[A.B.P.P.E.] Bk 2 - Chapter 53 - Simple Funeral Rites

The large entrance hall only grew larger as they walked through it now that it was empty of all the bodies. 

Yin Hu, Da Ruis, and the girls strolled from pillar to pillar. They studied the smaller paintings and murals that covered each one. Stories of individuals, their lives, families, loved ones, and how they died. A hundred different tales all with a similar ending, though none of them went into detail what they faced or the minutiae of the why of the how they passed away. 

Not like the first and largest one he had been studying on the outside of the palace. 

That had been the tale of the people in its entirety rather than the story of individuals and families. 

He placed his hand on the latest one, a swordsmith that had tried to create the ultimate blade. One strong enough to pierce through the fabric of reality as easily as cutting through butter. The old man had thought that was the only way out, only to learn the barrier prevented such world severing attacks from happening within its boundary. He died only a week after, having used his very cultivation and core as the ultimate power source to create his crowning achievement. 

Yin Hu reached into his rice bag and searched for it.

There it is…

He pulled out the gorgeous katana with a black handle and black blade so dark it seemed to suck the little light that surrounded them. It vibrated with power and energy. 

Shui noticed it first and pointed at the mural before them. “It looks just like the painting.”

Yin Hu matched it to the picture, it was identical. Even the way the white and black tassel at the end swayed to an unseen wind.

“It's so beautiful,” Jun’s eyes sparkled with an unmistakable desire to wield it. 

If Shui was a loot goblin that struggled to contain her burning passion for it, Jun was the same but for hoarding weapons and anything that could aid her in a fight. Whether it was battlemounts, armors, swords, spears, or anything else that could eventually be useful in defeating her foe. Even if it was worthless to her in the long run. 

Yin Hu made a mental note to find a middle ground for both of his girls to find lest they lose themselves to their greed. 

Blackened Sword | Void Ruiner - 

A blade created by a genius SwordSmith of great renown. One of three legends from the same lost city with unmatched skill and experience in creating weapons that could cut through the fabric of space if intended to do so. Unlike that of even the greatest blades, there’s is a clean cut from sharpness rather than the weight of its Spirit.

Yin Hu searched in the rice bag for a sheath but found nothing that connected to it. 

The owner hadn’t had enough lifespan to figure that out after spending all of his lifeforce creating it. 

“It doesn’t have a Weapon Spirit…?” Da Ruis floated around Yin Hu, tapping his chin. “So strange to see a blade so powerful without anything to represent its existence in the spirit realm. Wonder why?”

Yin Hu sent it back into the rice bag. “This shall be my newest blade, joining DragonsWrath. There should be a few other murals with legendary weapons and blacksmiths. Maybe they made something like this Void Ruiner.”

“Void Ruiner?” Da Ruis shivered, trying to hide his discomfort with an uncomfortable laugh. “To think there might be more of them? All from a single palace and race?”

They began to walk through the rest of the pillars in hopes to find any indication of what the others looked like. Without a feeling of their Weapon Spirit to guide him, it would be difficult to pinpoint them through the thousands of weapons he had gained from just this place. The Void Ruiner felt like a normal blade until he held it in his hands and a system notification gave him the description to prove how powerful it actually was. 

He frowned at the thought of going through every single one to figure out which ones were special and which weren't. Having an idea of the world shaking weapons in his spacial bag would be wise. 

Yin Hu and the group haven’t even crossed the ten percent point before Rong appeared beside them. 

“Patriarch,” he bowed low to Yin Hu. “The gravesite is prepared. Zhong Da and Wu Xui are preparing incense and flowers for the ceremony.”

“Good. Lead us.”

Yin Hu had been hoping to get some sort of indication at what to write on the headstone of the gravesite. The name of the race, maybe an idea of who they were. Or even the existence of a funeral ritual that was common to their people considering how many of them died during the calamity that befell their peoples. Yet, he had not found anything in the few pillars they had explored so far. 

We’ll do our best, even if it comes short. 

They followed Rong out to where the group found Zhong Da and Wu Xui lighting up a dozen pots of incense around the massive, deep grave they had dug. Large enough to fit the mountain of bodies within comfortably. Near the headstone was a copse of colorful flowers and a golden incense bowl that remained empty. 

A final one for Yin Hu to place something of note within. 

Yin Hu took a deep breath of the beautiful scents that came from the bowls, yet he could not fully enjoy them. Not here and now. 

“I’ve found a worthy headstone as well,” Rong said as he ran to the side and picked up a large square boulder that had rounded edges. It was a piece of dark silver stone that reflected no light and looked to weigh multiple tons. Multiple feet wide and Yin Hu’s height. It would be perfect to give them a few words so they were never forgotten even a thousand years from this day. 

“Well done,” Yin Hu patted his head. 

He walked up to the edge of the gravesite, closed his eyes, and held his hands behind his back in his Ancient Being pose. Mentally commanding the rice bag to not only strip every single person, but to wrap them in white clothing as well. A symbol of their sacrifice and the purity of their Qi. Even in the most dire of situations, they persevered and stayed true to their identity. He let out a sigh and then waved his hand with the intent to place the bodies in perfect lines. None piled on top of the other unevenly or haphazard. 

The hole shimmered for a second before the bodies appeared where he wanted them to. 

“Cover them while I fill the final pot of incense,” Yin Hu said as he walked around the edge of the area toward the golden metal bowl Zhong Da had placed in front of the copse of flowers and where Rong had placed the giant gray boulder behind as background. 

He searched through his inventory while he slowly walked his way there until he found the very first one. 

Incense of the Sorrowful Maiden.

Yin Hu wouldn’t read the description as the solemnity of the moment pressed down upon them all. A burial only made the reality of the world they lived on more real. Brought forth when they acted like it had not existed. Even getting as close as they did with Zhong Da had not really hit them as hard as attending a funeral. Zhong Da was fine. His wife had not grieved his loss.

Why am I feeling this? I don’t even know them…

He felt the earth and ground shift behind him as he reached into the incense container he pulled out of the rice bag and placed a few pieces of the rock hard object into the golden bowl. It set aflame the second he stood up by itself, already aware of what it was here for without needing to be lit up. 

Its scent dominated all of the rest and spread across the area. 

Letting everything within the Bleak Forests that a funeral ceremony had taken place. To be respectful, to not shout and only whisper, and to not act brazen and kill until it passed. However long that would be. A ceasefire occurred, even a thousand miles away from them within the endless wars waged by predator and prey. Nothing was slain and no fight for domination occurred.

Yin Hu pulled out a dagger and carved a few words to remember them by on the giant headstone. Something simple. 

A race of Purity and Sacrifice. Laid their lives for their loved ones without hesitation. 

He stood there for some time without saying anything. 

Just reading the words over and over again as though it would suddenly solve the mystery of who these people were and what their names were.

It did not. 

“Ancestor,” Jun whispered as she approached them with Shui in tow. Both of their eyes were red and puffy. “D-Do you mind if we get to do the same thing for our family. Father and mother deserve a proper burial, even if we can’t find their bodies.”

Yin Hu mentally grunted as though he had been punched in the liver, but he refused to let them see it. He nodded solemnly. 

“Of course. Once we return and claim the Hu Clan.”

“Thank you,” Shui said in a scarcely sad tone. 

Yin Hu reached over and pulled them into a hug. They weren’t just his disciples anymore as much as he would try to deny it. 

They were his granddaughters, even if he was technically only twenty something mentally.