Lord of the Desert

Chapter 394 Qingshan
"The Feng family has moved away, so what about Huaiyang State?"

After a moment of silence, someone asked.

"There is no Huaiyang Kingdom any more."

Qiu Yuankui replied.

"The three counties will be returned to the imperial court, and a governor will be temporarily appointed to manage them. After three years, they will be divided into two states, Ruliang and Sheng."

He saw that the courtyard was unknowingly crowded with people, and tried hard to force a relaxed smile, but he couldn't do it.

"What about us?"

A voice in the voice change period asked.

Hong Fan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young officer who looked familiar but whose name he did not know, about sixteen or seventeen years old, squeezed in from outside the courtyard with half of his face.

"Those who wish to continue to serve in the army can be transferred to become officers of the imperial court and be demoted to the second rank."

The one who answered was Xia Houling.

"If you don't want to join the army, go home and live your life, doing what you did before."

Everyone was bewildered when they first heard it, and many of them were so slow in thinking that they took a while to figure it out.

Seeing how dumb they were, Qiu Yuankui finally couldn't help but speak again.

"There is no us anymore."

"Like the Tianfeng Army, the Baisheng Army will also be disbanded..."

His body swayed, and his eyes wandered for a moment before focusing again.

The ground inside and outside the courtyard seemed to collapse, everyone's heart was empty, and their souls fell towards a void future.

The so-called "once upon a time" was an extremely distant thing in Huaiyang State - although the Baisheng Army had only been in power for four or five years, the chaos had lasted for more than ten years.

Hong Fan stood under the eaves and looked at the soldiers in the rain.

Every drop of rain was like a miniature waterfall, washing over faces that were either confused, tired, or helpless.

Their ages varied greatly, the younger one was still growing, while the older one had half white hair and beard, but their faces were the same, both tanned dark by the scorching sun and strong wind.

Over the years, these people have carried more and more burdens, so much that they can no longer recognize themselves. Now they have to take them all off in one day - first the spears, then the armor, and finally the name of the Victorious Army.

Between heaven and earth, time shot forward like an arrow, but it only retreated on these people.

Their eyes gradually became vague.

Each black pupil is like a deep passage, with wild child-like thoughts running inside.

Hunting forest,

cultivated land,

Long-lost countryman,
The fishing lights on the river night break through the snow.
Cold-water fish that can be caught with bare hands in shallow streams...

Like a person who has lost his memory remembering the past, or like a person who has lost his soul finding his soul.

Then her eyebrows and eyes became feminine, and a hint of tenderness appeared in her indifferent eyes.

Hong Fan could see clearly that there were no longer generals, no longer military marquises, no longer leaders of tens or hundreds of men in the courtyard, but cooks, fishermen, farmers, miners, boatmen, tailors...

After a year of fighting in the three counties, he suddenly realized that no one is born to fight.

Will continue to drive down.

Xu Yuntao took over the hosting and talked about more detailed issues.

These matters had little to do with outsiders, so Hong Fan listened for a moment and then left the meeting alone.

Outside the courtyard, a poplar tree with gray and cracked bark had just withered five days ago, and now new buds the size of fingernails had grown on its branches.

The rain gradually stopped.

Feng Jianke's ashes were washed into the ditch.

Hong Fan left Gong's house.

He saw that the broken houses in the street were completely new and even full of life.

······
June 29th, night.

The back hall of Gong Mansion.

The moon is high in the sky and the wind is blowing through the courtyard.

The dry grass swayed like yellow smoke.

Today is the last seven days after Duan Tiannan's death, so the ceremony is particularly important.

White paper lanterns were hung outside the courtyard, incense was burning in front of the coffin and candles were lit beside the coffin, and the altar was filled with fine wine and delicious food.

Most of the mourners have left.

Gu Yixin sat cross-legged on a cushion to keep vigil over the casket.

Hong Fan was preparing the motorcade for the next day outside the courtyard.

Tomorrow, the coffin will set off all the way back to Wenshi Village in Hejian State, 7,000 miles away.

Lu Yao is fine.

What Hong Fan was thinking about was the burial method - the remains of a Yuanci warrior were of high value, so it was inevitable that someone would covet them.

At this moment, he heard footsteps approaching, but he didn't know when they entered the yard.

Gu Yixin sensed Hong Fan's nervousness and reached out to grab the pistol from the corner.

"what happened?"

He asked, but saw Hong Fan relax and lead someone into the yard.

The man who came had gray hair and an old face, and his stature was short but straight.

It turned out to be Guan Qimai.

"I'll see him off."

The Martial Saint announced his purpose.

Everyone saluted hastily, and Gu Yixin also stood up quickly.

Guan Qimai waved his hand, bowed slightly to the coffin, and then went to the low table in the corridor to get the incense oil and refilled the eternal lamp on the altar for the last time. "Tomorrow is the seventh day of mourning. What should we do after that?"

He put the sesame oil back and asked Gu Hong and the other man in a very natural manner, as if he had known them for a long time.

