Chapter 32 Burying the Corpse: It's Indistinguishable Whether the Dead Were Male or Female

Little Ma was terrified. He kicked and shuffled behind Ah Jiu, pointing at the corner of the stone wall, unable to utter a complete sentence, "Dead...dead!"

Feng Shisan grabbed him and pulled him behind him. He took a few steps forward with his sword. He was usually quite brave, and since Xiao Ma was so frightened, he couldn't back down even if he tried. But even the bravest person has moments of fear. He had scared Xiao Ma so much that he was paralyzed... or rather, turned him into a skeleton.

"Just...just a skeleton." Feng Shisan stared blankly, his sword blade jabbing against the scabbard several times, unable to find its mark. "So afraid..."

Guan Ye clung to A Jiu's shoulder, peeking out. If it weren't for the environment, the skeleton wouldn't be so frightening. Below, a chilling wind howled, cold dew drizzled, ghosts darted about, and shadowy figures fluttered like butterflies. The skeleton lay in a reclining position, its head staring directly at the approaching people, its sunken eyes menacing, as if warning them, or as if it had finally seen the light of day.

Guan Ye gathered the three tinderboxes together, added some dry branches, and lit them. The light suddenly became bright, and the group gradually calmed down. Xiao Ma huddled in the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest, no longer afraid, but rather a little embarrassed.

The mine was narrow on the outside but spacious inside. Looking around, it was only about ten meters in diameter. The ground was covered with withered grass, firewood was piled in the corners, and some other things were scattered around. There were also some copper ore scraps scattered around. Although it was simple, it was enough to get by. However, this kind of life was not much different from that of savages.

Aunt Lou once said: After Xingguofang came to the island, the Pei family led people to reclaim wasteland for farming, mining and charcoal making. The islanders could make their own way or work for Xingguofang. The Pei family had farms and ponds, as well as cloth workshops and schools. They had no money, but they lacked nothing in terms of food, clothing and daily necessities. Even when they died, they were provided with a coffin and a proper burial.

Although the islanders lived a simple life, they were still well-fed and clothed. The Ji siblings were able to live peacefully at the foot of the mountain, so why was this skeleton struggling to survive in a cave, and living such a difficult life?

Before Guan Ye could even open her mouth, Xiao Ma had already sat up and straightened his back, "I understand!"

“Go rest over there.” Feng Shisan pressed him down abruptly. “Your clothes are all rotten to the ground. It’s so bad that it’s hard to tell if you’re male or female. Looking at the bones…” Feng Shisan touched the bones and tapped them. “You’ve been dead for quite a few years, at least ten or eight years.”

"You know about ten or eight years?" Xiao Ma retorted. "What, you even studied to be a coroner?"

"What do you know?" Feng Shisan said with a stern face. "In my hometown, there is an old custom that after a person dies, they are wrapped in clothes and buried in the ground. Once the bones are formed, they are dug up and reburied in a different place. Before I came to the island, I went back to the mass grave and dug up my father's bones. I picked up the bones, cleaned them, and put them in a jar. It had been almost ten years since he was buried that year. He looks just like these bones."

"A mass grave..." Xiao Ma murmured, "Thirteenth Young Master, you..."

"I can't be bothered to talk to you!" Feng Shisan glared at him. "Ajiu, what do you think?"

“There’s no one on the island with a clear past.” Before Ajiu could answer, Guan Ye chimed in, “Everyone has their own difficulties. In my opinion, let them rest in peace. Let them be buried.”

"So... he buried him?" Feng Shisan blinked and looked at Ajiu.

“What else can we do?” Ajiu said. “What Guan Ye said is exactly what I was thinking. Now that we’ve found him, he’s just a skeleton. What can we do? Are you going to tell the shop owner to send someone to identify the body? Or are you going to pretend that today’s events never happened? Maybe we should just bury him.”

“I agree.” Xiao Ma stood up again. “Meeting is fate, and burying the body is an act of kindness. Let’s bury it back quickly, or it will be troublesome if Ji Fang can’t wait for us and calls for people to come up the mountain.”

Guan Ye carefully moved the skeleton. The skeleton was about seven feet tall. If it was a man, he would definitely be handsome. If it was a woman, she would probably be about the same height as herself. When A Yuan first saw her, she said that she was tall and thought that she was also a swordsman.

It's truly pitiful. Even in death, no one could tell whether they were male or female. No one knew what misfortune they had suffered. Even after arriving on Canglang Island, they couldn't show themselves to anyone. No one knew when or how they died.

