Chapter 225 Ashes to dust, dust to dust

Chapter 225 Ashes to dust, dust to dust

Night once again enveloped Qingcheng.

In the bustling sub-center of Liangzhou, many places in the city are brightly lit, showing the glory of the Taiping Period.

However, there are also many places that are quite simple, with low-level houses scattered here and there, and only a few twinkling human lights.

And one of the courtyards in darkness ushered in two rather sneaky figures.

They carefully groped around it for a while, until they were sure that no one was in the house and no one was paying attention around it, they jumped into the yard from the dilapidated wall.

After entering the main room in the hall more carefully, a person whispered: "Xiao Ming, what on earth are we doing here?"

"Captain Chu, please be patient. You'll know in a moment." Another man responded cautiously, and with a pop, lit the small torch he brought.

As the firelight lit up, the room suddenly became blurry and gradually became clearer.

Looking again, it was Chu Tang and Chang Xiaoming!

Chu Tang looked curious at this time.

Chang Xiaoming's face, on the other hand, was much more complicated. Looking at the surrounding scenery, he felt nostalgic for a while, and then flashed with sadness.

"Captain Chu, please help me hold it." Chang Xiaoming handed the torch in front of Chu Tang.

Chu Tang nodded, took the torch, and pushed it forward to illuminate more places for Chang Xiaoming.

When he saw Chang Xiaoming bending down and getting under the bed in the main room, the surprise on Chu Tang's face became even greater.

While in Dongcheng, he impulsively agreed to go back to Qingcheng with Chang Xiaoming to help his disciples collect the bodies.

The two of them made preparations, and when they arrived at Qingcheng, it was already dark.

They carefully explored the area around Nanqinghou's residence, and through communicating with people around them, they found out that Nanqinghou's residence had hired some laborers to transport some things out of the residence in the afternoon.

And it is said that those things were all wrapped in straw mats and looked like people.

"They must be dead people. They are much older! There are so many twenty or thirty bodies! We hired a lot of people to help transport them out of the city. Where were they transported to? You don't have to think about it. It must be a mass grave outside the city! Where is the chaos? Burial mound? Outside the west of the city! How do I know? Hehe! Nanqinghou Mansion is not allowed to transport some corpses there every year! Everyone around knows it! What a sin!"

When inquiring about this information, Chang Xiaoming cried while listening. He was so emotional that he almost went crazy again several times.

Finally, with Chu Tang's help, he managed to control his emotions and calm down.

Just when Chu Tang thought Chang Xiaoming would go straight to the mass graves outside the city, passing by the west of the city, he actually pulled Chu Tang to a common people's yard, and even got in and got under their bed!

"What's hidden underneath?" Chu Tang couldn't help but guess, "Where is this place? How does Chang Xiaoming know there is something here?"

Chang Xiaoming didn't let Chu Tang wait long, and quickly got out from under the bed. When he stood up, he had a small baggage in his hand.

Chu Tang couldn't help but take another glance.

Chang Xiaoming showed a smile that was uglier than crying and said: "This is something left by my master."

"Your master?" Chu Tang was surprised and even more curious.

Chang Xiaoming opened the bag in a few moments, took out an oil paper package, and quickly tore off the oil paper, revealing the true appearance inside.

This is a paper book that looks to be of some age.

The paper is yellowed and very old. At first glance, the whole book is neither thin nor thick.

"This is..." Chu Tang had some guesses.

Chang Xiaoming opened the first page, picked it up and showed it to Chu Tang.

Under the firelight, Chu Tang recognized the four big characters on it - "Natural Heart Sutra".

"Of course...could it be..." Chu Tang vaguely remembered the skills of their master mentioned by Zhao Ziyu.

"This is my master's lifelong effort!" Chang Xiaoming's deep voice sounded, "My master once said that although he was not very talented in martial arts, he was naturally sensitive to everything in the world and was good at imitating it, so he spent decades of energy creating This "Natural Heart Sutra" takes the meaning of learning from nature. It is also the origin of the name of our Shiben opera troupe."

Chu Tang hummed and said nothing.

Chang Xiaoming stroked the pamphlet in his hand and his voice became deeper and deeper: "This is where we will stay after entering Qingcheng this time. Our troupe has rented this place for a long time and plans to use it as a residence to perform well in Qingcheng. Drama. Unexpectedly..."

He choked up.

Chu Tang became even more silent.

Taking a deep breath, Chang Xiaoming added: "My master was afraid that carrying the "Natural Heart Sutra" with him would damage it while acting, so he developed a habit of sticking this book on his bed. At the end of the day, he only takes it with him when he wants to leave a place. Unfortunately, he can't take this book with him this time, so I can only pick it up."

