I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 170 - 106: Facing Snipers at the Middle Gate_2

A strange sensation came from his neck as water plants began to wind around it, suddenly tightening.

After about the time for half an incense stick to burn, the taut water plants stopped moving.

At the original spot, Xu Qing remained motionless, as if he were completely dead.

In the dark and deep pit, there was an almost imperceptible movement of water flow.

The Water Tiger, hidden in the shadows, revealed its form.

It swayed its tiger tail, brought its legs together, and with a body as supple as noodles, swam to Xu Qing in an instant.

The Water Tiger, with a child’s face, made a grimace at Xu Qing.

It thought this person was formidable, but it turned out to be just a useless show-off. Now that they were in its territory, wasn’t he going to become its meal obediently?

The Water Tiger extended its tiger paw, its sharp claws gleaming coldly. However, just as it was about to cut into the flesh to feast, the supposedly dead body beneath it suddenly extended a steel clamp-like hand.

The big hand moved incredibly fast, tightly gripping its vulnerable spot as soon as it reached out.

The Water Tiger let out a strange cry, like a child’s sobbing, as its vital point was grasped, causing its entire body to stiffen.

Xu Qing feared the Water Tiger would hide and escape again, so he gripped the small teapot in one hand while the other, wearing a Finger Tiger, punched the Water Tiger’s nose fiercely.

Blood spurted out, mixing with the muddy river water.

The Water Tiger instinctively tried to hide, but regardless of its advanced invisibility technique, it couldn’t escape from having its weak point controlled.

Xu Qing alternated between Dragon Elephant Tiger Imprint punches, hitting the Water Tiger continuously even after forcing it out of its hidden state.

He didn’t stop until the Water Tiger, softened into a pile, completely ceased to move.

Xu Qing tried to communicate with the Sutra of Salvation but received no response.

It seemed the Water Tiger was merely a monster with a human face, with no real connection to people.

Feeling the dense Yin Qi within the Water Tiger, Xu Qing didn’t hesitate. He opened his five fingers and placed his hand on the Water Tiger’s head, starting to execute the Qi Stealing and Returning to Origin Spell.

Under the guide of the Returning to Origin Technique, the Water Tiger’s sinister energy seemed to find an outlet, flooding into Xu Qing’s body.

Partway through, the Water Tiger, supposedly already dead, suddenly struggled again. Fortunately, Xu Qing reacted swiftly, freeing a hand to grip its vital point again, preventing it from escaping.

A moment later, the Water Tiger, feigning death once more, stopped struggling.

"Absorbing so much Yin Qi, yet it only adds five or six years of cultivation. This Returning to Origin Technique takes too much commission..."

Getting a taste for it, Xu Qing looked at the Water Tiger’s corpse, suddenly inspired.

Earlier, the Water Tiger had feigned death, but he saw through it with the Returning to Origin Technique. Now that the Water Tiger was truly dead, he wondered if the Sutra of Salvation could perform a ritual...

Xu Qing touched the Water Tiger’s body again and tried to communicate with the Sutra of Salvation, but still, there was no response.

He shook his head helplessly.

The Sutra of Salvation could only perform rituals for the dead. For such monsters and demons, even if they had spirits, the Sutra of Salvation couldn’t select them.

Looking at the bony and obviously drained corpse of the Water Tiger, Xu Qing did not discard it.

The physical bodies of such monsters often had their uses; who knows when it might be needed.

Thinking about this, Xu Qing had an idea, wanting to take out the Box Garden to store the Water Tiger’s body. However, before taking out the Box Garden, he suddenly remembered something.

The Box Garden was a miniature courtyard. If taken out underwater, the river water would flood in, and his small courtyard would be inundated instantly.

Thinking about this, Xu Qing swam upstream and surfaced before taking out the Box Garden to store the Water Tiger’s body.

After handling the Water Tiger’s body, he returned underwater again.

This underwater pit was the Water Tiger’s lair, where many human skeletons were accumulated. These were the real treasures for him!

Diving to the bottom of the pit, Xu Qing, looking at the piled skeletons on the silt, felt a surge of excitement, as if he were returning home. The river water turned into warm amniotic fluid, and the skeletons became umbilical cords supplying him with endless nutrients.

Amidst the pile of corpses, Xu Qing cheerfully began his work.

First, he placed the intact bodies aside; the broken ones he set in another spot. Then, like completing a puzzle, he pieced each scattered limb and bone together.

