Chapter 137: Martyrs’ Cemetery
On both sides of the bronze entrance, towering stone walls stretched out until they disappeared into the shadows of the mountain.
As the hearse drew near, the massive gates swung open smoothly and silently, as if they had spent years waiting for the return of this heroic soul.
Passing through the archway, the view expanded dramatically.
Vast groves of dark emerald pines and cypresses stood in flawless, disciplined ranks. Like an eternal honor guard, they watched over the hallowed ground in timeless silence.
The cemetery had been built directly into the rising slopes, stepping upward along the hillside in orderly terraces.
The hearse climbed slowly along the central sacred way, the crisp air carrying the sharp scent of pine needles and an overwhelming sense of solemnity.
Lin Huai brought the vehicle to a halt beside a freshly opened grave plot and stepped down onto the grass. Without glancing back, she made a simple beckoning gesture with her right hand. Answering her call, the heavy blood jade coffin drifted down through the air, coming to rest gently on the turf beside the open earth.
High above, glossy black wings sliced through the quiet air. A massive raven descended without a sound, perching upon a thick pine branch just a few paces away.
Its sharp, bead-like eyes studied Lin Huai and the crimson vessel. The bird did not utter a single cry, nor did it project the slightest hint of hostility; it simply observed in silence.
Lin Huai looked up into the branches, addressing the bird with quiet respect: “I must take this blood jade coffin with me when I depart. Sister Raven, would you be willing to fetch a proper resting casket for him?”
The raven offered a small nod. In a blink of shadow, her plumage folded inward as she shifted into a tall, armored woman. Her boots met the grass with a crisp metallic clatter as she took a stride forward.
Behind her, a smaller raven took flight, darting toward the upper terraces to carry out the request.
Lin Huai bowed her head slightly. “Thank you for your assistance. This burial is for an honored martyr, so please provide a casket of fine quality. I have plenty of funds to cover the cost.”
The raven’s voice was dry and hoarse, carrying a faint, battle-hardened edge: “All martyrs are laid to rest under the exact same standard. For loyal souls who gave their lives for their people, this cemetery provides the very best. There is no need for your coin; others have already seen to his final passage.”
Lin Huai paused, holding her tongue, and simply gave another respectful nod.
Remembering the young officer’s dying wish to reunite with his fallen kin, she hesitated before asking, “Sister Raven, do you know where his family’s graves are located? His greatest mortal obsession was to stand beside his parents and elder brother once more in this cemetery.”
As the sworn Tomb Guardian, the raven knew every single one of the thousands of graves scattered across these hills, having touched each stone with her own hands.
She nodded readily to the request. “There are no vacant plots beside his family’s original resting place. I will bring them here so they may rest together.”
With a flick of her armored wrist, the empty ground beside the open grave shifted. Three identical stone mounds rose smoothly from the earth, aligning themselves in a neat, unbroken row beside the open plot.
The faded photographs and engraved names matched the portraits from the officer’s memory crystal.
A chorus of rustling wings broke through the stillness above.
A flock of dark ravens swooped down through the pine canopy, carrying a heavy, jet-black casket suspended between them.
The birds lowered the dark wood smoothly into the fresh pit. Lin Huai stepped forward, unlatched the blood jade lid, and carefully lifted the officer’s body into her arms, transferring him gently into his final resting place.
She had already mended his shattered limbs and dressed his body in a clean, pressed blue uniform.
Stepping back to the edge of the pit, Lin Huai bowed her head and recited the traditional eulogies to comfort the departed soul. The entire ritual was conducted in peaceful quiet, filled with deep reverence for the sacrifice he had made.
When the final prayer settled, Lin Huai took two slow paces back and lowered herself into three formal bows before the freshly carved monument.
“The stars above may fade with time, but loyal souls endure forever.”
Standing nearby, the armored guardian trembled faintly.
Something ancient seemed to stir within her memory. A choked, sorrowful breath broke past her lips: “My brave warriors… will your souls… ever come home?”
