#538 - The breeze is also speechless

It was late at night.

Xu Ming and Xu Pangda sat in front of the tombstone, keeping vigil for Mr. Xiao.

Xu Pangda had been awake for two days and two nights, but he had no intention of sleeping.

In Xu Pangda's view, if he fell asleep, it would be disrespectful to Mr. Xiao.

"Third Brother, get some sleep. It's alright. If Mr. Xiao's spirit sees this, he won't blame you."

Seeing Xu Pangda's persistence, Xu Ming tried to persuade him.

In fact, Xu Ming also knew that his third brother had always been very respectful of Mr. Xiao.

It could even be said that Mr. Xiao was Third Brother's idol, and Third Brother had always regarded Mr. Xiao as his goal, always wanting to become someone like Mr. Xiao.

Mr. Xiao's passing this time was definitely a huge blow to Third Brother.

And being able to keep vigil for Mr. Xiao was even more meaningful for Third Brother.

Although in the eyes of many people, being able to keep vigil for Mr. Xiao was a kind of inheritance, a kind of passing on of the mantle, which could add a lot of bargaining chips to Xu Pangda, allowing him to rise higher and higher in the court in the future.

Many people were jealous of this position.

But in fact, Xu Ming knew very well that Third Brother had absolutely not thought about it that way.

Third Brother just purely wanted to keep vigil for Mr. Xiao, to properly send Mr. Xiao off on his final journey.

"It's alright, Fifth Brother. I can still hold on. It's just been two days and two nights without sleep," Xu Pangda looked at Xu Ming with a smile, "If I fall asleep now, I'll be embarrassing Mr. Xiao."

Xu Ming: "…"

Since Third Brother had said so, Xu Ming didn't say anything more.

"Fifth Brother," two quarters of an hour later, Xu Pangda looked at the tombstone and softly called Xu Ming's name, "What do you think Mr. Xiao was thinking at the last moment?"

Xu Ming looked at the tombstone in front of him and slowly said, "He should have been thinking about the entire world."

"…" Xu Pangda lowered his head and remained silent.

Just as Xu Ming turned his head, he saw Xu Pangda falling to the side.

Fortunately, just as Xu Pangda was about to fall to the ground, a woman supported him and gently placed him on the ground.

Xu Ming raised his head and looked at the woman standing beside him.

The jade bracelet on the woman's wrist made a clear sound. Her cloud brocade dress outlined her full figure, but a plain ribbon was tied around her waist, like a red plum in the snow, restraining three parts of her beauty.

Looking at such a woman, Xu Ming couldn't help but think of another person—Zhu Cici.

This woman's temperament was exactly the same as Zhu Cici's.

It was just that this woman looked a little older, giving people a more mature feeling.

Xu Ming recognized the person standing beside this woman.

Back then, in the North Sea Dragon Palace, Xu Ming had drunk tea and chatted with him in the courtyard.

"Mr. Lu."

Xu Ming stood up and bowed to Lu Xiaoliu.

"Yes," Lu Xiaoliu nodded and said with a smile, "Xu Ming, long time no see. Let me introduce you, this is the talented woman of Qi, Nan Wenmo."

"Greetings, Mr. Nan," Xu Ming bowed to Nan Wenmo again.

Xu Ming was naturally clear about Nan Wenmo.

Nan Wenmo, once the number one talented woman in Qi, one of the disciples of the Dean of the White Deer Academy.

It was rumored that Nan Wenmo and Mr. Xiao were in love with each other, and they were a perfect match, both talented and beautiful.

At that time, the monarch of Qi also offered high-ranking officials and generous salaries, and even hinted that he could personally bestow a marriage upon the two of them, wanting Xiao Mochi to go to Qi to become an official!

But in the end, Mr. Xiao left the White Deer Academy and did not go to Qi, but returned to Wu.

It was even rumored that Nan Wenmo wanted to elope with Xiao Mochi at that time, expressing that she was willing to go to Wu to accompany him and never return to Qi, but Xiao Mochi did not agree.

After that, Xiao Mochi returned to Wu, and Nan Wenmo returned to Qi. The two of them had not seen each other for many years.

Nan Wenmo nodded and didn't say anything. Her gaze was only on this tombstone.

"Alas."

Lu Xiaoliu sighed and said to Xu Ming.

"Nephew Xu, let's go for a walk. Let Wenmo keep vigil for Mo Chi, shall we?"

"Of course," Xu Ming nodded, carried Xu Pangda on his back, and walked away with Lu Xiaoliu in another direction.

Xu Ming believed that Mr. Xiao also wanted to be alone with Nan Wenmo.

However, when Mr. Xiao was changing the Heavenly Dao, he turned his head and glanced back. Xu Ming didn't know what Mr. Xiao was looking at.

Thinking about it today, the place that Mr. Xiao was looking at was actually in the direction of Qi.

Xu Ming carried Xu Pangda on his back and walked away with Lu Xiaoliu. In front of the tombstone, only Nan Wenmo was left alone.

Nan Wenmo knelt on the ground, the moonlight outlining the woman's soft and graceful curves.

Nan Wenmo took out a jar of wine from the basket: "This is the Snow Deer Wine that you loved to drink the most at the White Deer Academy. I brought some over. Today, I'll drink with you."

Opening the wine jar, Nan Wenmo sprinkled the wine in front of the tombstone, then opened another wine jar, Nan Wenmo raised her fair neck and took several large gulps.

The woman was silent, just drinking wine, drinking jar after jar.

The wine slowly dripped from her neck, flowed over her fair collarbone, stained her clothes, and shattered the moonlight.

The woman wiped her mouth, threw the wine jar aside, then took out another jar of wine from the basket, opened the seal, and drank it all in one gulp.

As one empty wine jar after another rolled to the woman's feet, the woman suddenly put down the wine jar in her hand and looked at the tombstone in front of her.

Her eyes were red, her fingers were tightly clenched around the wine jar, and she looked at the few large characters on the tombstone with a tipsy gaze, her thin lips tightly pursed:

"I didn't care that you didn't come back to Qi with me. I agreed to you."

"I also agreed to you when you didn't agree to me going back to Wu with you."

"After you returned to Wu, you chased me out when I came to find you once! I don't resent you either!"

"But now! Where are you! You can't even leave a corpse behind! Only this cenotaph!"

"You promised me that you wouldn't die!"

"Why did you lie to me!"

"Say something!"

"Say something!"

Tears dripped from the corners of the woman's eyes.

Nan Wenmo tightly grasped her skirt, lowered her head, and didn't know whether it was wine or tears that soaked her skirt.

A gentle breeze blew, caressing the woman's hair, also silent.