The third day of the vigil saw many strange people arrive.
Not one of them looked normal.
And most were dressed in black.
Some carried white lanterns in their hands.
These people all came around midnight.
They said nothing upon arrival, merely bowing and leaving.
There were seven or eight groups, totaling about fifteen or sixteen people.
It wasn't until around four o'clock, when the rooster in the mourning hall crowed.
My martial uncle, who was keeping vigil with me, finally spoke to me:
"Alright, Little Qin, go and put out the candles!
Those who were meant to come, have come.
Those who weren't, won't be coming."
Hearing my martial uncle speak, I grunted and ran to the door.
I extinguished all the rather thick white candles one by one.
When I returned to the mourning hall, I heard Old Mo asking my martial uncle:
"Master, who were all those people who came just now?
Some of them didn't feel quite human?
Especially one, I saw his face reflecting scales.
He was all wet, leaving a trail of water..."
Old Mo sounded puzzled.
Hearing this, I also looked at my martial uncle with curiosity.
Because these people were clearly not of ordinary status.
And the most bizarre thing was, they all came to pay respects to my master.
Except for Shu Gui Fang from Nanshan Cemetery, I didn't recognize any of them.
My martial uncle took out his black gourd and took a sip.
Then he addressed Old Mo and me:
"Don't be so surprised.
These people are all in the 'yin' trades, and are of the same root as us who are in the 'yang' trades.
They deal with yin energy, corpses, and the like every day, and after a long time, they become somewhat different.
The first one, I don't need to say more, you both know her.
The shopkeeper of Rose Supermarket in Nanshan Cemetery, she deals in ghost business.
And then, like the one all wet, with scales on his face.
He's the boatman from Qingshui River, a corpse collector.
Anyone who drowns in the water, no matter how big the trouble, can have it settled if they find him.
Whether this stretch of river is stable or not is decided by his word.
Besides these, there are also mountain guardians.
Those who make medicine, carry coffins, make paper effigies, carry corpses, burn corpses, and so on.
They are all in the yin trades, some specifically serving ghosts, and some specifically serving our line of work.
They all have some connection with my elder brother.
And according to the rules of the yin trades, they come to pay respects on the third night.
They pay their respects and leave, not getting too involved in karma."
My martial uncle explained slowly.
Hearing this, Old Mo and I finally understood.
So, our profession wasn't a solitary one.
When broken down, there were so many professions in the yin trades.
It was just that these professions were little known.
They served this city in secret, silently lurking in the darkness of the night.
Just like us Taoists, walking between the yin and yang, slaying demons and ghosts.
It was just that our professions were different.
Collecting corpses, burning corpses, gathering herbs, collecting lives, doing ghost business, and so on.
Having understood this.
Old Mo and I had our horizons broadened.
Afterward, we burned some paper money for Master in the mourning hall.
My martial uncle said that if we could burn more for Master, we should.
He said Master would definitely need it down there.
Naturally, I wouldn't be stingy.
The entire shop was left by Master.
I directly piled bundles of paper money in the backyard and burned them.
So that Master could be a wealthy ghost after going down there.
By six o'clock in the morning, it was the auspicious time for Master's coffin to be moved.
The hearse from the crematorium was already parked at the entrance.
I recognized the people who came.
The leader was Bai Ye, the corpse collector from Qingshan Crematorium.
When dealing with the zombie corpses at the construction site, Master had called him over.
Bai Ye looked to be in his thirties.
Upon reaching the main entrance, he also directly offered incense to Master.
He called out, "Uncle Gu, go well."
After I returned the courtesy.
Bai Ye signaled a few coffin bearers to enter the house and carry Master's coffin out.
After boarding the hearse.
The three of us followed directly.
The crematorium wasn't far, only about a half-hour journey.
Upon arrival, the building with green tiles and white walls, stable and majestic.
It was like a paper house magnified.
Master's coffin was directly wheeled into Cremation Chamber Number One.
Here, Bai Ye briefly performed a farewell ceremony for us.
I looked at Master in the coffin, my heart stirring again.
It was very difficult, but I had to accept reality.
At the same time, a very old man, dressed in strange black and white clothing, walked in from the entrance.
As soon as the old man entered, Bai Ye, who was standing nearby, respectfully called out, "Master."
Hearing Bai Ye call him Master.
It was certain that he was the leading cremator at Qingshan Crematorium.
Old Mo and I also looked up.
As a result, we were stunned.
Because we both realized we had seen this old man last night.
He had come to pay respects to my Master.
The old man had very long eyebrows, which were white.
We remembered this feature very clearly.
His eyes looked somewhat cloudy, and he was hunched over.
My martial uncle, seeing him, cupped his fists and called out:
"Bai Lao."
The old man called Bai Lao nodded:
"Young Gu left too early.
Today, I will send him on his final journey!"
As soon as Bai Lao finished speaking.
My martial uncle said with surprise:
"It would be excellent for Bai Lao to personally send my elder brother off. Thank you, Bai Lao.
Little Qin, aren't you going to thank Bai Lao?"
Hearing my martial uncle speak like that, I quickly followed the rules of our trade and cupped my fists to thank Bai Lao:
"Thank you, Bai Lao."
Bai Lao nodded:
"Yes, Young Gu's disciple is good.
He has great talent, and I heard he's been initiated for less than half a year.
I see he's already about to break through to the middle stage of Soul Palace, a fine prospect!"
Hearing this, my heart trembled slightly.
He could see my condition at a glance?
You must know, at this moment, I hadn't circulated a single trace of true qi, nor had I outwardly released any Taoist energy.
Yet this person could not only accurately judge my cultivation level.
He could also discern that I was about to break through to the middle stage of Soul Palace.
This discernment, a true master.
He was definitely a master...