Chapter 49

In Miaoxian County, Xun Yi spent a great deal of effort but still couldn't find Liu Zhenying's whereabouts. He held the tattered coat given by Liu Zhenying's mother, feeling helpless.

"Master, now that the epidemic in the city is under control, we should also prepare for the aftermath." Liu Ziming glanced at the coat, "What about the Liu family's future?"

There were three corpses, and currently, only Liu Yingqi's body was intact. Her parents' ashes had long been mixed with those of other victims, making them impossible to find.

"There are also the few acres of land the Liu family owns. According to the rules of our dynasty, if Liu Zhenying doesn't appear, the land will be temporarily taken over by the government." If there is no news for seven years, it will be permanently confiscated by the government.

"The ashes of their parents are mixed with those of the other victims, so we can only set up a cenotaph. As for Liu Yingqi, we'll bury her with the others. And their family's property and land." Xun Yi thought for a moment, "If the government takes it, it might be transferred to someone else in the future. You buy it in the name of the Xun family temporarily, and when we find Liu Zhenying, return it to him."

Liu Ziming agreed, just as he was about to go and handle it, he suddenly heard Xun Yi shout, "Wait!" Xun Yi's face showed a conflicted expression, and in the end, he looked resigned, scratching his head, "You buy the Liu family's property, and I'll arrange the funeral for them."

"Master?" Liu Ziming was taken aback, and Bai Shan and Qiu Pu, who were standing by, also looked surprised. Given their master's temperament, he would actually touch the dead?

Xun Yi's love for life was matched only by his aversion to death. He admired health, revered life, and cherished living beings, while also being wary and afraid of death and disease.

Having witnessed the deaths of his parents and personally scattered the last handful of earth for his grandfather, coupled with his own heart condition, Xun Yi had an immense reverence for death. His reverence was so great that he would avoid hearing, speaking, or even looking at anything related to death.

Ma Jingyi's recent feelings were not wrong; Xun Yi indeed had a sense of unease. From the moment he started saving people, he never paid attention to the dead bodies on the ground. He focused entirely on saving lives, never giving a single thought to the corpses.

Now, Xun Yi was going to personally handle the funeral arrangements for Liu Zhenying's family?

Li Junde was also shocked, "Can you handle it? If not, I'll take care of it, and you just provide the money." Given their lifelong friendship, Li Junde and Xun Yi felt it was their duty to help in Liu Zhenying's absence. Li Junde also knew Xun Yi's temperament, "Don't let your old habits resurface, or we'll have to take care of you again."

Xun Yi's face showed disgust, but he still forced himself to say, "After all, I've met Uncle and Aunt once, and Qizi called me brother. I should at least see them off. But you know my character, so you lead the way."

He and Li Junde went to the Liu family's home to gather their belongings, prepare a cenotaph for Liu Zhenying's parents, and bury Liu Yingqi in the family grave.

In our dynasty, the customs for funerals follow the ancient Zhao system. Commoners are not allowed to establish ancestral temples and must perform sacrifices in their homes.

The Liu family's grave was different from the Xun and Li families. It was just a hill with a large stone tablet at the front, marking the burial site of Liu Zhenying's great-grandfather, where all family members were buried.

However, just as Xun Yi and Li Junde were about to bury Liu Yingqi, the neighbors hurried over to stop them.

Li Junde recalled, slapping his forehead, "I almost forgot. According to the rules, an unmarried daughter cannot be buried in the family grave."

Xun Yi, who was wary of death and unfamiliar with funeral customs, frowned, "Not in the family grave? Then where should she be placed?" A wandering spirit would be even worse.

But the neighbors were right about the local rules. The two young men discussed it and decided to select a plot of land from the Liu family's fields to bury Liu Yingqi with a grand funeral. They also invited a temple priest to perform the rituals and pray for her soul.

After a while of busy work, once everything in Miaoxian County was settled, Xun Yi returned to the Xun family's small building and immediately fell ill.

Xue Yi and Liu Ziming were not surprised by this.

Xun Yi's aversion and fear of death were a psychological issue, exacerbated by his heart condition, which often made him worry about not seeing the next day's sun. He would always fall ill for two days after visiting ancestral graves.

However, perhaps due to his cultivation of the Virtuous Deity Path, or the gradual easing of his heart issues, he had found a way to treat his condition. So, by noon the next day, he had recovered. His spirit entered the City God's Mansion to inquire about the aftermath.

Coincidentally, Meng Han was also there. After meeting, Meng Han explained the arrangements after the incident in Miaoxian: "After Brother Ma and your family's white rabbit found and eliminated the snake eggs, the land of Miaoxian was thoroughly cleaned, and the epidemic was completely eradicated. Although we didn't find the mastermind, we can still report it to the higher authorities."

