“Taoist Master, my name is Shi Shoufu, and I am the owner of this coffin shop.”

“The refined corpse you injured is my fiancée, named Xiao Cui.”

“Xiao Cui and I grew up together like childhood sweethearts. After my father died and my brother went far away, I took over this Fushou Shop.”

“I thought we would live a harmonious life together forever, but unfortunately, as Xiao Cui grew up more beautiful, she caught the attention of the town chief, Wu Changshou.”

“He bribed officials and suppressed Xiao Cui’s family’s tofu business while offering a substantial dowry to tempt her parents. Under the carrot and stick approach, Xiao Cui’s parents couldn’t resist and agreed to marry her off to him, a man over sixty.”

“If my Shi family hadn’t been established in Qingyuan Town for hundreds of years and wasn’t considered a small household, I might have been his target too, heh.”

“Later, on the night before her marriage, Xiao Cui gave me her red wedding dress, rejected my proposal to elope, and secretly jumped into the Qing Shui River at midnight.”

“Torn between filial piety and love, afraid her parents would suffer Wu Changshou’s retaliation if we eloped, she chose death as her statement.”

“Death ends all troubles; this was Xiao Cui’s solution.”

“She was so foolish. The day she died, I died too, living only as a shell. I frantically searched for a way to bring her back to life.”

“My elder brother is a tomb raider who likes to dabble in antiques and eventually left home to travel far. While organizing the house, I actually found a strange book – ‘Corpse Manual.'”

“I’ve never liked such things; I only enjoyed my carpentry and reading medical books. I had despised it before, but after finding this book, it became my treasure.”

“According to the manual, if I could master it fully, there’s a chance to revive a corpse with its memories intact, effectively bringing back Xiao Cui.”

“However, mastering the ‘Corpse Manual’ is difficult. It took me three days of chanting to have a faint response; awakening the corpse’s spiritual essence described in the book is extremely hard.”

Yi Chen: “…” It’s really hard indeed, some people chant scriptures for ten years without any response.

Hearing this, Yi Chen couldn’t hold back any longer. Three days for a faint response, then what about my ten years… living as a chicken overlord…

Damn, a genius indeed.

Comparison can really kill a Taoist Master.

In the yard, the young man’s somber voice continued to echo.

“Xiao Cui’s corpse couldn’t be left for long, and I couldn’t wait, so I used the methods described in the ‘Corpse Manual’ to refine and nourish the corpse with my blood. If Xiao Cui decomposed completely, even if I mastered the ‘Corpse Manual’ fully, what would be the point?”

“The ‘Corpse Manual’ doesn’t have the power to resurrect the flesh and bones of the dead, a decomposed corpse couldn’t even become a refined corpse.”

“So I settled for the next best thing. I wanted to turn Xiao Cui into an iron-armored jiangshi, kill Wu Changshou’s family, and let Xiao Cui personally seek revenge to alleviate our hatred.”

“Unfortunately, external methods can’t reach the sublime, my pursuit of quick success meant I could only issue simple commands, often unable to control Xiao Cui’s ferocity, leading to the subsequent accidents.”

“Taoist Master, I didn’t want to kill anyone. From the beginning to the end, I only ever wanted to kill Wu Changshou alone. I didn’t harm a single person in Qingyuan Town. Those dozen or so constables who assisted tyranny before and later came to torment me, I killed them all, haha.”

The young man’s somewhat deranged laughter filled the entire yard, as the female corpse bride in his arms refused to suck the blood flowing from his wrist, her eyes showing a glimpse anxiousness.

“Taoist Master, did I do something wrong? What did Xiao Cui do wrong?”

“Why, despite our good deeds and kindness, did we receive such retribution, while Wu Changshou, indulgent in vices, lives a long and prosperous life?”

“Why can those in power trample on our dignity and toy with us?”

Shi Shoufu’s voice grew increasingly agitated.

Yi Chen, facing the frenzied young man, showed a hint of sympathy.

He spoke firmly to Shi Shoufu: “You did nothing wrong; the world is wrong, you are too weak.”

“Kindness is a grand virtue.”

“It’s also an expensive virtue.”

“But kindness without power is worthless.”

“You are the most talented person I’ve ever met, but you’re dying.”

“Taoist Master, if you were me, what would you do?” After venting, the young man’s expression calmed down a bit and he asked.

Yi Chen: “…”

Yi Chen: “Naturally, I would kill his entire family.”

The young man: “…Are you really a taoist? This doesn’t fit your image.”

The young man: “I thought Taoist Master would advise me to be magnanimous, to see the bigger picture, that life and death are destined, and that wealth and status are predetermined.”

Yi Chen: “I’m telling you, those who advise you to be magnanimous, stay away from them. They’ll get you struck by lightning. I thought about it again, I wouldn’t just kill his entire family, but leave no one behind, not even a dog or a chicken. If there’s one left, it’s my failure.”

The young man: “…”

The young man: “Taoist Master, who is your master?”

“Hidden Dragon Temple, Master Bai Yun is my master,” Yi Chen said proudly.

“Young man, you don’t know me well. I was raised by my master, and he knows me very well, so he often wanted to hit me.”

“No, that’s not right; he wanted to motivate me.”

“But I still think some of his words are incorrect, although he couldn’t convince me, and I couldn’t beat him, he couldn’t win against me either.”

“I won’t fight today, but I will dare again next time.”

“However, he instructed me on his deathbed to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness, not to commit crimes, so I have always been doing my duty… not doing bad things.”

“Strictly speaking, I think I’m a good Taoist Master.”

The young man: “…”

The young man: “Taoist Master, you’re awesome.”

As the young man continued to lose blood, his complexion grew paler. He held the female corpse bride in his arms and said:

“It’s a pity that today’s efforts were in vain.

(End of the chapter)