In the backyard of the Funeral Shop, the old lady with tiny feet stared coldly ahead.
The weather in the deep winter seemed even colder.
Tao Sanmei shivered, listening to the Xuanmen True Man criticize and educate her.
Rooted in the Funeral Shop, she had nowhere to retreat, her eyes full of panic and helplessness.
The old lady spoke without mercy, as if she would turn into a woodcutter at any moment and uproot the peach tree before her.
"I've used no less than a thousand peach wood Dharma Artifacts, and your entire mass of wood isn't enough for me to forge a single cloud boat artifact. Where did you get the audacity to mess around with matchmaking?"
After a round of forceful threats and severe reprimandering, Tao Sanmei felt her entire tree was bad.
How she got so unlucky was beyond her comprehension; not long ago, being carelessly sold to the Cat Immortal Hall to pay off debts was something but, just how doing good, helping others, inspiring them, and promoting a beautiful match became a crime?
In the normal flow of things, wasn't she supposed to be Yizhen Daoist's kin?
Thinking about the impending lightning strike in a few days added to Tao Sanmei's inevitable expression of despair, as if she had nothing left to live for.
Her face seemed to say these four words—'Let destruction come quickly'.
The life of this tree seemed unnecessary to continue...
However, just as Tao Sanmei was nearly suffocated under the Primordial Spirit True Man's oppression, Master Grand Sect Leader from Cat Immortal Hall, her owner, arrived just in time.
A sparkle gradually returned to Tao Sanmei's eyes; compared to Master Jingxu, she suddenly found the fair-faced youth before her amiable and endearing.
Terrified to the core, Tao Sanmei lifted her skirt hem and ran to hide behind Xu Qing.
She seemed to want Xu Qing to shield her for a while.
"Xu lad, didn't I just meet you? Why have you come again?"
Xu Qing chuckled and took out a couplet, saying, "The year-end is approaching, today is the day for couplets; this junior just wrote one and specially brought it here, hoping Sister Yizhen could hang it outside the shop, and experience some worldly festive atmosphere."
Jingxu's face slightly cleared, this reason was acceptable.
After mentioning the couplet, Xu Qing turned to Tao Sanmei behind him and said, "Senior Jingxu is a Primordial Spirit True Man, he wouldn't trouble a junior like you. The next few days, the senior will stay here temporarily, make sure to serve well; it's the New Year season after all, so the senior won't mistreat you."
"..."
Jingxu glanced at Xu Qing, this young fox clearly spoke with hidden meanings.
On that morning, a new white paper lantern was hung at the Funeral Shop on Underground Street, the couplets on either side were also made of light pinkish paper with ink black words, looking exceptionally unique.
Underground Street's stores mostly deal in funerary business, their New Year customs differ from ordinary households.
After Xu Qing took the lead in putting up the couplets for one store, the rest joined in, with the stores' own teams coupling with immortals for their shop decorations.
Outside the Paper Mache Shop, an iron pillar, nine feet tall, held up a fresh couplet while Huang Xiaoliu on his shoulder chattered incessantly, stubbornly believing the iron pillar pasted it crookedly.
Xu Qing, looking at the entirely straight couplet, couldn't spot the alleged misalignment.
He didn't intervene, letting the shop teams and immortals communicate and collaborate.
When the iron pillar finished putting up the pair, he ran to the middle of the road to observe; the pairings on both sides of the shop door initially resembled two vertical lines, but ended up forming a character-like shape.
Xu Qing shook his head helplessly, thinking that the best couplet arrangement still belonged to Boss Liu from the robe shop.
Liu Su'e not only sang operatic pieces well but was also meticulous in her tasks.
Looking at his own Funeral Shop, 'Welcome' and 'Farewell' lanterns bore cat paw prints resembling ink plums, with couplets on either side and other decorations used as embellishments having them too.
Xuan Yu beheld his contribution with a sense of achievement.
"Shopkeeper Xu's writing is really pretty, indeed the work of a scholar."
From across the door, Cheng Caiyun didn't spare the praise as she eyed the freshly pasted couplets.
Xu Qing raised his brow and replied, "Of course, it comes from writing spirit tablets and epitaphs, our living skills."
"Pah, pah, pah! Speaking such inauspicious words during New Year!"
Xu Qing cheerfully regarded the lively funerary street he'd built, uncertain how many times he might see such scenes but at least at this moment, he enjoyed this way of life.
Later, Xu Qing returned once more to the Funeral Shop.
He maintained a degree of suspicion towards the uninvited Master Jingxu; Underground Street was his origin, held a profound significance, and he needed assurance that Jingxu presented no threat.
As Xu Qing arrived at the Funeral Shop, the little old lady filtering the world's clear energy and imbibing the essence of sun and moon immediately got riled!
We only met twice today, why are you here again?
Temple Master Jingxu's heightened alertness mirrored that of Xu Qing precisely.
Facing the inquiries from Primordial Spirit True Man, Xu Qing replied fluently, "The senior and Sister Yizhen have come from afar, and now it coincides with the festive year-end; naturally, I must bring celebratory gifts to visit."
While speaking, Xu Qing took out a beautifully wrapped gift box, with a "rising sun and moon" painting using Danqing Skill, inscribed on both sides with celebratory messages of heavenly essence and immortality.
Master Jingxu wasn't used to such sweet appearances, seeing the "rising sun and moon" painting on the gift box moved the old lady genuinely.
"Though this young man seems like Hu Baosong and not an easy man to deal with, he at least understands etiquette, recognizing the worth of elders..."
Master Jingxu's impression of Xu Qing had just changed for the better when she saw him already offering a more elaborate gift box to her disciple.
That gift box also bore a Danqing painting, but of an immortal maiden's ascent.
"Plain girl knots thoughts to ascend to heaven, White jade intersperses phoenix sound."