At the midnight hour, Xize walked out of the rural courtyard, leading the horse. As she was about to mount, a sneer came from behind.
"Didn't we agree that his fate is mine? You, little girl, aren't you going to slip away quietly?"
Xize turned around, her face slightly embarrassed, but she approached Qin Lüxi with a kneeled bow. "Master, I am not planning to escape. I just need to attend to some matters first."
"Such as collecting the bodies of your servants?" Qin Lüxi chuckled. "Coming from a prestigious family, yet so audacious."
Xize's expression changed, looking at Qin Lüxi in astonishment. How did she know?
"Wondering how I knew?" Qin Lüxi laughed. "I guessed, and it seems I guessed correctly."
This young master truly made one itch with irritation.
"Let's go," Qin Lüxi walked towards another horse.
"You?" Xize asked in surprise.
"I have to accompany you. If you run away or meet with an accident, who will compensate me?" Qin Lüxi patted the horse beside her, which obediently knelt down.
Xize felt a complex mix of emotions. She wasn't foolish; she knew Qin Lüxi wasn't afraid of her running away but rather feared for her safety.
"How can such people exist in this world?" Like a warm sun, effortlessly warming hearts.
"Doctor Qin," Qizhi emerged. Qin Lüxi saw him and teasingly said, "Oh, young Master Qizhi, so young and yet ailing kidneys? Are you going to the outhouse at this hour?"
Qizhi's face darkened. "Thank you for your concern, Doctor Qin. My kidneys are just fine." He glanced at the group and then suggested, "Since Doctor Qin can't sleep, why not travel together? It would be better to reach Ningzhou earlier."
Xize instinctively looked at Qin Lüxi, gripping the reins tightly.
"Sounds good. Since we're heading in the same direction, I might as well join you," Qin Lüxi agreed. "Go and wake them up, and let them sit in the carriage."
The rest of her words were directed at Xize.
Xize hesitated for a moment before nodding.
...
As they traveled under the cover of night, within an hour, they arrived at the hillside where Xize and the others had been ambushed. Dawn was approaching, casting light upon the gruesome scene, with bodies strewn about and the smell of blood still lingering.
"Uncle!" Pingzi rushed to kneel beside one of the bodies.
By the torchlight, Huolang saw it was the middle-aged servant they had questioned the day before. In just one night, he had become a corpse.
Approaching, Xize knelt down and kowtowed three times.
Qin Lüxi scanned the surroundings, then sat on a small mound, beckoning for Yīngnán to come over. "Previously, Chenpi said you were idle. Come help me dig a grave!"
Yīngnán, seeing her sinister smile, thought, "No, I'm not idle! Spare me!"
Qizhi sensed what was happening and gave a nod, prompting a few others to follow Qin Lüxi's lead and start digging with tools bought from the villagers.
Qin Lüxi walked over to Xize's side. "Given their status, as descendants of a noble family, these soldiers deserve better than a shroud of straw. Why don't we ask the villagers if they have coffins?"
Once warriors defending their homeland, now their fate was to be wrapped in straw, dying in a foreign land. It made him feel uncomfortable.
A simple coffin would be better than just a straw mat, and rural families often prepared such things in advance.
Upon hearing this, Qin Lüxi looked over and said, "That's just a small village. They usually rely on peddlers for daily necessities. Coffins are made by themselves by chopping trees on the mountain. Only one elderly person in the entire village has one prepared. Most of them will end up like these people, with nothing but a straw mat."
Qizhi fell silent.
"Let it be. Whether it's a straw mat or a coffin, whether it's tattered clothes or fine silk, in the end, a person returns to dust, and dust returns to the earth," Qin Lüxi said to Xize. "You go ahead and fill the first shovel of soil."
Xize nodded, took a shovel, and added the first shovel of soil to the pit, followed by Pingzi.
Qin Lüxi then sat cross-legged, chanting scriptures to save the souls, while Chenpi, next to her, used a torch to burn each meticulously crafted gold ingot made of yellow paper.
Amidst the silence of the forest, the scriptures murmured, purifying the hearts.
For Qizhi and the others, witnessing such a scene for the first time, the sight of souls being saved up close was awe-inspiring. Even in the presence of a young "lad," the solemnity of Qin Lüxi's chanting made them feel reverent.
In the ancient and distant chant, there came a breeze, and the sound of chains seemed to resonate in the air.
Qin Lüxi opened her eyes, gazed into the void ahead, formed hand seals, and continued chanting, her gaze calm.
In the unseen void, souls bowed and thanked her before disappearing into the forest.
Qin Lüxi saw a few golden lights flying towards her, landing in her spiritual platform, and breathed a sigh of relief.
She took a few gold ingots and murmured some words. These were the hard-earned fees and appeasement for a certain envoy.
After finishing, Qin Lüxi carved a blank stone tablet, inscribed with a few Daoist runes, and placed it in front of the small newly formed grave.
After Xize burned the last gold ingot in front of the grave and kowtowed three times, she stood up, bowed deeply to Qin Lüxi, and said, "Thank you, Master, for your compassion."
She didn't ask about Qin Lüxi's identity. Her repeated acts of kindness and mercy made her both grateful and respectful. From now on, Xize's life belonged to Qin Lüxi, without regret.
Qin Lüxi stood up, took the wet handkerchief Qizhi handed her, wiped her hands, and looked at Xize. "Your destiny lies to the west, not by my side. Dare to venture there, and you will have a world of your own."
Xize was startled but then understood. She took a step forward. "Master, you..."
Qin Lüxi meant that she didn't want her around.
"You have your own destiny. It's not with me but to the west. If you dare to venture, you will have your own world," Qin Lüxi handed the handkerchief to Chenpi and then took out a jade token, handing it to Xize. "Wear it. May it keep you safe."