306: What did you do with the body?

Is this fate?

Yesterday, they met at a bar, and today, he still saw them at the funeral home.

Shen Bei couldn't understand what kind of game Bo Tao and Ren Qianna were playing.

This wasn't a bar; it couldn't provide happiness and excitement.

It was a place of sorrow and depression.

Would Bo Tao dare to throw money around and laugh loudly here?

It couldn't provide any emotional value.

“Rich people's quirks are truly unpredictable. Thankfully, I'm still a normal person in this world.”

Shen Bei muttered to himself.

Shen Bei didn't want to meddle and continued towards the funeral home's financial office.

But after a few steps, he paused, thought for a moment, then turned to Zhuang Bifan and said, “Go monitor Bo Tao and Ren Qianna.”

Zhuang Bifan tilted his head in confusion: “You need to give me a reason.”

Although Bai Wei had entrusted Zhuang Bifan to watch Shen Bei and prevent him from causing trouble.

But Zhuang Bifan wasn't Shen Bei's subordinate.

Strictly speaking, Zhuang Bifan was Military, and in terms of status, he was even one rank higher than Shen Bei.

However, the two had been getting along well recently, so Zhuang Bifan didn't say, “Why are you ordering me around?”

He just asked for the reason.

Shen Bei replied with unusual sincerity: “I suspect their money isn't from legitimate sources.”

Zhuang Bifan's mouth twitched: “You might as well just say you want to rob them.”

Shen Bei crossed his arms, looked Zhuang Bifan up and down, and made a 'tsk-tsk' sound: “Bai Wei is truly a cunning fox.”

Zhuang Bifan: ???

“Look.”

Shen Bei gestured with his chin, praising himself as he continued: “Bai Wei let you follow me, and your IQ has already increased.”

Zhuang Bifan: …

“But, I'm just someone who likes to pour my heart out to others.”

Shen Bei continued to babble: “Although you're benefiting from my IQ, I certainly can't charge you. If you were to offer, and I didn't accept, it would be a blow to your Face, and that would—hey! I haven't finished yet!”

Zhuang Bifan couldn't stand Shen Bei's brazen self-praise, feeling his spirit polluted, and decisively turned to leave, going to monitor Bo Tao and Ren Qianna.

Shen Bei scoffed.

He didn't understand social etiquette.

If you gave me a thousand or so, wouldn't our little boat of friendship be more solid?

When it capsizes, maybe I can even pull you a few times.

What a dirty word…

Shen Bei shook his head, turned, and went upstairs to the financial office.

It must be said that the financial office was busier than a bank now.

This car accident had brought immense grief to at least twenty families, with loved ones passing away.

But the bodies couldn't just be left there.

Corpse storage fees, condolence fees, room usage fees, embalming fees, professional team hosting, various wreaths, funeral music, cremation, urns, burial plots, and so on.

Except for breathing, everything cost money.

And this money couldn't be withheld.

The deceased are paramount.

The last money spent by the deceased, no matter how the funeral home charged, had to be paid through gritted teeth.

Everyone in the room was there to pay, only Shen Bei was there to collect money.

In a moment, it was Shen Bei's turn in line.

The staff member asked with a heavy expression: “Sir, whose family member are you?”

“You've misunderstood, I'm helping Bu Jin, here to collect my salary.”

“Oh, oh, oh, Bu Jin did mention it, no problem.”

The staff member didn't make it difficult and directly counted out the cash.

Halfway through, the staff member tentatively said: “Don't… would you like me to exchange it for an urn?”

Shen Bei: ???

“Let me think…” Shen Bei narrowed his eyes: “How many years would I get for stabbing you?”

“Don't…”

The staff member shrunk his neck: “This day will come sooner or later…”

Get the hell out of here!

The staff member quickly gave Shen Bei five thousand yuan.

Money was not an issue.

Just the price of an urn.

With his salary collected, today's work was finished.

This was Shen Bei's first time receiving the highest basic salary.

