Chapter 113 The End (Part 1)
Just now, when they entered the cave, a few snowflakes they brought with them floated in the air. The snowflakes were so light and fine that they landed on the painted murals and golden Buddha statues, mingling with the gold leaf and shimmering like an illusion, indistinguishable from reality.
Ji An: "This Buddhist cave was built with donations from Uncle Aqi. Back then, I came here with my sister and father, but I couldn't help much, so I could only do odd jobs. My father injured his hand while carving Buddha statues, so most of the murals were painted by my sister."
Ji An turned his head and saw Xiao Zhuo looking up at the Buddha statue, his gaze seemingly seeing something else through the Buddha.
Blood was still dripping from his arm. Ji An said, "Your injury is serious."
Xiao Zhuo unfastened the sword and dagger from his waist and placed them one by one on the table. He then sat down by the wall and began to apply medicine and bandages.
Ji An watched his movements and then heard him say, "Tell me about your elder sister's past."
Ji An was taken aback: "My elder sister's?"
Xiao Zhuo said, "Yes, it's your elder sister's."
He stared at the man before him, his mind filled with doubt. How did his elder sister end up with him? And how could he be the emperor?
Meeting Xiao Zhuo was not pleasant. Even though it was his elder sister's choice of husband, he couldn't trust him. Yet, his elder sister was exceptionally close to him, and her eyes showed trust and affection when she looked at him...
Ji An asked the person in front of him, "What do you want to hear?"
"Anything is fine, as long as it's something from her past."
“Then I’ll just say a few words,” Ji An looked up at him and slowly began to speak, “My elder sister and I grew up together when we were young, and our family wasn’t wealthy.”
“Our mother was a merchant who traveled the Western Regions trade routes, often for months at a time. Our father was a craftsman who knew a little bit about everything, mostly repairing Buddhist caves. When we were little, my sister and I often followed behind them.”
Xiao Zhuo said, "Your mother led a caravan through the Western Regions, but she never saved any money?"
Ji An nodded. "Mother works for the business, and most of the money she earns goes to the business. She keeps only enough to get by. Father takes on some jobs, but the customers often delay paying. Father is kind-hearted and a devout Buddhist, so he often pays out of his own pocket, making our family particularly poor."
Xiao Zhuo: "So when you were little, neither of you went to school, which is why you didn't know many words."
“The academy is for young masters and ladies, how can we go there…” Ji An stopped midway and realized it was inappropriate. “My elder sister is very intelligent and ambitious. She can learn anything quickly. She followed behind Father and watched him work, and she also learned to paint and carve.”
As Ji An recalled those past events, her eyes softened: "She even pestered her mother to teach her how to tame animals. There was once a small dog at home, which she tamed to be extremely obedient. She loved it very much. Sometimes when her mother was away, she would climb the hillside to look in the direction her mother had gone, and she would take the dog with her."
After speaking, he caught a glimpse of a very faint smile playing on Xiao Zhuo's lips. Ji An paused, his expression softening slightly.
He was not afraid of this person. Even if he was of noble birth, he was still a human being, the husband of his elder sister, and he should protect Yuan Chaolu for the rest of his life.
"Until later, we met Helan Yi."
Ji An's voice deepened, "That year, Mother's caravan disappeared in the desert and never returned. Among the cargo was an item entrusted to them by the Helan family with a large sum of money. My elder sister went to the trading company to plead for her, and it was then that Helan Yi met my elder sister."
He really didn't want to recall these things. "The Helan family is so hypocritical. They promised to let us go on the surface, but then they sent people to forcibly bring my sister into their household as a slave to pay off their debts."
“I was young then and I tried my best to save her. I probably only saw her a handful of times. Every time I saw her, she would smile and tell me not to worry and to take good care of my father. Her eyes were curved, just like before.”
Ji An's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice tightened. "But I know how difficult it was for her in the Helan Mansion. She always wanted to leave, she thought about it day and night. So I worked hard, and Father was so busy that he ruined his health."
He went on and on, recounting how the Helan family even killed her carefully raised puppy when she was kidnapped, and how she repeatedly tried to escape after she left, only to be brought back by the Helan family each time.
Finally, he looked at Xiao Zhuo with earnest eyes: "Did you know that she has never had a good life in the Helan family?"
"My sister has been reduced to a household slave, and she must be feeling anxious and insecure. I'm saying all this today not for any other reason than that you treat her well so that she can feel at ease."
Ji An knew that some things were beyond the comprehension of this important person, but he was her husband, so he should know them.
"Of course." Xiao Zhuo's voice was firm, without the slightest hesitation.
"I came to find you because I hope that there will be one more person in this world who will treat her well."
Ji An was stunned.
He clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white. After a long silence, he finally spoke with difficulty: "There's one more thing, which is that I once did for...for..."
Xiao Zhuo said, "You mean to say that you once served the Rouran tribe and guided them, right?"
