Collapse, survive

Page 186

Danheng shook his head, wanting to go alone and meet some people.

"Then you can go now, Danheng. If you need anything, just let us know. We'll be there as soon as we have a solution!"

Xing looked very serious; he might even be driving a toy train.

Fang Jie had no objection, and Walter agreed.

On March 7th, he cheered him on: "I wish you a safe journey, and I wish myself a safe journey too. I hope the Qiong Guan Zhen will work, and I hope the Tai Bu won't refuse us. But that's all for later. What should we do now, Uncle Yang?"

Thank you for taking care of me all the way, Uncle Yang. So what are you planning to do next?

Walter looked at those gazes: "Although the Grand Diviner didn't say much, he handed us the folding fan that Huanlong left behind, which belonged to Miss Tingyun. I suppose he hopes we will pass it on as a memento. I'm going to Sichen Palace to see Yukong. If you don't have anything else to do for the time being, it would be best if you came with me."

The conference could not proceed, and it was not appropriate to press Fang Jie about the future, even though it concerned Otto, and a bunch of collaborators and geniuses had emerged.

"Huh, is that what the diviner means?"

Xing looked left and right, then saw that she had been invited... so she had to go.

However, she was curious whether the diviner really meant that.

Walter's expression was serious: "It concerns the cooperation between the Great Lord of Annihilation and the genius. She certainly doesn't want to say much and needs to cover things up and personally investigate the follow-up. Lady Yu Kong should know about it, perhaps she already knows the news, but vague news is not as good as hearing it with your own ears. This is also what we should do. After all, Miss Ting Yun set off with us and will not return."

Four went out, and three returned.

The square does not count.

Even though that Tingyun was already an illusion, in Yukong's eyes...

The Celestial Ship has successfully dealt with the Star Core Disaster and will handle the rest on its own. However, as an ally, Walter still wants to do something.

Danheng has left the team.

The Tianbo Company set off to explore four directions.

……

The journey was smooth and unimpeded, with allies of the highest caliber. The Shence Prefecture only needed to issue a notification to proceed, and the Tianbo Division did not require any notification at all.

Yu Kong was busy: "In that case, please convey my message to the Ten Kings..."

Fang Jie saw a familiar face here, Xueyi. She seemed to have changed into a puppet body and looked brand new.

"I will deliver the message, and I also ask the captain to accept my condolences. Since we have guests, I will take my leave now."

Xueyi is responsible for conveying news of the deaths to the living. Currently, all relatives who need to pay respects to the deceased, as compiled by the Immortal Boat, must be notified, as this concerns the burial of the demonic spirit.

Many people in the Tianbo Company perished.

Yu Kong also saw the group that had arrived. There was one more person, one less person, and many fewer people. She sighed and said, "Everyone... On behalf of the entire Tianbo Company, I would like to thank the train crew for saving Luofu during the Star Core Cataclysm."

Walter was straightforward, without any need for formalities: "Lord Yukong must have already heard about Miss Tingyun..."

Yu Kong nodded: "I know. Although it's bizarre, I don't think Fu Xuan's battle report is unfounded. Who would have thought that our Tianbo Division would be the first to be caught up in the rampage of the Annihilation Lord in this disaster? Ting Yun, she... sigh."

There is still a glimmer of hope, which is already very good, very good.

But after this incident, this child...

"These are things left behind by Miss Tingyun."

Walter knew that Yu Kong was not a fragile person, and that the things Huan Long had left behind belonged to Ting Yun.

Since it concerns the Great Ruler of Extinction, as well as many envoys and even sensitive people and matters like the Five Valiant Warriors of the Clouds, the matter of halting the clouds will not be made public at present, and will only be known to a small group of people.

In other words, Tingyun is going to 'die' first, or at least his fate is unknown and difficult to ascertain.

Xianzhou must arrange for someone to investigate the remains of the merchant caravan where she perished, or even send a general to investigate.

Yu Kong took it and stared at it blankly, as if he were seeing the witty and eloquent woman from the past.

She suddenly closed her eyes and murmured to herself, "I still can't believe it. Is this really not a clumsy joke? The antimatter legion appeared on the immortal ship? Tingyun was targeted by some annihilation lord, replaced and disguised? Tingyun, who worked with me for more than thirty years and once managed the affairs of the Heavenly Ship Bureau with me, is now perhaps in some genius's laboratory, dying and struggling to survive..."

"Miss Yu Kong..."

"I'm sorry, I understand, I understand, I just can't accept it right now. Thank you, thank you for telling me about Tingyun, thank you for bringing Tingyun's things back to Sichen Palace. In this stellar core catastrophe, we lost so many of our comrades, brothers, sisters, children..."

Yu Kong took a deep breath and looked at the unfamiliar face in the Starry Sky Train group, namely Fang Jie.

It was because he knew that Tingyun was facing this calamity, and that there was still a glimmer of hope for her.

We cannot ask for more, especially in a situation involving a supreme ruler and numerous messengers.

Even she could only entrust her old friend, General Tianji, to investigate Tingyun's whereabouts; she couldn't do anything more.

Yu Kong closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his expression was both sorrowful and resolute: "I suppose the Grand Diviner has also invited you all to participate in the memorial service held by the Tianbo Division for the fallen as witnesses to this battle."

"Yes, we will participate."

The funeral for the Xianzhou people was also the funeral for the victims of this disaster.

For the immortal beings on the Immortal Ship, the matter of what happens after death has always been a distant and vague concept. In normal times, before the signs of demonic possession appear, the guides from the Ten Kings Bureau will lead the Immortal Ship people into the Hall of Cause and Effect, leaving behind their life experiences before returning to oblivion. People are used to replacing elaborate funeral rites with short farewells.

