167 Wang Xiaoming on the Cultivation Path (1/2)
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Jing Jiu should have been able to prevent Shi Fengchen's suicide, but he didn't.
It wasn't that preventing it was unnecessary. It was because Jing Jiu had seen the will dying in Shi Fengchen's eyes when he said those last words.
Jing Jiu understood Shi Fengchen's anger and hatred toward the Cultivation practitioners, though he wasn't sympathetic toward him.
He didn't want to ask about Shi Fengchen's sufferings in the past.
Death was the greatest matter.
And Jing Jiu respected that.
Let the person who wanted to die attain the fatal result he desired.
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The small courtyard was quiet and without sound.
The sunlight was moving, and two skinny chickens pecked the shadows on the ground without much energy put into doing so.
The door of the courtyard was pushed open again.
”Master, I'm going to fry the bok choy with the preserved meat again today!”
Wang Xiaoming limped his way to the courtyard with his handicapped legs, and put the preserved meat on the top of the milling platform while kicking the two skinny chickens into the cage to prevent them from pecking the meat.
”Last time you said the bok choy was a bit dry, but this time it's really fresh and tender.”
He happily brought the basket of bok choy to the room to let his master have a look.
Snap!!!
The bok choy dropped on the ground and spread in all directions, looking like a flower in bloom.
His legs started trembling uncontrollably.
”Ah…Ah…Master! Ah!”
A terribly sad cry rang out in the room.
His cry was appalling to the ears.
All the cries sounded terrible actually.
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Shi Fengchen's funeral was simple and lonely.
At least at the beginning.
Wang Xiaoming knelt in front of the front hall and threw the paper money into a bucket, his moves mechanic, his expression numb.
His eyes were full of bloody lines due to either the smoke getting into his eyes or having cried for too long.
The neighbors came and left; Wang Xiaoming was the only one left kneeling in the small courtyard.
All of a sudden, scolding sounds and other commotions occurred outside the courtyard, and the wooden door was pushed open rudely by a group of people.
They were not here to make trouble. They were officials coming to offer their condolences to Shi Fengchen. The informed government servants came over hurriedly to keep order.
The highly raised white banner had the word ”Libation” written in fresh ink.
The small courtyard had suddenly become different than before.
Wang Xiaoming didn't pay attention to these activities, as he was still kneeling in front of the bronze bucket, burning the paper money numbly.
He couldn't remember the titles and names of those officials appearing in the courtyard one after the other.
His house had fewer visitors when Shi Fengchen was alive, but the house was quite crowded after his death. Everybody knew the reason.
Wang Xiaoming also knew.
Nobody saw how Shi Fengchen died. The officials of the Pure Heaven Bureau determined his death was suicide after their brief investigation; but who coerced him to commit suicide?
All the blame was directed toward the Green Mountain Sect, or toward Jing Jiu more specifically.