When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1063 Pasric's Funeral

The crimson sun sets behind the deep mountains, a time when merchants and travelers should be few and far between.

Today was different from usual. Even though it was already seven or eight o'clock, boats and carriages of all sizes were still arriving from all directions.

These boats and carriages were often covered with black cloth, and the people who emerged from them always had sorrowful expressions.

Among these people, you can also see the faces of many familiar important figures.

This includes Rules, the county head of the northern Black Snake Bay County, and Ottila, the speaker of the Black Snake Bay Federal Council, not to mention the county heads of the surrounding counties.

Also, many squadron commanders and corps commanders from the surrounding area who had free time came.

Just looking at the people who showed up, it was already a grand gathering of the Holy Alliance's top officials.

Merchants quickly learned that Pasric, one of the founding elders of the Holy Alliance, had passed away due to illness.

On the day he died, he secretly bypassed the doctor, climbed over the wall of the sanatorium, stole a horse, and went to Horntown to drink.

They even got into a brawl in the tavern and didn't return to the manor until after 3 a.m., staggering back on horseback.

The next day, Pasric succumbed to alcoholism, exposure to the cold, and a host of old, hidden injuries, and his life came to an end.

But the old man's vitality is truly remarkable.

After waking from his coma, he insisted on eating a large piece of his favorite roast beef and drinking a large pot of wine before finally falling asleep peacefully in his grandmother Vivian's arms.

Then she never woke up again.

For thirty years, he dominated Black Serpent Bay and topped the Thousand Rivers Valley Witcher Bounty List for eight consecutive years.

Pasric/Chrispa, who summoned the clouds during the Battle of Pavia and had to have the ram's god tattooed on his lower back during the Battle of Shattered Stone Plains, died in his lover's arms.

According to the doctors' subsequent investigation, even without this incident, Pasric would not have lived to the end of the year.

After all, the old man had spent his entire life fighting on the front lines, dealing with witchers, bishops, and armed monks day and night.

His various lung diseases and hidden injuries had long since rendered him incapable. When Carrie recommended Horn to join the Noon Party as High Priest, it was to take over Pasric's position.

After all, Pasric had said back then that he would retire after five more years.

He did indeed officially retire in 1450 and began to slowly recover from his injuries.

During the five years of the Thousand River Valley War, he spent his days wandering the battlefield, and later even went to the harsh and cold land of Shattered Stone Plains.

Too many hidden wounds accumulated throughout his life, coupled with Pasric's refusal to cooperate with treatment and accept divine magic, ultimately made it impossible to reverse the damage.

Wizards don't live long to begin with, and Pasric still couldn't make it past the age of eighty-four.

The old man hated sentimentality and crying the most, and he always left without saying goodbye.

The news didn't get out until after his death.

Among those who came to pay their respects, the most distinguished was undoubtedly the condolence group composed of Saint Sunhorn and two saintesses.

However, compared to the others, Horn and his group were relatively low-key and were not spotted at the scene.

It wasn't until the funeral began the next day that people discovered Horn was dressed in pure black monk's robes.

The streets were cleared, leaving only one road for the funeral procession to pass through.

A black wooden coffin lay open, and Pasric stood with his fingers interlaced in a fist, placed on his chest, his eyes closed.

Horn would rather it was just another Pasric prank, and that he would sit up in his coffin any second now.

Unfortunately, Pasric really did die.

Horn, Carrie, Jessica and other old friends personally carried the coffin, and a group of high-ranking monks and senior military officers of the Holy Alliance attended the ceremony.

Amidst the mournful music of Black Snake Bay, the coffin moved step by step toward the riverbank.

It must be said that the funeral at Black Snake Bay is different from those elsewhere.

From the rapid and festive tune of the trumpets, one could tell it was a funeral procession, or perhaps a victorious charge.

On the riverbank stood a crematorium surrounded by pine trees. Carrie and the others had already said goodbye to Pasric last night.

Around the crematorium was a ring of thatched huts, because Pasric's will stipulated that the funeral be conducted in the manner of Black Snake Bay.

The method in Black Snake Bay is cremation.

Pasric never believed in God his entire life, and even after he died, he still didn't believe in heaven or hell.

He won't say goodbye to heaven, but will burn everything on earth, leaving only ashes.

Therefore, during cremation, those attending the funeral not only throw firewood onto the cremation platform, but also each say a few words at the funeral.

There were good things to say, and bad things to say, and sometimes it even led to fights.

His relatives and friends would also have to perform stories and anecdotes about the deceased when he was young, and they would also have to drink heavily.

It often happens that "Pasric was being held up for a funeral, and you're here singing and dancing."

