On Huaiyuan Peak, the sound of crying shook the sky.
The white flags are floating and the fragrance of soul is curling up, giving the aura-filled place of cultivating immortals a sense of eerie aura.
This situation has lasted for three days in Yunxian Sect.
Today is the last day.
Xu Jiaohe was dressed in plain clothes and knelt in front of the heavy and dull coffin. There was no real sorrow on her pale face.
After a while, the narrow door on the side opened, and someone walked up to her side, and the sound of footsteps gradually stopped.
The visitor reminded me in a very low voice: "Teacher's wife, if you stop crying in this situation, I'm afraid it will be out of order."
Only then did Xu Jiaohe react as if she had just woken up from a dream, and her eyes immediately turned red.
A beautiful face with spring flowers dipped in water brewed for a few moments, then she lowered her eyes and shed tears.
"Why is this happening, Wen Yu?"
Xu Jiaohe did not dare to raise her eyes, looking at the piping robe of the young man named Wen Yu. As if to absolve herself of guilt, she sobbed and said, "When the incident happened, my husband was with me in the cave in the back mountain. Inside, the soul was wandering. For some unknown reason, a strong wind suddenly blew up, and nine thunderbolts struck down my husband in succession... Then he spat out a large mouthful of blood, and even I was knocked unconscious by the aftereffects of the thunderstorm..."
The horror of the thunder disaster still lingered in his mind, and Xu Jiaohe couldn't help but tremble his shoulders as he narrated it.
Her figure was already graceful, and she was wearing plain mourning clothes, giving her a subtle aura in the solemn atmosphere of the palace.
Xu Jiaohe didn't know that You Wenyu was looking at her, she just thought that he couldn't give an answer.
So I became more and more frightened, and I couldn't help but said over and over again:
"what on earth is it?"
"...Wen Yu, tell me, will the elders punish me?"
You Wenyu's eyes were focused on the white neck exposed under her robe. When Xu Jiaohe called out again, he turned his eyes to the disciples kneeling outside the hall and calmly comforted: " Master, don’t think so much now, the most urgent thing is to complete the funeral ceremony satisfactorily.”
He walked around the Xu Jiao River, took three sticks of soul incense and lit them. After kneeling and kowtow, he inserted them into the incense burner directly opposite the coffin.
Ji Ruotan, the Taoist monk who died in Xu Jiaohe, had very few disciples, leaving You Wenyu as a single disciple.
Therefore, in the huge Huaiyuan Peak, only You Wenyu assisted Xu Jiaohe in funeral arrangements for his master - it was said that he was assisting, but everyone knew that Xu Jiaohe had always been unable to support himself, so the huge Zhuochen Hall was built by You Wenyu took care of everything inside and out.
Today he finally had time to check on Xu Jiaohe.
As expected, the master's wife, who had been pampered by her master, still maintained the position she had held three days ago, kneeling in front of the coffin.
You Wenyu looked amused and stuffed a pair of kneepads into Xu Jiaohe's arms while no one was paying attention.
The other party's eyes immediately looked as if he had been granted amnesty, and they were a bit bright with tears in his eyes.
"Be patient."
You Wenyu advised.
…
In the evening, the funeral that lasted for three days finally came to an end.
Most of the white flags recording life achievements and the soul incense representing mourning were removed.
The main gate of Huaiyuan Peak was wide open, and the disciples kneeling outside Zhuochen Hall were leaving one after another.
Xu Jiaohe was the only one left in the empty hall.
She moved her numb knees slightly, but she felt that even if she wore knee pads, the pain would be unbearable.
But due to some reasons, Xu Jiaohe didn't dare to move, and endured the pain and knelt down.
During the past three days, the elders who seemed to have been born with straight faces and spoke full of dogmatic orders walked past her from time to time, looking at her with heavy, doubtful and cold eyes.
Xu Jiaohe thought that as soon as Ji Ruotan's funeral was over, someone would call her to inquire.
