"Feeling better now?"
Su Ming walked over to Shenhe, who was sitting on a rock in a daze, and held out a handful of berries he had just plucked from the bushes by the road.
"Want some?"
Shenhe smiled and reached out, taking a berry and popping it into her mouth.
"Have you moved on?"
"Whether I move on or not... it is all in the past now," Shenhe replied with a smile, before sharing the news she had just gathered. "By the way, I spoke with Uncle Mingjun just now. He told me that the graves of my parents have already been moved by the main family branch. They are no longer here."
Su Ming chuckled. "That sounds like good news. It is far better to have someone tending to their final resting place than to have them left abandoned here at the foot of Mt. Tianheng."
Shenhe nodded. "Indeed... I never expected that I would still have people in this world I could call kin."
"If Uncle Mingjun hadn't mentioned it, I truly never would have known."
Su Ming feigned annoyance and asked, "What? Do Master and I not count as your kin?"
Shenhe quickly explained, "Of course not... I just... that is not what I meant!"
Seeing her flustered expression, Su Ming could not help but burst into laughter.
Shenhe finally realized she had been teased. In her bashful anger, she picked up the massive boulder she had been sitting on and hurled it toward Su Ming.
"Damn!"
Su Ming's eyes widened. He quickly raised both hands to catch the giant rock, then carefully set it aside.
"Good grief... Why the temper? If this were the old me, I would have been crushed to death..."
Hu Tao walked over from the graveyard behind the village just in time to see the commotion.
"Are you two... practicing acrobatics?"
"Ahem, no, not at all. So, Director Hu, how are things looking on your end?"
Hu Tao mused, "It was a bit unexpected. There are signs of relocation all over the graves here. I suppose the villagers moved the graves along with them when they left. By the way, the deal we made earlier still stands, right? I do not want to have made this trip for nothing."
"Of course it stands," Shenhe nodded. "Even though my parents' graves were moved and are being cared for, I still wish to build a cenotaph. Think of it as burying the past."
Hu Tao rubbed her chin. "Hmm... a cenotaph? That can be done. What are you planning to bury inside?"
"I will bury this notebook."
Shenhe handed the notebook to Hu Tao. "The various events of the past have already faded away like smoke and mist. Master is right; one must always look forward. I have a place where I belong now. Let the past remain in the past forever. After we return this time, I might look for the main branch's location. When I have time in the future, I will visit my parents there."
Hu Tao smiled. "Then we shall do as you say. Do you require any other services?"
"There is no need."
"Huh? But if that is the case, won't the Mora you paid go to waste?"
Su Ming laughed. "It was not our money anyway; Northland Bank paid for it. I do not mind."
Hu Tao countered seriously, "That will not do! Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has never conducted business like that! Even if we set up a cenotaph according to the highest specifications and handled every single procedure, it wouldn't even cost a third of the Mora you paid. No, no, I will refund the excess to you once we get back!"
Hu Tao was adamant, and Su Ming had no choice but to accept the "refund the overcharge" proposal. If he got that refund, he would have quite a large sum of Mora in his pocket, enough to cover his expenses for a long time.
Hu Tao continued, "The funeral will be held tomorrow. Since it is a cenotaph, there is no need to pick a special auspicious day. It is getting late, and Wangsheng Funeral Parlor needs time to prepare. Why don't we head back now?"
Hearing her words, Su Ming and Shenhe nodded. They had planned to return before dinner anyway, otherwise Master would likely fluster her feathers in a rage.
However, just as the three were about to leave, a figure came stumbling down the path toward the deserted village.
Once she saw the figure clearly, Shenhe's eyes snapped wide. "Uncle Mingjun!"
With a flash of movement, Shenhe supported the teetering Mingjun and asked anxiously, "What happened? Are you alright?"
"He... Shenhe? You haven't left yet? No... you must leave... danger..."
Mingjun managed to mutter a few words to Shenhe before losing consciousness.
Su Ming stepped forward. Having studied simple medical skills back on the mountain to assist his martial arts training and bone tempering, he examined Mingjun's condition.
"Multiple fractures across his body. It is a miracle the old man made it this far; he must have trained when he was younger. Furthermore, his body..."
"The scent of Karmic Debt? Strange..."
Su Ming frowned, then turned to the other two. "Something is wrong. Shenhe, we're going to take a look. Director Hu, please stay here and look after the elder."
Just as he finished speaking, Su Ming sensed movement. His face darkened as he corrected himself. "Tsk... actually, there is no need. That thing has already found us."
Su Ming turned around to face the ominous black mist standing at the village entrance. The mist shifted constantly before finally stabilizing into a faceless black silhouette.
"Divine Remnants..."
Having trained under the adepti, Su Ming recognized the origin of the mist at a glance. Divine Remnantsthe lingering resentment left behind by a dead godwere known among the common folk of Liyue as Karmic Debt.
These things varied in strength, but the threat of most Divine Remnants came primarily from their mental pollution. It could cause people to lose their sanity, turning them into maddened monsters, or lead to spiritual collapse and death.
However, as long as one knew the methods to avoid the mental pollution or possessed a sufficiently strong will, they were manageable.
But this was Su Ming's first time seeing Divine Remnants condensed into a form that was nearly physical.
"Interesting... let me test your strength."
Su Ming grinned. Several ice spears instantly materialized beside him and shot toward the faceless black figure.
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