Xu Qing had rich experience in collecting and storing corpses. Anyone else might not manage to arrange all the bodies properly, let alone piece them back together haphazardly.

About half an hour later, after completing the last skeleton, Xu Qing swam to midwater.

He floated in the water, looking down at the neatly arranged bodies below, feeling a wave of satisfaction.

The Water Tiger had no teeth, so it would only cut and peel the flesh of its prey without chewing the bones.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to piece together so many intact skeletons.

Looking at the rewards from performing rituals on the bodies,

Water Exploration Skill, Fishing Skill, Water Element Pill, Breath Holding Pill, Underwater Breathing Technique...

The Water Exploration Skill could search for water sources and holes, a skill essential for water seekers digging wells.

The Fishing Skill was, as the name suggested, the essential technique for fishermen to survive. Whether it was with trawls, lift nets, casting nets, retrieving nets, bait traps, or fishing rods, all were encompassed in the Fishing Skill.

After receiving the experience of a fisherman, Xu Qing already had master-level fishing techniques.

The Water Element Pill was a medicine to improve a woman’s constitution, strengthen her Yin elements, and enhance her roots.

This pill was useless to Xu Qing unless he practiced Qing Luo Transgender or the Yin Yang Reversal Technique, otherwise, it was a dust-collector.

Xu Qing thought for a moment; perhaps he could trade the pill with Yizhen for something useful someday.

The Breath Holding Pill, also known as the Fake Death Pill, could stop a person’s breath and heartbeat for three days without dying.

"..."

Xu Qing was speechless. Zombies didn’t need to breathe, nor did they have a heartbeat. This was even more useless than the Water Element Pill, utterly redundant.

Then he looked at the Underwater Breathing Technique...

Xu Qing fell completely silent.

...

Around ten miles away from the Reed Marsh, Lu Ping led a team with two or three scattered fishing boats following behind.

As the thin fog began to rise, with his search having been fruitless, Lu Ping was planning to turn the boat back.

Just then, a corpse collector approached by boat, puzzled, "Brother Lu, I remember there were nearly ten boats when we came, but now, in such a short time, half of them are missing?"

Lu Ping turned to look behind him, and indeed, as the other man said, there were only two or three of the dozen-strong recovery team remaining behind.

"Both you and I have the fastest rowing speed among the corpse collectors, but even if the others are slower, they should have caught up by now..."

The corpse collector frowned, "Could it be they found bodies along the way and were busy recovering them?"

Lu Ping narrowed his eyes, his scarred face showed a vicious look.

"Old Song, with my eyesight, do you think I’d miss any bodies?"

"This stretch of the river is quite stable, with no sinkholes and few undercurrents. If there were any oversights, they would be in the Reed Marsh we passed through earlier."

The corpse collector called Old Song shook his head slightly, "Better safe than sorry. This time, the one who fell into the water is a wealthy merchant, presumably carrying substantial fortunes. If they discover him first..."

"What if they do?" Lu Ping’s eyes turned vicious, "In the recovery team, it’s not just about the skill of recovering bodies; they must also ensure they can hold onto them!"

With that, Lu Ping decisively turned his boat back, heading towards the way they came.

... freēnovelkiss.com

In the Reed Marsh, Xu Qing retrieved all the bodies from the pit.

These were all the fishermen and boat passengers that the Water Tiger had harmed over the years.

Among them were even some members of the Corpse Recovery Team from the past.

Xu Qing sorted through the roughly forty skeletons but found only three that could be identified.

The pit beneath the Reed Marsh was exceptionally chilly, preserving these three bodies relatively intact; they seemed to have been kept as reserves.

As for the other bodies, they were beyond recognition.

Xu Qing could see through their lives via their flashbacks, knowing who they were and where they lived.

But if these bones were handed over to the Corpse Recovery Team, no one would claim them.

After a moment of thought, Xu Qing made a decision.

Those unidentifiable bodies could be stored in the Box Garden and later buried in the Shuimen Bridge Villa to improve feng shui.

As for the three intact bodies...

Xu Qing placed them in the black canopy boat, planning to personally deliver them to the morgue for their families to claim when he returned to the dock.

But delivering corpses was merely secondary; he did this mainly to find an excuse to enter the Corpse Recovery Team’s morgue.

With everything taken care of, just as Xu Qing was about to row away, he suddenly remembered that there was still one corpse in his Box Garden that had not yet been subjected to a ritual.