As the acting City God, Xun Yi had to write a written report to the Capital City God, Zhaoling Wuwang. As a traveling deity of blessings, Meng Han also needed to report his experience to his superior. He was on the path of a deity, having received guidance from a deity of blessings and chosen the path of longevity, traveling in various places on behalf of that deity. He also needed to report the situation.

"The Beast Map is related to an evil deity I am investigating." Meng Han explained the situation of the Evil Spirit Hall: "The Evil Spirit Hall was established by a group of fallen deities of blessings. The three leaders control the deities of longevity, wealth, and literature, respectively. They are powerful, but their roots in the Great Zhou are not deep, so you don't need to worry too much."

The Literary and Martial Judges were thoughtful, and it was likely that the evil deity they encountered recently was the Wenchang Jun.

"No problem, anyway, I won't be the acting City God for much longer." Xun Yi had been in Miaoxian for several days, and today was the twelfth day of his tenure as acting City God.

May 25th, there were only a few days left until the special exam on June 3rd. Xun Yi had no time to worry about these things.

"Today, I came to clear up all the affairs of the City God's Mansion and focus on preparing for the exam."

Xun Yi wrote a report to Zhaoling Wuwang, and Meng Han also asked Xun Yi to use the City God's seal to certify his report, submitting the blessings of the deity to the Heavenly Court.

Soon, auspicious clouds rose in the sky, and two beams of golden light entered Xun Yi and Meng Han's heads. Their virtue trees began to grow with the added virtue.

"Ten thousand points of virtue?" Xun Yi reviewed the City God's virtue ledger. For calming the disaster in Miaoxian and uncovering the actions of the Evil Spirit Hall, the Heavenly Court awarded a total of 15,000 points of virtue.

Meng Han contributed significantly and received 5,000 points. The remaining virtue was given to the City God of Qinglong City. The Literary and Martial Judges were subordinate deities of the City God, and except in special circumstances, the virtue awarded to them would be counted under the City God. This was the master-servant relationship between the deity and the subordinate, with the degree of exploitation depending on the deity's conscience.

Half of the virtue points were pressed into the City God's seal, which was a gift to the City God, not to Xun Yi as the acting City God. Xun Yi received only 5,000 points of virtue, which he needed to distribute to the Literary and Martial Judges, Ma Jingyi, Xue Yi, Bai Fu, and others.

Xun Yi was generous, and after distributing the virtue, he only received 2,500 points, adding to his original 1,500, totaling 4,000 points of virtue.

Meng Han quietly absorbed his virtue. His virtue tree was currently at the second level of the nine levels, the Clear Radiance Heaven. To truly advance to the third level, he needed to perform 300 good deeds and accumulate 50,000 points of virtue. Currently, Meng Han had accumulated 45,000 points of virtue.

"45,000 points of virtue, I can learn the last skill of the second level."

The cultivation of a deity of virtue involved exchanging virtue for skills. Each level had five skills, and Meng Han's last skill of the second level, the tenth skill, was finally unlocked.

Shrinking the Earth to an Inch!

Meng Han was proficient in the Earth Mystical Art, and this skill not only complemented his innate abilities but also suited his frequent travels.

Of course, Shrinking the Earth to an Inch had different levels. Currently, the bud on the virtue tree had just appeared, allowing for an initial ability to travel a thousand miles in a day, using the earth's spiritual nodes for teleportation.

After understanding his new skill, Meng Han looked at Xun Yi.

Xun Yi was still at the first level. With his 4,000 points of virtue, he couldn't even learn all five skills of the first level. According to the requirements of the first level, the first skill was granted after 500 points of virtue, and subsequent skills required 1,000 points each.

With 4,000 points of virtue, he could only learn the fourth skill.

Xun Yi closed his eyes, and the virtue tree in his spiritual platform grew a section, with two new buds appearing among the dozens of emerald green leaves symbolizing good deeds.

"Summoning Beans into Soldiers" and "Invisibility and Concealment."

"These are two excellent skills," Meng Han said with a smile when he heard Xun Yi's choice. "I also learned these two skills when I was at the first level."

"Summoning Beans into Soldiers" refers to using seeds containing life force to summon a group of puppet soldiers, a method for self-protection.

"Invisibility and Concealment" eliminates one's presence, a crucial skill for survival and evasion.

Seeing that the matters were settled, Meng Han bid farewell to Xun Yi and continued his journey to investigate the Evil Spirit Hall with his battle soul.

Xun Yi worked with the City God's deities to clear the last batch of paperwork and also found news about Liu Xun's remains. Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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