A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 82: The great ghost of impermanence comes unexpectedly; the wandering spirit in the dark has no idea whether it is sin or blessing.

On this day, Duan Rong finally walked out of Wild Boar Mountain!
During the past eight or nine days, he had not washed or combed his hair, his face was untidy, his body smelled bad, and his brown shorts had several holes in them!
When he walked out of Wild Boar Mountain, it was already evening, dusk was falling, and smoke was rising!
Farmers carrying hoes on their way home saw Duan Rong, who looked like a beggar, smelled bad, and had a knife tied around his waist. The honest farmers were disgusted and afraid of him, and they all stayed away from him...

Duan Rong walked to the old man's house at the entrance of the village.

Duan Rong was standing outside the fence while the old man and his family were eating in the yard.

The old man's son and daughter-in-law also came back from the fields at this time, and the family of four were sitting around the table!

It was already dusk and the light in the house was dim. Eating in the yard could save some money on lamp oil.

As they were eating, they suddenly saw a dark figure standing in front of the fenced yard, with a knife faintly visible at its waist.

The old man's son immediately jumped up from the table, picked up the shoulder pole leaning against the wall behind him, and said, "My hero, we are just a poor farmer's family. We have nothing at home. Why don't you look for it somewhere else..."

The old man's son thought Duan Rong was a wandering swordsman who robbed people everywhere.

Duan Rong was stunned and hurriedly explained: "Brother, please don't misunderstand! I am the one who put the horse here!"

The old man stood up from the table, walked to the fence, looked at Duan Rong carefully, and then slapped his thigh and shouted, "It's a guest! How did you get into this state?"

Duan Rong chuckled and said, "I lived in the mountains as a wild man for a few days."

The old man immediately opened the fence gate and let Duan Rong in.

The old man's son took bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen and served Duan Rong food.

Duan Rong had been in the mountains for a few days, basically catching fish by the stream. Suddenly, when he ate some food, he felt a delicious aroma in his mouth and his appetite was aroused.

The farmers were kind-hearted people. Although Duan Rong smelled bad, they gave him some silver money just for letting his horse eat some grass. The whole family was very grateful to him.

After Duan Rong finished his meal, the old man's son took him to the ditch at the west end of the village, where they took a bath and chatted about some small matters...

Seeing that it was already dark and it was not safe to travel at night, Duan Rong went to sleep at the old man's house.

At night, the old man and his daughter-in-law used the oil lamp to mend the torn parts of Duan Rong's shorts.

On the second day, just after dawn, Duan Rong took his horse, said goodbye to his family, and left Wild Boar Mountain...

Duan Rong galloped all the way and entered the east gate of Xiangu County around 3:00 p.m.

After entering the city gate, Duan Rong reined in his horse, went to the carriage dealership to return the horse, redeemed the deposit, and then went to Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Duan Rong walked into the gate of Yuanshun Escort Agency with a lot on his mind. After walking for a while, he heard the faint sound of suona.

There are many rules in Yuanshun Escort Agency. Who dares to play suona in the agency in broad daylight?
Although Duan Rong was puzzled, he didn't want to bother with such trivial matters. He planned to go back to the dormitory first and change his patched shorts.

As soon as Duan Rong entered the central courtyard, the sounds of playing musical instruments became louder, and sounded a bit like... funeral music!
"This is so sad... isn't it a funeral rite?"

Duan Rong was thinking about it, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he walked towards the place where the sound came from!
After walking out of an alley, they saw from afar that the door of Xiao Zongting's courtyard was covered with white curtains.

The sad sound of stringed instruments and suonas came from the yard...

Duan Rong felt a pain in his heart and ran over immediately.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw many elegiac couplets and wreaths placed by the wall of the front yard. Several middle-aged women were preparing dishes at the kitchen door, but there was no sign of Zhu Xiaoqi.

From time to time, people were coming in and out carrying things, and everyone was in a hurry. Duan Rong walked in, but no one paid any attention to him.

Duan Rong walked to the door of the backyard, only to see a white curtain hanging on the makeshift mourning hall in the backyard!
There were three benches in the mourning hall, and on the benches was a black lacquered coffin!
There was an incense table in front of the coffin, with candles lit on both sides and smoke rising from the incense burner.

