End of the Road

Zhuang Baihan stood silently in plain white clothes, with a bookcase beside him.

Xing Qiu took a jug of wine from the carriage and poured it on the grave, saying, "Minister Xie, rest in peace."

Zhuang Baihan glanced at the State Preceptor without saying anything.

――He probably didn't want to say anything; the gloom in his eyes seemed to separate him from his surroundings.

Chen Weichen walked up to him, and only then did the scholar speak: "Seeing him on the steps, I recognized him as my teacher from the academy."

In this world, such fateful encounters and reunions are the most profound.

Zhuang Baihan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking as if he was trying hard to suppress his grief: "Back then, everyone from the academy scattered and lost contact amidst the flames of war. Our respected teacher often taught us that scholars should enter officialdom to assist the emperor and take the common people as our responsibility. Along the way, I saw that apart from a few big cities, the rest of the land was impoverished. I thought this was exactly the world where we scholars could make a difference. I also thought that our academy's alumni were all over the country, so upon reaching the capital, I would surely see a few old friends..."

The rest went unsaid, but the listeners could all imagine it.

――Who would have thought that upon first arriving in the capital, after all the absurdities of the Peach Blossom Banquet, he would witness his respected teacher die while remonstrating with the throne, blood splattering the long steps, while the Emperor remained ignorant and unheeding.

How could he not be depressed, how could he not feel disheartened?

The more beautiful the spring, the more prosperous the splendor, the more one could see the autumn's killing frost and the withering road ahead.

In such a situation, Chen Weichen also couldn't find any comforting words to say, and could only lightly pat his shoulder.

Zhuang Baihan's eyes reddened. After a long while, he opened the bookcase and burned those yellowed books in front of the grave.

"The books say that when the world is well-governed, one should appear; when the world is in chaos, one should hide away. They say not to enter a state in peril, not to dwell in a chaotic state. But you always said, teacher, that we live in a chaotic age and should care for the common people and strive to reverse the tide. Whenever students asked about this, you never answered." As the flames burned fiercely, the scholar spoke word by word, "But in this vast world, there is actually no place for us, no place for the common people to live in peace. Today, I burn these books of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and integrity for you, teacher――In the future when you visit my dreams, please teach your student again, what use is there for the teachings of the sages, what should I, your student, do..."

The flames licked the pages of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and integrity.

The paper turned to ashes, along with the principles of respecting heaven, earth, the monarch, kin and teachers.

The fire gradually grew bigger, burning into a bright red sea, engulfing the black and gold plaque he had looked up to for over twenty years.

The plaque read "The Most Sagely Teacher".

Chen Weichen watched from afar, seeing the faint and sorrowful perplexity in Zhuang Baihan's eyes.

In such a chaotic world, with such an ignorant monarch――for these scholars who had nothing but knowledge, unable to put their talents and aspirations to use, unable to voice their righteous indignation, perhaps all they could feel was perplexity.

Back when Marquis Chenshu left the capital alone in plain blue robes, abandoning Confucianism and Daoism to cultivate the way of immortality, he was probably similarly disappointed.

After the fire burned out, only black ashes remained in front of the grave.

Suddenly, a light rain started falling from the sky, growing heavier and heavier, turning the ashes into a puddle of black mud that seeped into the green hills and yellow earth.

Zhuang Baihan looked up at the sky: "Teacher, look, heaven and earth weep for you."

As the rain intensified, it became impossible to remain on the mountain. Chen Weichen invited Zhuang Baihan into the carriage and they headed straight back to the city.

"Brother Zhuang, where are you staying?"

"I'm temporarily lodging at an inn on Dilin Street. My wife is still waiting for me there," Zhuang Baihan said. "Brother Chen, my wife has been ill recently. I don't want to add to her worries. Please don't mention our teacher's matter to her."

Chen Weichen recalled that when he first met the scholar, he had said he married his teacher's daughter――he didn't know that the young wife was actually a transformed demon.

Scholars who have attained a certain level of learning often possess a pure aura. If a demon stays close to them for a long time, it will gradually weaken.

Especially since that young wife had exchanged her clan's treasure for a drop of Xin Feng's Enlightened Blood, she would be even more susceptible to the pure aura's harm. The demon's original magic powers should be completely gone by now, no different from a mortal.

After some thought, Chen Weichen felt that while the Mirror Flower Vase would be quite useful for cultivators like them, the Tushan Flute seemed to have no purpose. So he took it out: "If illness plagues the body, carrying this may help."

Zhuang Baihan thanked him and took it with a bitter smile: "Young Master has helped me many times, yet I am at the end of my road. Now receiving another gift, I truly have no way to repay you."

"The future is long," Chen Weichen said to him. "What lies ahead is still unknown."

Zhuang Baihan was not one for false modesty. Upon hearing this, he simply said: "I accept Young Master's kind words."

The Chen family's carriage drove through the streets and alleys, stopping in front of the inn. Zhuang Baihan cupped his hands in salute: "Young Master Chen, immortal seniors, this is where we part."

"Until we meet again, Scholar."

After Zhuang Baihan also said "until we meet again", he walked into the inn.

Once he entered the inn, Xie Lang remarked: "Interesting."

Chen Weichen: "What else did you see?"

The Daoist priest waved his feather duster: "Let me calculate again."

Because of this, they lingered a while longer at the inn's entrance.

Finally, Xie Lang said: "His fate is growing more and more prominent, but also more and more ominous. If there weren't already anomalies before, I would almost suspect that Minister Xie 'sacrificed his body' and transferred his fate onto him."

