The leaves of the lotus flowers had begun to fall, and the lushness of summer was fading away. The West Wind blew, and it was quiet all around the city.

It was time for White Dew to fall, and the cicadas remained silent in the night. Warmth faded away slowly, and the birds began to migrate to warmer climates in flocks, from the North to the South.

Overnight, the General’s Manor was completely draped with white cloth. Lamps burned throughout the entire night, incense paper and joss sticks were lit, and sounds of crying rang out. Ye Yunhai had arrived in the palace dressed in mourning wear for the morning court session, and the news quickly broke out throughout the entire Luoyang City.

General Ye Zhengru had passed away!

It caused a great ripple across the entire city!

Even though there had been news that the old general was getting on in age and bedridden, he was seen outdoors yesterday. So how could he have passed on so suddenly?

Some people spoke admirably about his life while others lamented the loss of the old general. There were even people that suspected foul play, but nothing could change the fact that he was gone.

The most imperative thing within the palace and beyond was not why the old general was so suddenly gone, but how to deal with the aftermath of his death. The funeral was a minor issue; it was more important to assign control of the 20000 strong Ye Army to his successor.

Within half a day, many homing pigeons could be found flying over Luoyang City.

On the same day, there was an earthquake of considerable magnitude in the Northwest direction from Luoyang City. If one observed carefully, one would realize that the Imperial Mausoleum of the Tang Empire, set along the ley lines of sovereignty, was at the epicenter of the quake.

Only slight tremors were felt in Luoyang City and there were no casualties. As a result, the citizens were not really concerned about the earthquake. To some of them, it was a common occurrence.

Shortly after the earthquake.

The mountain gates of Shushan were threw open, and a group of 28 people traveled northward with their swords in tow.

Young men dressed in animal hide walked barefoot from the Baizhang Royal Family of the Dayan Nation. The traversed southward across vast plains.

Sword qi surged from the tombs on the Peak of Blight which contained the bodies of powerful swordsmen and their weapons. Soon after, 10 swords flew out of the tomb on their own accord and landed before 10 youths who were practicing their swordcraft.

The morning bells rang out in unison on the Temple of Six Buddhas on Yinshan and Tzu Chi Palace in Yangshan, and a group of monks and Taoist priests walked down the hill as the sounds accompanied them from behind.

Other sects like the Chamber of the Rainy Duel, The Court on Ancestors in Yunzhou, the Silent Monastery in the Silent Flower Valley, the Five Elemental Divisions of the Demon Race, and even all reputable sects in Qingqiu sent out their disciples.

These sects were spread all over the land, and they came from everywhere, but amazingly their destination was the same. All of them were heading to the Imperial Mausoleum along the ley lines of sovereignty.

On the same day, an old man broke into the Divine Sect Seminary just as Qian Shuxiao had sent away everyone and was about to shut the doors. He was stumbling, he was breathing rapidly, and his face was deathly pale. Qian Shuxiao knew who he was. He was the old butler of the General’s Manor and he had served by Ye Zhengru’s side for more than half his life.

The old man seemed to be in pain. After seeing Qian Shuxiao, he poked the youth’s elbow with much force and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak.

“Are you looking for Ye Que?” Qian Shuxiao tried to guess.

The old man nodded vigorously.

“He is in retreat, so I am afraid he can’t see anyone.” Qian Shuxiao smiled and shrugged. “I can see that you seem to be in discomfort. Why don’t I find a doctor for you?”

The old man shook his head in disagreement without even thinking, before frowning. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and the color of his face turned from white to red, then to purple. He looked as though he was about to go and he took out a jade pendant with much effort from his chest eventually. “Tell…tell Ye…River…River Soldiers…”

The old man gripped Qian Shuxiao’s hands and had just said those few words when a flame lit up around his chest. The black flames soon burned his body into ash.

Nothing of his body was left.

He could not even manage to cry out.

Qian Shuxiao stood rooted to the spot. “A second ago, he was still well and alive. Now, he had turned into ash!”

