"Is this... a cemetery?" Shen Qingmang looked around and saw young children running in the fields, it was very lively.
Su Miaoran said, "Yes, after the monks of Chaohua Palace pass away, they will be buried here unless there are special requests. Even if someone unfortunately dies outside, they can still return to their roots."
"Did mother turn into a flower after she died?" Si Rong asked.
Su Miaoran smiled. "Think of it this way. Whatever flower your mother wants to become, we'll plant it for her."
"Which flower is it, A Niang?" Si Rong stepped into the field cautiously.
"Zhao Zhao is here." Su Miaoran led them through clusters of wildly blooming flowers to a tombstone. Their attention was immediately drawn to the plants surrounding the tombstone. Its leaves were green with a hint of red, and as slender as bamboo. Although it had no flowers, it did bear clusters of small red fruits, which were very lovely.
"This is Nandina domestica," Su Miaoran introduced. "Its fruit is bright red, just like our Arong."
Si Rong greeted it with a smile. "Hello, Nandina domestica, you are the flower that my mother transformed into. You are so beautiful."
Shen Qingmang bent down and carefully examined the words on it, and found that it was a poem: "The song ends and the people disappear, only a few green peaks are on the river."
She was a little dazed.
Si Rong quickly noticed the poem, reading it out word for word. Then, suddenly realizing, he said, "I see. Mother is thinking of Daddy. The song ends, and the person disappears. Daddy is from Wuyin Peak, and is the best at playing musical instruments. The river is covered with several green peaks. 'Qing' and 'Qing' are homophones, so that's Daddy's name."
Master Yiqing's original name was Si Yiqing. After becoming a Master, everyone's Daoist name is usually different from their original name, either chosen by themselves or given by a teacher, reflecting their aspirations or good wishes. Only Yiqing was too lazy to come up with a name and simply used his own name.
"Dad, does he come to visit Mom every year?" Si Rong said, then denied it. "No, Dad has always stayed in the Taichu Sect and has never left me."
"He hasn't been here." Su Miaoran's voice became a little colder, but still pleasant. "How could he come? He doesn't even know."
"What?" Si Rong opened his eyes wide.
Shen Qingmang closed his eyes, and the words Yiqing had said flashed through his mind.
He thought that the person he loved had abandoned him, gave birth to Arong and left in a hurry without saying a word, and every word she said was full of accusations and complaints.
So what is the truth of the matter?
"Arong, you know that childbirth is extremely difficult for women. It's like going through the gates of hell. This is especially true for mortal women. For us cultivators, the higher our realm, the more dangerous it is."
Si Rong nodded. "Master did tell us a little bit, but he didn't mention that the higher the realm, the more dangerous it is."
Shen Qingmang blushed. She didn't fully understand the situation in the world of immortal cultivation when she took the physiology and hygiene class, especially the body structure of cultivators.
But after hearing Su Miaoran's words, she immediately had some guesses in her mind.
"As a cultivator's cultivation level increases, their physical development slows, and female cultivators are no exception. Our menstrual flow has gone from being a monthly occurrence to a quarterly one, and then only once a year, becoming less and less frequent. And menstrual flow actually represents a person's fertility," Su Miaoran said. "So, the higher the realm, the weaker the fertility."
She sighed as she spoke. "And the cultivation techniques of our Chaohua Palace differ somewhat from those of other sects. Ours can make conception more difficult, which is also a means of self-preservation. However, the downside is that once we conceive, we face even greater dangers than other female cultivators, and we're even more vulnerable than some mortals."
"So it was very difficult for my mother to get pregnant with me?" Si Rong asked.
Su Miaoran nodded in agreement. "She was so happy when she got pregnant with you that she immediately ran back to Chaohua Palace to ask us how to protect the pregnancy. We sisters didn't have much experience, and she was afraid of Master's blame, so she didn't dare to tell him. But gradually, she couldn't hide it anymore."
"What's so embarrassing about this? I will tell Master everything that happens!" Si Rong hugged Shen Qingmang's arm.
"After we couldn't hide it anymore..." Su Miaoran's voice deepened. "Master ordered Zhao Zhao to use the Infant Transformation Pill to eliminate you. It's a secret medicine from our Chaohua Palace. It can terminate a pregnancy without harming the body, converting the fetus's nutrients into maternal nutrients."
Shen Qingmang, Si Rong and Hao Xin all took a deep breath.
"She didn't want Zhao Zhao to suffer because of your pregnancy, and she didn't like your father either, because your father's personality... to put it nicely, he's gentle and considerate, but to put it bluntly, he's timid."
Shen Qingmang touched his nose and felt a little ashamed for Yiqing.
Si Rong opened his mouth to refute, but after thinking it over, he continued to ask about the follow-up of the matter.
"Zhao Zhao disagreed and insisted on giving birth to you, so she went into hiding in the Taichu Sect. We were all looking forward to her bringing you back to show us, but who knew that a few months later, she would come back alone."
"Why?"
Su Miaoran smiled bitterly: "We asked her why at the time, and she said that she had injured her foundation during childbirth and could no longer drag you and your father down."
"How can he be a burden?" Si Rong said anxiously, "Father should have taken care of Mother."
Shen Qingmang murmured, "No wonder Senior Brother Yiqing said that Ah Rong's mother passed away before she had fully recovered... But if she was injured during childbirth, how did she manage to travel all the way back to Chaohua Palace?"
"Qing Mang has never loved anyone, right? I wonder how much you are willing to give for someone when you love him."
"But this doesn't conform to medical common sense..." Shen Qingmang stopped talking halfway, realizing that this was the world of immortal cultivation, and that cultivators were somewhat different from ordinary people, and could also judge their own physical conditions more accurately.
Su Miaoran didn't argue with her anymore, only recounting, "Zhao Zhao forced herself to return to the palace, but passed away on the third day. Before she died, she told us not to tell Yi Qing about her death, so that he would think she had abandoned him and become a heartless person. Anger is always better than sadness."
Si Rong lowered his head.
Shen Qingmang asked, "So you followed her last wishes and deceived my senior brother?"
"Yeah. Zhao Zhao's original intention was to make Yi Qing give up on her and find a new love, but after so many years, Yi Qing is still alone, which shows that it didn't work. However, Rong'er is taken care of very well by him... Rong'er?"
Su Miaoran went to touch her face, but her hands were covered in water, so she quickly raised her voice. Shen Qingmang also noticed and hugged Si Rong. "What's wrong, Rong? Don't be sad, your father and mother love you."
"I'd rather she didn't love me!" Si Rong cried, "Why is she so stupid? Why did she have to give birth to me? If her body isn't suitable, she shouldn't have had any more children! Isn't it enough to live a good life with my father? Why does she have to have a child?"
Shen Qingmang hesitated, patted her on the back, and said, "Didn't you know that your mother must have died in childbirth?"
Why can't I accept this result now?
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