When Liu Tián Qǔ arrived in the Imperial square along with the Four Martial Families and the two hundred Liu Residence house guards that escorted them. Liu Tián Qǔ wondered what kind of situation she walked into. Liu Tián Qǔ felt as if she stepped onto the movie set of a strange, solemn Qingming Festival that excluded the family outing, dancing, singing, kite flying, and all the other things that made Qingming special. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar strange sight to Liu Tián Qǔ.
Many had already paid their respects, ate, and was already leaving by the time they arrived. Hundreds of thousands of people already packed the massive Imperial square. There was a constant stream of people coming and going from the massive Imperial square.
Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè all rode on the carriage. Liu Tián Qǔ and two hundred Liu Residence house guards completely surrounded the carriage and escorted it to the Imperial square.
Before they even reach the Imperial square, Liu Tián Qǔ was utterly exhausted. Although it was a beautiful cool spring night, Liu Tián Qǔ was hot, tired, and dripping in sweat. Liu Tián Qǔ was thankful for the mask that the Liu Residence house guard was allowed to wear. It masked her condition.
Usually, the mask that came with the armor was worn only during times of war or armed conflict. However, to masked the fact that the Young Lord of Liu Manor was in disguise among the guards. Commander Jiang commanded the guards to wear their masks to the memorial.
Long before they reached the Imperial square, Liu Tián Qǔ heard the sounds of constant firecrackers going off. Ringing the outside of the square, several dozens of people were responsible for lighting firecrackers. The firecrackers were used to scare away evil spirits and alert the deceased of the mourners' presence.
The memorial was a big affair, thousands of members of the Four Martial Families were unjustly killed. Many were worried about attracting evil, vengeful, or malicious spirits. So Elder Wang tasked people with lighting firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. They were not the only ones en route to the square. To Liu Tián Qǔ, it seems as if the whole Tolling Lands had come to pay their respects. The road to the Imperial square was densely packed with people.
However, when people realize who they were. Everyone immediate begin to make way. It kind of reminded Liu Tián Qǔ of a story she read in the Christian Bible in her past life of how the Red Sea parted to allow people to uninhibitedly walk through the sea. The people parted the same way to allow the returned Four Martial Families to make their way to the Imperial square. Nickolas and his family were Christians to better understand their religious beliefs Liu Tián Qǔ had read the Christian Bible.
The enormous Imperial square was decorated in mourning colors. The Imperial square almost seemed to be buried in flowers. Liu Tián Qǔ could smell the food that was being cooked for the mourners. She could smell the incense on the air, the smell of burning joss sticks and joss paper. She could hear the sounds of firecrackers going off nonstop, the sounds of hundreds of thousands of people gathered together. Liu Tián Qǔ was really amazed at the massive support and love, the people of The Tolling Lands were showing. This outpouring of love and support showed how much the people of the Tolling Lands loved and respected the Four Martial Families.
Many of the people gathered were crying or had wet eyes as they mourned their heroes.
People continued to make way, allowing the carriage bearing the four martial families to entered the densely packed Imperial square. The carriage continued into the square until it reached the raised platform. Upon reaching the raised platform, the carriage came to a stop. The people standing nearby shuffled back making room for the guards to cover Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè as they alighted from the carriage one by one.
One by one Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè ascended the raised platforms and made their way towards the table that was designated for their family. The Liu Family Guards broke into groups of forty, and each group covered a member of the returning families and also ascended the raised platform. Jiang Tài Píng and Jiang Mín Yuè stayed together, so only one group of forty guards guarded them.
Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè approach the four specially made gigantic tables that were completely loaded with ritualistic food and offerings. On each table was also a large spirit tablet, and on each spirit tablet was the character of each surname. The character for Wēi, Jūn, Měng, and Jiang.
Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè all went to the table that was assigned their family. Everyone who had come to pay respects moved to the side. To allow the members of the returning families to pay their respect. The Liu Residence house guards split in two once again. Twenty guards stood on each side of the family member they were guarding, lining the pathway to the table.
Liu Tián Qǔ kept a close eye on Wēi Yǒng Měng as everyone carried out the process of lighting joss and performing the ceremonial bows. Under the eyes of hundreds of thousands of people who had come to pay their respect. The returned martial families performed their ceremonial bows. The emotions in the crowds grew very high. Many of the people gathered really did mourn the departed members of the four martial families.
Although the four martial families were an extremely powerful existence in the Tolling Lands at one time. The four martial families were never arrogant. They helped the poor and commoners in need. They gave out food to the poor and needy and not only in times of famine or food shortages. They sponsor ambitious commoners who wanted to better themselves by helping them to learn a trade or craft. They helped to build many hospitals throughout the Tolling Lands. Most of all, they guarded the Tolling Lands well. However, they remain humble and never tried to rival the Imperial family for power. They were heroes of the people, and the people loved them.
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After Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, Měng Tiān Cái, Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè finished their ceremonial bows. They then knelt before the shrines that honored their departed family members and began burning joss. Next to each table was also a huge brazier for the burning of joss paper. Next to the braziers were specially designed containers that held a massive amount of joss paper in it.
None of the mourners interrupted them as they knelt and burned paper joss for their departed family members. There were not that many dry eyes in the gathered crowd as everyone watched the devastated four martial families grieve and mourn for their families that were now all gone. For eight years Wēi Wò Yàn, Wēi Yǒng Měng, Jūn Zhōng Xīn, and Měng Tiān Cái were on the run and Jiang Tài Píng, and Jiang Mín Yuè struggled to survive the pressures of the martial world every day. They never had time to grieve for their families. They were all too busy just trying to survive.
