12dz Chapter 64 Burial for Peace
Chapter 64 Burial for Peace
When he was alive, he went to great lengths to brainwash his disciples, but even the most effective attempt only resulted in a gain of a dozen points.
Now that he's dead, he doesn't need to say a word, yet his loyalty has skyrocketed on its own.
Huang Yuanji's condolences were tantamount to adding fuel to the fire.
These disciples were originally just sad, but now their sadness has been mixed with a sense of shared anger and indignation.
This anger is currently suppressed, but it will ignite one day.
The following evening, a light rain began to fall. The winter rain was fine and biting, pattering softly on the tiles of the Ancestral Hall.
The lights in the mourning hall flickered in the draft, and the disciples keeping watch added charcoal braziers, the firelight illuminating the memorial tablet and the thin coffin in front of the spirit tablet.
Xu Ping borrowed an oil-paper umbrella from the academy and went to the dining hall to make ginger soup for his fellow students who were on night watch.
Fang Xue added incense before the coffin, while Zhong Xiu knelt in front of it all night without moving.
The funeral was held on the third day.
The sky was leaden gray, and the winter thunder rumbled faintly.
The funeral procession started from the Ancestral Hall and slowly walked along the mountain path towards the back of the mountain.
Zhao Shoucheng, as the eldest disciple, carried Shen Qing's memorial tablet at the front, followed closely by Wang Shouzhou carrying the soul-guiding banner. Chen Shouxin, Xu Ping, Lin Shouwei, and Lin Shoujing carried the thin coffin.
Zhong Xiu walked quietly behind the coffin.
Forty young children from Qingyun Academy, led by teachers Sun Wenyuan, Li Molin, and Fang Jingzhi, also dressed in clean clothes to see them off.
The children didn't understand the significance of the funeral, but since their husbands and senior classmates remained silent, they naturally dared not whisper among themselves.
Huang An and Huang Ning followed at the very end of the funeral procession, both dressed in plain clothes and each holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.
They went up the mountain on the second night of the vigil, and afterwards did not go to the altar to announce their names, but simply knelt silently in front of the altar and kept incense burning all night.
When Zhao Shoucheng saw them, he didn't ask any questions and made room for them to join.
The burial ground of the Qingyun Sect's patriarchs is located on a flat area surrounded by pine forests on the back mountain.
There are already several old graves there, all with bluestone steles, the inscriptions of which have become somewhat mottled due to the erosion of wind and rain.
The new grave was located at the very edge, chosen and dug by Zhao Shoucheng himself. The frozen soil was as hard as stone, and every shovelful brought up fine stone chips.
A disciple took out cheap liquor from a general store, filled the cup, raised it above his head, and knelt down in front of the coffin.
"Sect Leader, we offer you this last bowl of wine."
They slowly poured the wine into the soil, and then lowered the coffin into the burial chamber.
Zhao Shoucheng shoveled the first spadeful of soil, and Wang Shouzhuo shoveled the second spadeful.
Then Chen Shouxin, Xu Ping and others stepped forward one by one. The frozen soil hit the thin coffin lid with a dull thud, each sound echoing in the valley for a long time.
The last handful of soil was sprinkled by Zhong Xiu herself. She bent down, grabbed a handful of soil, squeezed it, and then gently sprinkled it on the coffin lid.
The stone tablet was carved by Zhao Shoucheng and Wang Shouzhuo together, and it is inscribed with "Tomb of Shen Qing, the Fifth Generation Sect Master of Qingyun Sect".
Wang Shouzhou planted the stone tablet in the soil and tamped it down with a stone. Then he took two steps back, knelt in front of the tablet, and kowtowed three times.
Behind him knelt a group of people, their grey and white robes standing out starkly against the leaden sky.
Huang An stepped forward and placed a bunch of white chrysanthemums in front of the monument. He did not kowtow but bowed deeply.
Huang Ning placed another bunch of white chrysanthemums next to her brother.
Li You led the entire class of yamen runners to line up in front of the grave and bow three times. Then, he quietly retreated to the outer edge of the crowd, giving his place to Shen Qingzhen's family.
After the funeral, the disciples stood before Shen Qing's grave. Zhao Shoucheng turned around, looked at his fellow disciples one by one, and then spoke:
"The sect leader has been laid to rest. From today onwards, everyone should stay at their posts, refrain from causing trouble, and especially avoid any conflict with the Huang family."
"This is what the sect leader was most worried about before he passed away. In the future, if anyone asks you about your lineage, just say that you were once disciples of Qingyun. If anyone dares to act recklessly, I, Zhao Shoucheng, will be the first to object."
