Old He hid at the entrance of a jewelry shop, using the doorframe to conceal his figure.
On this street and alley, Old He and the other jail guards were well-known faces, roaming the streets year after year.
Many shopkeepers recognized him.
Therefore, he couldn’t show himself in front of the two coffin shops.
Lu Qian stood alone beneath the signboard of the Fuyin Houren shop, peering cautiously inside the nearly-closed door.
As mentioned before, both coffin shops had large storefronts and spacious interiors.
Inside, rows upon rows of wooden shelves were neatly arranged, each holding dozens of coffins.
Some were coated in black lacquer; others retained their original wood color.
Fuyin Houren was known as a mid-to-low tier business.
Judging by what Lu Qian saw, all the coffins were made of common, everyday materials like pine wood, with only a few higher-end coffins made from willow wood.
Peeking through the partly opened lids, the materials used in the coffins were quite modest indeed.
The thickest coffin made of willow wood had boards no more than two inches thick.
Several pine wood coffins placed along the edges were even cheaper—stitched together from small wooden strips instead of solid planks, with coffin boards less than an inch thick.
The coffins took up most of the floor space inside the shop.
Under dim lighting, a gaunt old man dressed in a pale blue brocade robe layered with a gray bear fur cloak was trembling as he questioned a few shop assistants seated around a square table.
“Hey, give me the cheapest and thinnest coffins you have, about three of them. I want them sent straight to Si Ji Lane.”
Beside the gaunt old man stood two slender middle-aged men.
Both wore thin white robes with long arrow sleeves, white belts, white boots, and white headbands holding their hair buns.
Three sword-shaped silver hairpins were stuck into each bun.
Swords hung at their waists too—the scabbards made of white shark skin, with white silk cords wrapped tightly around the hilts, making the whole look eerily pale.
Their aura was cold and distant, sending chills down anyone nearby.
Tonight, seeing these two men in the coffin shop flustered Lu Qian, making his heart turn cold all of a sudden.
A cough rang out, and a tall, lean middle-aged man wearing a dogskin cap and a light brown brocade jacket with a coin pattern emerged from a small door at the back of the coffin shop.
“Is someone dead in your family this New Year? My condolences, please accept my sympathies.”
The assistants sitting at the table stood and bowed expressionlessly to the tall, lean man. “Shopkeeper.”
Across the street, from the ‘Safe Journey’ shop, another thin, tall middle-aged man stuck his head out and called out in a strange tone.
“Hey, open for business? Dear customer, come see my Safe Journey shop! We have exquisite coffins made from rare southern woods—six-inch thick boards, eight-inch, even one foot two inches thick!”
“Golden-thread Nanmu, sandalwood, huanghuali, all kinds of fine materials—you name it, we have it!”
“If your elder has passed on, sleeping in coffins from our shop will be a dignified and respectable send-off!”
The manager of Fuyin Houren suddenly rushed to the door, nearly bumping into Lu Qian.
He didn’t apologize but instead shouted curses at the shopkeeper opposite.
“An Lao Kou, what kind of business are you running? Your family has dead people this New Year? Bah!”
He spat on the ground, then narrowed his eyes and gave Lu Qian a once-over.
“Young master, someone dead in your family? Hey, how about choosing a coffin? Or maybe custom order one for the future? Sooner or later, everyone will need one.”
Lu Qian shivered involuntarily and chuckled dryly, “Just having a look, just looking.”
The Fuyin Houren manager stretched the corners of his mouth into a stiff smile.
“Looking is fine, looking is fine. If you see one you like, let us know. We have pine, poplar, willow, jujube wood—everything. And an old brand passed down for hundreds of years, master craftsmen work marvels here.”
Before the manager could finish, the gaunt old man began shouting harshly.
“Shopkeeper, stop yammering with that brat over there. Hurry up! Three of the thinnest coffins, the cheapest ones, I need them fast.”
The white-robed man beside the gaunt elder pressed his left hand on the hilt of his sword and silently walked to the shop’s entrance, glaring at Lu Qian.
The manager gave a dry laugh, glanced at Lu Qian, then walked over to the old man.
“The cheapest, sir? Are you sure? Life’s big moment is death. When someone passes, we must give them a comfortable rest, a peaceful sleep. How about looking at this ash wood coffin?”
The manager loudly said, “See! Two inches thick solid plank, real wood—not patched together with strips. This is our first deal of the year, I’ll give you a discount. Original price twenty strings of coins each, but I’ll let you have them for cost, just twelve strings. How about that?”
The gaunt old man sneered.
“Enough nonsense. Just those three pine-strip coffins in the corner, no lacquer needed. Send them to Si Ji Lane, Qi Fang Garden, now.”
Lu Qian stood at the door with his hands tucked inside his sleeves, smiling gently as he watched the old man and manager bicker.
The snow-white robed man’s cold gaze kept following Lu Qian.
After a while, seeing that Lu Qian was completely unaffected by the intimidating stare, he shifted sideways to block Lu Qian’s view.