"Replying to Shanzhang, we plan to send Brother Duan back to his hometown, where he can return to his roots."

Hong Fan replied respectfully.

"I saw a car being prepared outside the door. It turns out they were going to Hejian."

Guan Qimai nodded.

"I know a little about him - his father passed away many years ago, and his eldest brother and youngest brother also have a bad relationship with him because of money-making."

"Besides, Hejian still belongs to the Hou family. I don't think there's any need to make trouble."

As he spoke, he raised his hand as if stroking the wooden coffin from a distance.

"Tiannan is determined to be on the top three, but unfortunately he is one step short; it would be better to let him live next to Feng Yeyi."

"How about using the green mountains as your coffin and the heaven and earth as your outer coffin?"

Guan Qimai asked.

Since it is a neighbor of Feng Yeyi, the green mountain mentioned is obviously referring to Fengyunding.

But Fengyunding is bald and ugly, how can it be considered green?
Everyone was hesitant, but they didn't dare to refute the Martial Saint.

As usual, Gu Yixin had no idea about this kind of thing.

However, Hong Fan thought that once a person was buried in the ground, he would always be three feet shorter than the nearest flowers and plants. So it would be a good idea to be buried on the top of a mountain and overlook the world.

"I think it's pretty good."

He then expressed his agreement.

"You two are the closest people to him when he was alive. Since you both have no objections, then do as I say."

Guan Qimai made the decision and took action immediately.

He waved away the altar, walked to the coffin, and held the coffin on his shoulder with one hand.

The crowd made way.

At this time, Hong Fan used the paper and pen in the hall to write down a number and presented it to Guan Qimai with both hands.

“This is a couplet I once read in a book.”

he whispered.

Guan Qimai glanced at it, nodded, strode out, and ascended into the courtyard.

The moonlight is like a flame, flowing silently at this moment.

Hong Fan jumped onto the courtyard wall, his eyes swept across the countless roofs that stood like the dorsal fins of a black fish, and looked towards the solitary peak in the south of the city.

Fengyunding has been protected and polished by wind and thunder and has not been exposed to water for many years. It has been soaked by fresh rain in the past two days, and the surface has turned red, like a whole piece of bloodstone.

Guan Qimai rose higher and higher, reaching hundreds of meters in a few breaths. His thin figure was soon half hidden in the night, and only the huge lacquered coffin was reflected in the moonlight in the air.

Hong Fan didn't dare to blink.

He saw the peaks of human beings were level and the stars were like a waterfall. Guan Qimai just stretched out his finger and pointed, and the top of the cliff where Feng Yeyi was buried cracked open.

A thunder roared from the mountain and fled to the sky in an instant.

The coffin was put in and the mountain closed again.

Guan Qimai turned around, with the burning starry sky behind him, and opened his arms towards Yunlan City.

In silence, a layer of gauze rose from the ground and gathered around the top of the wind and clouds.

Hong Fan looked closely and found that they were the seeds of the plants and trees that had withered all over the city seven days ago.

"Yi Mu Qing Lang Jing" is one of the ten classics. It once corroded mountains and rivers to create the Golden Sea Desert.

Now the magical power has been reversed, releasing a huge amount of vitality.

Under the top of the wind and clouds, buds sprouted from the cracks in the rocks, the buds turned into grass, the grass turned into branches, until the green forest made up of endless branches surged like waves, breaking the shell of the bald mountain bit by bit and spreading to the top of the solitary peak.

Hong Fan looked up and felt numb all over.

After the coffin was buried, Tushan's soul changed and returned to his youthful heyday decades ago.

When the wind blows, the forests on the mountains ripple like waves, as if a huge river is flowing across the sky.

On the cliff hundreds of feet high, only Feng Yeyi’s words remain unchanged.

【One thought of the Heavenly Gang, a thousand miles away from the wind. 】

Guan Qimai did not move the relics of his predecessor, but used his fingers as a pen to write at a higher place.

Sand and stones fell, outlining a new couplet.

【Why bury your bones in your hometown? There are green mountains everywhere in life. 】

Hong Fan read the couplet silently for a long time before he came to his senses. He touched his cheeks and found they were all wet marks from the cold wind.

He looked at Gu Yixin and others beside him, each of them was crying in silence.

After half an hour of silence, Guan Qimai returned from the sky, hanging ten feet high, and asked Hong Fan questions.

"Chisha, now that you have reached the Xiantian level, are you willing to be promoted to the Purple Ribbon Heavenly Cavalry?"

Hong Fan wiped his tears and nodded.

"Okay. Go back to Xijing and settle this matter with Xu Guinian. Then you can come to Shenjing to find me."

After Guan Qimai finished speaking, he ascended into the night and headed northeast.

The sky is quiet.

The moonlight washes the deserted city.

PS:

The boy is determined to leave his hometown and will not return until he becomes famous.
There is no need to bury the bones in the mulberry land, there are green mountains everywhere in life.

——"Seven-Character Verse: Revised Poem for My Father" Mao Zedong
(End of this chapter)