“Jade pendant?”

“River Soldiers?”

“What exactly is going on?”

Seeing an adult disappearing right in front of him without even being touched was something that Qian Shuxiao could not help but feel emotional about. How would he settle this? Should he report this to the authorities? He gave up the idea without further consideration. He was no ordinary civilian, and Luoyang City was currently in turmoil; a slight misstep could lead to his doom.

Ye Zhengru had just died last night, and his personal butler died in front of him today.

What could explain this?

Nothing. Even one with a glib tongue could not give a proper excuse.

Qian Shuxiao did not dare to make his own decisions and hoped that Ye Que would regain his senses soon.

The funeral was held as scheduled, and the officers of the Ye Army, from the lower ranking ones to commanders, had made a trip back to Luoyang just to send the old general away.

The huge General’s Manor was filled with people for the past few days. It looked like it was daylight even in the night, and sorrowful music filled the air. Yellow incense paper filled the air. The posthumous title of ‘Loyal and Honorable’ conferred by the Emperor himself was carved neatly in the middle of the tablet- “In remembrance of the Loyal and Honorable General who Protected his Country, Ye Zhengru, who lies here.”

The funeral lasted for seven days, and the General’s Manor made sure it was grand. The government had also gave as much face as it could. The Crown Prince and Second Prince had come down to the manor personally to pay their respects to the late general on behalf of their father. He had also given special permission for the entire procession to be organized like that of a prince.

As for the ritual of releasing souls from purgatory of the first seven days, half the monks of the entire Luoyang Qingyin Temple were invited.

Buddhist chants filled the air throughout the night.

Early morning on the second day.

A slight drizzle fell on Luoyang City after the seven day mourning period was over.

The criers walked in the rain, as white mourning banners and yellow incense paper appeared everywhere. Sorrowful cries filled the air in the General’s Manor. The funeral procession departed slowly toward the Ye family graveyard at Xishan, outside Luoyang City.

Ye Yunhai walked in front of the team, his eyes were red, his face was creased with sorrow, but no one could not see any tears in his eyes. Behind him was Xiao Huating, who held the rope of the hearse in one hand and covered her face with the other hand. It seemed that she had been crying for a long time, and she kept humming the dirge ‘Xie Lu’ softly.

The whole team departed from the General’s Manor, along Yong’an Street, over Bridge of Long Life, out of Ximen, and into the grave. The distance was not too short, but the team was huge. When Ye Yunhai had reached the Bridge of Long Life, the tail end of the team had just came out of the General’s Manor.

The old general was about to be buried today, and the citizens of Luoyang City had long known about it. Many of them had already stood at both sides of the street to wait for his procession to pass by. He had been a soldier for his entire life, and he had placed it on the line for the Tang Dynasty to protect the well-being of his nation. The people had seem him walk the talk and remembered. Now that he had passed on, seeing him off was the least they could do.

The Divine Sect Seminary was located on the side of Yong’an Street. Ye Que woke up from his meditation just as the sounds of mourning came into the seminary.

For seven days and seven nights, Ye Que smashed out sixty-seven thousand and two hundred knives and smashed up to sixty-seven hundred and twenty hundred seal scripts. He had finally traversed the entire length of the path to the Psychic Realm.

Spiritual Qi surged out when he opened his eyes.

In the corner of the house, there was a flower pot. Qian Shuxiao had just thrown into an epiphyllum into it casually, but now it had grown at alarming speed. Its roots had sprouted out, many branches had grown, it had many leaves, and also the blooming of its flowers gave off a radiant brilliance.

Epiphyllums blossomed for a very short time.

Ye Que grinned.

He shut his eyes and the Spiritual Force suddenly stopped flowing around his body. When he next opened them, all of the energy was instantly absorbed back into his body.

Inside the door of his heart, between the Spiritual Sea and the snow-capped mountain, a little Divine Energy core was jumping happily, as if it was full of infinite vitality.

Within seven days, Ye Que had passed from the Post-celestial to the Psychic Realm.