Chapter 561: There's a hole up there, huh?

Everyone came down from the trees and walked into that dilapidated earthen courtyard.

The gate was askew, half of its tenon already detached, and it creaked whenever the wind blew.

The courtyard was in utter disarray.

The drying rack lay on the ground, having been stepped on and broken into several pieces.

The carrying pole and wooden tub rolled into the corner of the wall, the tub's bottom smashed open with a large hole.

Scattered on the ground were broken pottery shards, and ragged cloth scraps that had somehow surfaced, blown about by the wind.

Kang An stood in the courtyard, staring blankly at everything before him.

Then he suddenly rushed into the house.

"Xiao An'an!" Tuan Tuan hurriedly chased after him.

Inside the house was even more chaotic than the courtyard.

The chests and cabinets were all flung open, their clothing and bedding torn to shreds.

Pots, pans, bowls and ladles were smashed to pieces; even the earthen bed was dug up, and the dust from its hollow scattered across the floor.

Kang An went mad, crouching down to pull aside the clothing and various fragments on the ground.

Tuan Tuan followed him, crouching and helping to dig: "Xiao An'an, when you came back last time, were they here?"

Kang An didn't even lift his head, nodding vigorously: "Yes, yes!"

The adults watching the two children all felt a jolt in their hearts, and they too crouched down to help them search.

Xiao Ningyuan surveyed the mess inside the house, his brows knotted tight: "This place has been turned over completely."

Xiao Er nodded: "It looks like the group that came in earlier has already dug three feet deep here."

He paused: "If they are indeed the same gang from back then, they truly have unyielding thievish hearts. Even after two years, they've come back to search."

Xiao Ningxun lifted a pile of pottery shards and whispered: "They're probably not just looking for Wu Jin Mud."

"And Kang An."

Everyone together turned over every place they could inside the house, but found nothing.

Kang An's legs gave way, he slumped to the ground, tears bursting forth: "Father, Mother!"

Tuan Tuan hurriedly embraced him: "Xiao An'an, don't rush, let's search again."

Xiao Ningxun pondered for a moment: "What if they've been waiting for you to return? Wanting to ask you for the whereabouts of Wu Jin Mud."

"They probably think you know nothing."

"If so, they would surely hide your parents' corpses, not letting you see them."

He turned and walked toward the courtyard: "Since there's nothing inside, it must be outside."

Upon hearing that, Kang An trembled all over, scrambled to his feet, and bolted out of the house.

He stood in the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic mess on the ground, finally settling on the firewood pile in the corner.

On top lay some torn felt scraps and broken wood.

Kang An quickly walked over, reached out, grabbed the felt on top, yanked it off forcefully, crouched down, and began to pull apart the firewood—one piece, two pieces, three pieces…

Suddenly, his hand froze in midair.

From a crack in the firewood pile, a hand was revealed.

Grayish-brown, desiccated, curled up; Tuan Tuan was about to run over when Xiao Ningxun snatched her up and covered her eyes.

Kang An knelt down.

He gently pulled aside the firewood, as if afraid to disturb something.

The firewood scattered, revealing the two people beneath.

One male, one female; dark brown stains could still be seen on their robes, now turned black.

On their chests, several deep gashes slanted from shoulder to ribcage.

After two years of wind and sun, their features were utterly unrecognizable.

Yet Kang An was absolutely certain: these were his parents.

He knelt there, motionless.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi, with the guards, cleared away the remaining firewood and debris in a few moves.

Kang An knelt upright, bowing his head three times heavily before the two corpses.

Finally, his forehead pressed into the dirt, and he did not lift it for a long time.

"Father, Mother!"

"I, have, come, home. Come, look, at you."

Tuan Tuan lay against his brother's chest, hearing this, tears streamed down his cheeks.

Xiao Ningxun held his sister tighter, Xiao Ningyuan stroked her head, and let out a long sigh to the heavens.

Everyone's expression turned solemn; the courtyard fell silent save for the wind.

After a moment, Kang An rose from the ground, turned and walked to a corner of the courtyard, and from that pile of assorted junk pulled out an iron hoe.