After hearing this, Chu Tang smiled bitterly and said: "Xiao Ming, since it is the most important treasure of your master, you should keep it secret and don't tell me what you know."

Chang Xiaoming shook his head and said: "Boss Chu, it's okay to give this mental method to you. Do you want to take a look?"

With that said, he handed the notebook to Chu Tang.

Chu Tang was stunned and looked at Chang Xiaoming blankly.

However, he could only see sadness in the other person's eyes, and no look of temptation at all.

Shaking his head slowly, Chu Tang said: "I can't even practice my own martial arts, so I won't distract him."

Chang Xiaoming said: "This Heart Sutra is not so much a practice as it is some understanding of nature. My master once warned us not to regard it as a guideline, just as a reference. Use the heart method as a guide and learn from all things in nature. The only way to achieve mastery is to realize the martial arts that suits you."

Chu Tang nodded and said, "Your master is a man of God, he sees higher than anyone else."

Any martial arts does not appear out of thin air, but is created by people.

As for the origin of martial arts, the most recognized theory is that the ancients created martial arts suitable for human body cultivation through observation, summary, imitation, and innovation from their struggles with wild beasts.

Later, after countless years of evolution, various martial arts were formed.

It can be seen from this that the ancients created martial arts by imitating nature.

Chang Xiaoming's master firmly believed in this and took it as a criterion to practice in depth and create the "Natural Heart Sutra".

His talent may not be high, and his cultivation may not be very strong, but this alone makes him much better than many masters.

Just look at the people under his disciples and you will know: Zhao Ziyu is young and has cultivated Qi by traveling all over the country; and Chang Xiaoming, a person with mental problems, can also develop a clever skill by observing the movements of cats. Come on.

It can be seen that the mental method summarized by their master is indeed extraordinary!

Seeing that Chu Tang did not take the book, Chang Xiaoming still kept handing it over and said: "Boss Chu, I give this idea to you. Don't worry, I am not stupid or crazy, I am sincere. "

"Why?" Chu Tang was very puzzled when he saw that he was indeed not hypocritical.

Chang Xiaoming smiled sadly and said: "Boss Leader Chu, you know my situation very well. It can be said that I don't even know when I will go crazy. Do you think it is appropriate to put this book on me in my current state?" I don’t want my master’s hard work to be ruined in my hands, so I have to find a successor for it.”

Chu Tang suddenly understood, but shook his head and said: "I can't switch to other techniques."

The panel cannot record the exercises encountered in reality. This is where Chu Tang has always given it bad reviews.

If he wanted to practice martial arts in this world, Chu Tang could only spend a lot of time and energy practicing hard.

But even after the Nine Yin Scriptures cleansed the marrow and cut the bones, and his bone endowment had been greatly improved, Chu Tang was still reluctant to sit indoors and practice martial arts every day.

If he has this time, he can go outside and kill more thieves and accumulate more chivalry points. As soon as the panel is opened, won't he learn some magical skills?

It’s much more convenient than hard work!

Seeing that Chu Tang really refused to accept it, Chang Xiaoming became anxious and said: "Boss Chu, I just said that these are not internal skills, but some experiences. It's not harmful for you to see them, and maybe you can gain some insights. Enhance your current martial arts. Even if you don't need it, for the sake of my situation, can you help me keep it and find a suitable successor for it?"

Chu Tang was surprised: "You want me to help your sect find a successor?"

"Please!" Chang Xiaoming begged.

Chu Tang hesitated.

He couldn't get over it, and he always felt that if he took over this technique, it would make people think that he had some intention to help Chang Xiaoming.

Chang Xiaoming said solemnly: "Captain Chu, I do it willingly, you don't have to think too much. After all, I have to thank you for passing it on for me! Finding a suitable successor for the technique has always been troublesome."

Chu Tang couldn't refuse. He sighed and took the book solemnly. He didn't open it and read it. Instead, he took the oil paper from Chang Xiaoming's hand, wrapped it properly, and put it in his arms.

Seeing that Chu Tang had accepted his trust, Chang Xiaoming was relieved and showed a relieved expression. He looked around again and said decisively: "Team Leader Chu, let's go!"

"Is there anything else you want to take?" Chu Tang asked.

Chang Xiaoming thought for a while and said: "There is one more thing, please wait for me."

After saying that, he left the main house, came to the yard, entered the two small rooms on the left, and finally walked out.

Seeing that he looked sad but had empty hands, Chu Tang couldn't help but be surprised. After thinking about it, he didn't ask any more questions.

After Chang Xiaoming left the yard, people became much silent.

