Chapter 180: Burial and Vigil

Lowering the coffin, filling the grave, carving the tombstone.

The remaining steps weren’t complicated—Gu Ning’an could have easily handled everything himself. However, Mu Sheng insisted on helping, saying, “Since I agreed to do this, I can’t just stand by and watch.”

Seeing her stubbornness, Gu Ning’an simply let her join in.

As the evening deepened, the world within the glowing barrier remained synchronized with the outside world, following the same cycles of sunrise and sunset—though inside, it was perpetual spring.

Seated on the ground, Gu Ning’an gazed at the three graves before him and let out a long sigh.

“At least… they are reunited now.”

The flickering firelight from the burning spirit money cast shadows in Gu Ning’an’s deep-set eyes. He calmly fed more paper offerings into the fire basin, while Mu Sheng sat beside him, folding gold ingots.

“Mu Sheng, if you’re tired, find a place to rest. Seven days from now is New Year’s Eve…”

“I’ll keep vigil here for seven days. On the last night, I’ll make dumplings for a reunion dinner, and after that, we can leave.”

Mu Sheng kept folding ingots as she softly replied, “If I get tired, I’ll rest on my own. You don’t need to worry about me, sir.”

“Hm.” Gu Ning’an acknowledged her words and said no more, his gaze lost in thought as he stared at the three tombstones.

As midnight passed, the sky stretched wide with countless stars.

Mu Sheng, still in the midst of folding ingots, fell asleep, her fingers loosely holding an unfinished one.

After the long and exhausting journey, it was remarkable that she had lasted this long before dozing off.

Gu Ning’an gently took the half-folded ingot from her hand, completed it, and placed it into the fire basin.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that each of the three tombstones had begun to gather a faintly golden orb.

The orbs floated above the tombstones, their shimmering outlines somewhat illusory.

Using his spiritual sight, Gu Ning’an examined them closely and determined that these golden orbs were formed from a unique condensation of spiritual energy.

“Drifting between realms, such is the breath of life and death…”

“Unbound by the past, yet memories linger within the heavens and earth…”

Mu Sheng, still deep in sleep, murmured these lines.

As her voice faded, the outside world—beyond the glowing barrier—began to shimmer with countless firefly-like specks of light.

These tiny lights drifted through the barrier and merged into the golden orbs, causing them to swell slightly.

Realizing that this phenomenon was connected to Mu Sheng, Gu Ning’an silently formed a hand seal to divine the truth—and suddenly, he saw it.

The power of Great Chasm, which had long vanished from Mu Sheng’s body, had reappeared!

Ever since he had accidentally disrupted Mu Sheng’s dream last time, she had stopped experiencing those “burial dreams”.

Along with the dreams, the Great Chasm—which had always blocked Gu Ning’an’s ability to divine further—had disappeared as well.

Now that this power had returned, it meant that Mu Sheng’s dream projection had resurfaced!

To avoid accidentally disrupting her dream again, Gu Ning’an refrained from using his power to enter it. Instead, he decided to wait for her to wake up and ask her about what she had seen.

The bright morning sun shone onto Mu Sheng’s closed eyelids, causing her body to shudder slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.

She had slept, yet she looked even more exhausted than before, appearing more drained than when she had first gone to bed.

“You’re awake?”

“…Yes. Sir, I had that dream again…”

“Did anything change this time?”

“No, it was the same as before…”

“Last night, you spoke in your sleep.”

“Ah… Did I wake you, sir?”

“Not really…”

After a brief pause, Gu Ning’an recited:

“Drifting between realms, such is the breath of life and death…”

“Unbound by the past, yet memories linger within the heavens and earth…”

“These two sentences—” Gu Ning’an said, “you spoke them in your sleep. Do you know their meaning?”

Mu Sheng murmured the words again before shaking her head. “No. I don’t think I recited them in my dream.”

Gu Ning’an nodded. “Alright. If you’re hungry, go have some rations.”

“Mm… I’ll grab some and bring some for you too, sir.”

Just as Mu Sheng stood up, her vision went black, and she nearly collapsed. Regaining her balance, she glanced at the golden orbs floating above the three tombstones and her expression changed.

“Sir! Am I still dreaming?”

“The tombstones in my dream had those golden orbs too!”

Swish!

Gu Ning’an opened his eyes and stood up. “Did you only see them last night, or have you always seen them?”

“I’ve always seen them. Didn’t you see them when you entered my dream before?” Mu Sheng asked, puzzled.

“I couldn’t see them before. But now I can.”

Gu Ning’an pressed further. “Do you know what they do?”

Mu Sheng’s eyes unfocused as she repeated the words from her dream again:

“Drifting between realms, such is the breath of life and death…
Unbound by the past, yet memories linger within the heavens and earth…”

After a moment of thought, she said, “These seem to be remnants of the past left behind by the deceased…”

“And their purpose?”

Mu Sheng furrowed her brow, contemplating. “I don’t know… But when you told me about my sleep-talking and I saw the golden orbs again, some information about them just surfaced in my mind…”

“I see.” Gu Ning’an waved his hand. “Go eat something. You can barely stand.”

“Mm… I don’t understand why, but I feel completely drained of energy.”

Mu Sheng walked to the carriage, took out some rations and a water flask, and handed a portion to Gu Ning’an.

Gu Ning’an accepted it but didn’t eat. Instead, he pondered over Mu Sheng’s words.

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, he heard a soft thud from behind him.

Turning around, he saw Mu Sheng had fallen asleep mid-meal.

She lay on the ground, snoring lightly, one hand clutching the water flask, the other holding a half-eaten biscuit.

“Completely exhausted, huh…” Gu Ning’an chuckled wryly. Setting down his rations, he took a sip from the flask and then carefully channeled his power to analyze the three golden orbs.

Three hundred meters from the rift in Wind Blade Valley, a war banner emblazoned with the character “War” fluttered in the wind.

What was once an empty snowy plain was now lined with tents.

Squads of Heavenly War Cavalry patrolled the perimeter, standing guard.

Inside the central command tent, Qi Yuan, wrapped in a thick winter coat, held a cup of hot tea and asked sternly, “General Gao, how long will it take to build the iron chain bridge?”

“Master Qi,” General Gao cupped his fists, “Wind Blade Valley is treacherous terrain, and with the severe cold, our soldiers are exhausting their strength quickly. It will take at least a full day of shifts to complete the construction.”

“A full day is not too slow… Ensure the soldiers’ safety. Do not let them rush and fall to their deaths.”

Hearing this, General Gao felt warmth in his heart and bowed. “Thank you for your concern, Master Qi!”

“It’s nothing.” Qi Yuan took a sip of tea before turning to the white-robed Daoist in the tent. “Daoist Mei, what omen did you divine today?”

Daoist Mei paused before replying, “Master Qi, today’s reading yielded the Kan hexagram…”

“The first line speaks…
Trapped in the abyss—misfortune!”