Before Lin Huai could speak, the woman dissolved into a flurry of black feathers and soared into the darkening sky. Lin Huai had kept several high-grade Yin energy crystals ready to offer as a token of gratitude, but the guardian had departed without taking a single one.
The guardian was gone, and the fallen hero had been returned to the earth. Her duty here was finished.
As dusk settled across the mountain, a heavy stillness blanketed the rows of stone. One by one, translucent tomb spirits rose from their mounds, drifting quietly across the grass to gaze at Lin Huai.
These graveyard phantoms carried no malice. Bound to their memorials, they never stepped beyond the perimeter of their plots, simply sitting atop the mounds and watching the living traveler with quiet, detached curiosity.
Lin Huai paid them no mind. Turning back toward the hearse, she recalled the blood jade coffin and prepared to steer the vehicle back to the main highway.
Right at that moment, a pale, radiant mist drifted out from the officer’s fresh grave.
The gentle glow hovered through the twilight air, trailing softly after Lin Huai as she stepped back into the cabin.
She paused, watching the anomaly. It was neither the officer’s departed spirit nor a knot of unresolved resentment.
In that instant, Dong Xiaobao perked up with excitement. Drifting quickly up to the panoramic sunroom on the second floor, the child lifted a celadon vase from the altar dedicated to Black Impermanence.
Lin Huai had kept that vase specifically for offering fresh cut flowers to the deity, and her instinct was to reach out and take it back. But before her hands moved, Dong Xiaobao’s thought echoed urgently in her mind:
Sister, that is the power of mortal vows! If you don’t seal it quickly, it will melt away! Only an altar tied to a true divine seat can anchor vow energy so it won’t vanish!
Lin Huai moved instantly. Catching the porcelain vessel, she guided the shining mist inside, watching the light settle securely against the porcelain before placing the vase reverently before the black jade statue of Black Impermanence.
She immediately set down a replacement vase and arranged fresh blossoms to honor the shrine.
[The Ten-Zone Joint Trial is about to start! Are you done dawdling yet? Hurry up and get moving!]
The sharp synthesized voice broke through the cabin so suddenly that Lin Huai jumped, her hand trembling slightly. She glanced up at the black jade statue, momentarily wondering if the carving itself had found a voice.
Old Hei’s irritated, impatient scoff cut in right behind it.
[You blockhead, what are you staring at the rock for? It’s me! That statue is carved out of cold stone—do you think it has a mouth?]
[Life must be treating you too well lately. Your brain is getting rusty!]
[Are you trying to see how dense you can get?]
Lin Huai let out an amused sigh, rubbing her temples. “All right, all right, I hear you. I’m heading out right now.”
She checked her console with a slight frown. “Wasn’t the trial supposed to unlock tomorrow? Why is it triggering ahead of schedule?”
Old Hei barked back: [Can you check a watch, or did you leave your eyes in the morgue? It’s three minutes to midnight! What do you think comes after twelve, yesterday?]
“Are you serious? Starting a major trial in the dead of night?” Lin Huai shook her head as she took the wheel. “I’m going to work myself into an early grave…”
Old Hei clicked his tongue and cut the private line.
The moment the hearse crossed back onto the open asphalt, his abrasive, mocking announcement echoed across every terminal in the district:
[Listen up, survivors! The Ten-Zone Joint Trial—Spooky Apartment—is unlocking immediately! This is an individual trial. Roster registration remains open for ten minutes starting right now!]
[Standard protocol: if you have the backbone to fight, smash that register button. If you’re a coward who shivers at your own shadow, go find a deep puddle and drown yourself!]
[One more detail for this round: the proctors overseeing the trial rooms will be swapped among the system handlers of the ten participating zones.]
[Which means every move you make will be broadcast right to my surveillance terminal. If anyone from Zone 444 disgraces my name in front of the other handlers, I will drag you out and slaughter you myself the second you step through the exit!]
