coobybook Chapter 46 The Monument Erector
Chapter 46 The Monument Erector
Early in the morning, Mu Qingfeng sat in front of the stove, lost in thought, listening to the bubbling sound of the medicine in the pot. Beside her sat her senior brother, Ji Zhongxuan, who had been released five days earlier by Master Xuanzhen.
Behind Ji Zhongxuan, a disheveled old man with a scraggly beard appeared out of nowhere.
The old man rushed to Ji Zhongxuan in one stride, waving his arms excitedly and shouting:
"You brat, I've been looking all over for you! Don't you really want anything? Power, wealth, status, countless beauties. As long as you're willing to learn martial arts from me, whatever you want, I can make it happen for you."
Mu Qingfeng was preoccupied with her senior sister who was in isolation, when she heard an old man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere ask her senior brother if he wanted a beauty. Startled, she stood up, pointed angrily at the disheveled old man, and cursed:
"You old geezer! My senior brother will never learn your bullshit martial arts. Who knows what you're up to? Senior brother, you can't fall for his tricks."
The girl had a face like a peach blossom, skin like solidified cream, and a neck like a cicada's. Her delicate and beautiful features were not diminished by her anger; on the contrary, they appeared vibrant and charming, making her all the more endearing.
The old man had roamed the martial world for decades, encountering countless beauties in his life, but just now his attention had been entirely focused on the young man before him. Suddenly, a maidservant jumped out and scolded him, and upon casually glancing at her, he was struck by her stunning beauty.
However, in an instant, he discerned the girl's thoughts. Seeing her objection, he chuckled and deliberately said:
"Hey, little girl, you are pretty, not much less so than the most beautiful girl in the martial arts world back then. But what man doesn't like having three wives and four concubines? If you keep being so willful and willful and hinder your senior brother's future, he will hate you in the future."
'Do you hate me?'
The old man's words left Mu Qingfeng at a loss, her eyes stinging with tears that threatened to spill. She unconsciously bit her lip until a familiar warmth touched her head, instantly calming her aching heart.
A warm hand stroked her head, shielding her behind him, and a clear, emotionless voice spoke:
“Senior Mo, my junior sister’s meaning is my answer. The Qingcheng Sect is good, I will not abandon my martial arts, nor will I join another sect.”
Upon hearing this, the old man was so angry that his raised hand trembled.
"You, you...you! Do you know how much of a waste of your talent you're wasting on the martial arts you're learning now! That kid from Tianshan is already unparalleled in the world at your age, with few rivals. Don't you want to be like him?"
“Senior, nothing is absolute. The martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect are no worse than any other sect in the martial arts world. I believe that it won’t be long before someone will be able to show you this.”
After the arrogant young man finished speaking, a gentle smile appeared in his usually cold and aloof eyes, as if he had thought of something.
No matter how the old man tried to persuade him, the boy remained cold and ignored him.
Mu Qingfeng understood her senior brother's meaning, and felt a warmth in her heart. She ignored the old man, which made him so angry that he cried out loudly.
The old man couldn't stay still; he kept jumping around, trying to get the two young men in front of him to pay attention to him. But the two of them were only focused on the boiling medicine pot in front of them, and neither of them paid any attention to him.
After the medicine was decocted, Mu Qingfeng carefully packed the jars of medicine into food boxes. Then, she and her senior brother Ji Zhongxuan each carried two large food boxes and walked towards Jiangzhang Courtyard.
The plague at Jiangzhangyuan was prevented from spreading due to timely discovery and swift treatment.
After Lord Jia's sudden death, a group of captains dressed in flying fish robes came to Nanxuan City. They arrived like a whirlwind and left like a gust of wind.
After Master Xuanzhen reported Lord Jia's matter to the prefectural government, there was no response. Perhaps the prefectural government is rushing to send the news to the capital, awaiting the Emperor's decision.
Now, all affairs, large and small, in Nanxuan City are handled by Master Xuanzhen. It's unclear how he arranged it, but the Xuehai Academy's city patrols continue as usual.
However, the people from Thunderbolt Fortress and Qingcheng Sect vanished without a trace, leaving only Mu Qingfeng and Ji Zhongxuan to take care of everyone at Crimson Tent Courtyard.
Senior Qin and Wu Yanluo of the Taibai Sect have also disappeared without a trace.
Outside the gate of Jiangzhang Courtyard, Mu Qingfeng immediately saw her senior brother Yu Mu sitting in the hall, his face pale, drinking porridge. Next to him sat a waiter, who was eating steamed buns with gusto.
Through the door, Mu Qingfeng pushed the food box inside with her palm, looking around curiously as she asked:
"Senior Brother Yu, here's today's medicine. Where are the other senior brothers? Hmm, where's Senior Sister?"
Yu Mu replied weakly, "Senior Brother Fang and the others have already eaten breakfast and gone back to their rooms. Junior Brother Lei has a fever and can't get up, I'll bring him to his room later. I didn't even notice until you mentioned it, I haven't seen Senior Sister today."
"Senior Sister? Senior Sister!"
After hearing what Senior Brother Yu said, Mu Qingfeng called out loudly a few times, but the familiar figure did not appear in response to her calls.
She looked up at her senior brother, and their eyes met. A sense of foreboding rose in both of them. Their senior sister was always punctual and never forgot the time...