Compared to the Celestial Boat People, the Fox People, whose lifespans are more limited, place greater emphasis on posthumous rituals.

"In this disaster, countless Cloud Riders died in the line of duty or fell into demonic possession. The Hall of Cause and Effect did not have time to record their lives before they passed away."

All the hasty deaths and unfulfilled wishes remind us that the life of an immortal is still just a trivial and finite moment.

I want to give the departed a final resting place, in the manner of the Celestial Ships, with the funeral rites of the Fox People. I will place their belongings on a star raft, send them aboard the celestial ship, and sail them into the stars, where they will shine together. This is not only to comfort the departed, to comfort the souls that can no longer speak to us, but also to comfort their blood relatives, dearest friends, and all the inhabitants of the celestial ship who remain in the mortal world…

I also hope to bid farewell to Tingyun through this ceremony.

Yu Kong gazed once more at the remnants of Tingyun left behind by Huanlong, as if he could see the girl from the past who was always smiling and running around beside him. She may not be returning now, but she will surely return, even though things have changed.

“This is my selfish reason. Even if she wasn’t one of the Cloud Riders who died on the battlefield, and even if she had a chance of survival, she is still a member of my Tianbo Division and a victim of this catastrophe. She will find it difficult to escape the shadow of this disaster for the rest of her life, and may even be involved in more calamities that I am powerless to stop.”

“I want to use this ceremony to separate my subordinate from the Great Lord of Annihilation who stole her identity and appeared in her guise. This is also what Tingyun would hope to see; she has never been a fragile little girl, she will…”

Just like me.

I died one day, and in the long days that followed, I kept searching for the feeling of being alive.

This funeral is for Tingyun, who has passed away.

Yu Kong knew that the girl would not return.

"This is the only thing I can do for her, everyone. May I ask that you come and witness this together?"

Perhaps this is what it means to be in sync with someone.

When Tingyun returned, despite her dire straits, she decisively seized the false bond between Huanlong and the Starry Sky Train that had taken away her identity and destroyed her life, transforming it into something real and tangible that belonged to Tingyun.

Yu Kong also hoped that those who knew everything about Ting Yun could join in bidding farewell to the little girl.

No one had any objections to this; completely eradicating the shadow left by Huanlong is also a form of pioneering.

"We will attend the ceremony. Just leave this matter to us, as Lord Yukong wishes."

"Yu Kong thanks you all. Next, I will go to Star Harbor to oversee the construction of the Star Raft and prepare items related to Ting Yun's life for the ceremony. I have already instructed Yan Ming to organize them. I hope that you can choose some items to place on the Star Raft."

All the happy, the sad, yesterday's, tomorrow's...

Even though the Milky Way is vast and the stars are countless, as long as we cherish each other, we will always meet again.

Chapter 126 Reconnecting with the warmth of closeness.

Like a deep, dark ocean.

Suffocating.

From the very bottom, towards the very end, a ray of light illuminates a figure sinking into the sea.

The man's eyes were closed, his breathing was weak, and he showed no signs of life.

It's as if I'm gazing into the boundless darkness...

A self that is completely different from who it used to be.

"I'm……"

She could no longer see or remember the endless weariness, resentment, pain, and regret.

"Who?"

The fire was burning, deep in the dark sea, and a few whispers fueled the fire, like the embers of life, faint yet tenacious, from which she saw everything burning.

The protective jade bracelet was shattered, the prayer bell rolled into the mud, and the brightly colored folding fan turned to ashes...

She could only watch the dark, unseen fire burn.

Everything I once owned was burning.

Suddenly, in a flash of insight, she understood everything.

"it's me."

Memories surged in the sea, echoes that had once been revisited, so vivid, so burning. For a moment, she could only feel regret that she was still a step behind life.

'We just finalized a big deal with that merchant, and now we've wasted the opportunity...'

'What a pity that this well-maintained tail has become nothing but a fleeting memory...'

'Even the gifts I promised to bring everyone... I'm going to break my promise...'

A thousand thoughts swirled in my mind, yet my body was paralyzed. Only my eyes gradually welled up with tears, and memories flashed by like a revolving lantern, then dimmed.

'I really want to see Lady Sky Soar into the sky with the bow I gave her; that's what she wants to do most...'

'Yanming, from now on, the Immortal Boat Merchant Guild... will all have to rely on him...'

'I've also found Mengming's tea seeds; she must be overjoyed...'

'And Aunt Yan Cui, her knife needs a new one too…'

Tears slid down, evaporating before they touched the ground.

Her vision was gradually swallowed by darkness, and she could no longer discern the direction of the fairy ship.

'I had intended to journey to the farthest reaches of the sky, but in the end, I didn't even know who my enemy was. I'm truly unwilling to accept this...'

Every minute and every second, countless lives perish in every corner of the universe.

Before the immense power unleashed by the travelers on the path of destiny, mortals are like a tiny speck of dust, drifting with the wind (you know what I mean), powerless to control their own destiny.

Countless emotions surged in the darkness, plunging into the abyss. At the end of existence, everything will be destroyed.

But why the sea? I remember... I should have been...

Within the flames.

Perhaps the image of her smiling in the fire was too hellish and could easily provoke someone's impulse.

A beam of light illuminated the area, even though endless darkness lay behind the light, and she heard the voice.

"Time to wake up."

Like a demon crawling out of hell, they helped her for reasons unknown.

……

"What's wrong, Fang Jie?!"

Chang Letian had already sent out several gifts that Miss Tingyun hadn't been able to send, and March 7th immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Why are you so quiet the whole way? Don't follow her example, say something."

"A sentence."