When the two arrived at the west city gate, the gate was tightly closed and no one was allowed to enter or exit.

However, this problem was not a problem for Chu Tang. He took Chang Xiaoming and found an unpatrolled city wall. He used the Qinggong Ladder Cloud Zong and after a few jumps, he left Qingcheng.

Following the direction they had been told before, the two walked two or three miles and found a hill in the south.

There are not many trees on the hills, but a lot of grass and vines. There are also large and small graves and pits.

Mass graves in the west of the city!

On the mountain, he found a large, freshly dug pit. Chang Xiaoming suddenly shouted: "This is it! This is it!"

Why is he so sure?

Just because there were many half-sections of corpses exposed in this big pit, it seems that when burying people, someone was lazy and buried them hastily.

Chang Xiaoming threw down the torch, threw himself into the pit, and frantically dug up the soil above.

Chu Tang went over to pick up the torch and stuck it on the ground to provide light for Chang Xiaoming.

In addition, he saw a discarded shovel in the grass next to him and took it over to help Chang Xiaoming dig.

Chang Xiaoming dug until his fingers were broken and he shed a lot of blood. Chu Tang advised him to take a rest, but he ignored it and dug out corpses one after another with tears in his eyes.

Chu Tang wanted to give him a shovel as a tool, but Chang Xiaoming didn't want it, so he dug out his classmate with both hands.

Chu Tang had no choice but to help dig faster and harder.

The two worked hard for most of an hour, and they didn't stop until they dug new soil in the pit.

Under the moonlit night, under the dim light of torches, corpses were neatly placed on the ground.

The night wind blew and hit his sweaty body, making Chu Tang shiver.

He saw the cyan figure.

That's Zhao Ziyu!

Although there was no veil on her face, it was covered with stains of blood and mud. Chu Tang still couldn't see her face clearly, and could only see her tightly closed eyes.

"It's really... gone..." Chu Tang looked at her steadily and murmured, feeling empty and indescribably depressed.

How strange the fate of life is. People who were alive a few days ago are now separated from each other when we meet again.

There were many holes in Zhao Ziyu's chest and abdomen, and broken arrowheads were inserted in some places.

Obviously, the guards of the Nanqing Hou Mansion did not hold back, let alone show mercy to her. They resorted to cruelty to make a beautiful young girl die in a foreign land.

While Chu Tang was in a daze, Chang Xiaoming, who had tidied up everyone on the ground, silently carried them into the pit. Then he picked up the shovel Chu Tang found, waved it around, and shoveled the soil one by one to refill it. .

Half an hour later, a hill-like earthen grave appeared on the mass grave.

Chang Xiaoming also found a tree and asked Chu Tang to use magic weapons to cut it into a piece of wood board, and carved a line of words on it - the tomb of a fellow member of Shiben's theater troupe.

Then, he inserted the wooden board in front of the grave as a tombstone.

There are very few words, no one’s name, not even the name of the person who erected the tomb.

After doing all this, Chang Xiaoming knelt in front of the grave and kowtowed several times before lying on the ground, paralyzed from exhaustion.

Chu Tang watched all this silently. It wasn't until Chang Xiaoming regained some strength that he walked over and asked, "Xiao Ming, are you going to bury them here like this?"

He originally thought that Chang Xiaoming would at least cremate everyone and then take the ashes to a place with good feng shui for burial.

Being buried in a mass grave is not a big deal.

Chang Xiaoming sat up halfway and suddenly laughed: "Ashes return to dust, dust returns to dust, where can't we bury people in Qingshan? At least, they were buried by my own hands, and they are not counted as innocent souls without owners."

Chu Tang was surprised that Chang Xiaoming was so open-minded.

"Oh!" Chang Xiaoming remembered something and took out two things from his arms.

Chu Tang took a closer look and saw that they were just two dead branches of trees!

Each one is about three inches long, no more than the size of a thumb.

Different from the roughness of ordinary dead branches, these two branches appear very smooth, probably because someone often takes them out to play with.

"Don't forget this thing!" Chang Xiaoming said, digging a small hole on the grave and burying a section of dead branches in it.

"Xiao Ming, what are you..." Chu Tang became more and more curious.

"Is this one?" Chang Xiaoming had another piece of dead branch in his hand. After shaking it towards Chu Tang, he threw it over.

Chu Tang took it casually and felt it was very light. He looked at it and saw that there was nothing special about it, it was just a dead branch.

"This was cut off from a jujube tree in front of your house." Chang Xiaoming said abruptly.

"My home?" Chu Tang was confused, "Jujube tree? You mean... my yard in Shi County?"