In turn, his relatives and friends went up to speak one by one. Horn said: He's a respectable old bastard.

Carrie said: Compared to my grandfather, he was more like an uncle who took me out to play. I will always miss him.

Brock said: "If I could, I would bestow upon him the title of Honorary Dwarf..."

Jeanne also went up to speak, but her relationship with Pasric was not as close as that with Horn and Carrie; she simply brought up some interesting anecdotes from the past.

When the speech ended, the cremation began, and the raging flames, shrouded in black smoke, engulfed Pasric's body.

Carrie, unusually, lost her composure, gulping down beer until her face was soaked with it.

Horn accepted all drinks offered, and when he was in high spirits, he would loudly adapt the bard's lyrics to satirize Pasric's alias, Crispa.

Jeanne looked at Horn and Carrie, both drunk from the same incident, and felt a mix of emotions.

She stood up, intending to get some fresh air, but after only a few steps, she was stopped by an old voice.

"...Grandma Vivian?"

After a year apart, Vivian seemed to have lost all her energy.

Last year, my grandmother could walk briskly, but now she walks with a cane, and her posture is much more awkward.

Her silvery-white hair was as dry as autumn grass, sticking to her scalp, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were so deep they could trap mosquitoes.

Even his usually bright eyes were veiled in a layer of gray mist.

Jeanne's heart tightened, and she quickly went down to support her: "Grandma Vivian, is there something you need from me?"

Vivian put her hand on her arm: "Janna, I heard you're going to Dawn Island?"

"Yes, we'll be leaving next week."

“I’ll go with you, and bring our knights from Jinhe Township with me.”

Jeanne was stunned. Dawn Island was in complete chaos, with the Five Cities Alliance and Leia's army locked in a stalemate.

Vivian is so old...

What are you going there for?

Looking up at the billowing black smoke along the riverbank, Vivian suddenly smiled: "They all think Pasric is from Black Snake Bay, or that he's from Fran."

But in fact, he was born in the village of Sand Dunes on the island of Leia Dawn.

Jeanne paused, having heard countless stories from Pasric.

From the venomous snakes of Black Snake Bay to the taverns of Fran, from the fried fish at the Codburger to the grilled brisket at the Beefburger, Dawn Island was never mentioned.

"When he was just learning to walk, the local tax collectors towed away his family's fishing boat."

That's why the whole family had no choice but to flee overnight.

They first ran to Fran, but before they could get a foothold, they were sold as refugees.

Finally, he made his way to Black Snake Bay. She patted Jeanne's hand. "He considered Black Snake Bay his home his whole life, but in the last two years of his life, he always dreamed of Dawn Island."

"So, what brings you to Dawn Island?"

Vivian pointed with her cane to the front of the stage, indicating that Jeanne should go and listen to Pasric's will, and then fell silent.

"I'm dead, don't worry about me."

"My funeral must not be presided over by priests, hymns must not be sung, and no magic is allowed. Fireworks can be set off, though."

“After deducting the portion of my assets that I leave to Carrie as her dowry, I will sell the rest to create a fund.”

"Their interest set up an award called the Pasric Prize, which is specifically awarded to those who make outstanding inventions while stepping on the face of the church."

"Don't use burial, use the traditional cremation method of Black Snake Bay."

"The ashes were divided into three portions."

"The first one was buried in the Holy Mechanism Court. This is the final crystallization of my life's work."

"The second one is buried in Changdi City, the place where I have struggled for most of my life, and where all my relatives and friends are.

"The third one is buried in my hometown, the place where I was born, so that I can hear the sound of the river waves crashing against the embankment when I was a child."

“However, I do not want to be buried on church land, so the Holy Alliance must annex my hometown in the future.”

What can I say?

"Children, I'm leaving."

　P.S. I might have to take a day off tomorrow. If there's no update by 8 PM, that means there won't be one. The reason is writer's block. These two chapters were from my backlog. I've been stuck all day, and I don't know if I'll be able to finish them tomorrow. But don't worry, even if I'm stuck and dissatisfied the day after, I'll force myself to finish them. It's not that I don't know what to write, it's just that this is the last volume, and it's really not good to go into detail about the side stories. Besides, I've already covered all the plot points I know about this era (my writing speed can't keep up with my energy level), so repeating them doesn't seem very meaningful. I still need to reconsider the level of detail and the angle of entry. Whether or not to give Jeanne a highlight also needs consideration; if I do, I'll have to write more in detail. It's the last volume, so where else can I put it? The romance plot needs to be wrapped up, and then I'll lose control of the length. It's a headache.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)