It had been a whole night of turmoil; saying we weren't tired would be a lie.
Everyone slept until three in the afternoon before reluctantly hauling themselves out of bed.
All the girls in the courtyard stayed ho to take care of Lin Jiaxuan, while Xiao Feng and Zhao Guo'an followed Sun Shijie up the mountain.
Earlier, due to the urgency of ti, Xiao Feng hadn't had the chance to bury Sun Zhong properly; he had simply laid him on the bed, covered him with a blanket, and hurried down the mountain.
Now that he had so ti, it was natural to give him a proper burial.
Of course, Xiao Feng didn't forget to bring his eighteen subordinates; things that could be solved with words did not require him to do it personally.
Hui Yi was initially very resistant, lying on the bed pretending to be pitiful and saying, "Dear brothers, seeing your senior brother like this, can you really bear to make climb up and down?
Why don't you go there, and I'll rest in the temple... hey!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was lifted away by two people, one on each side.
On the way up the mountain, Sun Shijie's mood was extrely depressed, hardly daring to face Sun Zhong's corpse.
If not for the Sun Family and for himself, he would never have wasted half of his life on the mountain, letting his youth slip away.
Ti flies like an arrow; once shot, there's no turning back, nor can it be bought with money.
As a result, the closer Sun Shijie got to the mountaintop, the heavier his heart felt, and his steps subconsciously slowed.
Xiao Feng didn't hurry him, reflecting for a mont, and slowed his pace as well, reciting, "Worldly affairs are fleeting, human sentints cruel, the rain sends blossoms falling at dusk..."
Just after the first verse, Sun Shijie imdiately stopped, frowning, not understanding Xiao Feng's intentions in reciting this poem now.
Xiao Feng sighed and said, "Logically speaking, at your age, you shouldn't need a young man like to guide you, but those involved may be confused. As an observer, I feel it's necessary to share the perspective from my viewpoint."
"I would like to hear more," Sun Shijie nodded.
Finding a rock to sit on, Xiao Feng looked at the gray sky and said, "If you carefully comb through it, you'll find that almost everything in the world is interconnected, indispensable to each other.
For example, if we hadn't co to Jiuyou Town, none of what followed would have happened, but Sun Zhong might not have survived.
Because as you saw, Darcy's group set off earlier than us; whether they could open the treasure vault aside, as soon as they exited the underground, Sun Zhong's fate was sealed.
Of course, I'm not saying Sun Zhong's death was inevitable; I just an, speaking objectively, you needn't feel too guilty."
Sun Shijie said gravely, "But after all, he dedicated everything for the Sun Family and for ."
"That cannot be denied. But decades ago, during those turbulent tis, life was as cheap as ants. He survived on the mountain thanks to the Sun Family, didn't he?"
"This is a twist of fate and coincidence; the Sun Family's true intention was for the ancestral fortune."
Xiao Feng laughed, "If unconscious good isn't considered good, then is unconscious evil not considered evil either?
Just like a child who doesn't understand picking up a knife to kill; perhaps it was just for fun in his mind, but could you say the child who killed is completely innocent?"
"This..." Sun Shijie was at a loss for words. If murderers can claim innocence, wouldn't that imply the victims deserved to die?
Monts later, Xiao Feng stood up, saying, "There's no need for to say more; the deceased is gone, and the living must continue. Let's move on."
After speaking, he led the martial monks onward with great fanfare up the mountain.
"Brother Feng, Uncle Monk Hong Ren knows we'll be leaving in a few days, so he's prepared a farewell party for us. You should co and see," Hui Shiba said proudly.
"..." Xiao Feng hesitated to speak, wanting to tell him that this farewell party was not like most others.
It's like a send-off for retired soldiers, symbolizing the bond and reluctance between the unit and the veterans.
But with Hui Yi and the others, it was literally in the words: happily watching the eighteen of them quickly get lost!
Upon reaching the bamboo house again, Sun Shijie lifted the blanket with a mournful tone and said, "In this life, I owe you, Sun Shijie, in the next life I'll repay you as an ox or a horse, rest easy."
After speaking, he brushed over Sun Zhong's eyes with a hand, closing them.
Xiao Feng was a bit surprised. He had tried before but couldn't successfully close Sun Zhong's eyes several tis.
Yet, with just a few simple words, Sun Shijie made Sun Zhong "rest in peace." It wasn't just obsession that explained the mystery behind it.
After a while, Sun Shijie covered the blanket again, found a bamboo mat, wrapped Sun Zhong up, and said, "Help bury him, right next to A Cui in the backyard."
Xiao Feng gave a signal to the martial monks, and imdiately soone carried Sun Zhong out. anwhile, others went to cut bamboo for building a high platform, also preparing to cremate Liao Qianying and others simultaneously.
The martial monks, already strong and vigorous, quickly got the grave mound ready and added so fresh soil to A Cui's old grave next to it.
"Looks like it's going to rain," Hui Er said, looking up.
The martial monks nodded, having no hair made them more sensitive to rain than ordinary people.
Soon, sparse snowflakes began to appear in the sky.
The snowflakes were tiny, almost lting upon landing on bodies, leaving no trace on the ground.
Sun Shijie slowly stepped forward and said to Hui Yi and the others, "May I trouble the young masters to chant scriptures for him?"
Xiao Feng was speechless, thinking that the level of their chanting couldn't compare to hiring a dance troupe.
However, to be fair, in terms of appearance alone, Hui Yi and the others shaking their heads and swaying looked quite the part.
The fine snowflakes floating down added a touch of poetic beauty to the scene.
This was the first snow of the winter, heralding the arrival of true cold.
When the martial monks finished chanting… or actually singing a love song, they started moving Liao Qianying and the others onto the bamboo rack to light the fire.
During this ti, Xiao Feng approached Sun Shijie and asked, "Should you consider relocating your ancestral gold and silver treasures?"
Sun Shijie took out a pipe, filled the bowl with tobacco, and looked thoughtful.
This was indeed an unavoidable issue to consider. When Sun Zhong was still around, it felt inappropriate to do so, but now this place was unsafe, and you never knew if soone might try explosive ans to break in.
At that ti, even with chanisms for protection, thieves wouldn't get the treasures, and neither would he.
The gold and jewels were secondary; the crucial part was those rare dicinal herbs. If they were destroyed, Sun Shijie felt he'd not only let his ancestors down but also be heartbroken to death.
At this mont, a familiar sound that made Xiao Feng loathe echoed.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo..."
It was the sound of the young rooster.
Xiao Feng's heart sank; had it brought soone else here again?
After all, leading one person after another had beco a hallmark of the young rooster.
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