Chapter 3374 After Death, Let Her Rest in Peace
Mandu suddenly raised his head and looked into the depths of the wind and sand.
He stood up and took two steps forward. Princess Baoyin asked in confusion, "Uncle Mandu, what are you going to do?"
Mandu looked back at her and said, "You guys just rest here and wait for me to come back."
After saying that, he stood up and walked into the wind and sand.
The sandstorm was not violent, just a small gust of wind. The surrounding terrain could be vaguely seen. Mandu put his hands on his eyebrows to block the wind and walked forward step by step. After a while, he stopped.
Not far in front of him, a figure appeared.
The man was very tall, with a slender figure. He just stood there motionless in the wind and sand, giving people an extremely ethereal feeling, as if although he was standing there, he did not exist, and as if he would be carried away by the wind and sand at any time.
But when he saw this figure, Mandu's brows immediately furrowed.
His expression was solemn, even more serious than when he faced the Yan country soldiers just now. When he spoke, his voice was a little hoarse: "You are--"
"Long time no see."
The other party spoke, his voice sounding a little old, yet exceptionally calm.
Mandu was completely stunned.
He stood stiffly in place, staring at the other person with wide eyes. At this time, the wind and sand gradually subsided, and he could barely see the person opposite him.
He was an old man with a head full of white hair, but his figure was like a green pine tree suddenly growing out of the northwest wilderness, still with some of the uprightness of a young man; although his face was full of wrinkles, his pair of deep sunken eyes were bright and lively, and even in the wind and sand, the sharpness of his gaze could not be concealed at all. He had handsome eyebrows and eyes, and was in high spirits. It was obvious that he must have been a handsome and suave man when he was young.
Moreover, although he was dressed simply, and even had patches on his knees and elbows, the ragged clothes looked inexplicably clean and tidy on him. Perhaps it was because of his extraordinary temperament. Even when he stood in the wind and sand, the wind and sand did not seem so annoying.
Mandu stared at him blankly, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.
After a long time, he finally squeezed out a word hoarsely: "You are still alive."
The other party seemed to smile.
He looked up at the sun, which was obscured by the wind and sand, leaving only a chaotic light and shadow, and said, "Ghosts will not appear before you at this time."
Mandu nodded: "As long as it's still there."
“…”
"I'm just afraid that everyone will leave and I'll be the only one left."
The other party smiled and said, "Everyone will leave eventually."
Mandu narrowed his eyes: "Do you take life and death so lightly?"
The other person's eyes were slightly dazed, as if he had remembered something. The gentle expression on his face also revealed a little sadness. After a long while, he said: "At this age, after experiencing the lives and deaths of so many people, what else can I do but take it lightly?"
Mandu's gaze sharpened.
He subconsciously took a few steps forward, as if he wanted to get closer to the other party. However, although he took a few steps forward, and although the other party also stood there motionless, he seemed to still be a long distance away from the other party, and there was no way for him to get close.
He could only stop, but his breathing was obviously a little disordered.
He asked, "You say that, whose life or death have you witnessed?"
Without waiting for the other party to answer, he asked anxiously: "Is it Tana?"
The other party looked at him for a long time, his expression of sadness mixed with a bit of pity, and finally nodded gently: "Yes."
Mandu's breath hitched.
Of course, it had been so many years since the incident, and the cenotaph they had erected at the Great Wall Moat also showed that they had long since accepted this fact. But when Mandu heard the result, his heart still felt like it was pricked by a thorn.
A pain that had lingered for years suddenly disappeared after it struck him again.
He was silent for a long time, as if he had finally accepted the fact. He nodded gently, then looked up at the other party: "Then where is she buried?"
“…”
"You only erected a tombstone for her, but where is she buried?"
The other party looked at him quietly for a long time and said, "Who told you that it was just a stele?"
“…!?”
Mandu was shocked and looked at him with wide eyes in astonishment: "You, your daughter said that."
The other party smiled faintly and said, "If people knew that the real her was buried under that tombstone, she would never be at peace even in death."
Mandu paused for a moment, finally understanding.
The people of Deng built a cenotaph for Princess Tana so that they could have a place to commemorate her; while the other party clearly buried Princess Tana, but concealed the tomb and only left the illusion of a monument in order to prevent people from paying tribute to her.
The other person said softly: "She is already very tired of living."
“…”
"After death, let her rest in peace."
Mandu looked at each other, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether he was sad or happy, but after all, some things are like old pains, and those who should go will eventually go.
He nodded slightly and said, "You are right."
After saying this, many of the emotions that had been pent up for years were released at this moment, and Mandu also calmed down a little. He suddenly looked up at the other person, with a puzzled look on his face, and said, "But, you suddenly appeared just to tell me this?"
The other party also smiled and said, "I'm doing this to do you a favor."
"What?"
"I hope you can release the two people you just arrested for the sake of my old friend. One of them has suffered a lot over the years."
“…”
"I could have rescued them both, but—we haven't seen each other for many years, and I don't want to take action against my old friends."
His words were incomprehensible, and Mandu was full of confusion.
However, he did know that wherever their team went, even if it was just a short stop to rest, they would definitely send people to patrol the surrounding area, especially since they had just experienced a battle of varying sizes, so they had to be even more careful and alert.
Could it be that the person who just went out on patrol caught someone?
He was about to ask, but when he looked up, the person in front of him had disappeared.
Mandu frowned and thought for a moment, then turned around and went back immediately.
This place was not far from the camp where they were resting, and soon they heard noisy sounds coming from there. Mandu walked over to take a look, and sure enough, he saw that the group of people who had just gone out on patrol had returned.
And they did catch two people.
One of the boys, about ten years old, was struggling hard, while the other one, who was older and seemed to be the boy's elder, was in a daze, as if he had just been struck by lightning. He did not struggle at all even though he was tied up. Instead, he seemed to be lost in deep thought, completely oblivious to what was happening around him.
Mandu walked over and asked, "What's going on?"
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