Chapter 1

In the eastern part of the Northern Kingdom lies an ancient town called Willow Town. This small town, with no more than a hundred households and a thousand people, is renowned throughout the Northern Kingdom, all because the people of Willow Town have been making coffins for generations.

The coffins of Willow Town are a unique specialty of the Northern Kingdom. Most of the people in Willow Town are surnamed Liu, but the Wang family is an exception. If the coffins made in Willow Town are considered the best in the Northern Kingdom, then the coffins made by the Wang family are the best of the best.

No one in Willow Town knows when the Wang family settled there. It is only known that the old man of the Wang family, Wang Jue, possesses coffin-making skills that are almost divine.

At first, no one knew about the peculiarities of the Wang family's coffins. It was only after a grave robber broke into a tomb that had been sealed for ten years and found the deceased looking as if they were still alive that people began to take notice. The bodies in the Wang family's coffins remained uncorrupted for ten years, with their appearances unchanged. When this news spread, the Wang family's coffins became famous throughout the Northern Kingdom and were called "immortal coffins."

However, the Wang family has a very peculiar rule: they only make nine coffins each year, no more and no less.

Rarity makes things valuable, and with the reputation of the "immortal coffins," the Wang family's coffins became highly sought after, with a price tag of a thousand gold pieces. However, the rule of making only nine coffins a year has never changed in decades.

It is said that once, someone forced Wang Jue to make a tenth coffin. That night, the sky was filled with thunder and lightning, and the entire family of the person who forced Wang Jue was struck by lightning and turned into charcoal.

"Anyone who demands a tenth coffin will surely be punished by heaven!"

Since then, no one has dared to force Wang Jue to make a tenth coffin. Moreover, the Wang family's coffins were further deified, with some saying that using a Wang family coffin could bless future generations, and others claiming that it could ward off disasters for a hundred years.

Therefore, obtaining a Wang family immortal coffin became as difficult as climbing to the heavens. However, the Wang family did not always sell their coffins to the wealthy and powerful; sometimes they even gave them to poor people who could not afford a proper burial.

Wang Jue is a man of gentle disposition, and his coffin-making skills are almost divine, so he is highly respected in the town. He has no sons, only a young daughter named Yuer, who is just thirteen years old.

In addition, there is an apprentice named Amu, who is two years older than Yuer. Twelve years ago, Wang Jue found Amu in the snow in the mountains and took him in.

The famous Wang family of Willow Town, with only three people, is a curiosity in the town.

Wang Jue treats his daughter like a treasure, but he is very strict with Amu. Although he teaches Amu the art of coffin-making, he often beats him.

The people of Willow Town do not understand why the usually kind Wang Jue treats Amu so harshly. This has become a topic of discussion among the townspeople.

The magical coffins and the mysterious Wang family. The Wang family's residence is located on the eastern edge of Willow Town, in a relatively secluded area. The house is made of blue bricks and gray tiles, with two courtyards, and this is the Wang family's home.

It was just past noon, and the front courtyard of the Wang family was scattered with various tools and types of wood, the scent of wood filling the air.

Amu, dressed in simple clothes, was sitting on a stone bench, meticulously planing a piece of pine wood, the wood shavings falling like snowflakes.

Although only fifteen years old, Amu is handsome, with a well-defined face and a tall, sturdy build.

Wiping the sweat from his brow and shaking off the wood shavings from his body, he finally finished planing the pine board. After a careful inspection, Amu was quite satisfied. Planing wood is almost a daily task for Amu.

The coffins for this year have already reached the limit of nine! However, Amu's woodworking is not related to the number of coffins, and he continues to work as usual.

"Another year has passed, sigh, twelve years!" Amu sighed inwardly.

The previous generation killed, and this generation makes coffins. Amu often wonders if this is fate.

In his past life, Amu was a killer. His last mission failed, and he was reborn in this world, losing his memory of the first three years.

