Chapter 1161: Family Sacrifice

Consort Mei led him through the crisscrossing tombstones and finally stopped in front of a large grave: "Here we are. My whole family of fifty people, except for my sister, are all here."

This large grave, which buried forty-nine people, was not small in area, but the tombstone was not large, only a simple tablet two feet high, with only a few characters on it:

Mai Family Clan Grave.

The clan grave was overgrown with weeds, almost covering the tombstone. But the three walked closer only to find that there were two dried oranges placed in front of the grave, of different sizes, and one of them even had three incense sticks inserted.

Not far away were a few orange peels. It seemed that one orange had been eaten by other creatures or people.

Dong Rui looked at Consort Mei, who reached out to wipe the floating soil off the tablet, saying: "Occasionally someone takes the risk to sweep the grave."

There were still people who remembered Prime Minister Mai's kindness.

Mai Liansheng was designated as a rebel official, and people who came here to sweep the grave had to bear certain risks.

She took out the fruits bought in the town and the fresh flowers picked by the roadside, placed them in front of the tablet, and also offered three incense sticks.

He Lingchuan found a rectangular stone nearby, not knowing which tombstone it had fallen from, but the characters on both sides had been worn away.

He drew his Floating Life Blade, shaved the stone flat and straight, and wrote a few characters on the stone surface with the tip of the blade: Eternal Memory to Lord Mai.

Afterward, he dug a hole beside the Mai family tombstone, pressed this long stone into it with force, buried it three feet deep, and filled it with hard soil.

Consort Mei watched from the side until He Lingchuan drew his blade to write, and she understood, blinking her eyes several times.

The new tablet was set up. He Lingchuan let Ling Guang take out cinnabar red paint, mixed it with water, and placed it in front of Consort Mei:

"You trace it."

The brush was soaked with vermilion, and Consort Mei slowly raised the brush to trace the inscription in red.

With just these few characters, she traced very, very slowly, each stroke and each line used with the utmost care.

How many years had it been? She could finally come to sweep the grave openly, and finally could offer the news of the great revenge to her parents and clansmen! Consort Mei's hand suddenly trembled a bit, and a drop of water flowed down her smooth cheeks.

More and more flowed.

She suddenly threw down the brush, hugged the tombstone, and wailed! The crows not far away were startled by her crying and flew away.

Even He Lingchuan, who had practiced an iron heart for many years, heard the mournful and painful sound of a cuckoo crying blood.

Eight years of drifting in the dust, experiencing all kinds of hardships.

This weak woman's path of revenge was truly full of blood and tears at every step.

The black wolf accompanied her, licking the tears off her face.

After a long while, Consort Mei slowly stopped crying, took out a hoe and shovel, dug a small pit beside the Mai family clan grave, put in two plain skirts, a wine cup, and a pair of straw sandals, then filled the soil again, piling it into a small cenotaph.

Dong Rui was confused: "Who is this grave for?"

"My foster parents. They lived near the Western Mountain horse farm."

As soon as she mentioned this, the two remembered. More than two years ago, the Bo King brought Consort Mei back from near the Western Mountain horse farm, thinking she was the daughter of an ordinary family.

Then, Consort Mei must have had a superficial "family" at the Western Mountain horse farm.

"Although I am not their biological daughter, they treated me as their own. I actually felt the warmth of family in a fake home." Consort Mei remembered the past, smiling until her eyes narrowed, "Foster mother's cooking was delicious, and foster father hid a small bottle of rice wine in the woodshed. When the craving came, he would borrow the excuse of going to the latrine and then steal a few sips. Foster mother and I both knew, but we didn't expose him."

She pointed to a large stone and asked He Lingchuan: "Mr. He, can I ask you to write a tablet for them?"

He Lingchuan drew his Floating Life Blade: "Come."

He wrote a line of characters on the tablet for Consort Mei:

Grave of the couple Zhao Aqiang and Ru Xiaozhen.

After the tablet was set up, Consort Mei meticulously served them fruits.

Dong Rui asked: "When did they pass away?"

"A few days ago." Consort Mei lit three incense sticks for her foster parents, "When the Bo King ordered my arrest, my foster parents both hanged themselves, and their bodies were taken away by the palace guards."

"They knew this day would come early and were already prepared." She kowtowed three times respectfully, "They had a great grudge against Nangong Yan, only Grand Manager Nangong himself didn't know it."

Even if Nangong Yan knew, he probably wouldn't care.

Afterward, she started burning paper money for both graves.

This burning lasted for more than a quarter of an hour.

He Lingchuan and the other didn't urge her.

After burning the last piece of paper money, she wiped the tears off her face, turned to the two, and smiled: "I'm fine, my wish is fulfilled, I can go with you two."

Consort Mei's lips still had a bit of paper ash, but for the first time, she revealed a relaxed and innocent smile. "How many families have suffered injustice and fallen into the abyss, with no chance to wash away their hatred. Compared to them, I am too happy."

Her burden was gone, and she could be calm.

"We are still going east, we can't take a burden." He Lingchuan took out the dagger and threw it back to her, "Let's go our separate ways here."

Consort Mei grabbed the dagger, her face full of disbelief: "You, you aren't taking me to justice?"

"You are free." Looking at her wide-eyed beautiful eyes, He Lingchuan smiled thoroughly, "Isn't this what you have been striving for?"

The victim of this case was gone, and the Mou Emperor and Spirit Mountain didn't pursue it anymore. As the entrusted party, he had no reason that he had to handle it.

When these words were spoken, the corners of Consort Mei's eyes and her face turned red together.

She put away the dagger and gave them a smile: "Thank you."

This smile was like a hundred flowers blooming, fragrant and graceful in the morning light.

Dong Rui couldn't help but ask: "Where are you going? The Peng Kingdom's wanted order for you hasn't been withdrawn."

"I don't know either, I haven't thought about it yet." Consort Mei looked at He Lingchuan twice, her misty eyes seeming to speak, "When taking revenge, I only thought about revenge."

She was free, but also seemed lost.

The sky is high and the water is long, where should she go? "A woman like you will definitely find a direction." After He Lingchuan finished speaking, he urged Dong Rui to mount the horse, "The sky is high and the water is long, we will meet again."

Dong Rui was still reluctant to part, looking back at Consort Mei.

Such a beautiful woman, really rare.

The horse hadn't run two steps when Consort Mei's voice came from behind again: "Wait a minute!"

Dong Rui hurriedly reined in the horse.

He Lingchuan looked back at her: "Do you still plan to confess something? Say it."

Consort Mei bit her lip and suddenly said: "Sorry, I lied to you before, about the Bright Lamp."

The horse snorted, and He Lingchuan patted the horse's neck to soothe it: "What's wrong with the Bright Lamp?"

Sure enough, there was still a clue here with Consort Mei.

"Actually, the inside story of the Bright Lamp I know all came from the jade slips my father treasured. Back then, my father also spent a lot of effort to keep the jade slips usable. Among them was a notebook, whose author was called 'True Person Chuoyun'."

He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows, signaling her to continue, but he was overjoyed in his heart.

True Person Chuoyun!

When the spider demon sisters gave him a popular science lesson on the key points of the Bright Lamp, they had mentioned this person.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1162 =====