Commissions from DJ gigs didn't count.

“Money from dead people is easy to earn,” Shen Bei walked out of the financial office, sniffing: “It's spent faster than it's burned.”

He went down the stairs.

Shen Bei took a shortcut, wanting to leave and see what Bo Tao and Ren Qianna were up to.

He turned a corner.

It was a corridor.

At the end of the left side was a room with double doors.

A sign above read 'Embalming Room'.

It should be Bu Jin's workspace.

Shen Bei was quite curious about Bu Jin's work process.

If he ever took on odd jobs as a makeup artist or something in the future.

He could learn the skill in advance.

He walked over in a few steps.

Adhering to the principle of not disturbing Bu Jin, Shen Bei gently pushed open the door.

If the sound was too loud, it might startle someone.

He poked his head into the room.

His eyes swept across.

More than twenty stainless steel trolleys held assembled bodies.

Bu Jin was engrossed in his work, stitching up severed limbs.

Then he took some low-quality cosmetics and applied them to the deceased's Face.

He painted them like ghosts, making them even more terrifying.

Shen Bei watched, shaking his head, thinking Bu Jin must be very resistant to beatings.

Could the families accept this…

Just as Shen Bei was about to leave, his gaze suddenly caught a strange phenomenon.

After Bu Jin had stitched up the body and attended to the appearance, he placed his right hand on the deceased's forehead, clenched his five fingers, and gently pulled.

He actually pulled out a milky white halo from the deceased's forehead!

This halo seemed warm and soft.

It gave Shen Bei a sense of… lingering life.

“What is that?!”

Shen Bei watched, dumbfounded and terrified.

His first thought was that Bu Jin was no ordinary person, but a Martial Artist!

Only a Martial Artist would possess such strange abilities.

But Shen Bei couldn't quite understand what that milky white halo was.

How did Bu Jin discover he could pull this thing out of a dead person?

What was it for?

The next moment.

Shen Bei watched as Bu Jin put the milky white light cluster into his mouth and swallowed it directly.

Bu Jin smacked his lips, a satisfied smile on his Face, and continued to prepare the next body.

The more Shen Bei watched, the more confused he became.

Did he say Bu Jin was harming life?

But the deceased's emotions were very stable.

Shen Bei tilted his head, stepped back, gently closed the door, and then pulled a few banknotes from his pocket.

He knocked hard on the door.

Bang, bang~~~

“Brother Bu in there? Brother Bu!”

Shen Bei shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Yes, come in.”

Shen Bei brazenly pushed the door open again.

“Busy, are we?” Shen Bei said with a grin.

Bu Jin put down his work, looked up: “What's wrong? Did the people upstairs not pay you? It's fine, I'll go find them, they've got some nerve!”

Shen Bei quickly shook his head, tucking a few banknotes into Bu Jin's pocket: “My salary's settled, but I can't forget my roots. This is for you, buy some wine.”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

Bu Jin's Face showed displeasure, but he didn't stop him: “Am I really that short on money from you?”

Shen Bei, in the manner of a small-town commoner, said: “But I can't be negligent. If there are good jobs like this in the future, you have to think of me.”

Bu Jin waved his hand: “You won't encounter this more than once a year. Most of the time, they're normal deaths from hospitals, or if there's a car accident, not this many die.”

“What a pity.”

Shen Bei's Face was full of bitterness: “I thought it would be a long-term gig.”

“I wish it were a long-term gig too.”

Bu Jin's tone was clearly more hopeful than Shen Bei's.

It was as if he wished a hundred or so people would die every day.

Shen Bei further probed: “Master, can I learn embalming from you? This must be very profitable, right?”

“This is not a good job.”

“Aren't you doing it with great enthusiasm?”

“I advise you to find a proper job,” Bu Jin said with a gloomy Face, very resistant.

Shen Bei shrugged: “Shouldn't the skill be passed down? Someone has to do it, right? What if you retire, who will do it?”