In an instant, the two made up their minds and rushed into the room at the same time.
"Junior Sister, you can't come in! Junior Brother Ji, why are you joining in her nonsense too!"
Upon seeing the two barge in, Yu Mu, who had been suffering from illness for the past few days, knew that this epidemic was no joke and immediately stood up to try to persuade them to leave.
"Stop talking nonsense and take me to Senior Sister!"
"Huh? Senior Sister... Senior Sister!"
Yu Mu then realized what was happening. Ignoring his weakness, he struggled and staggered quickly toward his senior sister's room.
Before the three of them even reached the door, Mu Qingfeng saw a strange man standing at the door with his head down, seemingly doing something.
"Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around like this!" Mu Qingfeng strode forward and grabbed the other person's collar.
The man looked up, and Mu Qingfeng then realized that he was blind.
Like his senior brother Yu, the man's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. His white lips trembled with fear as he whispered:
"It's time for the pulse taking. I noticed that Miss Fei hadn't come to the main hall yet, so I thought I'd come and check. Who are you? Miss Fei, you can't just come in here casually."
"Hmph, I want you to take care of it!"
The man in front of her inexplicably made her feel dislike. Mu Qingfeng remembered that a blind man had also been locked up this time, and it must be this man.
Releasing the other person, Mu Qingfeng, worried about her senior sister, pushed open the door directly.
"Sister!"
The scene before her made Mu Qingfeng's heart clench as if gripped by an invisible hand. Her senior sister, pale-faced, lay on the ground like a broken doll, her fate unknown.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
In a fog, Fei Xi felt as if she had arrived at the day her master died in her past life. She was like an outsider standing outside the dream, watching the people in the dream, clearly feeling it but unable to control her body.
After the great tragedy, the newly ignited hope was shattered in an instant.
Fei Xi held her master's corpse, her face expressionless as she watched the swordsman before her kill everyone with a single strike.
A demon began to grow within her. She lowered her head, feeling a splitting headache and a sense of bewilderment, unsure of what to do next.
"What's your name?"
A cold, clear voice rang out, but there was no response.
Fei Xi picked up her master's body, ignoring the swordsman in front of her and the corpses of her enemies scattered on the ground, and stumbled forward.
She walked and stopped along the way, and when she returned to the main hall of the Qingcheng Sect, she placed her master's body next to the sect leader, Uncle Mu, before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.
The swordsman had probably never seen such an ungrateful person. After his question went unanswered, he followed her with his sword without saying another word.
After resting for a while, Fei Xi stood up and went to the well in the backyard to draw a bucket of water. The sweet well water flowed down her throat and into her stomach, and Fei Xi felt as if she had been reborn.
She has to live! She has to get revenge!
With the will to live in her heart, the discomfort in her body reminded her that her empty stomach could not be satisfied by drinking a few sips of water.
She took another sip of water, and her reflection in the bucket momentarily stunned her. Looking up, she met the cold gaze of the swordsman not far away.
Lowering her head, Fei Xi raised and lowered the corners of her mouth, carrying the wooden bucket to the sect's small kitchen.
The kitchen, which had been unused for half a month, was covered with a thin layer of dust.
Apart from the yellowed flour and some dried goods, none of the other ingredients could be used.
Fei Xi quickly washed a pot, lit a fire, and poured water into it. Then, carrying a basket, she walked to Elder Liu's small vegetable patch, picked a couple of handfuls of greens, and her sharp eyes spotted the lush green fruits on the cucumber vines, which delighted her.
When she returned to the small kitchen, she found two bunches of greens and five cucumbers in her basket. She casually washed one cucumber, took a bite, and the sweet juice burst in her mouth.
She didn't eat very elegantly; with a cucumber in her mouth, she started kneading dough, and soon two simple bowls of vegetable noodles were ready.
She placed one bowl on the table and quickly ate the other.
After satisfying her basic needs, she washed her face and did some calculations on the location and feng shui.
Picking up a shovel, she began digging a hole on a vacant lot on the north slope not far from the sect's main hall. She dug from dawn till dusk, until the moon rose and her stomach began to rumble, at which point she finally stopped.
When she stopped working, she realized that her hands, which she had never done manual labor before, were covered in blisters.
Fei Xi seemed oblivious to the pain, picked up the needle and drained the blood, applied some medicine casually, and then went back to the small kitchen.
Holding the oil lamp, she saw that the noodles left on the table hadn't been touched and had long since clumped together. She glanced at them and then looked away, relit the fire, and casually heated up the clump of noodles before eating them. By the dim moonlight, she filled the kitchen water vat.
She boiled some more water, washed herself, and changed her clothes. Then she went to the room that Uncle Liu had reserved for her and Mu Qingfeng. Lying on the familiar bed, she quickly fell asleep.
For the next few days, she repeated the same things: eating, digging holes, and sleeping.
Once all 82 pits were dug, she began carrying her junior brother, who was wearing a colorful rope, from the mountainside. She carried each body back to the top of the mountain and buried them in the pits for a peaceful end.
Each tombstone was made by her own hand. The tombstones have different words written on them, but they all have the same name of the person who erected them.
After all this was done, Fei Xi knelt blankly in front of her master's tombstone, her forehead pressed against it, like a child nestled in an adult's arms.
The swordsman, who had disappeared without her noticing, reappeared behind her. He glanced at the tombstone and called out her name.