Jiang Tài Píng
Jiang Tài Píng was the first to breakdown. Harsh sobs of devastation burst from him. Jiang Tài Píng always secretly felt in his heart that he was the cause of everything. He always felt it was because of him that his family got involved in obstructing Elder Chen from annihilating the Han family. It was only after he married Hàn Mín Yuè that the Jiang family began to block the Chen Family. Jiang Tài Píng loved his wife with a passion and beyond reason. However, in his heart, he always felt guilty because he secretly felt that this love came at the expense of the lives of his family, but he just couldn't bear to walk away from his wife.
In the begin he tried, he fell in love with Hàn Mín Yuè a first sight, but he did his best to ignore it. He did his best to ignore Hàn Mín Yuè and stay far away from her. His intuition told him his love with her would bring him much pain. It was not that he feared Elder Chen. It's that he loved his family too much. However, he just couldn't stop his heart from loving Hàn Mín Yuèno matter how he tried. He slowly felt as if he was losing his mind. He couldn't focus on anything and couldn't function to think properly.
His mother, father, Elder Jiang, and grandmother noticed. It was only after they sat him down and had a heart to heart talk with him and gave him their blessings and support did he dare to pursue his love.
However, looking at how things turned out just ripped his heart to pieces. Sometimes the pain was so much he felt as if he would be consumed. During those times, it was his wife that kept him balanced. Now sitting before the memorial table designated for his family. Jiang Tài Píng looked at the tablet with the Jiang character on it and felt as if his heart was shredding in two. Jiang Tài Píng clutched his chest and doubled over in pained as he cried bitter tears of sorrow.
His heart hurt. His heart hurt so bad he couldn't control the pain. Jiang Mín Yuè knelt next to her husband and held him in her arms as he cried. This pain and devastation was so palpable that many felt as if they could reach out and touch it. Many looked on in sympathy as the commander grieved for his family.
Měng Tiān Cái
Měng Tiān Cái was a fierce young man who hid his pain well. He buried it deep inside. However, as he knelt in front of the shrine with only one tablet that held the character Měng on it. He felt a fierce, almost overwhelming violence rise up in him. His clenched fists resting on the floor on each side of him as he leaned forward and tried to shove the violence he felt back down in him. He felt so furious as if he could grab the world and rent it in two. Tears poured unchecked down his cheeks as the fury in him rose. His heart felt as if it was going to explode.
No matter how he tried to shove it back down inside of him. The fury, anger, pain, rage devastation, hurt, sorrow, and weariness continued to rise in him. Finally, like an exploding pressure cooker. Měng Tiān Cái felt his emotions explode in him. Lifting his head to the sky, Měng Tiān Cái roared out his emotion he could no longer contain. The aura that exploded out of him was so potent and palpable that even those below the raised platform, later on, swore that they felt it.
For almost one whole minute, Měng Tiān Cái roared his pain, anger, hurt, devastation, rage, and all the emotions he felt into the sky. A strong aura filled with his emotions cover the area on and around the raised platform as the fierce man mourned his family. After the release of the emotions that was bottle up in him for eight years. Měng Tiān Cái double over in grief. With his head resting on the raised platform, he cried out his grief.
Wēi Yǒng Měng
Wēi Yǒng Měng was so weary and tired. If it weren't for his son, he would have given up long ago. He was exhausted all the way down to his bones to the point where he was tired of living. He missed his wife so much. He missed his mother and father and his wise grandfather. He long to see them again. He ached to see them. The ache was a living entity that lived in his bones and blood. As he mourned and grieved for those that were already gone. His mind flashed back to when he first became a general. He loved his wife so much that he didn't bother waiting and married her at the age of sixteen.
Wēi Yǒng Měng leaned over and rested his head on his son's lap and cried. He lost his wife most devastatingly. He almost lost his life trying to save her. His wife knew just how much he loved her. She made him promise to escape with their son and keep him alive and watch over him.
She knew that if she didn't make him promise to stay alive. Wēi Yǒng Měng would have jumped off the cliff that she ended up falling from while her husband tried desperately to hold on to her. He was given the most horrible choice to either save his son or his wife.
Wēi Yǒng Měng's wife didn't even give him a chance to chose. She knew how much her husband loved her and feared her husband would make a choice he would never be able to live with, and neither would she. So she chose for him by peeling his hand off of hers and falling to her death.
Wēi Yǒng Měng laid with his head in his son's lap and wondered what was it all for? He struggled day in and day out just to keep living. When he got shot with the poison arrow, he had secretly hoped to die. Although he would have been sad leaving his son behind. He knew that his martial brothers would watch over his son as if his son was their own. However, things didn't work out that way.
Wēi Yǒng Měng remembered being an incredibly proud young man. However, now he felt as if life drained all the vitality out of him.
He lived and breathed for his son. There was nothing else in the world that interested him. He maintained the pretense. He pretended that everything was okay as he would laugh and smile with his martial brothers. He was the unofficial spokesman and leader of their group.
Now, he was just too tired. Honor? Loyalty? Respect? Face? Love? Righteousness? Justice? Why bother? Death ended it all. All he wanted was to be reunited with his love and his family. Tears continue to pour from Wēi Yǒng Měng's eyes as his thoughts turn morbid, and grief and weariness overwhelmed him.