Chapter 52: An Invitation to a Toast

"Get out of the way!"

Qin Sang cast a cold glance at the surrounding soldiers. Not a single drop of blood clung to him, yet in the eyes of the troops, he was no different from a ferocious demon.

He took a step forward. Without waiting for an order from the commanding officer, the soldiers automatically parted like a receding tide, creating a path. They watched him with faces full of awe; no one dared to block his way.

Qin Sang seized a horse and, under the watchful eyes of the multitude, rode straight toward the city gates.

At the Marquis of Jiangzhou's manor, the newly replaced plaque had been pierced by a longsword. The Crown Prince's corpse hung from the blade, swaying slightly. A pool of blood had gathered on the steps, a piercing, vivid red.

*Clatter, clatter, clatter...*

Qin Sang galloped down the long street. As he reached the gates of the Imperial Capital, he saw Wu Chuanzong guarding the entrance with a squad of soldiers.

Seeing Qin Sang approaching, Wu Chuanzong personally opened the gates and shouted, "Sir, take care!"

"My Lord!"

It was the "Water Monkey" Zhou Ning, leading a fine steed toward him. "Fast horses have been prepared at every military relay station along the way. My Lord, please take care on your journey!"

Seeing Zhou Ning, Qin Sang couldn't help but recall their first meeting on the Wuling River. Filled with emotion, he patted Zhou Ning's shoulder—the one where his arm had been lost—but found himself at a loss for words.

"Take care. We shall meet again!"

Qin Sang mounted his horse and rode out of the city. Not long after he had departed, a sudden intuition struck him, and he turned his head to look back.

He saw a lavish banquet set upon the city walls. The Grand Princess sat behind the table, gazing intently at him. Bai Jianglan and Elder Yue attended her left and right, offering Qin Sang a respectful salute.

The Grand Princess was dressed in the armor of a city-guard soldier, her eyes shining like stars under the moonlight. She raised an amber goblet, toasted Qin Sang from afar, and drained it in one gulp.

She rose and departed.

A crimson cloak vanished into the darkness.

...

Qin Sang traveled along the official highway, and the journey was smooth.

Heading southwest from the Imperial Capital to Zhenshui County, Sanwu City remained as it was, but the Qingyang Temple was a different place entirely, now occupied by refugees.

Then, Qin Sang turned west, crossed the Wuling River, and arrived at the banks of the Chenshui River to revisit the old haunts.

The traces of that great fire had been erased by time, but Qin Sang could still find some white bones.

After searching for a while, he found the remains of the youth surnamed Song and the black-clad demon beneath the layers of grass and soil.

The two sets of remains were easy to identify. Qin Sang arranged the youth's bones and raised a grave. He also allowed the black-clad demon to rest in peace; after all, the *Netherworld Scripture* had been obtained from him, and he had been the one to help open the gates to the immortal path.

After paying his respects, Qin Sang set off once more.

By now, he feared neither wolves nor tigers, traveling boldly through the mountain forests. Before long, he reached the northern border of the Ning Kingdom.

Further west, after crossing one more country, he would reach the Tianlu River.

Qin Sang hesitated. Since arriving in the Ning Kingdom, an inexplicable impulse had been urging him to return to Wangjia Village.

He wasn't sure if it was because he had developed empathy through the fusion of Qin Sanwa's memories, or if it stemmed from a psychological need to compensate for what happened to him.

Even with the detour, it would only delay him by a few days. Compared to the long journey to the Kingdom of Biyun, it was negligible and would not affect his grand plans. Qin Sang did not hesitate for long and decided to take a look at Wangjia Village.

It was deep into the night when he arrived at Wangjia Village.

This peaceful, secluded village had not changed much over the years. Seeing it correspond one-to-one with Qin Sanwa's memories gave Qin Sang a strange sensation of being simultaneously familiar and foreign.

