176: Last words before death

"Yaner...?"

"Is... is it Xiao Mo?"

Seemingly hearing the movement, Mother Ye on the bed slowly, with all her strength, barely opened her eyes a crack.

When she saw the familiar person and snake at the doorway, a look of immense joy suddenly burst forth in her cloudy eyes!

"Old man! Look quickly!"

"It's Yaner! Yaner and Xiao Mo are back!"

She excitedly nudged her husband beside her.

Father Ye also slowly opened his eyes, his face instantly filled with a genuine smile, a smile that pulled at the wrinkles on his face, yet appeared so kind, so warm.

"It's good... good to be back..."

"It's good... good to be back..."

Mother Ye struggled, seemingly wanting to get out of bed.

"Mother, don't move!" Ye Feiyan rushed forward in a flash, knelt by the bed, and tightly grasped her mother's hand, which was as dry as firewood.

"Yaner is unfilial... I came back late..."

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about."

Mother Ye used all her strength to pat the back of Feiyan's hand, but her gaze fell upon Mysterious Ink, her eyes full of loving affection.

"Xiao Mo... must be hungry, right?"

"My wife remembers... you loved my Braised Beast Meat the most..."

"I... I'll go make it for you now..."

Saying this, she actually struggled to get up!

Father Ye also chuckled and chimed in, "Yes, yes, I... I'll go make the fire for you!"

"Uncle! Aunt!"

Mysterious Ink's heart ached, and it quickly spoke, wanting to refuse.

In their current state, how could they possibly cook?

However, a cool, small hand gently pulled its turtle shell.

It was Ye Feiyan.

She gently shook her head at it.

A Divine Thought echoed in Mysterious Ink's mind, carrying an unresolvable choke and sadness.

"Xiao Mo, don't stop them."

"This... this might be Father and Mother's last time cooking for us..."

Mysterious Ink's body stiffened abruptly!

All the words it wanted to say were completely stuck in its throat.

It looked at The Two Elders' eyes, full of anticipation and loving affection, and finally, silently nodded... This meal took a good half a day to prepare.

The Two Elders were busy in the kitchen, their movements slow and sluggish, each step seemingly exhausting all their strength.

Ye Feiyan and Mysterious Ink did not help, but simply stood quietly at the doorway, watching the two aged figures supporting and cooperating with each other in front of the stove, their eyes welling up with tears again and again.

Finally, a table full of dishes was shakily placed on the table.

Braised Beast Meat, Steamed Spirit Fish, Braised Spirit Bamboo Shoots in Oil... all were dishes Mysterious Ink loved most in the past.

The aroma was still that aroma.

The taste was still that taste.

Mysterious Ink ate mouthful after mouthful, but what it ate tasted even more bitter than Coptis, the sourness rushing straight to its nasal cavity, making its eyes burn.

At the dinner table, the family of four ate and chatted.

Rather than chatting, it was more like Mother Ye rambling on her own.

She stretched out her hand, covered in age spots, and gently stroked Mysterious Ink's now huge and fierce head, her eyes full of emotion.

"Our Xiao Mo has really grown up..."

"Not like back then, when you were just so tiny..."

As she spoke, she even extended two fingers and gestured in the air.

"Just this long, this thin little black snake, always following me and your Father around asking for Spirit Stones to eat."

"In the blink of an eye... you're already so powerful..."

Mysterious Ink listened quietly, trying hard to force a smile, but that smile was uglier than crying.

The meal was finally over.

Father Ye wiped his mouth, his expression suddenly becoming extremely solemn.

He looked at Ye Feiyan and Mysterious Ink, and slowly began to speak:

"Yaner, Xiao Mo."

"We old folks know our own situation; our time is up, and we don't have many days left."

"From now on, it'll just be the two of you."

"You must remember, no matter what you encounter in the future, you must help each other and walk on together. Absolutely, absolutely do not let a rift form..."

"Father!" Ye Feiyan's tears fell like rain.

"We will!" Mysterious Ink nodded heavily, its voice hoarse beyond recognition.

"We will! We definitely will!"

...That night, Ye Feiyan and Mysterious Ink did not leave, staying guard outside The Two Elders' room.

They did not Cultivate, nor did they speak, but merely sat quietly, listening to the two faint yet steady breathing sounds from inside the room.

The night passed without incident.

However, when the first ray of dawn on the second day, filtered through the window lattice and sprinkled into the courtyard.

The two breathing sounds inside the room quietly ceased at the same moment.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Ye Feiyan and Mysterious Ink's hearts sank sharply!

They rushed into the room.

On the bed, The Two Elders lay quietly nestled together, their faces bearing a satisfied and peaceful smile, as if they had simply fallen into a deep sleep.

Only their bodies had become cold and stiff.

They were gone.

After seeing the two children they most wanted to see, they peacefully, without a trace of pain, walked through this life hand in hand.

Ye Feiyan could no longer hold back, collapsing by the bed and weeping bitterly!

Mysterious Ink stared blankly at The Two Elders' lifeless faces, a mix of emotions in its heart, countless scenes surging like a tide in its mind.

It remembered Mother Ye always secretly slipping it shiny Low-Grade Spirit Stones, telling it not to tell Father Ye.

It remembered Father Ye carrying a hoe, taking little it to work in the fields, the old couple working together, busy for half a day, only to catch a cunning Spirit Field Mouse, and then happily roasting it for it.

It remembered them taking it to stroll through the Market, buying it things to eat with Spirit Stones they themselves were reluctant to use... Scene after scene, bit by bit.

Those warm memories, sealed by time, now became incredibly clear, like sharp knives, fiercely piercing its heart!

The two Mortals who loved and doted on it the most in this world... were gone.

Mysterious Ink was silent, its firm little eyes, unknowingly, had turned slightly red, a blurry haze... Three days later.

The Ye family held a grand funeral for The Two Elders.

Throughout the entire Duan Yun Mountain Range, white banners fluttered, and mournful music played.

Mysterious Ink and Ye Feiyan, dressed in Plain White Mourning Clothes, knelt before the spiritual tablet, seeing The Two Elders off for their final journey.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

The karmic ties of the Mortal world eventually come to an end.

But that unforgettable gratitude and memories will forever be imprinted deep within their Divine Souls, never to be erased!

The last note of the funeral music dissipated in the chilly wind of the Duan Yun Mountain Range.

Before the newly erected tombstone, green smoke curled upwards, carrying the Mortals' final thoughts for the departed, slowly rising into the sky, eventually returning to nothingness.

Ye Feiyan and Mysterious Ink took one last deep look at the two closely intertwined graves, the sorrow in their eyes finally transforming into a deep-seated determination hidden in their hearts.

Mortal ties were severed.

When they looked back again, they would simply be Ye Feiyan of the Beast Taming Sect, and Mysterious Ink, her guardian.