They were all in the same boat, and Guan Ye felt pity for them. There was no cloth or altar in the cave, and the skeleton would fall apart at the slightest touch. They couldn't very well carry the bones out to dig a pit.

Ajiu saw what Guanye was thinking, took off his robe and spread it on the ground. Guanye understood, picked up pieces of bone, and held up a rib. Suddenly, there was a soft clatter, and something rolled to the ground. Before Guanye could look for it, Xiao Ma, with sharp eyes, picked it up, rubbed it and blew on it. He looked at it in the firelight and said, "Money, it's money."

"More gold and silver?" Feng Shisan perked up. "Look, our luck has come! Where? Is there any more?"

The two searched and searched, and Xiao Ma held it up close to A Jiu, saying, "This person is better than us; he even brought money. However, it's just some copper coins, no gold or silver."

Guan Ye wrapped up the bones and curiously picked one up as well. "One steamed bun costs one coin. It won't last long for these people. It's better than ours, but not by much."

Feng Shisan turned to leave, but seeing Xiao Ma carefully stuffing the copper coins into his bundle, he asked in confusion, "You want things from a dead person too?"

"Money is divided into dead and alive?" Xiao Ma rolled his eyes. "If you take it to buy steamed buns, will the shopkeeper ask if you're dead? Foolish!" Xiao Ma winked at Guan Ye. "Keep the money safe. On this island, money doesn't matter. But in Rongdu, a single penny can drive even a hero to his death. There are plenty of places that use silver."

“That’s all.” Feng Shisan didn’t even bother to reply. “Is it enough for you to buy a house and land? Enough for you to get married and have kids? Little Ma, I didn’t realize you were such a money-grubber.”

Xiao Ma perked up, tightened the bundle, and began to reason with him, "Don't you understand the principle of accumulating little by little? We can bury this man and collect some money from him without any problem." As he spoke, he snatched the skeleton wrapped in Guan Ye's clothes, "Watch closely, I'll go dig a hole right now and bury him deep and well. If he knows this in the afterlife, he will be willing to give it to us."

Seeing Xiao Ma squeeze out of the hole, Guan Ye pointed to the coin and turned to A Jiu. A Jiu nodded slightly, "Why don't you accept it? Since it's fate, perhaps that person also wants you to keep it for him." Guan Ye nodded and stuffed the coin into her pocket.

The heavy rain outside the cave had stopped, and the dense clouds in the sky were rolling and gradually dissipating with the wind. Under the vast sky, the trees were hazy. Xiao Ma, holding the skeleton, suddenly felt bewildered. How did he end up holding this bag of bones?

"This place will do." Guan Ye stopped and saw that there were stones, water, and ancient trees nearby. The wind blew the branches and water mist swirled around. She looked up and took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.

"Is there any explanation?" Feng Shisan pondered.

“If we go any further, we won’t be able to hold onto the pony.” Ajiu leaned against a tree and stopped.

They dug open the pit, placed Guan Ye, clothes and bones still attached, into the bottom, and filled it with soil. They then covered it with some grass and trees, and seeing that it looked no different from the surrounding area, they were relieved.

"Should we make a mark?" Little Ma asked, rubbing his hands, which were covered in mud.

"Could it be that someone would come looking for these remains?" Feng Shisan found it amusing. "After all these years, if we hadn't stumbled upon this by chance, no one would have found them even if they had turned to ashes."

“This place isn’t hard to remember.” Guan Ye drew her short blade and drew a cross on the tree trunk that A Jiu was leaning against. “That’ll do.”

"I'm leaving." Ajiu straightened up.

Guan Ye kept turning back to look, as if there was something she couldn't bear to leave behind in the soil. Her arms felt heavy, and Guan Ye clutched her chest, took a deep breath, and stopped looking.

At midnight, the Sword Pavilion was brightly lit. Pei Bi, who had been busy all day, was also tired. He knew that the owner and his son would have a lot to say tonight, and it would be fine for him to go back and rest. However, he knew that he would not be able to sleep even if he closed his eyes. He did not know when he would return. Canglang Island had Xingguo Warehouse, which he had guarded for thirty years, and people he could not bear to part with.

"A broken sword is a disgrace. Father, are you going to take the broken Golden Sword to Rongdu as well?" Pei Chu lowered his eyes and flipped through the book in his hand, without glancing at his father.

