Little Coffin looked at this woman, then saw her eyes curve into a smile.
Was she smiling at him?
Little Coffin was astonished. No, no, she was smiling, just smiling, but not necessarily at him.
The woman in this world who had dared to smile at him was already long dead.
His gaze moved away from Qi Yue and looked toward Liu Pucheng.
“Doctor Liu, what are you doing?” he asked with a frown. “And you brought so many people – are you here to sightsee and watch a show in the middle of the night?”
His gaze swept over the group of men huddled together like little chicks.
“I brought them here to study,” Liu Pucheng said. “Little Coffin, is everything ready?”
Study?
There were women learning medicine now?
Little Coffin looked at Qi Yue again. Was this some kind of joke?
“Madam, this is the keeper of the mortuary, surname Yuan…” Liu Pucheng, seeing Little Coffin’s confusion, said quietly to Qi Yue, but didn’t introduce Qi Yue to Little Coffin. Instead, he deliberately omitted her surname and only called her “Madam.”
This woman really came to study medicine? Not to be a midwife? She actually dared to come see corpses with her own eyes!
“What surname or not – they all call me Little Coffin,” Little Coffin said with some provocation.
Speaking of which, Little Coffin was quite famous in Yongqing Prefecture. Even if people didn’t recognize him personally, his name was known by everyone – of course it had to be known by everyone, so they could avoid accidentally encountering him and being contaminated by bad luck.
Little Coffin? Qi Yue’s eyes brightened. Where had she heard that name?
She couldn’t help but stare at Little Coffin.
Seeing her look at him this way, Little Coffin smiled faintly.
Oh, Qi Yue remembered.
“Oh, you’re that Little Coffin!” she said excitedly, instinctively extending her hand. “Hello, hello! I’ve heard so much about you!”
This was…
What did this mean?
Looking at her expression, hearing his name wasn’t unusual, but her attitude seemed… happy?
Little Coffin was stunned, looking at the woman’s extended hand.
Soft, white, and slender…
What did she want to do? Why was she extending her hand?
Liu Pucheng coughed lightly.
Qi Yue came to her senses and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
“Hello,” Qi Yue said with a smile. “I’ve heard of you before. You’re very skilled.”
Because Liu Pucheng had deliberately concealed her identity, she naturally couldn’t say where she had heard his name.
That’s right, she was still smiling, and it was at him…
Little Coffin couldn’t help but look back – no one else was there, just himself…
Hu San and the others were startled by his sudden movement and got goosebumps again.
“He… he… what’s he looking at?” Hu San stammered, pressed against a disciple’s back and whispered. “…Master, Master is clearly talking to him… what’s he looking back at…”
There was a chattering sound of teeth.
“Shut your mouth…” that disciple said haltingly.
They were already scared like this before even entering. Liu Pucheng glared at his disciples with annoyance.
“Little Coffin, you see…” he reminded.
Little Coffin stopped looking at Qi Yue and stepped forward.
“Come in,” he said, reaching out to push open the door.
A wave of cold air mixed with the rotten stench of corpses hit them. Little Coffin heard the unchanging sounds of gasping and retching that happened every time there were newcomers.
He turned back with a smile to look, seeing those young disciples all covering their mouths and turning away. That woman…
“Teacher, you brought clothes for me too, right? I didn’t dare bring any from home,” Qi Yue said, following Liu Pucheng inside while removing her cloak. She walked past him so casually and easily, walking past the row of corpses covered with white cloth and straw mats.
As if she was the one who had always lived here, moving through as if no one else existed…
Another woman hurried past him. Although her exposed eyes were full of panic, she still followed the first woman closely.
Little Coffin looked back at the five men shuffling in from outside, so frightened their eyes had gone straight. They pressed together, moving forward bit by bit, not daring to look in that direction even once.
Who exactly were the men here? Little Coffin frowned.
“Is this the one?” Liu Pucheng asked.
Little Coffin looked over and saw they had already positioned themselves by a long table with a corpse covered in white cloth.
“Yes, very fresh,” he answered.