But I don’t want to kneel until late at night and still no one comes.
The disciples guarding the mountain closed the main gate, and Zhuochen Hall became even more lonely.
The cold wind of late autumn penetrated all the way, making Xu Jiaohe's thin clothes rustle.
She folded the shawl on her arms and was thinking about whether to go back to the house to sleep, when You Wenyu's figure appeared by her hand again.
"Teacher's wife."
Xu Jiaohe was startled by him, and the wet tears in her eyes fell down to her cheeks: "Why are you acting like a ghost silently?"
You Wenyu consciously stood at the air inlet of the hall, blocking Xu Jiaohe from some of the chill.
After doing this, he fixed his gaze on the teardrop again, then raised a finger and said softly: "Shh - Master is newly mourned. It would be better for you, Master, to be more restrained in your words."
Seeing him mention Ji Ruotan again, a trace of unknown guilt flashed in Xu Jiaohe's eyes.
In the past, she would never be soft on You Wenyu. She closed her mouth and rubbed her knees through the cloth: "Now that my husband's funeral is over, I don't need to continue kneeling here, right?"
She stayed here for three full days, and she could only take advantage of the few people around to take a nap on the spot.
With this little suffering, other monks from the Yunxian Sect would not be worthy of the Tao even in the eyes of the lowest disciples in the Qi Refining Stage.
However, Xu Jiaohe was the only ordinary person in the entire sect, and she was also an extremely delicate ordinary person.
It was precisely because of this that You Wenyu came over late at night.
"It's really strange. Master is usually the most lazy. Why do you kneel so seriously when no one is around?"
This was the second time You Wenyu refuted her today.
Xu Jiaohe looked a little confused when he was told that. He raised his head angrily and said, "Hurry up and help me up."
She stretched out a pair of soft, boneless hands, waiting for You Wenyu to come and support her.
However, the young man who used to respond to all requests now only had a pair of warm and affectionate peach blossom eyes and looked at her silently.
Xu Jiaohe couldn't describe the emotion that was poured into it. He could only feel the coldness of the late autumn night wind blowing to the top of his heart.
When Xu Jiaohe wanted to watch again, You Wenyu returned to the handsome young man she was used to seeing.
The broad palm was placed under the forearm, and with a little force, the light body was lifted up.
"It's not that my disciple insists on nagging. It's just that Master can't protect you now. It's better for you to change your character."
Xu Jiaohe, who was already feeling very sleepy, was thrown into confusion by a docile piece of advice.
She nodded her head and agreed perfunctorily. The road under her feet was barely enough to take a step, and a voice of pain suddenly escaped from her lips: "You Wenyu, my knees hurt too much - I can't walk!"
You Wenyu supported her, neither advancing nor retreating. He sighed helplessly and said, "How about the master's wife?"
Xu Jiaohe rolled his eyes and said slowly: "You cultivators know a lot, don't you? There is always a way to help me."
Xu Jiaohe's little calculation in her mind was very clever. As soon as her husband died, she became the veritable master of Huaiyuan Peak, with countless secret treasures and spiritual resources in her hands. You Wenyu wanted to make a living under her hands, and there was nothing she could not coax. reason.
She was so busy thinking about herself that she didn't have time to pay attention to the young man's eyes.
The next moment, his body filled with pain rose into the air, and a hand was inserted into the crook of his leg and back.
"You Wenyu, what are you doing?!"
The young man did something outrageous, and said with a serious face: "Help you relieve your pain."
…
At this moment, Xu Jiaohe was particularly grateful that Huaiyuan Peak had the advantage of having fewer people.
You Wenyu carried her all the way from the main hall, not seeing a single figure.
Pushing open the carved wooden door of the residence, Xu Jiaohe was placed on the crimson bed behind the landscape screen.
You Wenyu did not explain his behavior. After saying "Thank you, Master, sleep well soon," he bowed his head and left respectfully.
Not long after, the maid Lu Hua walked in holding clothes and medicine.
