NABC #129 - Heng Kee Coffin Shop
#129 - Heng Kee Coffin Shop
“I don't think you're stupid. You found your own solution, and you can consistently stick to your choices without being swayed by external things. Many people in this world can't do that,” Lu Jing said.
The young man scratched his head a little embarrassedly upon hearing this. “No, no, no, I'm just stupid. My dad and my big brother both say so, and I don't have your sharp eyes either. You can see everything.”
“To be honest, I still don't know how you could tell someone was coming in and out of here,” the young man said admiringly.
“My eye-skill teacher is pretty good,” Lu Jing said.
The young man on the other side hesitated for a moment, then, probably thinking Lu Jing was a good person and quite amiable, took the initiative to reveal his background, cupping his fist and saying, “Yang Tao, the third-generation successor of the Iron Spear Gate's Dragon-Tiger Overlord Spear from Liuzhou.”
Lu Jing looked blank upon hearing this.
He could tell that Yang Tao was skilled, just from the iron spear on the young man's back, which was also made of refined iron, and was a good nine feet four inches long. Its weight probably wasn't much lighter than his own Zen staff.
It would be difficult for ordinary people to wield it, but since Yang Tao dared to use this big spear as a weapon, his inner strength must be considerable. Considering Yang Tao's age, he looked a year or two younger than him.
Lu Jing had originally thought that the other party was a core disciple of some top sect, but it turned out to be the successor of the Dragon-Tiger Overlord Spear from an Iron Spear Gate that he had never heard of before, and only three generations at that. Maybe even the founder was still alive.
Lu Jing's first reaction was that Yang Tao didn't want to tell him his real identity, so he made up an obscure sect that he had never heard of, but then he felt that if Yang Tao really wanted to fool him, he shouldn't have made it up so ridiculously.
Moreover, although the two had not known each other for long, Yang Tao had given him a very down-to-earth impression. So Lu Jing could only nod politely and return the greeting with a cupped fist, “Wujiang City, Lu Jing.”
“Lu Jing, why does that name sound so familiar?” Yang Tao pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, “It's you! Two years ago, you killed Yama's Flute He Qing alone. During that time, I heard people in the streets and alleys discussing this matter.
“My dad and my big brother even praised you as a young hero, telling me to take you as an example. I never thought I would actually meet you in the capital, and even be able to… uh, come to buy a coffin together.”
Yang Tao looked very excited, with the feeling of seeing a small celebrity performing up close at a commercial show.
Then he asked Lu Jing a lot of questions, most of which were related to the battle two years ago.
For example, whether Yama's Flute's Soul-Severing Six Melodies were really as terrifying as the legends said, how Lu Jing dealt with it at the time, and what Lu Jing felt after defeating Yama's Flute, etc.
Anyway, since they had nothing else to do, Lu Jing answered them one by one, of course, some were true and some were false. Then he also asked Yang Tao some questions about him and the Iron Spear Gate.
Only then did he learn that the Dragon-Tiger Overlord Spear that Yang Tao practiced was really a family martial art that had not been created long ago, and that the inner strength he cultivated was similar to Lu Jing's, both being common and widely available. However, just half a year ago, Yang Tao had still advanced to the second-rate realm, which showed how strong his aptitude was.
Caught up in the excitement, Yang Tao even wanted to give Lu Jing a live demonstration of his family's Dragon-Tiger Overlord Spear, but unfortunately, it was ultimately abandoned because the alley was too narrow.
However, no matter what they talked about, the two tacitly avoided asking each other why they came to this coffin shop, even though they both actually guessed that the other's situation should be similar to their own.
But like Lu Jing, Yang Tao was obviously instructed not to reveal his intentions to others.
The two of them stood in front of the door chatting while waiting for the coffin shop to open.
However, even after waiting until the third watch, there was still no movement in Hengji Coffin Shop. Lu Jing couldn't help but start to doubt his original guess.
After all, no one stipulated that coffin shops had to do business every day. Maybe they only opened once every few days, which was also possible.
And Yang Tao was so hungry that he was rolling his eyes. He really regretted not listening to Lu Jing earlier and buying sesame cakes.
Now that he wanted to eat, the sesame cake shop had already closed up shop, so he could only open his mouth and drink a few mouthfuls of cold wind to relieve his hunger.
Just when he thought that this day had been wasted, a sound finally came from the coffin shop, which had been silent all along.
Footsteps were approaching the door unhurriedly. Accompanied by a creaking sound, the door of Hengji Coffin Shop was finally opened.
A face as stiff and pale as a dead person appeared behind the door.
Coupled with the eerie coffin shop, Yang Tao was startled and involuntarily gripped the long spear in his hand.
It made people's hands and feet go cold at night!
Fortunately, the zombie sized up the two of them and then said, “You're chatting very happily.”
“Ah?” Yang Tao didn't know what the other party meant.
“If you weren't happy, you wouldn't have been talking non-stop… making it impossible for this old man to sleep well,” the zombie snorted again.
“Sorry, senior, we didn't know you were in the shop.” Yang Tao had a good temper. He was inexplicably reprimanded, but not only was he not angry, he also apologized.
His attitude seemed to have improved the old zombie's mood a little, so he turned his expressionless, eerie face to Lu Jing on the other side.
As a result, he heard Lu Jing shake his head and say, “Brother Yang, don't be fooled by this senior. This senior has only just arrived not long ago.”
This time, not only Yang Tao, but the old zombie was also stunned.
After a moment, he said again, “How do you know?”
“My ears are better. I heard the senior entering the house from the backyard,” Lu Jing said.
This time, before the old zombie could speak, Yang Tao interrupted, “The backyard? How is that possible? I looked when I came. There is no door in the backyard for entry and exit. Senior, could it be that you climbed over the wall to get in?”
“Not climbing over the wall,” Lu Jing said, “I also walked around this coffin shop earlier, especially focusing on checking the back wall, and found that there were no footprints on it.
“Of course, if senior suddenly had a whim tonight to scare us and climbed over the wall to enter the shop, that is also possible, but that possibility is unlikely. As for you asking me how senior entered the shop,” Lu Jing spread his hands, “…I don't know either.”
“Your ears and eyes are quite good,” The old zombie seemed to be quite satisfied with Lu Jing, and finally didn't continue to dwell on this question.
He just reached out to the two of them.
Yang Tao and Lu Jing exchanged a look and each took out a small wooden tag from their bodies.
The old zombie first took Yang Tao's and looked at it, then returned the wooden tag to Yang Tao without saying a word. Then he picked up Lu Jing's, and the sunflower character that had disappeared from the back of the wooden tag reappeared.
“It's actually hers?” The old zombie seemed very surprised, muttering to himself, “That's rare. Does that fellow actually have someone she can look up to?”