Ji An hurriedly said, "I did something wrong! But I was forced into a corner by the Helan family. This was all my doing and has nothing to do with my elder sister. I just wanted to deal with Helan Yi. I never thought of implicating anyone else!"
After Xiao Zhuo finished applying the medicine, he pulled out the gauze. Ji An got up and went to his side, using a dagger to help cut the gauze, looking at Xiao Zhuo nervously.
In other matters, he was not afraid of the people in front of him, but in this one matter, he was completely in the wrong.
“When I return to Daqi, the punishment will fall on me, but I don’t want to tarnish my sister’s reputation.”
Xiao Zhuo raised his eyelids. "You led the Rouran twice, but both times, the Rouran troops were run into by the Daqi soldiers and were completely annihilated. Is this considered meritorious service or treason?"
Ji An's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat, and his heart was still pounding.
"Of course it's not about performing meritorious service, brother-in-law, don't belittle me like that." Ji An took the gauze from Xiao Zhuo's hand and tied a knot for him.
Xiao Zhuo scrutinized him.
After spending only a short time with this person, Ji An felt that this person was truly difficult to discern his emotions and was a master at seeing through people's hearts, causing a thin layer of sweat to quietly seep out from Ji An's back.
My sister actually chose such a man as her husband...
The candles inside the cave were mostly burned out, casting a dim and unclear light. Xiao Zhuo straightened his robes, stood up, and went to the table to light the lamp.
Ji An's gaze followed him. "But Helan Yi hasn't left yet. He has spies in Rongbei. If he brings more people to hunt us down, I'm really worried. I don't know if we can safely return to Daqi, or what the situation is like with my sister."
Xiao Zhuo did not answer, but lit another candle. Once the flame was lit, he said, "He won't chase us for long."
Why?
"His injuries are too severe, penetrating his internal organs, and there is no cure. Tomorrow will be his limit. All we can do is wait."
It was as if everything was under his control.
Ji An asked, "What about the rest?"
Xiao Zhuo's gaze was suddenly drawn to a line of text carved on the wall. Holding the lamp, he walked over and said, "He used your status as the younger brother of the Empress of Daqi as a bargaining chip to seek Rongbei's help. But he is an outsider. If he dies, what will happen to the rest of them?"
Ji An said, "Of course... it won't amount to anything."
Xiao Zhuo smiled slightly.
Ji Anxin breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had heard everyone call him "Your Majesty" and dared not think too deeply about his sister's identity and who was by his side. But then he heard the word "Empress" from the person in front of him.
Xiao Zhuo said, "You should rest first."
Ji An found a corner to sit down and tidied up Xiao Zhuo a bit more.
Xiao Zhuo held the lamp, squatted down in a corner of the wall, and slowly wiped away the dust on the wall, revealing a passage of text in the light.
"In the spring of the seventeenth year of Jiayu, the painter Zhaolu and his father worked here to repair the Buddhist wall. The brush and ink are rough, but they are just to express our sincerity. We hope that future generations who see this will admire the Buddha and remember the hard work of the craftsmen."
The seventeenth year of Jiayu was the last year of the reign of the former Chu emperor.
She left an inscription here, hoping that future generations would see it.
Xiao Zhuo's fingertips slowly brushed over the carvings on the mural, as if she could feel the force with which she knelt here in the past, carving out the words word by word with her carving knife.
As the Chu Dynasty entered its final years, the world descended into chaos. If there were truly gods and Buddhas protecting it, how could such a dark and bloody massacre have continued for several years?
Xiao Zhuo believed in Buddha, which was better than nothing.
He had never seen a sky full of gods and Buddhas.
But he had seen her before.
He stared at the stone wall in front of him, then suddenly grabbed a dagger and, by the dim candlelight, began to carve words stroke by stroke on the mottled stone wall.
The blade chiseled through the stone wall, and sand fell with a soft rustling sound, mingling with the crackling of candlelight deep within the cave.
Below her line of text, a new line slowly appeared:
"In the spring of the seventeenth year of Jiayu, the painter Zhaolu and his father worked here to repair the Buddhist wall. The brush and ink are rough, but they are just to express our sincerity. We hope that future generations who see this will admire the Buddha and remember the hard work of the craftsmen."
“Xiao Zhuo saw this cave in the early fourth year of the Renxi reign.”
In the past, I was not protected by gods and Buddhas, nor did I see their compassionate light. But here, I have witnessed the pure land of Saha that my wife painted.
Then I saw countless Buddha lands, illuminating my heart.
Xiao Zhuo looked up at the Buddha statue. The flickering firelight illuminated the Buddha's lowered eyes and brows.
In some mysterious way, their past destinies intersected in this Buddhist grotto.
It is unknown how long this Buddhist cave will remain. Perhaps it will be lost to the wind and sand, or perhaps a thousand years later, it will still be admired by the world, hoping to see her hard work and glimpse this text.
(The Ending, Part 1)
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Author's note: This is the first part of the finale. There are still 1-2 chapters left to finish. I will try my best to post another chapter tonight.
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