The old man muttered to himself in confusion. Normally, if a person is struck by lightning, they are unlikely to survive.
He glanced over He Cong's body and then seemed to remember something. He rummaged through an old wooden box and pulled out a yellowed booklet. After studying it for a while, a flash of joy passed through his eyes. He quickly closed the booklet and turned his attention to He Cong's injuries.
Seeing that He Cong was still alive, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He quickly fetched some herbs, burned them, and placed the herb ash under He Cong's nose. After a moment, He Cong felt a sour sensation in his nose and yawned, gradually regaining consciousness.
As he opened his eyes, he saw a wrinkled and thin face. Startled, he tried to run, but accidentally bumped into something, causing it to fall to the ground and reveal a withered corpse.
He instinctively stepped back, but then accidentally knocked over several plaques behind him.
"You're awake?!" The old man looked at the coffin and plaques that He Cong had knocked over, but there was no anger in his eyes. He seemed relieved to see He Cong awake.
"Aren't you a ghost? Am I not dead? Is this the mortuary?" He Cong looked around and noticed the many coffins around him.
"Have you ever seen a ghost save someone?" the old man asked.
"Did you save me?" He Cong asked.
The old man nodded. He Cong, who had a clear sense of right and wrong, quickly thanked him. But after thanking the old man, he suddenly looked worried.
"I'm alive, but what now? I'm now involved in a murder case. If I'm discovered when I go out, I'll be executed." He Cong smiled bitterly.
"My mortuary is currently short of staff, and we need someone to help out. If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here." The old man's eyes twinkled, and he smiled at He Cong.
He Cong thought that staying in the mortuary, where few people came and went, would be better than being caught and executed outside, so he agreed.
"Great! You can stay here from now on. There's a side room in the mortuary. Since you're injured, you can rest there. When you're feeling better, I'll give you other instructions." The old man pointed to a small room in the mortuary and said.
"Also, my name is Wang Li. You can call me Uncle Wang from now on."
After speaking, Uncle Wang ignored He Cong and even did not tidy up the plaques and coffins that He Cong had knocked over. He picked up his yellowed booklet and walked to his room without looking back.
Seeing this, He Cong didn't think much of it. He cleaned up the mess he had made and then entered the side room.
The room was small and cluttered with a lot of debris. As soon as he entered, dust filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
After cleaning up a bit, He Cong climbed onto the bed.
The bed was very hard, but for He Cong, who had slept on the streets since he was a child, it was a luxury. After a while, he fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, He Cong woke up around noon.
As soon as he stepped out of the side room, he heard Uncle Wang's voice.
"There's food on the table. After you finish eating, I'll teach you how to manage the mortuary."
He Cong's eyes lit up when he saw the food on the table, but he still asked cautiously, "Is all this for me?"
"How's that? Not enough?" Uncle Wang asked.
"It's enough, thank you, Uncle Wang!" He Cong quickly replied, feeling extremely grateful to Uncle Wang.
Learning that all this was left for him by Uncle Wang, He Cong no longer hesitated. He grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth, then quickly drank a bowl of porridge.
In no time, all the food on the table was gone.
After the meal, Uncle Wang put down his booklet and said to He Cong, "Next, I'll teach you how to manage the mortuary. I'll demonstrate it, and starting tomorrow, this will be your daily task."
With that, Uncle Wang personally demonstrated the process. It wasn't complicated, and after watching Uncle Wang, He Cong was able to do it himself.
"Another thing, the mortuary is a cold place. If you stay here for a long time, you may get sick. I have a set of formulas that may help you stay healthy and resist the cold. After you finish managing the mortuary each day, spend the rest of your time practicing these formulas. I will check your progress from time to time. This is not for me, but for your own life. Understand?" Uncle Wang said.
"I understand, Uncle Wang. I will practice diligently." He Cong nodded, indicating that he understood the importance of it.
As Uncle Wang said, the mortuary is a place for storing bodies, and staying there for a long time may indeed lead to illness.
Satisfied, Uncle Wang raised the booklet in his hand and began to teach He Cong the formulas word by word.
These were mostly breathing exercises. He Cong followed Uncle Wang's instructions, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
Seeing this, Uncle Wang quickly looked through the booklet, trying to find some key points or precautions for He Cong's practice. After searching for a while, he seemed to find no secrets to the practice, so he told He Cong that it was not something that could be achieved overnight and encouraged him to persist, as it might have miraculous effects.
He Cong wondered why Uncle Wang, who had taught him the formulas, still needed to look through the booklet. He thought that after so many years in the mortuary, Uncle Wang should have been familiar with such methods of staying healthy.
Next, besides managing the mortuary chores, He Cong mostly meditated with crossed legs, while Uncle Wang held onto his booklet all day long.
Occasionally, soldiers would deliver a corpse to the mortuary, or relatives would come to claim a body for burial. During these times, He Cong would hide in the side room and dare not come out.
However, what puzzled He Cong was that he had not seen the body of the village chief in the mortuary. When he asked Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang also said that he had not seen the body of the village chief being sent over.
Soon, half a month passed. He Cong practiced the formulas every day, but for some reason, he made no progress at all.
During this time, Uncle Wang checked on him several times, and seeing that He Cong had not succeeded in his practice, Uncle Wang seemed a little anxious. To help He Cong focus on his practice, Uncle Wang even exempted him from other chores.
This made He Cong feel even more uneasy. He even found that Uncle Wang had not practiced the formulas himself.
This made He Cong suspicious. Why would Uncle Wang be in such a hurry for him to practice, but not practice the formulas himself?
With this in mind, He Cong took advantage of Uncle Wang's deep sleep to study the yellowed booklet.
As he read, He Cong was stunned and almost cried out in shock. He cautiously looked at Uncle Wang, who was still asleep, and his shock turned into excitement.
This formula was not for strengthening the body, but for cultivating immortality!