Daxiaishan, at the foot of the mountain.
A group of people just left, crying and wailing as they did.
A tomb made of bluish stone looks desolate.
Suddenly, a ray of golden light descended, and a young Taoist priest appeared before the tomb.
The person who had come was Chen Yun. Although he had accompanied the deceased to return to Daxiaishan with the demon, he did not go back to bid farewell, but instead hid in the shadows to watch the whole process of the funeral and interment.
Since he had severed ties with the secular world, he had never considered any further entanglements.
However, the deceased is of paramount importance, and Chen Yun is still a person with feelings. He couldn't remain indifferent to the death of his father, who had raised him for sixteen years.
Therefore, after the interment was completed and everyone had left, he finally appeared before the tomb to pay respects.
Chen Yun remained silent, arranging the offerings of rice, wine, roasted chicken, steamed fish, incense sticks, and fruits. He then took some paper money from the pot art space and set it on fire.
To be honest, if his father were still alive and wanted to see him one last time before parting, perhaps Chen Yun would come.
Chen Yun really wanted to ask why he had to be sold, rather than his siblings.
He sighed deeply, then collapsed to his knees in the mud and bowed his head four times.
Logically speaking, at that time he was sixteen years old, though he ate more than his younger brother and sister, he was already a laborer and had no reason to be sold.
"Moreover, I am the eldest son," Chen Yun looked at the gravestone and sighed: "Weren't you ever considering that I will be the one to bury you someday?"
Unfortunately, he was already dead.
The old man smiled and nodded, "Exactly, I also have the surname Chen. I once lived on this land, did many good deeds in my life, and after my death, by sheer luck, I was noticed by the Underworld. Starting as a minor official there, I gradually accumulated good deeds and eventually became a local god."
The burning question of why he was sold, now consuming his thoughts.
He sat down on the ground directly and asked, "Mr. Chen, your father was a benevolent and charitable man, so why wouldn't you like to see him off?"
With the gentle breeze blowing across, Chen Yun's heart became even more heavy.
After completing all of this, Chen Yun did not immediately leave, but instead fell to the ground and stared blankly at the new tomb in front of him.
Suddenly, a ray of light shone from behind.
An elderly man holding a dragon-shaped cane appeared before him.
Chen Yun glanced sideways and asked: "The land deity of Daxiaishan?"
This was the unanswered question that had been burning in Chen Yun's heart for decades, the reason he could not let it go.
Now that his father has passed away, he naturally has to follow the rules and "pay respects four times."
The most important thing was that the death of the other party coincided with the day Chen Yun was attacking Xingxiuhai.
The gravestone couldn't answer his questions.
As if, he couldn't figure out the specific reason and would never be able to rest in peace for the rest of his life.
Chen Yun's emotions were mixed. He wanted to find his father's soul in the Underworld and ask for the specific reasons, but he didn't want to face his father again, fearing a separation of life and death.
In ancient beliefs about ghosts and spirits, there is a saying called "three for gods, four for ghosts," which means that three bows are for worshiping gods, while four bows are for worshiping ghosts.
Chen Yun quickly stood up, bowed, and said: "I have seen the local land god."
"Don't be so formal. To be honest, you're also considered a younger generation to me," the land deity said, pressing his hand down, "Sit down, and let's talk."
Chen Yun nodded and sat down.
The land deity looked into the past with nostalgia: "Actually, I had some dealings with your father. After you gave him some gold, his family's situation improved, and he even sponsored me to rebuild the land temple, reshape the gods, so I have always been grateful to him in my heart."
Chen Yun listened quietly as the land deity recounted.
The land deity spoke slowly, "Later on, your younger brother got married and had a child. Your mother went to help with the child-rearing. Your father, for some reasons, never left this place. I saw that he didn't even have someone to talk to most of the time, and he was very lonely, so I would sometimes transform into an elderly person of the same age as him and sit with him at the village head to chat while basking in the sun."
Indeed, a lonely elderly person is indeed frustrating.
Chen Yun could imagine how bored and lonely his father must have felt, staying at home alone while his mother went to take care of his younger brother's children.
He asked in some confusion, "Since my younger brother is a government official, why doesn't Dad go and enjoy his retirement, but instead chooses to stay in the small mountain village?"
"I also asked him the reason, but at first, he didn't want to tell me," the land deity looked back into the past. "It was about three years ago. I finally knew why your father couldn't leave the small mountain village. Your father was suffering from a serious illness at that time, so your younger brother came back and wanted to take him away. But your father wouldn't leave, saying that if he had to be forced away, he would commit suicide immediately."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun seemed to have a premonition of what might be.
As expected, the land deity sighed and said, "Your younger brother asked him why he wouldn't leave, and your father said something at that time, 'If I leave here, you won't be able to find your way home when you come back.'"
