On the eighth day, Fourteen was buried, and it was a rare sunny day.
Xiang Sheng knew that Fourteen had been reincarnated into Qin Ji's life, but he still followed her.
Fourteen was famous for his longevity in East Street. He died of old age and had a happy funeral. Many neighbors came to the funeral, and there were even people to help carry the coffin and dig the soil, so there was no need to spend extra money to hire them.
After working hard from early morning to noon, a small mound appeared in the snow-capped mountains outside the city.
Widow Wang approached Xiang Sheng with a brush and ink in hand, pointing at the blank tombstone, a little embarrassed: "Sister Xiang, look..."
Xiang Sheng understood what he meant and naturally did not refuse. He took the brush and walked to the tombstone and asked, "What do you want to write?"
"The tomb of my late adoptive father Xiang Shisan."
Widow Wang had obviously thought this through long ago, and replied quickly, "Signed to my adopted granddaughter Wang Shulian."
Widow Wang paused for a moment and continued, "And there's also my adopted grandson, Chen Wu."
Xiang Sheng was slightly surprised and looked back at Chen the Blacksmith. Seeing his face full of shock and shame, he immediately understood something.
She finished writing the inscription as instructed, adding the time at the end, and stood up without saying anything.
After the writing dried, Widow Wang picked up the carving knife, walked over to Blacksmith Chen, and stuffed it directly into his hand, humming, "Why don't you go quickly?"
Blacksmith Chen nodded heavily and immediately ran to carve the stele.
Fengfeng was confused. She looked up and saw Aunt Wang smiling with relief. She seemed to understand something, but also seemed to understand nothing.
The step of carving the tombstone took too long, and the neighbors who attended the funeral had to go home to take care of their business. They left in groups of three or four, talking in low voices as they walked.
"Widow Wang is more generous than most men, let me just say."
"Who says it isn't?"
"If it were me, I wouldn't let Chen Lao Si carve the stele. Don't you think of all the terrible things he did in the past? He angered my father to death, drove away Old Master Fourteen, and treated his daughter with widowed care... Any of them would be enough to get struck by lightning!"
"But I don't know what's wrong with Chen Lao Si these past few days. He seems to have taken some wrong medicine. I heard that he knelt in the Fourteenth Master's mourning hall for three days and three nights."
"I've heard about this, too. Remember that torrential downpour eight days ago? Many people died at the docks. Chen Laosi was there, too, and he was the only one who came back alive."
"Survived a near-death experience, no wonder..."
When Xiang Sheng heard this, he finally remembered the person he had rescued at the Dushuicheng Wharf.
At that time, her mind was all on the fish monster and she didn't care about the man's face. But now she realized that she had unintentionally completed a cause and effect.
When Fourteen was leaving, he did not mention Chen the blacksmith at all. The only ones who were worried about his soul after his death were Widow Wang and Fengfeng.
Xiang Sheng quietly watched the back of Chen the blacksmith as he carved the stele.
People often say that a prodigal son’s return is worth more than gold, but the mistakes made will not disappear.
She saved Blacksmith Chen's life at the dock, and her account with Blacksmith Chen was settled. The matter of Fourteen should be settled separately.
If he truly repented and spent the rest of his life atonement, then everything would be fine. If he was still as heartless and ungrateful as the neighbors said, she would not show any mercy.
…
It was already evening when the tombstone was carved and erected.
Widow Wang stared at the tombstone in a daze until the sun set. Only then did she wipe away the tears in her eyes and go home.
When she turned around, she found that Xiang Sheng was still waiting on the top of the mountain. She couldn't help but be surprised, but didn't say much. She just had a better impression of Xiang Sheng.
Fengfeng had fallen asleep. Blacksmith Chen carefully held his daughter in his arms, and the four of them returned to the city in the sporadic snowflakes.
When Xiang Sheng opened the door of the calligraphy studio, he saw Wang Tuo curled up in a soft chair next to the charcoal basin, squinting his eyes comfortably, with his long tail hanging down from the chair, swaying back and forth.
Seeing Xiang Sheng coming back, he opened his eyes slightly and asked, "Did you bring back any wine?"
"I just came back from a funeral. I'll buy it for you tomorrow."
Xiang Sheng responded casually and sat back at the table to continue pondering Shinto.
Wang Tuo tilted his head and curled his lips. "Muddy wine is astringent to the teeth. Can't you buy some good wine?"
Xiang Sheng smiled with his eyebrows curved, "I'll buy it for you when I sell one of my paintings."
Wang Tuo rolled his eyes and said, "Then I'll never be able to drink it in my lifetime."
The two chatted idly, and tacitly neither of them mentioned any cultivation methods to ruin the atmosphere, which was quite interesting.
As the night deepened, the light snow gradually turned into heavy snow. Ice flowers mixed with the howling north wind and hit the door panels, making a tiny sound.
Xiang Sheng didn't care and immersed himself in studying Shinto.
Dongzhou is such a vast area that mortals die every moment. Moreover, after the shift in the earth's core, disasters occur frequently, and more mortals die than before.
If she were to put out fires everywhere by herself, she would definitely be unable to do anything. This matter required the help of the entire cultivation world.
This coincided with Jiang Yi and the others' plans. However, she had temporarily withdrawn from the cultivation world, and if she rashly stepped forward to get involved, it would be inconsistent and illogical.
Thinking of this, Xiang Sheng's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly had a new idea.
At this moment, Wang Tuo's ears suddenly moved, and he opened his eyes and looked outside the door, "Someone is coming."
Xiang Sheng expanded his spiritual consciousness and immediately saw through the door panel a middle-aged man coming to the door in the wind and snow.
The next moment, two knocks were heard outside the door.
He opened his mouth to ask, knowing the answer but still asking, "Who?"
"Miss Xiang, I'm the owner of the cloth shop next door. My name is Lu Wangsheng. We met during the day when we attended the funeral together."
The man's voice came in with a hint of embarrassment, "I'm sorry to hear from you so late at night, but the charcoal storage area at home was burglarized, and we're temporarily without any charcoal to keep warm.
I saw that the other neighbors had gone to bed, but you still had the light on, so I came over to exchange some charcoal. Could you please help me?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