Pei Yuan took down the broken sword that was hanging there. "I went to the old house today and paid my respects to your great-grandfather. He told me that the Pei family must take the broken sword back to Rongdu."

"Can a dead man tell you?" Pei Chu scoffed. "Father must be possessed."

Pei Yuan silently wiped every blade clean and carefully placed it into the prepared sword case. "Xingguofang has returned to Rongdu, but you don't seem happy."

"Whether I'm happy or not is not important to Father." Pei Chu coughed a few times and turned the pages of his book again. "Whether I'm here or not is even less important."

“I know you will never go back to Rongdu with everyone.” Pei Yuan closed the box, his muffled voice resonating in the hearts of both father and son.

“Return?” Pei Chu found it amusing again. “No one on the island came from Rongdu, not even yourself. So what’s the point of talking about returning? Rongdu is the capital city of the emperor, a place of unpredictable events and hidden talents. I advise you not to overestimate yourself or Xingguo Ward. Today, Xingguo Ward has nothing to offer to the nobles of the capital except for a dead furnace.”

"Was the forger of the Meteor Sword also an inanimate object?" Pei Yuan's expression turned strange. "No matter who this person is, he will go to Rongdu. With him there, Xingguo Ward will still be the Xingguo Ward of yesteryear."

"I only hope that Father won't regret it." Pei Chu raised his eyes to confront him. "When your great-grandfather asked you to take the broken sword away, did he tell you why the Golden Sword was like this? What did he comprehend during his twenty years of seclusion?"

“He doesn’t need to figure anything out.” Pei Yuan was in a good mood today and didn’t want to argue with his son, who was still ill. He couldn’t wait to go back to Rongdu.

Pei Yuan remembered his grandfather describing the imperial city to him—there were endless city walls, majestic as mountains, and crisscrossing streets, bustling and lively; there was a fairyland-like night market, where as dusk fell, the market lights shone like daytime, reflecting the stars and moon, shimmering and colorful, with countless merchants and travelers opening their doors to do business and chatting happily; there were the most magnificent palaces, with red-lacquered walls and roofs, glazed tiles, inlaid with gold, carved with strange beasts, white jade steps, and pearl curtains, and the world's most skilled swordsmen stood proudly in the hall, unsheathing their swords before the emperor's throne.

My grandfather said that the Pei family would one day return to Rongdu, and that day would come through him.

"The meteorite that no other workshop in the world could melt was forged in Xingguo Workshop." Pei Yuan's voice trembled with excitement. "Chu'er, don't you understand? Destiny resides in Xingguo Workshop."

"If the Emperor were to receive another meteorite from outer space, would you use the same method again?" Pei Chu pressed down the scroll and looked at his father's twitching face.

"Why not use it?" Pei Yuan spread his arms. "What's wrong with using it once more, a few more times?"

"Father doesn't really think that the meteorite was melted in the furnace where people were sacrificed, does he?" Pei Chu coaxed him slowly.

"You're still blaming me because of her." Pei Yuan straightened his arms and stood with his hands behind his back. "No matter the reason for the melting, it's Heaven's help for us." Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Even if you don't want to, I still have to ask you one question: do you want to come with us..."

“I’m not going anywhere.” Pei Chu replied without hesitation, her voice as soft as a needle falling to the ground, yet as decisive as a knife. “I’ll stay here. I’ll also go to my great-grandfather’s grave and see if he can tell me what he’s realized in the past twenty years.”

"It's up to you." Pei Yuan's heart was as cold as ice, and he was unwilling to say anything more. "Pei Bi will arrange everything for you. If you ever change your mind, someone will come to pick you up."

"Father is sure he won't come back?" Pei Chu looked up.

"Come back?" Pei Yuan pushed open the gate of the Sword Pavilion, his robe billowing in the wind like waves. "With you guarding this place, what would I do if I came back? No one would come back here, no one would come back."

"Then I'll make a bet with you for the rest of my life." Pei Chu looked back at the empty wall. "I bet... you'll definitely come back."

The door slammed shut, as swiftly as a blade. Pei Bi turned around at the sound and saw Pei Yuan's sinister gaze. He felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly went to meet him. He couldn't help but turn back to look at the tightly closed door of the Sword Pavilion.

Through the gap, Pei Chu's eyes shone like stars as she watched her father's departing figure, a cold smile on her lips like a sharp blade piercing straight through her.

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Author's Note: I'll add an extra chapter if the collection reaches 400 (I was originally planning to take a break on Monday). I'll add another chapter if the collection reaches 450. Thank you all for your support.