"So from the looks of it, the last thing we're searching for, the clues will most likely be on Scholar Zhuang?"

"Most likely so."

"The affairs of the imperial court are not our place to interfere. I will order the family servants to pay more attention to Scholar Zhuang." The young master Chen pondered.

They were about to return to the estate when they saw Zhuang Baihan hurriedly come down to the inn's main hall, looking anxious.

Cultivators have keen hearing, so they heard the voices clearly.

"Innkeeper, have you seen where my wife went?"

Next came a languid voice: "Oh, it's you, Sir Zhuang. Your wife..."

"Where is she?"

The innkeeper chuckled: "Go north, pass two intersections, and you'll see the Situ Estate. She's probably there."

Zhuang Baihan's voice noticeably sank: "The Situ Estate?"

"That's right," the innkeeper said slowly. "Today there was someone selling chilled pear soup downstairs. I saw Madam Zhuang come out to buy some. As it happened, she was noticed by someone from the Situ household――If you go over now to demand an explanation, you might still be able to get a few silver taels. Let me tell you, Sir Zhuang, in times like these, it's better to marry a plain-looking wife if you want a peaceful life. That pretty young wife of yours, heh!"

After a meaningful "heh," the boss said no more, as if he was used to it.

Zhuang Baihan, pale-faced, hurried to the door and was about to head north in the heavy rain.

"Sir Zhuang," Xing Qiu lifted the carriage curtain, "I'll take you to find the Situ Manor."

It seemed that the State Preceptor knew that Lord Xie ultimately chose to die, and felt somewhat guilty for being an accomplice in discussing with the Emperor how to deceive the world, so he wanted to help Zhuang Baihan.

However, even if Xing Qiu didn't help, since they wanted to investigate clues and had a friendship with Zhuang Baihan, they would have lent a hand anyway.

At present, the rain was pouring down and there were no pedestrians on the road, so they had no worries. Xing Qiu grabbed Zhuang Baihan and soared northward using his spiritual energy. Lu Hongyan and Xie Lang stayed in the carriage, while Ye Jiuya followed with Chen Weichen.

――But they were still too late.

While in the air, they saw two people dressed as servants walking out from the small door behind the imposing courtyard, dragging a body. Their voices carried through the rain.

"Our master loved this kind of sickly beauty the most, who would have thought she had such a fierce temper and sought death!"

"On a rainy day, we still have to go and dump the body, how unlucky, how unlucky!"

Zhuang Baihan's eyes were bloodshot.

Xing Qiu sent out a wave of demonic energy, knocking the two servants into the muddy ground, unconscious.

Zhuang Baihan tremblingly embraced the person on the ground: "Wife..."

The young lady's clothes were in disarray, with a large gash on her abdomen, gushing blood that mixed with the rainwater, a shocking sight. Although she was still hanging on to her last breath, she was on the verge of death, and even immortals would be powerless to save her.

She struggled to open her eyes, her face covered in mud and water. Her delicate hand tremblingly caressed Zhuang Baihan's face and then shook. She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, her voice as faint as a thread: "Husband..."

"You fool..." The scholar, who had only reddened eyes in front of his teacher's grave, now had a trembling voice, even to the point of being unable to speak from grief, "Why go so far as to... why seek death..."

"Husband is a scholar, valuing propriety and law the most, I know," the young lady smiled with difficulty, her voice intermittent: "Ah Shu is a scholar's wife, and must die with a clear reputation..."

Zhuang Baihan's eyes were blood-red, and he repeatedly called out "Wife" and "Ah Shu".

"Wife is here," the young lady said, "Husband, in the future without a wife, take good... good care of yourself."

The demonic energy in her body began to surge wildly, wanting to reveal her true form, and a trace of desolation flashed in her eyes, but that demonic energy was suppressed by something.

She saw the Tushan flute hanging at Zhuang Baihan's waist and knew it was a treasure protecting her from revealing her original form. She slowly turned her head and saw Chen Weichen: "Ah Shu thanks you, Young Master."

She turned her head back and leaned into Zhuang Baihan's embrace: "Husband, in the future when you become a high official, marry another virtuous wife."

"I won't be an official anymore," Zhuang Baihan held her tightly, ignoring the mud and water on his wife's body, pressing his forehead against hers, "and will only marry you as my wife."

"Talking nonsense," the young lady mustered a weak smile: "Husband, Ah Shu is so happy to have met you in this life. Husband, in the next life..."

Chen Weichen averted his gaze and saw a faint perplexity in Ye Jiuya's expression.

He knew this person had never seen such painful life and death partings in the mortal world. Using a voice only they could hear, he asked: "Don't understand?"

"Why is she happy?"

Chen Weichen took Ye Jiuya's hand, unfolding those slender fingers one by one, interlocking their fingers, and said: "To be able to have a hundred years of marital bliss with one's beloved, whether it's joy or pain, it's all willingly accepted. Unable to part in life, unable to forget after death, that is the love in the mortal world."

"Lord Ye, on the day I die in the future, if you can feel even a little bit of reluctance in your heart, I will also walk the path to the underworld happily."

On the other side, the young lady's final "Husband" fell, and she completely ceased breathing.

Zhuang Baihan let out a suppressed wail of grief, tightly embracing his wife's corpse.

After a long time, he called out "Wife" one moment, and "Teacher" the next. Finally, he looked up at the sky pouring with rain and his cries of grief turned into a low laughter: "It's the world that failed Teacher, it's the world that killed you, it's the world that harmed me! It's the world that has abandoned the common people!"

Thunder rumbled faintly in the sky, raindrops splashed on the ground, blossoming with the color of blood, concealing all sounds.