In the Northeast, it's really tough to blend in as a ghost, let alone become the heir of the Hemp Robe Sect.

Chen Tao was prepared to bear the label of being rebellious in order to accept this ghost as a disciple.

Chen Tao followed Liu Chong, wandering around Southern Virtue City for half a day, and only after the sun was setting did he come back to the hospital.

After sunset, he found Big Sister Ye, shook his sleeve, and Ren Yubao fell to the ground.

Chen Tao wore a serious expression.

"Remember what I've taught you, keep your heart sincere and free of distractions."

Ren Yubao immediately knelt at the foot of the hospital bed, facing Big Sister Ye, and performed a standard three-kowtow nine-bow ritual.

Big Sister Ye wanted to sit up, but Chen Tao quickly said.

"You are injured, just lie down, don't move, this is his duty.

You changed his fate, your grace is as profound as his parents in life.

His parents gave him life, you have given him a ghostly life; it is only natural for him to bow to you."

In front of Big Sister Ye, after Ren Yubao finished the three-kowtow nine-bow, Chen Tao stood to the side, watching Ren Yubao kneeling on the ground.

"Remember, the first taboo in our Hemp Robe Sect is ingratitude.

This is not only teaching you to be a person, but historically, every disciple who violated this taboo met a bad end without exception.

You owe Master Ye a huge favor, not something you can repay even with your life.

The only thing you can do is keep your heart genuine and your actions just.

Every New Year, you must offer respect, and when Master Ye grows old, you must support and bury her.

She is like another birth parent to you; if your heart is not righteous, someday you'll face heavenly retribution and even implicate your descendants.

Continue to bow, starting today. Every sunset, perform three kowtows nine bows, for nine times, continuously for twenty-one days.

Not missing a single day, ensuring sincerity every day, understand?"

Ren Yubao nodded repeatedly, Chen Tao had explained it very clearly.

What he owes Big Sister Ye now, unless he is directly eliminated, might offset most of the negative effects.

Otherwise, he could never fully repay it.

To completely resolve this cause and effect, there's only one perfect way.

He'd better pray for Big Sister Ye's good health, for her to die a natural death, and then he'd support and bury her.

Only then would it be considered fully resolved.

What can be done now is only to rely on sincere effort to strengthen the relationship, to ease it and prevent negative effects from showing.

There might be a cunning way, Chen Tao knew, but he didn't say it; this is the first lesson he teaches his disciple.

First, teach the disciple to be a person, to understand the rules, which are the most important things to survive and get by.

At the same time, it's also a test.

If his disciple's heart isn't right, cannot endure even this bit of current hardship.

Then better to end it early, to avoid learning more and becoming more of a nuisance if they go astray in the future.

For now, Chen Tao was quite satisfied, having reviewed his disciple's past, and found the family to be honest people.

One reason for Chen Tao's visit to open a shop is partly that his disciple has become a ghost, and his family's life would face some problems.

So he opened a shop as a backup, offering jobs that ensured regular hours, not too exhausting, and decent pay for his disciple's family.

As for directly giving money, Chen Tao never considered it.

When he intended to deceive, he might directly give money or point out a path to easy wealth.

Wen Yan didn't know about the hospital situation, trusting purely based on past records and events, daring to believe in Chen Tao.

The same old saying, judging actions rather than intentions, with many rules in the Hemp Robe Sect, and Chen Tao spent most of his life this way, Wen Yan trusted him.

He didn't think too much of it, only feeling that if someone opened a bathhouse in Virtue City, it would be great, and solving Big Sister Ye's matter would be nice too.

That afternoon, he took two Golden Pagodas and left Virtue City, taking a high-speed train straight to Xiao Xiang County.

The environment in Western Xiao Xiang County remained complex, with some areas on the plateau, many rugged mountains, numerous rivers, and dense forests.

The county adjacent to Western Xiao Xiang County houses the most Divine Land Bridges, worthy of being called a world bridge museum.

In such places, let alone a few hundred years ago, even decades ago, were places plagued with transportation difficulties.

In times when transportation wasn't so convenient, the locals were tough for reasons; being less tough made survival difficult.

Now Wen Yan took a high-speed train, spending over three hours in total since leaving home until alighting from the train.

Seeing a continuous stretch of steep mountains, bridges, and tunnels along the way, Wen Yan understood why the profession of corpse catcher existed here before.

When burial rather than cremation was preferred, and it was about returning to one's roots, being buried peacefully.

Given the geographical environment, in the past, without corpse catchers, only the extremely wealthy could afford to return to their roots.

Even with corpse catchers, the service wasn't cheap; at least moderately wealthy people could afford it.

Finally, as Wen Yan sat comfortably on a three-hour high-speed train journey, the route would take corpse catchers at least half a month, traveling only by daylight.

Such a long time, without letting the client enter a half-stiff state, they'd decompose into bones before reaching home.

Standing outside the high-speed train station, Wen Yan opened the route sent by Big Sister Ye and took a car away.