“Friend, this kind of business is no place for onlookers.”
“Dealing with matters of death, you’d best be off somewhere else.”
Across the street, the manager An and his assistants stared unblinkingly at them.
Lu Qian pushed hard against the white-robed man's chest and laughed.
“What’s the matter? Can’t let the boss do business here? Or is it that your family has… someone dead this New Year, something you want to hide?”
The white-robed man’s face darkened greatly.
Old He stood in a shadow by the next shop’s door, furrowing his brows sharply.
A family having three deaths over the New Year? Dead people and only the cheapest, thinnest coffins?
From his angle, Old He could only hear the exchange between Lu Qian and the white-robed man, unable to make out the man’s face.
His curiosity twitched.
He instinctively peeked out, trying hard to see toward Fuyin Houren’s door.
At the Safe Journey shop’s entrance, Manager An and his men seemed to have some kind of sense.
They all turned their heads simultaneously, staring fixedly at Old He under the dark red lighting.
Manager An forced a smile.
“Oh! Isn’t this Lord He from the imperial prison guards? Someone dead in your family as well? Come, come, come to Safe Journey! I’ll give you the best coffin! The best coffin, just for you.”
He reached out, beckoning Old He toward the shop repeatedly.
“Come! Come to our Safe Journey! The coffins opposite can’t possibly suit someone as big a figure as Lord He!”
Under the faint red light, Manager An’s cold calls of “Come, come” gave Old He goosebumps—it was far from auspicious on New Year’s.
Especially that last sentence nearly made Old He furious.
“What do you mean by ‘not worthy of Lord He?’ I’m not even here to buy a coffin! Even if I did, it wouldn’t be for myself!”
But since his presence was already exposed, Old He scowled, stepped out of the shadows, pointed at Manager An, then turned slowly toward the brightly lit street intersection.
Manager An watched Old He’s fading back and suddenly took a deep breath.
His face drained of color, lips turning bluish-gray.
Then, beneath the pale skin, greenish veins appeared, making his face look menacing and sinister.
Lu Qian pushed again on the white-robed man’s chest, who didn’t budge an inch.
He raised his chin arrogantly, glancing sideways at Lu Qian.
Inside Fuyin Houren, the gaunt old man wheezed gruffly.
“Those three worthless curs can have a single coffin each to bury them. That’s grace from the master already. Just these three, no more nonsense. What’s the price? New Year’s first deal, better give me a discount!”
The manager sighed, mumbling to the old man.
“Alright, three cheapest thin-shell coffins, huh? New Year’s first deal, cost price for you. Eight hundred cash per coffin.”
“You’ll have to choose three sets of burial clothes as well. With coffins bought, the clothes are worth very little, right?”
“We even have cheap rough cloth ones. I’ll give you a set for fifty cash. What do you say?”
“By the way, are these three yours male or female? Burial clothes differ. What size shoes? Tell me, I’ll prepare a suitable set.”
The gaunt old man waved impatiently.
“All girls, around fourteen or fifteen years old. You’re the expert, you’re right about the clothes and shoes. Don’t forget to pack some ‘buying-the-way’ money inside, so they can move on quickly in the afterlife.”
At the coffin shop’s entrance, the manager, assistants, and several burly men just coming out of the backyard to help carry coffins all froze for a moment, then cast a glance at the gaunt old man.
The manager cleared his throat, lips tinged blue, voice dry.
“Women’s burial clothes also have rules. Elderly and young can’t mix. Our Dayin customs—sir, you understand. Using the wrong rites for funerary goods is bad luck for descendants and the bereaved family.”
The gaunt old man frowned, thinking a moment, then croaked.
“Three yellow-haired girls, about fourteen or fifteen. You’re the pro, so get those clothes and shoes sorted. Hmm, and stuff the coffins with some passage money so they may die soon and reincarnate quickly.”
At the door, Lu Qian glanced at the white-robed man blocking his way, shook his head, and turned to leave.
Across the coffin shop, Manager An and his assistants stared directly at Lu Qian’s back again.
Then Manager An gave a dry laugh.
“Closing shop, closing shop, tsk. Seeing other shops’ New Year good fortunes and opening profits, it eats at me inside, frustrating. Closing shop, closing shop. Let’s see if tomorrow brings some good sales.”
Suddenly, Manager An shouted after Lu Qian’s departing figure.
“Young gentleman, ready to order a fine coffin? You never know when you’ll need it!”
At the very moment Lu Qian turned and walked away, a hoarse voice echoed from a dim underground chamber in the backyard of the Safe Journey shop, lit by a lonely red lantern.
“Someone came to buy coffins for young women. They’re likely the ones we’re after. Also, there are imperial guards spying on us.”
A low, heavy breathing followed.
“The Ghost Lady is severing dustly ties and cutting karma, right next door… Let her strike and intercept the imperial guards, then…”
“Heh, our chance to devote ourselves to the Ghost Mother and become true ghosts is at hand.”
“Will you all follow me and share this supreme opportunity?”
(The End of This Chapter)