Chapter 264 Tombstone of Memory

After the other party turned and left, Li shook his ears and said, "Don't worry about him. Let's complete Her Highness the Princess's instructions first."

"Yes." Xia Fan looked at the other person's retreating back for a moment, then moved closer to Shiting.

Although this is not a royal cemetery, it is obvious that not just anyone can be buried here. For example, the burial ground in front of you only has one tombstone. The pavilion is more like a shelter, covering the thick stone to protect it from the sun and rain. Before entering the stone pavilion, there is a long and slender staircase.

However, the long years have made these creations become old and mottled, and moss has climbed all the way from the pillars to the roof. There are piles of fallen leaves everywhere around. The accumulated water vapor cannot be emitted, so it ferments and accumulates here. It smells like rotten wood.

The sweepers seemed to be more concerned with the cleanliness of the roads here and would not go into the depths of these tombs.

Xia Fan let out a light sigh as he followed the bluestone steps to the tombstone.

"What's wrong?" Li asked from behind.

"Here...someone has been here."

"Let me take a look." The fox demon came forward and took a closer look at the altar below. "Indeed, the incense in this ash basin should have been burned not long ago, at most... only a day or two."

"Not only that." Xia Fan pointed to the stele and said, "The stone used in this tombstone is basically the same as that of the pavilion, but the cleanliness and cracking condition are much better than that of the pavilion. This shows that someone is taking care of this place, and the frequency It’s not low. Otherwise, if the rain comes in, the edges of the stone monument will be covered with moss.”

"Will he be the princess's friend?"

"According to Ning Wanjun, there is no one in Shangyuan City who can do this for her." Xia Fan shook his head, "A friend who has a close relationship with her can often come to visit her grave. How could she not know anything about it? "

Li's eyes moved, showing a look of surprise, "Could it be... that person?"

"This doesn't make sense. If the emperor still has old feelings for the third princess's biological mother, why should she be reduced to this situation? Even if she regrets it later, her grave can be moved to the royal cemetery on the top of the mountain." Xia Fan thought, "The most important thing is that the concubine is dead, but the daughter is still alive. If the emperor realizes his mistake, he will definitely find an opportunity to communicate with Ning Wanjun. But in fact, from the time the princess went to the border to the enfeoffment Jinxia City has no tendency to reconcile with the other party. This can only show that the emperor has never paid attention to his third daughter. "

"That's right." Li scratched the back of his head, "Then I can't think of any other possibilities."

"I'm afraid Ning Wanjun can't even guess the answer. Let's not waste our efforts."

Xia Fan took out a handful of incense candles, lit them, bowed three times in front of the tomb, and then inserted them into the ash basin.

Green smoke rose slowly, climbed up along the tombstone, and soon disappeared into the cold white mist.

Through the smoke, Xia Fan remembered the other person's name.

The rhyme of autumn.

When he was about to return, Qian Yan suddenly asked to go to another tomb area.

It was not far from the place where the concubine was buried, only separated by two roads, but it was obviously much more desolate.

Moreover, this place is more like a cemetery for unified burial - both the size and shape of the stone monuments are quite consistent, and they are neatly arranged far away.

"It's still here..." Qian Yan's tone showed a hint of surprise, "I thought they would have moved in with someone else after so long."

The statement about moving in made Xia Fan's heart tremble slightly, "Have you been here before?"

"From the Yong Dynasty to the Qi Kingdom, many battles were fought around Shangyuan. The disciples of the Fang family and the living dead who died in this battle are all buried in this cemetery."

Only then did he notice that there was more than one name engraved on each tombstone, and some even had as many as ten names.

In front of a tombstone, Qian Yan stopped and slowly squatted down.

"Do you need incense candles?" Xia Fan asked.

"No need." She shook her head and whispered, "No matter what you leave here, it will not reach them."

"Xia Fan." Li suddenly tugged at the corner of his clothes and whispered in his ear, "Look at the name on the monument..."

Xia Fan squinted for a while and opened his mouth in surprise.

I saw the word Qianzhi written on one of them!

And before and after this person, there are several names starting with a thousand.

"What's going on?" He couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Qianzhi still alive and well?"

"She is alive, but the one who is alive is the current Qianzhi, not the former Qianzhi." Qianyan said calmly, "At that time, people could not tell whether the living dead were seriously injured and fainted, or whether they were truly dead, so they were all counted as killed in battle. In a row. In addition to the fear that the corpse would be used by magic, only the monument was left in the cemetery, so no one changed the content on the monument. "

"What? In other words, Qianzhi's appearance on it is just a statistical error..." Xia Fan was suddenly startled when he said this. He saw a complex emotion flowing in the other person's eyes, like sadness and sadness. It was like she was hiding something else, not as indifferent as she said. "Wait a minute - not the former Qianzhi, what do you mean?"

"Before the living dead wear this talisman ribbon, rebirth and death are no different." She held up the cloth strip behind her head like a decorative belt, "After waking up from the resuscitation, the living dead will not remember everything in the past, and even their minds will be reshaped. Although the Fang family later improved this situation, relying on talismans to strengthen memory and perception, only half of it will be lost after resuscitation, and the mind can also be preserved, but this remedy cannot be traced back to a hundred years ago. For them, once they fall asleep, they will never wake up again."

Speaking of this, Qianyan stretched out her hand to wipe the tombstone, "Xia Fan, let me ask you... What proves a person's existence, is this body, or the memory that constitutes this person's life?"

The answer to this question is obvious.

"Consciousness determines the self."

"I think so too," Qianyan sighed, "So I keep my distance from other living dead, especially Qianzhi. Sometimes I even hate her, because she is completely different from the person I know. Obviously, we used to get along very closely, but now I look at her like a stranger."

Xia Fan knew where her complicated emotions came from.

"Qianzhi doesn't know this?"

"Yes, she had several accidents later, and she can't even remember how long she has lived, but at least after getting the strengthening talisman, her character has not changed. Anyone who sees her will think she is the 'Qianzhi'."

"Since she will no longer suddenly become a complete stranger like in the past, you should probably accept her as a new person instead of comparing her with the former Qianzhi." Xia Fan explained.

"It's right to think so, but sometimes consciousness doesn't easily accept rational judgment." Qianyan stood up, "Don't worry, so many years have passed, I won't be affected by emotions anymore."

She is more calm than he thought, Xia Fan realized. "Why do you tell me all this?"

"I can't explain it clearly." Qianyan thought for a while, "If you have to give a reason, maybe you are an alien like me."

"Alien?" Li couldn't help but said, "Even if he looks a little strange, it's because of the listener, right?"

"I thought so at first, but after getting to know him more, I found that it was not the case." Qianyan turned to look at Xia Fan, "I have seen more than one listener, but no one is like you. The so-called listener is just a person who is exposed to some secrets or magic, and you... are different in every way. After thinking about it, only the name of alien is the most appropriate. Maybe in the end... there will be no one in this world who can truly understand you."

"..." Xia Fan fell into silence for a while.

"Please keep it a secret from Qianzhi for me." She glanced at the tombstone, and then walked towards the exit of the mausoleum area, "Let's go back."