“Me retire? Heh heh, that's a long way off,” Bu Jin suddenly pursed his lips and smiled, his Face seemingly very exhilarated.

Shen Bei couldn't understand what was going on with his sudden burst of exhilaration.

Shen Bei did ask: “Then why can't I do it?”

“That's a long story…”

The two chatted for a while.

It must be said, Shen Bei gained a new understanding of the profession of an embalmer.

According to Bu Jin's description, in ancient times, there was no such thing as an embalmer.

They were called corpse stitchers.

The old saying goes, after death, people return to their roots, resting peacefully in the earth, emphasizing a complete body. If buried with missing limbs, it's a great taboo and will bring misfortune and disaster.

To bury the departed souls, the profession of corpse stitching came into being, also known as embalmers, ghost stitchers, or 'two-skin craftsmen'.

Corpse stitching, like executioners, paper effigy makers, coroners, and coffin bearers, were all 'yin gate' businesses.

Dealing with dead people every day, not many dared to do it, and not many could do it.

Those in this line of work were best off being physically impaired, having some disability, or at least being widowed, orphaned, or having lost several relatives. They needed to be afflicted with some of the 'five harms and three deficiencies' ( Five disadvantages and three shortcomings), otherwise, their fate wouldn't be 'ominous' enough, and 'yin gate' money-making would easily lead to trouble.

Moreover, there were many funeral homes in the capital, and they often had to run to hospitals to drum up business…

Without the thick skin, this profession was not easy to do.

Therefore, Bu Jin didn't want Shen Bei to enter this profession.

But Shen Bei looked at Bu Jin and couldn't help but ask: “Aren't you fine? What kind of society is this now? Where are all those feudal superstitions?”

“Can you compare yourself to me? I—”

Bu Jin suddenly shut his mouth and waved his hand: “Get lost, don't disturb my work.”

Shen Bei clicked his tongue, feeling even more strongly that Bu Jin definitely had a secret, and almost blurted it out.

But the conversation couldn't continue, and Shen Bei couldn't read minds, so he couldn't figure out what the milky white light cluster Bu Jin pulled from the deceased was.

Having been given the boot, Shen Bei could only shrug and leave.

Walking out of the room, Shen Bei looked back.

He chuckled.

Just you wait.

When I return from Xing Sha Dungeon, I'll definitely have a good chat with you, Bu Jin.

If not, I'll use force.

I'll beat you until you're looking for your teeth on the ground, and I'll interrogate you about whether you watched widows bathe when you were a child!

He walked out of the funeral home building.

It was already dark.

The courtyard was empty.

The family members were all keeping vigil in their respective mourning halls.

Zhuang Bifan was also gone.

Bo Tao and Ren Qianna were not there either.

Shen Bei dialed Zhuang Bifan's number.

He learned that he had already followed Bo Tao and Ren Qianna back to the city, to the Evergrande Royal Palace villa area.

“Guess what I saw?” Zhuang Bifan whispered mysteriously.

Shen Bei flagged down a taxi on the roadside, told the driver the destination, and then asked into the phone: “Can I slap you through the phone line? People who play guessing games deserve to die!”

Zhuang Bifan chuckled: “Bo Tao and Ren Qianna are fighting.”

Shen Bei: …

“I told you to take me to the bathhouse to watch a show, and you said you were a scholar of the Spring and Autumn Annals.”

Shen Bei urged the driver to speed up, and continued into the phone: “And now you're watching a live broadcast yourself?”

Zhuang Bifan: ???

Did you misunderstand something?

“They're really fighting!”

“Nonsense, is there any such thing as just rubbing without going in?” Shen Bei retorted disdainfully.

“Damn it!”

Zhuang Bifan cursed: “I can't explain it to you, just come and see for yourself!”

“Hurry, hurry!” Shen Bei hung up the phone, yelling at the driver: “We'll miss the good part if we don't hurry!”

The driver sat up and stepped on the gas: “Understood, you're going to catch them in the act! Just watch how fast I am!”