Chapter 27: Bringing the Coffin Home
Inside the Lord's Mansion.
Childe Guo, full of excitement, prepared to leave, followed by a group of servants carrying the coffin on their shoulders.
This time, he was going to visit Qiao Mu's blind family members.
Although Qiao Mu had died, he didn't die in front of him, so he felt happy but not completely satisfied.
Next, he planned to personally bring the coffin to visit Qiao Canxue.
However, as soon as he reached the doorway, a stern voice stopped him.
"Halt! Didn't I tell you that you were forbidden to leave for a month?"
The one speaking was City Lord Guo Yan. He still had a strong and sturdy physique like a tower, but his face had a sickly paleness at this moment.
"Father, I know my limits. How could I possibly cause trouble again?" Childe Guo smiled and apologized.
"I value my life too. How could I possibly provoke the emperor... How could I possibly provoke a stranger from an unknown place?"
Guo Yan is a cunning and calculating person. Someone like him who has such qualities would naturally spoil his pampered son.
At first, he stood his ground firmly, but after his only son persistently begged, Guo Yan impatiently waved his hand and let him go.
"Ah Fu, go with him and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." Guo Yan instructed.
"Okay." A grey-clad old man came out from the side and followed behind Childe Guo.
This grey-clad old man was the one who had previously attacked Qiao Mu from behind on the main street and swiftly captured him.
He had been serving the Lord of the City for many years, already a highly skilled martial artist ranked 7th. He was also one of the few experts in the Lord's residence. Furthermore, he was older in age, behaved calmly, and was highly trusted by Guo Yan.
A martial artist at the 7th rank, if serving the country, would have a status similar to that of a deputy official at the 7th rank. It's lower than being the head of a county like a 7th rank county magistrate, but still respectable.
So there were only one or two martial artists like this in the Lord's Manor.
After Childe Guo left, Guo Yan returned to the mansion and coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"It's really been a busy autumn lately," Guo Yan murmured to himself.
"The Great Yan Emperor is coming, and that old man Wang Songhe has appeared in the area around Yan City. Could it be that he also received the relevant information and came sniffing around?"
When he thought of that scholar, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"They say that practitioners of the Dao progress slowly, with each closed-door cultivation lasting years."
"But I've heard that Wang Songhe only abandoned his studies and turned to the Dao after he turned forty. And now he can fight me to an equal standstill... If only I had known, why bother reading the books of sages and being a scholar?"
He shook his head, feeling a hidden unease in his heart.
The emperor was about to arrive, and it was a critical moment. But he had been injured at this time, which was not good at all.
"Maybe I should go and look for someone from the Immortal Gate, asking for a protective talisman..." Guo Yan wondered in his heart.
He, at this moment, didn't have time to bother with his own son's small fights.
As for the incident with that young hero named Qiao Mu who once threatened him on the long street, he had long forgotten about it.
...............
The outer city area.
Old Huang was walking in this small alley with a few soldiers.
"The boss's place is too remote, hidden deep, and the road is quite difficult."
Old Huang and the Bald Monk Soldier beside him chatted casually.
A day later, he finally recovered from Qiao Mu's sacrifice.
He couldn't afford to be absent-minded. He was just a regular soldier. Even if it was Qiao Mu's immediate family who passed away, he still had to continue his training and stand guard at the military camp tomorrow.
Working people only have time to earn a living, they don't have time to dwell on sadness and sorrow.
"Old Huang, have you figured out how to ask yet?" asked the monk soldier next to him.
"What's so difficult about asking? After all, we managed to gather enough money today. Not to mention the sacrifices we made, at the very least, we can have peace of mind."
Old Huang weighed the heavy money bag in his hand.
It took Old Huang half a day to recover and another half a day to find nearly a hundred colleagues under Qiao Mu's command. They pooled together a sum of money as compensation.
It shouldn't have been the soldiers' responsibility to provide this compensation. It should have been funded by the Yan City Military Camp.
However, after what happened that day, Old Huang and the others suspected that Qiao Mu was not well-regarded by Military Officer Chu and the others. They realized it would be difficult to obtain the compensation funds.
So, they gathered some money and planned to give it to Qiao Canxue in the name of compensation.
On one hand, Qiao Mu repeatedly saved the soldiers under his command.
On the other hand, Qiao Mu charged forward alone, and his last words before dying were for Old Huang and the others not to follow, not to sacrifice themselves.
Upon hearing Qiao Mu's final command, Old Huang and the others didn't charge.
They were also afraid of death.
Qiao Mu gave them an opportunity to stop, so they halted.
At first, they didn't quite understand why Qiao Mu was risking his life. But later, when they learned that Qiao Mu was sacrificing himself to save all hundred of them, they felt somewhat uneasy.
Therefore, it wasn't difficult to collect the money, as most people were willing to contribute.
"It seems like the boss's house is just up ahead..." Old Huang was saying when suddenly he heard voices coming from the corner of a small alley.
He turned his head and found a group of people carrying a coffin, squeezing into the alley.
"Oh, who passed away from this family? Can a coffin fit into this narrow alley?" Old Huang was initially chattering away, but as it approached, his expression turned serious and he quickly shut his mouth.
He recognized the people carrying the coffin, seemingly servants of the lord's mansion.
Why would someone from the lord's mansion bring a coffin into this narrow alley?
Before Old Huang could figure it out, he saw a young man in white clothes walking proudly into the alley, immediately capturing his attention.
The lord's son?
His body trembled slightly, his fist clenched instinctively, but quickly relaxed. Then, he hurriedly lowered his head and moved aside to clear the path.
The nearby monk soldier also glanced briefly and followed suit, making way.
He was a monk who enjoyed drinking and eating. He had heard at the tavern about how City Lord's son's servant had whipped Old Huang's wife, causing her to miscarry.
He couldn't say much, so he simply patted Old Huang's shoulder.
Several servants carried a coffin and walked through a narrow alley, nothing happened.
The son of the City Lord naturally didn't recognize these big soldiers and just walked past them.
Just before turning the corner of the alley, the old man in a grey robe named Ah Fu, who was following Childe Guo, glanced at them and suddenly said:
"Are you soldiers under centurion Qiao Mu's command?"
A Fu had been to the military camp and secretly observed Qiao Mu's martial arts, so he had a bit of an impression of Old Huang and his group.
Old Huang and the others' facial expressions changed slightly.
As expected, Childe Guo immediately turned around with great interest.
"Oh? Interesting."
"Is this the doorstep of centurion Qiao Mu's home? Are you also looking for him? Then come with me."
"Together?" Old Huang and the others were initially confused, then slowly turned their gaze towards the coffin.
Is Qiao Mu's body inside this coffin? And Childe Guo had someone carry the coffin into this alley, so it turns out he was looking for Qiao Mu's family?