Qin Sanwa's house was at the northernmost part of the village, backed by farmland. The courtyard was not small, featuring a row of five stone rooms. When the incident occurred, only the eldest brother had married, while the second brother was newly engaged but had not yet held the wedding; the whole family lived together.

The mother and the eldest sister-in-law used to bicker frequently. It had been annoying back then, but thinking of it now, it felt somewhat warm.

An owl hooted in a tree.

Qin Sang was suddenly startled to realize he was smiling, nearly losing himself in Qin Sanwa's world.

He silently cautioned himself: *I am Qin Sang, a traveler from beyond. Qin Sanwa is dead. Those memories are merely a long movie, and the actors within are strangers.*

At this moment, the Qin family courtyard appeared before him.

Compared to when Qin Sanwa had left, there wasn't much change. Adjusting his mindset, Qin Sang utilized the *Shadowless Steps* to slip inside.

In the dead of night, the family was asleep, with only the occasional sound of a cough drifting through the air.

From the sound of their breathing, he could tell there were nine people in the courtyard; three of the breaths were faint, clearly children.

The eldest and second brothers both had descendants.

Qin Sang stood outside the windows, looking into room after room. Some faces were familiar, others strange. He suddenly froze, stopping before one particular room.

Inside the room, where the Qin family ancestral tablets and the household guardian spirits usually sat, there was an additional memorial tablet. Because Qin Sanwa had died before reaching adulthood, the name on it was simply "Qin Sanwa."

Suddenly, a slight movement came from the room at the very end—the room belonging to Qin Sanwa's parents.

"Old Qin, Old Qin..." It was the mother's voice. She was likely whispering so as not to wake the children in the next room.

After a moment, the father's sleep-heavy voice responded, "What is it? It's the middle of the night, why aren't you sleeping? What's gotten into you... dreaming of Sanwa again?"

"Yes, I dreamed of him."

"If you dream of him, you dream of him. How many times has it been..."

The father grumbled, then suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. "Why didn't you cry this time? Whenever you dreamed of Sanwa before, you'd cry all night. Eh? You're actually smiling?"

"Why shouldn't I smile?"

The mother huffed, "I haven't dreamed of my third boy in so many days that I was too scared to even eat. Today, I finally saw my child. Tell me, should I not be smiling!"

"Sanwa has been dead for several years..."

"You're the one who's dead!"

The father let out a cry of pain, seemingly pinched by his wife, and cursed indignantly, "You're such a stubborn mule! If he weren't dead, why wouldn't Sanwa come home? Old Wang hasn't come back either. His shop was taken, his house was occupied... if it weren't for the old Wang clan leader holding things down, Old Wang's wife wouldn't even be able to keep those few acres of land. That family is so pitiful..."

"Oh? Since you care so much about Old Wang's wife, why don't you take her in and support her!"

"What do I care about? I'm just talking! Don't you also often bring food to them... Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

"I'm doing it for Old Wang's sake, since he looked after Sanwa!"

The mother held an oil lamp and pushed open the door. "I dreamed again that Sanwa came back. I have to go out and look, to open the door for him."

Qin Sang hurriedly vanished into the shadows.

"You've had this dream eighty or a hundred times! Every time it's for nothing, you just can't let go! Wait for me, I'm coming out too..."

"You said you didn't believe it!"

"I'm going to take a crap!"

Qin Sang remained motionless, witnessing the father and mother return to their room with looks of disappointment and blow out the oil lamp.

Once they had fallen into a deep sleep, Qin Sang reappeared. He silently pushed the door open, picked up the wine cup in front of the memorial tablet, poured a cup of cloudy wine, and gently spilled it onto the ground.

"You are already dead."

Qin Sang sighed softly, talking to himself, though he knew not to whom he was speaking.

...

Before leaving, Qin Sang visited the Wang family. He left a pouch of silver before Manager Wang's memorial tablet, settling his final earthly ties.

(End of Chapter)