"If Dad leaves here, I won't be able to find my way home when I come back."
Hearing this, Chen Yun didn't know why his heart trembled suddenly, and he had an urge to cry.
The land deity was still chattering on, "After that, your younger brother hired a famous physician to treat him, and his life was temporarily saved. Ever since then, perhaps because he felt his time was running out, every time we chatted, he would talk more than before."
Chen Yun cared and asked, "What did he say to you?"
"Just some family matters and some regretful things," the land deity said in a somber tone, "One thing he was particularly sorry about but also took pride in happened three years ago. I've heard it more than a hundred times."
Chen Yun pressed further, "What was it that he felt both particularly regretful and proud of?"
The land deity looked at him, "Your father said that selling you was the most regrettable thing in his life, and yet, it was also his proudest achievement."
The regret is understandable. After all, selling one's own son is a thing that, except for those with cold hearts and indifference, would definitely cause regret or remorse.
However, this sense of pride, Chen Yun has never understood.
He furrowed his brow and said, "Proud?"
The land deity seemed to understand what Chen Yun was thinking, nodded, and said, "Yes, your father said that you had always wanted to go to the city when you were young, but our family didn't have the ability. Therefore, you had to stay in the small mountain village and couldn't show your talents. He said that when you were young, you showed an extremely high mathematical ability. If we had some money, he would definitely send you to a private school. So every time he thought about these things, his heart felt very uncomfortable."
The past scenes flashed before his eyes, and Chen Yun's heart became sadder and sadder.
The land deity said, "By chance, when he was working in the city, he met Huang San, who had some family connections with yours. After a chat, Huang San said that if you could show enough mathematical ability, he would take you on as an accountant. Your father knew you aspired to live in the city, so he was immediately interested. But he also knew your temperament; you wouldn't be willing to abandon your family for someone else's fortune. So after discussing with Huang San, they decided to put on a show in front of you so that you would give up thoughts of your family and enjoy yourself well under Huang San's care."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun was greatly shocked and couldn't believe it. He looked at the land deity in disbelief, "So your meaning is that the deal between my father and Huang San to sell me was a show made specifically for me?"
The land deity didn't directly answer the question but asked, "What do you think? They had already met in the city. Why would they wait until they got home to talk about the price?"
That's right!
Exactly! Why did they wait until I woke up to start negotiating the price right at the doorstep of our home?
Chen Yun had been blinded by "hatred" in the past and never thought of this before. Now that he heard the land deity mention it, he finally realized that his father had sold him not because his family was poor and couldn't afford food, but because he was paving the way for him, laying a foundation for Chen Yun to settle down in the city.
The land deity quietly added, "Originally, your father and Huang San had agreed to send you a regular allowance each month and not to take any silver. It was only that Huang San, as a distant relative, pitied the state of your family and specially gave several taels of silver. Your father was afraid that you would live poorly in the city, so he went all the way to Xigou City to find someone to give you these silver coins, who knew that you leaped over the dragon's gate and worked at the Transmission Temple. And later, you became a disciple of Zhengyangzi. When your father learned about these things, he was overjoyed. But unfortunately, he had been looking forward to this for his whole life and missed you for his whole life, only to have met you once unintentionally and not recognized you."
At that moment, Chen Yun's sorrowful emotions could no longer be suppressed.
He never would have thought that his father had done so much for him in secret.
Chen Yun had always believed that he was abandoned by the family.
Who would have thought that he was the favorite and most beloved of his father?
His father had gone to great lengths to make sure he could go to the city.
It was only after decades of living that he realized that his father had been the most merciless one towards him.
He didn't know why, but Chen Yun, with his realm of cultivation, found himself shedding tears from his eyes, one after another.
Several decades of independence and strength.
In this moment, it was completely shattered.
His heart was filled with tenderness and regret.
The warmth his father had given lit the path of his cultivation journey.
But for these decades, I was completely unaware of it, and I didn't even return to visit him. The only time I saw him was when I pretended to want to take a sip of water as a passerby.
The most regrettable thing for Chen Yun was that if he had known his father was critically ill a while ago, he might have come back to see him once.
But at that time, he was in a hurry to go to the Starship Harbor to seek revenge and avenge his grievances, missing the chance to see his father for the last time.
Chen Yun felt as if sadness was flowing backwards through his veins, flooding into his heart and emotions.
At that moment, he desperately wished to see his father one more time.
But the separation between life and death makes it seemingly impossible for him to see his father again.
Do I have to live the rest of my life in this regret?
No!
I must see him!
Chen Yun made up his mind abruptly, jumped up suddenly, and no matter what, he would see his father!
(Chapter ends)