When Amu first woke up, he felt like an infant, surrounded by chaos. He could hear people arguing, but the words were unclear, and there seemed to be sounds of fighting. There were also colorful lights and flying auspicious birds.

However, everything was hazy, like a nightmare. When Amu woke up again, he was a three-year-old child lying alone in a vast snowfield, with no memory of the previous three years.

Wang Jue found him in the snow and brought him back, and Amu became an apprentice in the coffin shop. Twelve years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"Twelve years!" Amu smiled bitterly and looked at the coffin board in his hand, regretting that the coffins he made were not enough to make up for the people he had killed.

"Brother, have some water!" A clear and pleasant voice interrupted Amu's thoughts. A girl in a red dress and skirt stood behind him, holding a blue porcelain teapot.

It is said that Wang Jue had a daughter in his old age, but the people of Willow Town have never seen Yuer's mother.

Yuer is a natural beauty. Although she is only thirteen, she is already very beautiful, with skin as white as snow and eyes as clear as water, deep and full of mystery, as if they have a thousand enchantments.

Amu took the teapot and drank a few gulps directly from the spout.

"Where is Master?" Amu wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Backyard!" Yuer glanced at the direction of the backyard and whispered, "Brother, I think Father is holding that black vine and looking very stern."

"Uh!" Amu smiled bitterly, knowing what Yuer meant. Over the past twelve years, whenever Master looked like this, Amu would inevitably be beaten.

"Brother, I always try to persuade Father not to beat you, but he never listens!" Yuer was indignant.

In Yuer's heart, Amu is like a real brother. She has never seen her mother, and apart from Wang Jue, Amu is her only family.

Sometimes, when she sees Father beating Amu, Yuer even cries secretly. Although Wang Jue treats her like a treasure, there is one thing he never does: he never stops beating Amu.

"It's okay!" Amu stood up, patted Yuer's head, and smiled, "It's a man's business, you don't understand! Getting beaten makes you stronger!"

Yuer pouted, not understanding why Father always beats her brother, but her brother never complains.

"Amu, come to the backyard!" At that moment, Wang Jue's somewhat aged voice called out.

"Brother!" Yuer instinctively pulled on Amu's sleeve.

"If it's fate, it can't be avoided!" Smiling at Yuer, Amu picked up the pine board he had just planed and headed to the backyard. He knew Master would check his work and probably beat him again.

In the backyard of the Wang family, there were nine coffins of various sizes and shapes, arranged in a circle.

However, these coffins were not finished. Some were missing the lid, some were missing boards, and others were not painted or carved.

In the center of the nine coffins stood a hunched old man in black, with white hair, his back to Amu. His hands, full of age spots, held a three-foot-long, black, shiny vine.

He is Wang Jue.

Seeing Wang Jue, especially the vine, Amu couldn't help but grimace. Over the past twelve years, this vine has left the deepest impression on Amu, even more so than the coffins.

"Master!" Amu stood behind Wang Jue, respectfully.

"Hmm!" Wang Jue responded, turned around. No one in Willow Town knows Wang Jue's age, and Amu doesn't know either.

Wang Jue's temples were white, his face aged, and his eyes seemed dim and cloudy.

Wang Jue is just an ordinary old man.

"How did today's work go?" Wang Jue coughed and asked.

"I planed this board!" Amu handed the pine board to Wang Jue.

Wang Jue didn't take the board, just glanced at it, and said indifferently, "Pine wood, though not the best for coffins, this board is well-made, and it even has a hint of spirit."

Hearing Wang Jue's praise, Amu didn't show any joy, but rather frowned, knowing that Master had more to say.

Sure enough, Wang Jue continued, "However, the spirit of this pine wood is in the roots, which you discarded. That's a waste!"

Hearing this, Amu could only smile bitterly.

Since Amu started learning coffin-making at six, no matter what material or part he chose, Wang Jue could always see through it at a glance, never making a mistake, and always pointing out Amu's mistakes.

The pine board in Amu's hand was indeed made from pine wood that had been discarded, and he thought he had found a piece with a hint of spirit, but it turned out to have lost most of its spirit.

