Where Are the Generals and Ministers of Old? Beyond the Rail, the Yangtze Flows on in Vain

The next day, the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, dark clouds layered the sky, foretelling the first snowfall of winter in the southern mountains and rivers.

Sister Chen rose very late, for she had slept poorly the night before and had not drifted off until near dawn.

The moment she stepped outside her room, she froze.

Several sisters stood quietly outside her door: Dark Night, Luyi, Cui Ying, and even Qiu Shui Hua Ping had come downstairs.

Sister Chen was startled. "Did something happen?"

Luyi stepped forward lightly. "Sister Chen, we know what day this is today. So does our husband."

Lin Su came out from his room, dressed in white like snow, and gently put an arm around her shoulders. "Today is the day your parents met their fate. On this day in previous years, you would lock yourself in your room and quietly mourn them alone. Today, I want to tell you that graves and steles have already been prepared on Falling Eagle Mountain for your parents and their fellow disciples. We'll accompany you there and properly pay our respects."

Without warning, tears streamed down Sister Chen's face...

Ten years ago, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect received the task of constructing the Ming Mausoleum. Her mother smashed the Thousand Mechanisms Lamp, a supreme treasure of the sect, framed her for it, broke her legs, and drove her from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect. From then on, she became duckweed with no roots.

She had been utterly despairing. She could not understand why, until her mother appeared beside her late one night and told her that it was to protect her, to leave the Thousand Mechanisms Sect with a trace of bloodline.

Her mother had guessed correctly. After the Ming Mausoleum was completed, Ji Shang annihilated the Thousand Mechanisms Sect.