Chapter 79 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Ashes

Dawn broke over the top of Vân Tiêu, dyeing the sky a strange pale pink, completely different from the terrifying purple of the night before. The first sunlight shone down on the messy battlefield—broken pieces of armor and scorch marks on the ground. In the middle of it all, the mouth of Khuyết Nguyên had narrowed to a small pond; the purple light had disappeared, replaced by thin vapor rising gently as if sighing after a long pain.

Diệp Sương sat next to Tạ Vân Khê's body all night, not leaving even though she was so exhausted that she could barely feel anything. Thanh Việt sat next to her the whole night, saying nothing, simply staying by her side and occasionally giving her a blanket when the night wind grew cold.

*

When other disciples came to prepare to bring Tạ Vân Khê's body back, Diệp Sương finally stood up, her legs shaking because she had been kneeling for so long. She watched the group carrying the elder's body leave in solemn silence, the entire sect gathered in the yard, everyone bowing their heads in farewell.

Grandmaster Thư Khải Dương personally stood up to lead the farewell group, his face heavy with unconcealed pain. "Elder Tạ Vân Khê," he said, his voice echoing throughout the yard even though he tried to suppress his choking, "sacrificed for the great cause, for the sect, for the whole kingdom of Cửu Vân. From now on, her name will be engraved on the highest memorial stone stele at Cảnh Linh Đài, where she devoted her entire life."

*

Húc Bá Nguyên stood in the row of elders, his face was pale, his eyes avoided, not daring to look directly at the funeral procession. When most of the crowd had dispersed, he found Diệp Sương, his appearance completely different from his usual arrogance.

"I..." he began, his voice hoarse, "I'm sorry. For being too stubborn, too slow to acknowledge the truth. If I had listened sooner, maybe..."

"Maybe many things have changed," Diệp Sương replied, her voice not angry but not easy to forgive immediately. "But apologies won't bring the elder back. If you're truly sorry, use the rest of your life to make sure no one else has to pay the price for such stubbornness again."

*

Húc Bá Nguyên nodded, bowed low, said nothing more, just quietly left, carrying with him the burden of a late awakening that nothing could completely erase.

After that, Thư Khải Dương came to Diệp Sương, his eyes carried a solemnity different from the previous conversation. “I have consulted with the rest of the council,” he said. "In view of what you have done, in view of Elder Tạ Vân Khê's sacrifice to protect you and complete the formation to save both the sect and the kingdom, I officially announce that I will temporarily restore your status as a disciple, while waiting for the official investigation of the old case to be completed."

*

"Thank you, Master," Diệp Sương replied, bowing her head, but she no longer felt the complete joy she had imagined she would feel when this day came. The price had been too great, greater than anything she had ever been willing to trade.

"I know this is not what you really want right now," Thư Khải Dương said, as if reading her mind. "But I believe that Elder Tạ Vân Khê, more than anyone else, will want you to continue on the path you have chosen, whether you have a sect title or not."

*

Âu Bội Nhi and Chung Nhã Trúc came over as soon as they heard the news. Both couldn't hide their tears when they heard everything that had happened. "The elder once told me," Chung Nhã Trúc said, her voice choked up, "that she trusted you more than any of the disciples she had taught during her decades as an elder. She said, meeting you was one of the greatest lucks in her life."

"I wish I had been there," Âu Bội Nhi said, squeezing Diệp Sương's hand. "To fight with you, to say goodbye to the elder and you."

"You did your part, here, taking care of the wounded, holding the rear," Diệp Sương replied, trying to smile even though her heart was still heavy. "Not everyone needs to be on the front lines to make an important contribution."

*

That afternoon, Diệp Sương sat down to write a long letter to Tùng Lĩnh Village, recounting everything that had happened to Mrs. Chín Lài and Mr. Tám Mực—from her wandering journey and meeting the Vụ Ẩn clan to the recent terrible battle and the departure of Tạ Vân Khê. Her hand shook many times while writing that paragraph, and she had to stop and take a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm fine," she wrote at the end of the letter, "and I found more than I dared to expect when I left the village the second time—not just proof, but new friends, new allies, and people who believe in me the way you and Mr. Tám Mực have always believed in me. I'll try to visit as soon as possible, when things are more stable here," She folded the letter carefully, asked a sect messenger falcon to carry it, then sat quietly watching the bird disappear into the afternoon sky, her heart both relieved and aching because she missed home so much.

*

A few days later, when the situation gradually stabilized, Diệp Sương, Thanh Việt, Miên Trà, Du Khinh — now somewhat recovered from his serious injury — and Lãnh Vũ gathered at Cảnh Linh Đài, where a new stone stele had just been erected, engraved with the name Tạ Vân Khê and the words: "The person who believes when no one else dares to believe."

"She will like this inscription," Diệp Sương said softly, her hand lightly touching the cold stone, her voice still choked even though a few days had passed.

"It was I who suggested that line," Thanh Việt reminded her, standing beside her. "The Grand Master said no one had ever proposed such a simple and true memorial for an elder."

*

Du Khinh, leaning on a makeshift stick to support the wound that had not yet fully healed, stood silently looking at the stele for a long time. "I never thought that one day I would stand and mourn a person," he said, his voice thoughtful. "But she deserves it, more than anyone I've ever met."

"My clan will remember this story," Lãnh Vũ added, "and pass it on to future generations, as proof that the alliance between humans and the Vụ Ẩn clan is not a pipe dream, but something that can be realized, no matter the cost."

Wei Bá Tuân, his arm still wrapped in bandages after the battle, stopped by to light a stick of incense in front of the stele, standing silently for a long time before leaving. Diệp Sương looked at his silhouette, her heart filled with a new sympathy that she never thought she would have for the person who despised her during her first years at the sect.

"Perhaps," he said quietly to Thanh Việt, "the biggest change from last night lies not only in the fact that we repelled the disaster, but also in the fact that even those who once stood on the opposing side began to reconsider themselves."

*

Diệp Sương sat on the edge of Cảnh Linh Đài, looking down at the panoramic view of Vân Tiêu Peak being gradually cleaned and repaired after the battle. The Khuyết Nguyên Abyss was now only a small scar, no longer erupting with chaotic energy, but she knew that this was only part of the problem solved, not the whole thing.

"What will happen next?" Miên Trà asked, sitting down next to her.

"The investigation into the Special Coordination Line is not yet complete," Diệp Sương replied, her voice thoughtful. "I think, even though the biggest demon tide has been repelled, the real person behind all of this has not yet been revealed. Perhaps, he is even hiding very close by somewhere."

*

Thanh Việt sat down next to her, looking at the distant horizon where the sun was gradually rising, warm sunlight spreading across the land of Cửu Vân after the most horrifying night in its history.

“Whoever that person is,” he said, his voice firm, “we will find him, together. Not just you, but all of us—the sect, the army, the Vụ Ẩn clan, and even the forgotten border people.”

Diệp Sương nodded, squeezed his hand, then looked up at the rare clear morning sky after many gloomy days. In her heart, the pain of loss was still intact, but mixed with it a new determination was silently growing—the determination not to let Tạ Vân Khê's sacrifice become meaningless, no matter how long and thorny the road ahead.

She stood up, reached out her hand to pull Miên Trà to stand with her, then turned to look at the stone stele one last time before leaving Cảnh Linh Đài, carrying in her heart a silent promise that, no matter how carefully the real mastermind hid himself, she would not stop searching until true justice was fully served, not only for herself, but for everyone who fell on that path.