"Lu Hua, go and prepare hot water for me. I want to take a bath."
Xu Jiaohe loves cleanliness and can tolerate being stared at in the main hall of Zhuochen.
When we arrived at our own territory, the dirty feeling of not being able to take a shower for three days was replaced by ants crawling on our limbs and bones.
She held the edge of the bed with her hands and threw the plain robe she had taken off on the ground. Lu Hua, who put down the tray in her hand, picked it up again: "Madam, you can't throw this dress away. You have to wear it to mourn Dao Lord for a month."
Lu Hua's voice was hoarse, and she had obviously cried.
No need to guess who she was crying for.
Everyone in the Yunxian Sect seems to have more conscience than himself.
Unspeakable annoyance lingered in Xu Jiaohe's mood, but she never liked losing her temper at people who were weaker than herself.
So he held his breath and asked again: "It's okay to prepare a hot bath for me."
"No, it won't work. Dao Lord is newly deceased, and everyone's eyes are fixed on Huaiyuan Peak."
Lu Hua's words ended here, and Xu Jiaohe already knew the unspoken meaning.
She knitted her slender eyebrows and complained in a low voice: "This won't work, that won't work either, then you can apply the medicine for me."
Lu Hua lowered her head and agreed, then pinched her fingers to perform a low-level cleaning technique on her body.
After the flowing light, Xu Jiaohe's body and clothes were as clean as new.
She felt much more comfortable, and obediently lifted up her inner skirt, revealing her two bruised knees. She allowed Luhua to inject her spiritual power into the elixir she brought with her, and then evenly sprinkled the powder from the white porcelain bottle on Yun On the bruised skin.
"Be gentle, it hurts..."
Her fingernails painted Yang Fei's color sank into the brocade quilt. Xu Jiaohe bit her lip, but her cry of pain was softer than when she was facing You Wenyu just now.
"Madam, please be patient. This medicine has to penetrate into the skin to be effective."
Lu Hua stared at the two damaged knees in front of her, and her tone and movements softened a lot.
…
After Lu Hua finished taking the medicine and left the house, Xu Jiaohe lay down on the bed with her long black hair loose.
It has been seven years since she was rescued from her aunt's mother by a disciple of the Yunxian Sect at the age of fifteen. Although she knew that they had other motives for asking her to marry Ji Ruotan, fortunately, during these seven years, she The life I lead is far more comfortable than before.
After enjoying enough years, it would not matter even if he really died for Ji Ruotan - Xu Jiaohe did not expect that the time of death would come so early, but she overheard Ji Ruotan and Elder Bingli explaining the truth. Conversations with each other cannot produce sincere admiration for each other.
The thunder and calamity that gathers and rolls endlessly among the dark clouds can only be replaced by one's own willingness.
Xu Jiaohe tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Sometimes happy, sometimes sad.
Fortunately, when Ji Ruotan dies, she can inherit all his property, and she no longer has to wait anxiously for death.
What is sad is that Ji Ruotan's death is mysterious, and we don't know what decision Yunxian Zong will make.
And You Wenyu.
Without Ji Ruotan pressing down on him, his words and deeds were no longer as respectful as before.
Thinking of that overreaching hug, Xu Jiaohe almost sat up from the bed.
She took the plain clothes next to her, regarded it as You Wenyu's face, beat it hard several times, and then threw it on the short table.
As his breath became smoother, the elixir sprinkled on his knees began to take effect, and the tingling pain turned into a warm current that enveloped the injured area.
Xu Jiaohe sighed comfortably.
If you don’t understand it, just stop thinking about it.
She blew out the light next to the bed, pulled the brocade quilt over her shoulders, changed her position and closed her eyes.
The moonlight that drifted in along the window lattice gently illuminated a strange black shadow that was entrenched in the corner and had never been noticed.
The shadow is one short and three long.
The long part looks like a flexible branch.
The short part is layered like a blooming flower.
