened, the horse, wandering along the official road, encountered Wu Wencai, who was heading to the Capital City for exams.

The horse seemed quite intuitive. Xu Qing didn't know whether the horse saw something special in Wu Wencai, or perhaps it simply saw him as a long-term meal ticket.

Now, upon seeing Xu Qing again, the horse acted as though it had seen its past love, even though it had only encountered Xu Qing once.

In contrast, Wu Wencai, who had carefully tended to the horse for a year, seemed overshadowed at that moment.

Wu Wencai had raised the horse in vain for a year, only to have it end up in Xu Qing's hands.

"Why is this horse so ecstatic at the sight of Brother Xu, but shows not a trace of enthusiasm when it sees me?"

At the time, Xu Qing replied, "When I first met this horse, it was being used as a draft animal for pulling carts. But I knew it was a Thousand-Mile Steed, so I released it from its restraints and rode it freely for a day."

"Maybe it hasn't forgotten the favor of being recognized, and even a year later, it still remembers me as its discoverer..."

Honest Wu Wencai, hearing this, marveled at the horse's spirit and simply returned the horse he'd cared for for a year back to Xu Qing.

Now, Xu Qing drives the horse, which Wu Wencai cherished, to pull the coffins of various deceased for funerals.

And the horse is perfectly content with it.

...

Linjiang County Government Office.

Every autumn is the busiest time for the Government Office; not only do they have to handle current cases, but they also have to be prepared for potential local inspections.

Additionally, the autumn harvest is a major event, and the Government constables are so busy they barely have time to breathe. Even when sending off a brother's funeral, they have to pick the early morning when they're free to see him off.

The deceased government official had no significant relatives; his father was a gambler, his mother remarried, and he had a brother with an intellectual disability.

When Xu Qing drove the hearse, accompanied by Zhao Zhonghe and a few constables, to the deceased's home, the old gambler opened the door. He didn't even ask about his son in the coffin; the first thing he asked was when the government compensation would be paid because he was in a hurry to gamble!

Zhao Zhonghe clenched his fists tightly. If it weren't for the fact that this man was the dead brother's father, he would have long slapped him back to sleep.

Inside, the big man with the mental age of a seven or eight-year-old wore a faded red vest. Holding a piece of charcoal, he was nibbling on it. He looked starved, his mouth was smeared with black coal dust.

"Silly Pillar, why are you eating just anything?"

The man called Silly Pillar broke off a piece of coal and said with a foolish grin, "Try it, it's tasty. Little Joy gave it to me!"

Little Joy, mentioned by the big man, was also a neglected child who wandered the streets every day. Hearing that Silly Pillar was starving, he somehow found and handed over a piece of coal for him to eat.

Zhao Zhonghe raised his eyebrows as he watched. He had always known about his government brother's family situation but hadn't expected their home to fall into such a state mere days after the brother's death.

"Where's the money your brother gave you?" Zhao Zhonghe had just spoken when he realized.

Ah, with this big lug in front of him, even if he was given money, it would only get swindled away by his gambling father.

Zhao Zhonghe looked at the grouchy old gambler preparing to leave.

The old gambler lay in front of Xu Qing's hearse, stroking the coffin holding his son.

"What a waste, dying in a good coffin like this isn't worth it," the old man muttered a few words, then suddenly asked Xu Qing, "My son died serving the Government Office, so the coffin should be provided by them, making it our possession."

"How about this, leave the coffin, and I'll give you a straw mat. You can just bury this short-lived ghost casually..."

Disaster comes from the mouth, woes from careless speech.

What kind of person is Xu Qing? He is someone who values his funeral business above all else, viewing deceased clients like family.

Now, of all things that shouldn't be done, this old gambler shouldn't have tried to take advantage of Xu Qing's customer right in front of him.

"Old fool, just try to lift it!"

Xu Qing rarely gets angry, but seeing the man about to open the coffin, Xu Qing was truly annoyed this time.

"This is my coffin, why can't I lift it? Ridiculous!" The old gambler scoffed at Xu Qing's words, rolling up his sleeves to move the coffin.

It was as if the old gambler was fated for this disaster, and before Xu Qing could react, the loyal Thousand-Mile Steed had already lifted its hind hooves, kicking the old gambler squarely in the soft ribs.

With a muffled sound, Zhao Zhonghe saw a shadow fly out, crashing heavily into the door wall.

"..."

The noisy entrance fell silent instantly, while the young man who was nibbling on a coal chunk stood stunned, forgetting to eat, streaming snot.

He was probably thinking how his gambling father must be a hidden martial arts master to have flown so far!

Zhao Zhonghe quickly walked to the door wall, knelt by the gambler's side, and checked his breath.

After a moment, Zhao Zhonghe furrowed his brows and said in a muffled voice, "Dead."

The crowd exchanged looks, unsure of what to say.

Imagine such a thing, sending a brother off to a funeral, and just at the front door of his home, they ended up killing his father.

This is absolutely inappropriate, and if word got out, the brothers' reputation would surely be tarnished along with it!