The wooden handle of the iron hoe was cracked, but the iron head remained.

He hoisted the iron hoe, stood in the courtyard, and looked left and right.

Xiao Ningxun asked softly: "Do you want to bury them here?"

Kang An nodded.

Xiao Ningxun fell silent for a moment, then spoke even more softly: "Kang An, not here."

Kang An lifted his head to look at him: "Home, here."

"I understand what you mean; this is your home, so you want your parents to remain here."

Kang An nodded.

Xiao Ningxun continued: "Those people could come today, but what about later? If they were buried here, when they come again they'd see..."

He paused: "I'm afraid it would disturb your parents' peace."

Kang An's face turned pale instantly. Yeah, those scoundrels! They might even dig up the graves.

He gripped the iron rod tightly, tears streaming down again: "Where?"

Xiao Ningxun hesitated a little: "I don't know the customs here. But I think it would be better to cremate them first, collect the ashes, and take them back."

"Then you can pay respects to them from time to time."

Kang An was stunned.

Tuan Tuan turned her face to look at him: "Exactly, Xiao An'an, your parents should of course be with you! They'd surely want that too!"

Xiao Ningyuan walked up beside him and gently took the iron rod from his hand.

"Your third brother is right." He put the iron rod on the ground, crouched down, and looked Kang An in the eye: "Didn't Tuan Tuan say that? From now on we'll be your family."

"Tuan Tuan is your sister, I am your eldest brother, and you are a member of the Prince Ning's Mansion."

"Since we're family, there's no reason to leave them alone here."

Kang An stood, lifted his head, looked at the two brothers, then at Tuan Tuan, his Adam's apple moved, and he lightly nodded: "Okay."

People scattered, went to the nearby woods, and gathered bundle after bundle of firewood.

After two hours, the firewood was carefully stacked piece by piece, forming a pyre.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi gently lifted the two corpses and placed them on the pyre.

Kang An bowed three more times before his parents.

Xiao Er pulled a fire striker from his pocket, lit it, and handed it to him.

Kang An took it, drew a deep breath, and lit the firewood pile.

Flames licked the dry branches, making a crackling sound.

Kang An stepped back a few steps, watching the flames grow bit by bit, consuming his parents' bodies.

He stood there motionless, unmoving, watching.

The fire grew hotter and hotter, waves of heat washing over him.

Suddenly, he picked up a burning piece of firewood, turned, ran to the courtyard, and hurled it with force.

The firewood landed on the cotton fluff on the courtyard ground, and the flames instantly leapt up.

"Xiao An'an!" Tuan Tuan cried out, lifting her leg to run into the courtyard: "How could you burn down our home too?"

Kang An reached out and grabbed her,

Xiao Ningxun walked over, lowered her head to look at him: "You want to burn this place down too?"

Kang An nodded, gritting his teeth: "No, let them—touch."

Xiao Ningxun fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "All right, I'll listen to you." She then went to pick up several burning pieces of firewood and flung them hard into the house.

The fire grew larger and larger, soon leaping onto the roof.

Those few earth-brick houses, in the blaze, finally could not hold up and collapsed with a roar.

Tuan Tuan gently embraced Kang An.

Kang An smiled at her, then lifted his head, gazing unblinkingly at the home that had borne countless joys and laughter of his, slowly turning to ashes.

After more than three hours, the sky had darkened completely, and the firewood tower finally went out.

Lu Qi tore off his own inner robe, ripped it into a square cloth, bundled it into a pack, and handed it to Kang An.

Kang An took it, knelt in the scorched earth, and bit by bit scraped away the ashes, carefully gathering his parents' ashes and placing them inside.

Then he slung the pack onto his back and fastened it tightly across his chest.

Tuan Tuan stood on the ruins, her big eyes scanning around; the ground was a black expanse, nothing visible.

She had just turned to leave when her foot struck a hammerhead.

It was burnt black, the wooden handle long gone, leaving only an iron lump lying in the ash.

She crouched, tilted her head, and looked toward the spot where the wooden handle had once been.

Huh, there's a hole on it!