On the right side of the mourning hall stood two people, both wearing white cloth and mourning clothes. One of them was Zhu Xiaoqi, who was wearing plain clothes and sobbing quietly with her head down.

The other one was also a woman, half a head taller than Zhu Xiaoqi, with sharp eyebrows, clear eyes, red lips, and a face as white as jade. Although there were traces of tears on her face, her eyes flashed with a determined light, as if no blow could defeat her...

She is Xiao Baiqiao’s sister, Xiao Yu!
Xiao Baijiao had another seizure two days ago.

Although Gu Suxiu arrived and managed to keep him alive, it seemed that he would only live for a day or two.

When Xiao Zongting saw his daughter like this, he felt heartbroken. After crying loudly, he immediately called someone to inform Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu was with the escort team on a mission to Ruyang Prefecture. On their way back, they suddenly heard the bad news. They immediately hurried back. Two horses died along the way, and they only returned to Xiangu County yesterday afternoon.

However, at that time, Xiao Baiqiao had already died an hour ago.

At least the two sisters couldn't see each other for the last time!
Although Xiao Yu was heartbroken, she was strong-willed and had a strong temper. In the escort team, she was nicknamed "Rouge Tiger".

Xiao Yu began to prepare for her sister's funeral at dusk.

Xiao Zongting has both prestige and popularity in the Yuanshun Escort Agency, and he should have been able to command the support of everyone.

But at this moment, Ruan Fengshan was not there, and the chief leader Luan Jingfu was at odds with Xiao Zongting in every way, so he made trouble and did not gather people.

Xiao Yu led Zhu Xiaoqi and contacted some people. They set up the mourning hall that night and then asked people to post notices everywhere to notify relatives.

I also asked some familiar escorts’ wives to come home and help with cooking!

She took Zhu Xiaoqi with her, pulled white cloth, placed the coffin, and found a band. The next morning, when the first wave of relatives came to pay their respects, all the ceremonies were ready.

If you want to ask where Zhu Xiaoqi's decisive and capable style of work came from, it came from Xiao Yu!
It is Xiao Zongting's blessing that the Xiao family has such a daughter!

On the left side of the mourning hall, next to the courtyard wall, a row of people playing suona and string instruments were playing and singing vigorously...

On the right side of the mourning hall, mats were spread on the ground. A group of people in mourning clothes were kneeling on the mats, crying one after another. These people were all relatives of the Xiao family, and in terms of seniority, they were all Xiao Baiyu's juniors...

As soon as Duan Rong entered the room, he immediately stared at the coffin in the mourning hall. He ran over, lay down on the edge of the coffin, and looked inside...

In the coffin, Xiao Baiqiao seemed to be asleep, with delicate makeup and a peaceful expression. She had a beautiful bun with several camellia flowers inserted in it...

"If I could have my hair filled with wild flowers, don't ask me where I'm going."

Duan Rong thought of the poem again, his heart suddenly ached and tears rolled down.

When Duan Rong ran over, Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi both felt a figure flash before their eyes, and they both turned their heads almost at the same time to look at Duan Rong.

When Zhu Xiaoqi saw Duan Rong, he pointed at him and cursed, "Where have you been? You came back only after the Second Miss died! She said many times before she died that she had something to tell you, something to tell you! How many times have I looked for you? I couldn't even see your shadow..."

"Where have you been?" Zhu Xiaoqi's words were full of blame, and he burst into tears as he spoke.

Duan Rong seemed not to have heard anything at all. He held the coffin with his hands and suddenly burst into tears!

The crying was so heart-wrenching and loud that it almost drowned out the sound of the suona!
Duan Rong's face was covered with tears and snot, and he would occasionally make a donkey-like sound, as if he was having trouble breathing...

Several middle-aged women who went into the inner room to get something passed by the mourning hall, heard Duan Rong's crying, and began to whisper as they walked.

"Miss Yu, where did you find this mourner? She cried so hard..."

"There are too many people who take money but do nothing nowadays... There are not many honest people like this... Look... She is crying so sadly... She is crying so hard that I want to cry too..."

(End of this chapter)