Chapter 118: A Heart Filled with Grief, a Form Like Wood

Two hours later, Qin Haoxuan opened his eyes. He noticed that his senior brother was still meditating and found it a bit strange. Usually, it was Pu Hanzhong who opened his eyes first. Why was he still meditating after so long?

He rose quietly and moved past Pu Hanzhong, preparing to get out of bed, but he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Although Pu Hanzhong was in a meditative posture, Qin Haoxuan couldn’t feel him breathing, nor could he feel any warmth from his body.

At such a close distance, with the keen senses of a cultivator, how could he possibly not detect his senior brother’s breathing? Although a cultivator’s breath was slow during practice, it wasn’t completely silent, was it? And there should always be some body heat.

Qin Haoxuan remembered the words Pu Hanzhong had spoken before they began cultivating, and an ominous cloud of dread filled his heart.

With a trembling hand, he placed his fingers under Pu Hanzhong’s nose… there was no breath. He then pressed his fingers to the artery in Pu Hanzhong’s wrist… the blood was no longer flowing.

Senior Brother Pu… had passed away in meditation…

Qin Haoxuan stared at Pu Hanzhong, as motionless as a stone sculpture. His arm, he didn’t know when, began to tremble again, and soon his entire body was shaking.

He had seen dead men before… not long ago, he had killed Yan Dong with his own hands. But… this was Senior Brother Pu… his own Guiding Senior Brother.

The senior brother who always had a kind smile for him, who would stand in front of him in the face of any danger, shielding him with his own small frame.

“How could this be? How is this possible?” Qin Haoxuan mumbled to himself, his body trembling so much that the words came out broken and disjointed.

Since coming to the Taichu Sect, the first person from whom he had felt true warmth was Senior Brother Pu.

Over the past few months, Qin Haoxuan had come to see this senior brother as his own family. He had often dreamed of traveling the world with him after they had both achieved success in their cultivation. He had thought that once his own cultivation improved, he could, in turn, help his senior brother.

But… now… his senior brother…

“Impossible, impossible! Cultivators don’t die so easily.”

Qin Haoxuan scrambled closer to Pu Hanzhong’s body and felt for his pulse again. The spot that should have been slow and strong was now as cold as a stone.

Senior Brother Pu… had truly passed on.

Qin Haoxuan recalled how Pu Hanzhong would often cough, and how he had adamantly refused to take the Qi-Circulating Powder he had refined. So… he had known all along that his lifespan was coming to an end, and he had refused to waste Qin Haoxuan’s resources on himself.

For a cultivator to refuse the temptation of cultivation resources was a thousand times harder than for a lecher to refuse a naked beauty. Yet, Senior Brother Pu had done it.

Senior Brother Pu…

Qin Haoxuan sat dumbly beside Pu Hanzhong’s body, his mind a complete blank. He had thought that stepping onto the path of cultivation meant living as long as the heavens and the earth. He had thought it meant he would no longer have to face the threat of death… he had thought…

He just sat there, staring at Pu Hanzhong… like a wooden sculpture… He didn’t know how long had passed before a knock came at the door.

The sound was like a ray of sunlight piercing the darkness, pulling Qin Haoxuan back from the abyss he felt he had fallen into.

He recognized Xu Yu’s knock. He moved his body like a sleepwalker and opened the door, his gaze vacant.

“Brother Haoxuan, I sold out of the powder I had. Have you refined any more?” Xu Yu said excitedly as she walked in, completely oblivious to his state. “More and more people want to buy our Qi-Circulating Powder. The price has gone up to three hundred low-grade spirit stones per pack!”

Only after she had finished did she notice Qin Haoxuan’s dazed expression and the tear tracks still fresh on his face. Stranger still, Senior Brother Pu was meditating as if no one else was there; usually, he would greet her with a kind smile.

“Brother Haoxuan, what’s wrong today?”

It took a long moment for Qin Haoxuan to answer, his voice filled with grief. “Senior Brother Pu… he has passed away in meditation.”

“Ah!” Xu Yu gasped. She stared blankly at Pu Hanzhong’s body. She wanted to ask Qin Haoxuan if he was mistaken, but she knew… there could be no mistake about something like this.

“Senior Brother Pu was never in good health, but he shouldn’t have left so soon. It must be because of the severe injuries he suffered in the duel with Yan Dong,” Qin Haoxuan said, his voice low with self-blame. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have left so early.”

Regret! He regretted not paying more attention to his senior brother’s health. He regretted not stopping him from fighting that day.

Xu Yu’s lips moved, but she didn’t know how to comfort him. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped to his side and took his hand in hers. “Brother Haoxuan, the dead cannot be brought back. If Senior Brother Pu knew you were blaming yourself like this, he would not be able to rest in peace.”

The two of them stood there, holding hands and looking at each other in a silence thick with sorrow.

Xu Yu stayed in Qin Haoxuan’s room for a long time, and her failure to return to her cultivation began to irritate Luo Jinhua.