No one objected. Wang Shouzhou stared at the new grave in silence for a long time, then turned and was the first to walk down the mountain.
Zhao Shoucheng walked up to Li You, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Inspector Li, I'll be leaving the academy to you from now on."
"Don't worry, Chief Zhao. Before he left, the county magistrate instructed me to take full responsibility for the safety of the academy. Those three instructors are also part of the academy's protection."
Li You answered crisply, still emphasizing the word "sir" a little more.
The mourners gradually dispersed, and the back hill returned to silence.
The new grave stands alone at the edge of the pine forest, the lingering fragrance in front of the tombstone flickering in the drizzle, and the bunch of white chrysanthemums trembling slightly in the wind.
The sound of rushing water could be faintly heard from the direction of the Qingshui River at the foot of the mountain, and the first light was lit in the direction of the academy.
Zhong Xiu was the last to leave. She stood in front of the new grave, bowed to the tombstone, and then walked back to the academy along the mountain path.
After returning to her room, she closed the door, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked out at the darkening sky, gently touching the blue cloud pattern on her cuff.
The sect leader said he would come back, but can he really come back?
Beneath the grave, Shen Qing opened his eyes.
Shen Qing, who had maintained a state of suspended animation for three days and nights by relying on the Qi Concealment Technique, was finally able to relax a little.
When Huang Yuanji stood before the coffin to offer incense, Shen Qing felt as if he were being pricked by thorns, as the old man's consciousness was constantly staring at her inside the coffin.
Fortunately, the Qi Concealing Technique did not disappoint him.
It could even evade the divine sense detection of a Foundation Establishment Stage 3 cultivator, making this technique from the system far more robust than he had imagined.
As Shen Qing lay in the darkness, he suddenly remembered a sentence he had read in his previous life: A person's value is often only truly recognized by everyone after his death.
The noise subsided, and dusk had fallen.
After cleaning the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall, the disciples kowtowed to them one last time, wrapped them in the white cloth of the mourning hall, put them in the bottom of their boxes, and then carried their bundles down the mountain one after another.
After tomorrow, this place will no longer belong to Qingyun Sect. Sun Wenyuan is leading the children in reciting the Book of Songs in the lecture hall. Zhong Xiu, Xu Ping, and Fang Xue are all busy with their own things, as if today is just an ordinary winter day.
Zhao Shoucheng and Lin Shouwei were at the back. The two stood at the mountain gate for a moment, looked back at the blue stone path leading to the Ancestral Hall, and then looked at the cemetery hidden by pine trees on the distant hillside.
Zhao Shoucheng wrapped his mourning clothes tighter around himself, took Lin Shouwei's hand, turned around, and strode down the mountain.
Night gradually enveloped Qingyun Mountain.
The ancestral hall was empty, and the candles had gone out.
Shen Qing lay deep in the soil, listening to the wind whistling through the pine forest above, and began to circulate the spiritual liquid in his dantian.
The earth's energy seeped into his meridians through the thin cedar planks of the coffin, mingling and compressing with the spiritual fluid in his dantian.
The ten-day period has passed. From now on, this mountain will no longer belong to Qingyun.
The Huang Mansion in the south of the city.
Huang Yuanji sat in his armchair, holding a teacup in his hand. After listening to the reports from Huang An and Huang Ning, he slowly nodded.
"Buried?"
"He's buried. He's buried near the pine forest on the back mountain, the burial ground of the Qingyun Sect's patriarchs."
Huang An's voice was low and deep. Huang Ning stood beside his elder brother, keeping his head down the whole time.
Huang Yuanji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked no further questions.
After dismissing the two men, Huang Yuanji leaned back in his chair alone.
Shen Qing died while in seclusion attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. This is quite reasonable. It's not surprising that a useless person with little lifespan would die if he tried to break through without Foundation Establishment Pills. It would be strange if he didn't die.
Huang Yuanji's only regret was that he couldn't pry out any clues about the secret of Qingyun Mountain from Shen Qing, but Huang Yuanji didn't think that Shen Qing necessarily knew the secret.
Or perhaps Fu Shan died so suddenly that he didn't have time to inform Shen Qing, or perhaps none of the successive sect leaders of Qingyun Sect knew about this matter.
Huang Yuanji placed the teacup on the table, got up and walked to the window, gazing in the direction of Qingyun Mountain.
"Father," came Huang Dehou's voice from behind, "should we......"