Chapter 89 The Great Elder is Enthroned
"Okay, I'll leave in a moment. Fourth uncle, I'll just trouble you first."
As soon as he heard that the Great Elder was looking for him anxiously, Song Qingming suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
Since the Great Elder stepped down from his duties a few years ago, he has been living in his own cave in the back mountain and rarely goes out on his own initiative.
Calculating time, the great elder's lifespan was running low. Song Qingming had returned to Funiu Mountain half a year ago and had already heard the news that the great elder had fallen ill. At that time, he already knew in his heart that the great elder's lifespan was already gone. I can't hold on much longer.
After a monk introduces Qi into his body, he absorbs the spiritual energy from heaven and earth all year round to temper his body. It is impossible for a normal monk to get sick as easily as a mortal.
The reason why the great elder fell ill was because he had reached the point where his life span was insufficient and his energy and blood were declining. His own energy had been severely depleted, so he was invaded by the disease and lingered on the bed.
After a brief exchange with his fourth uncle, Song Qingming left Qinghefang in a hurry.
Qinghefang was only a few hundred miles away from the Song family. Song Qingming hurried with all his strength and returned to Funiu Mountain in less than two days.
Although Song Qingming has been in Qinghefang for a long time in the past few years, he still needs to go back to Funiu Mountain every few months to transport various spiritual objects.
Most of the low-level materials received in the market must be transported back to the Funiu Mountain Family Cangjin Pavilion and handed over to the fourth elder. Then some finished spiritual objects are transported from the Cangjin Pavilion to Qinghefang for sale.
The two shops in Qinghefang are a very important business for the family. In recent years, the efficiency of the shops in Qinghefang has improved a lot. The amount of spiritual stones they can earn for the family every year is slightly more than the Lingyuan Mountain Black Iron Mine.
Song Qingming had just arrived at Funiu Mountain when he suddenly saw many white sails hanging on the mountain road. He secretly thought that he was a step too late even if he hurried slowly.
After going up the mountain, Song Qingming hurried directly to the cave of the great elder behind the mountain. At this moment, many people were surrounding the place. In addition to the monks from the family who had received the news, there were also many direct descendants of the great elder at the foot of the mountain.
Whether they were monks or mortals, these people were all dressed in white plain clothes, and from time to time there were bursts of sad cries.
The Great Elder also married a wife and had children in his early years, but his wife and children were ordinary mortals and had long since exhausted their lifespan and passed away.
The people who come here are all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and their relationship with the great elder is not very close.
"Qing Ming, you are back. Come in quickly. The clan leader is also inside."
The fourth elder, Song Gucai, was at the scene directing the arrangements for the elder's funeral. As the elder in charge of general affairs of the family, he was already very busy at the moment. When he saw Song Qingming finally coming back, he quickly asked him to go in and pay homage to the elder's body.
After entering the Great Elder's cave, Song Qingming saw the Great Elder lying peacefully on the bed in the cave. Although his face looked old, his expression was very peaceful and he seemed to be walking very calmly.
"I saw that he was in good spirits a few days ago, and he wanted to see you again. I didn't expect that this old guy didn't even say hello when he left. Even I didn't know about it until the second day." Song, the patriarch of the clan. When Gushan saw Song Qingming coming in, he spoke to him, his tone somewhat complaining about the great elder's leaving without saying goodbye, and he couldn't help but shed a few more tears in his eyes.
Since the old patriarch took over as the head of the Song family more than forty years ago, the eldest elder has been his right-hand man in managing the family. The two have supported each other for decades, and their relationship is naturally deeper than others.
The Song family had only been in Qinghe County for two hundred years. When their generation of monks first came to the mountain, their family background was still shallow. They were crowded out by nearby families and surrounded by scattered cultivators. The cultivation environment was much more difficult than it is now.
It is precisely through the hard work and accumulation of several generations of monks that the Song family has a relatively stable cultivation environment now.
It was also the first time that Song Qingming saw the always strong old patriarch reveal the weakest side in his heart, and he was very shocked.
He hesitated for a moment, but still did not speak. He walked to the elder's bed and lit a column of incense. He knelt down and kowtowed a few times, then inserted the incense into the incense burner in front of the bed and cast a spell on the elder. With a bow, he quietly exited the cave, leaving the little peace at the moment to the two old people inside.
Just as the patriarch said, the great elder passed away very suddenly. The day before, he had wanted to see Song Qingming. Unexpectedly, he failed to wake up after going to bed that night. His servant who came to take care of him discovered something strange about him and hurriedly Notified the clan leader.
Song Qingming didn't know why the Great Elder suddenly wanted to see him before he passed away. He just felt that the Great Elder might have something very important to entrust to him. Unfortunately, he still couldn't wait until Song Qingming came back.
The Song family has been in existence for two hundred years. Not many people can live as peacefully as the first elder and die peacefully. Most people have fallen into various disasters. The first elder can live until his lifespan is exhausted and peacefully die in his sleep. Leaving can be considered a blessing for him.
The funeral of the great elder was very grand. Not only did all the monks outside the Song family rush back to Funiu Mountain, but the nearby cultivator family that had good relations with the Song family also sent monks from the clan to express their condolences. Even Huang, the head of the Song family, Everyone specially sent people here.
Funiu Mountain was bustling for four or five days in a row. It was only after the great elder's body was buried that it slowly became quiet.
Unexpectedly, not long after the Song family had calmed down, another special person came to the mountain, causing another wave of waves in the already calm water.
Song Qingze, the third brother who had already joined the Xiaoyao Sect, returned to Funiu Mountain all the way to pay homage to the deceased elder.
Like Song Qingming, Song Qingze also came back a little late.
It's just that he missed the last meeting with the great elder, and Song Qingze missed the great elder's funeral.
The journey back to Qinghe County from the Xiaoyao Zongshan Gate was quite a few thousand miles. It was not easy for Song Qingze to return this time. Judging from the time, he should have hurried on the road as soon as he received the news of the death of the great elder. .
It's just that he, who abandoned his family, is not well received by everyone in Funiu Mountain.
In particular, the great elder had high hopes for him, and he and the old patriarch had spent all their efforts to train him over the years. Song Qingze's choice to leave Funiu Mountain was, to be honest, a huge blow to the great elder. Even when Song Qingze left the mountain, The great elder did not come out to see him off.
Now that the great elder passed away, the monks of the Song family felt a little resentful when they saw Song Qingze, who had made the great elder very sad. They were not even willing to tell him the grave of the great elder.
In the end, his second uncle Song Changwu and his twelfth aunt Song Changyun, who had relatively simple personalities, pointed him in the direction, and Song Qingze found the grave of the great elder.
The great elder's cemetery was chosen at the foot of Funiu Mountain, a place with beautiful scenery and not too far from Mujiao Town. It is also convenient for his descendants to worship.
After Song Qingze paid homage in front of the grave, he opened a jar of spiritual wine, served a cup to the elder, and sat alone in front of the elder's tombstone.
It wasn't until the sun was about to come out the next day that Song Qingze silently got up and left here.
Song Qingze walked slowly down the mountain. Unexpectedly, two people appeared on the road and stopped him. It was Song Qingming and his eldest brother Song Qingshi who had been waiting here for a long time.
"Brother, Qing Ming." Song Qingze managed a rare smile after seeing the two of them.
"Third brother, you finally came back and you're so anxious to leave. Why don't you go home and have a look?"
Song Qingze smiled bitterly and said: "It's rare for you to call me third brother. My parents have passed away a few years ago, and there is not much connection anymore. Going back will only make me sad."