With a displeased expression, she walked towards Qin Haoxuan’s room, preparing to have a stern word with his Guiding Senior Brother. The final trial in the Aqueous Manor was just around the corner; this was a crucial time for cultivation.

When Luo Jinhua opened the door and saw both of their tear-streaked faces, she froze.

As a Twentieth-Leaf cultivator, it took her only a moment to sense that Pu Hanzhong no longer had any signs of life. She understood instantly, and her heart sank.

Because of Xu Yu, she had gotten to know Pu Hanzhong, a person she otherwise would have had no interaction with. Knowing him had changed her impression of the Nature Hall, and she especially admired him for stepping up to fight Yan Dong for Qin Haoxuan’s sake.

Unlike Qin Haoxuan, Luo Jinhua had observed Pu Hanzhong and had known for some time that he didn’t have long to live. She had thought he would at least hold on until his junior brother had passed the trial. She never expected this day to come so soon.

“Cultivators vie for life against the heavens. The Heavenly Dao is merciless, and life and death are uncertain. Only by constantly climbing higher can one escape the suffering of reincarnation. Junior Brother Qin, Junior Sister Xu, do not grieve too much.”

Luo Jinhua sighed. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a cultivator’s path come to an end, but this time… it had slightly thawed her already cold heart.

Just then, Xu Yu remembered the saying, “The dead deserve the greatest respect; they should be laid to rest in peace.” She asked Luo Jinhua, “Senior Sister, now that Senior Brother Pu has passed, what should we do about the funeral arrangements?”

Luo Jinhua replied, “He will naturally be buried in the Taichu Sect’s Mountain of Heroic Spirits, where all the seniors who were unable to break through and extend their lifespans are laid to rest. The trial is in three days. Let’s give Senior Brother Pu a simple burial for now, and then we can hold a proper ceremony for him after the trial is over.”

Qin Haoxuan gave Luo Jinhua a meaningful look. From the concern in her eyes, he understood her reasoning. If they held a full ceremony now, Xu Yu would definitely abandon her cultivation to attend. Luo Jinhua didn’t want her to be delayed at such a critical time.

“There’s no need for another ceremony,” Qin Haoxuan said, shaking his head gently. “Senior Brother Pu was not one for crowds. I will report this to our Hall Master. There is no need to trouble Senior Sister…”

Luo Jinhua was a little surprised by Qin Haoxuan’s maturity, and also secretly pleased. If they held a ceremony, Xu Yu would definitely attend, invited or not. It was one thing for Qin Haoxuan to be delayed, but Xu Yu was a Purple Seed and could not afford it.

“Brother Haoxuan, Senior Brother Pu was always very kind to me and to you. I respected him greatly. I must be there to see him off when he is laid to rest.” Xu Yu’s words made Luo Jinhua want to press her hand to her forehead in frustration. Does this junior sister think she has all the time in the world? Not a single moment on the path of cultivation can be wasted!

Qin Haoxuan looked at Xu Yu. “He was my senior brother; it has nothing to do with you. The trial is in three days. You should hurry back and cultivate. Don’t fall behind.”

Suddenly, Luo Jinhua found Qin Haoxuan to be quite agreeable.

Xu Yu looked at Luo Jinhua, then at Qin Haoxuan. She bit her lip and shook her head firmly. “No!”

Qin Haoxuan knew that although Xu Yu seemed gentle, she was incredibly stubborn. He didn’t waste any more words.

“I must go to the Nature Hall now and inform our Master of this terrible news.”

Just as he was about to leave, the door was pushed open. Master Xuanji, dressed in a light gray Daoist robe, walked in with several other disciples from the Nature Hall.

From the deep lines on his face and his weary spirit, it was clear that he had aged a great deal in the last two months.

His face was etched with sorrow. He saw Qin Haoxuan’s lips move, knowing he was about to tell him the news of Pu Hanzhong’s death.

Xuanji let out a long sigh and looked at Pu Hanzhong’s still form with eyes full of grief. “As his master, I have known for some time that Han Zhong’s lifespan was coming to an end. But he said he didn’t want to affect your state of mind with the trial so close. He wanted to use his last bit of strength for you…”

Only then did Qin Haoxuan realize that Master Xuanji had known, and that Pu Hanzhong had also known he was dying but had kept it from him, fearing it would hinder his cultivation. The tears that Qin Haoxuan had just managed to stop began to fall again.

“Han Zhong asked me to tell you to give him a simple burial for now. After you return from the Aqueous Manor, we can hold a proper ceremony. I have also found a new Guiding Senior Brother for you. For these next three days, you must focus on your cultivation.”

Seeing Qin Haoxuan’s grief-stricken expression, Xuanji couldn’t help but let his own old tears fall. After so many years together, their relationship was more like that of a father and son. Now, the white-haired man was sending off the black-haired one. Even though Xuanji had long since seen through the veil of life and death, he could not let go of this bond.