"Amu knows his mistake and is willing to accept punishment!" Amu lowered his head. He was prepared to be beaten, so he didn't say more.

"You deserve it!" Wang Jue glanced at Amu with his dim eyes, said nothing more, and raised the black vine with one hand.

The black vine gleamed in the sunlight.

Over the past twelve years, almost every time before a beating, there would be a brief exchange, followed by the sound of the vine. The master and apprentice seemed to have a tacit understanding: Wang Jue beat swiftly, and Amu remained silent.

"Slap!" The black vine landed heavily on Amu's back.

But Amu's expression didn't change, as if the vine hadn't hit him at all.

"Slap, slap!" Two more hits, and Amu's expression remained the same, his lips even slightly curling upward.

Wang Jue grunted and increased the speed of his strikes.

The vine moved like the wind, the "slap, slap" sounds continuous, and in a moment, dozens of hits had landed.

Despite his aged appearance, Wang Jue wielded the vine effortlessly, and Amu's clothes were torn to shreds, fluttering like butterflies.

Amu's body, like a coiled dragon, gleamed with a bronze sheen in the sunlight.

After seventy hits, there was not a single mark on Amu's body.

Wang Jue continued, the black vine moving like a dragon, like a swirling black mist, the "slap, slap" sounds becoming even more rapid.

After a hundred hits, Amu's body was covered in blood, and sweat dripped from his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

After many more hits, Wang Jue looked at Amu, seeing his pale face, drenched in cold sweat, and a faint white mist rising from his body, and stopped, saying indifferently, "You've improved a bit!"

Amu smiled bitterly, "One hundred and thirty-eight, nineteen more than last time."

Wang Jue, seeing a hint of pride in Amu's expression, grunted, "If you think one hundred and thirty-eight is too few, I can keep going!"

Amu, hearing this, quickly shook his head, "No, Master, next time if I make a mistake, you can beat me then!"

With that, Amu hurriedly left the backyard, the sound of Wang Jue's grunt still ringing in his ears.

"Brother, are you okay?" Yuer, who had been waiting in the front yard, saw the blood on Amu's back and bit her lip.

Wang Jue never allowed Yuer to be present when he beat Amu, but she could hear the "slap, slap" sounds clearly.

"I'm fine, I'm used to it!" Amu, seeing Yuer's red eyes, quickly comforted her.

"Brother, let me put some medicine on it!" Yuer pouted.

"No need, it will heal in three to five days!" Amu smiled, his back burning, but he knew he couldn't use medicine, or the beating would be in vain.

Seeing Amu's refusal, Yuer pouted, and Amu, knowing her expression, didn't mind. After comforting Yuer a few more times, Amu returned to his room, his back still burning.

However, Amu was actually happy inside. As a killer, Amu had undergone devilish training, but the first time Wang Jue's vine hit him, he fainted for three days. From then on, Amu knew his master was no ordinary person.

Over the past twelve years, Amu has been grateful for Wang Jue's rescue in the snow, otherwise, a three-year-old child, even with the skills to kill, could never have survived the vast snowfield.

Over the past twelve years, Amu has also understood that Wang Jue is using this special method to temper his body, even though Wang Jue has never said anything, just finding trivial reasons to beat him. Amu deeply understands his master's good intentions.

Although he doesn't fully understand his master's purpose, Amu's intuition tells him that his master has his reasons.

Wang Jue and Amu maintain a man's tacit understanding.

After changing his clothes, Amu felt the burning on his back lessen. According to past experience, without using medicine, the blood marks would disappear in seven days, and Amu would feel his body stronger. If he used medicine, it would take much longer to heal, and he wouldn't feel the strengthening of his body.

Just as Amu finished changing, a sudden, urgent sound of hooves came from outside, as if dozens of riders had arrived. Then, the sound of horses neighing and people shouting indicated that they had stopped at the Wang family's door.

"Knock, knock! Knock! Knock, knock!" The urgent knocking on the door.

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