Chapter 358: 137 Meeting Yama in White (Part 2)_2
 

“`

“Just one table,” Xu En glanced at her.

Just one table?

So few people?

Xu Shujie was a bit surprised.

**

Ji Heng and the others were visiting the private museum of the Chen Family, with a scheduled entry time of two o’clock in the afternoon.

Xu Wenyao parked the car in a nearby parking lot before leading the group to the museum.

The museum is located on the very western edge of Xingjiang District, bordering Shimen District.

The entire museum is designed in a garden style, with a wide gatehouse at the entrance. They limit the number of daily visitors, and there weren’t many people queuing for the reserved slots at that time.

The private museum of the Chen Family is quite large and it’s widely known that it houses mostly items belonging to the Bai Family. It’s open to the public for free, yet it only admits just over a thousand visitors each day.

Xu Wenyao and the others queued up and entered the spacious museum grounds. Walking along the corridor, they soon saw the first exhibition hall in the center.

Right there in the center, within a glass cabinet, lay the preserved armor.

You could hear the voice of the museum’s tour guide drifting through the microphone: “Everyone, look, this is General Bai Li’s armor, weighing 112 jin. Imagine carrying such heavy armor while lunging at the enemy with a spear to strike at their heads…”

Past the iron armor, everyday utensils were displayed in glass cabinets on both sides, with stairs leading to the upper floors.

The museum had two more floors above.

“The third floor holds letters from members of the Bai Family,” Xu Wenyao, no stranger to this place, explained to Ji Heng and the others, “Let’s visit the second floor first…”

“Go to the backyard first,” Ji Heng shook his head, striding with his pipe straight through the first floor and down a concrete path to the backyard.

Xu Wenyao was taken aback, but he followed Ji Heng.

The entire backyard was a one-hectare garden. The concrete path was narrow, flanked by ancient trees with a long history. There were not many pedestrians and no other attractions on the path.

After walking four hundred meters, they finally reached a tomb.

Incense and candles were placed on both sides of the tomb.

Jiang He, very familiar with the routine, picked up a stick of incense from the left side.

However, due to his short stature, no one noticed him at that moment, their gazes fixed on the stone tomb in front of them. The tomb had nine steps leading up to it, atop which sat a nearly dilapidated stele.

Even Xu Wenyao was aware of this part of history.

He looked up at the stele.

Even though it wasn’t his first visit, Xu Wenyao was still subdued by the inscription on the stele, the unrestrained and bloody aura enveloping him.

Before the last battle, the tomb’s owner had engraved their own epitaph believing they would not return. The epitaph comprised only ten characters—

Bai Yi

Yi Sheng

Jian Jin

Yan Fan

Luo Gu

**

A life in defiance,

In white, facing Yama.

This was the epitaph Bai Xiangjun left for herself. It was only after Chen Ye later returned to Jiangjing that it was brought back.

Xu Wenyao couldn’t quite imagine what those people were like back then, to have left behind such words.

Just looking at the stele, he could envision the figure in white, standing against the wind with a spear in hand, inscribing the characters with gallant determination.

Many offerings had been laid on the stele and the steps: lollipops, candied haws, pretty butterfly hair clips, one after another of fresh flowers, and stacks upon stacks of photos from around the world…

Covered with these tributes, the tomb keepers would clear them away, only for a new batch to accumulate soon after.

“`

At such times, Shen Qing didn’t speak either. She watched as Jiang He took some incense sticks and followed suit, handing a few to Ji Shaojun and the others.

The group ignited the incense in the nearby flame and then bowed respectfully.

This wasn’t Xu Wenyao’s first time engaging in this ritual either; before his college entrance exams, he had specifically gone to pay respects to the first row of bronze statues at Jiangjing University.

After the ritual, Xu Wenyao finally understood why Ji Heng had wanted to come here.

Ji Heng and his companions were from Xiangcheng.

However…

Xu Wenyao looked at Ji Heng with surprise. Was this not his first visit?

Otherwise, how would he have known that behind the museum was a mausoleum?

Most people visiting for the first time wouldn’t know that behind it lay the tomb of Bai Xiangjun.

**

After their worship, Ji Heng and the others finished touring the second and third floors before leaving the museum.

The parking lot was a bit far from there.

Xu Wenyao told Ji Heng and the others to wait there while he went to get the car.

On his way, he received a call from Grandma Xu.

“Wenyao,” said Grandma Xu sternly, “how have you upset Shuyun again?”

Xu Wenyao opened the car door, very gently, “Grandma, please don’t interfere with this, if you will.”

“What sort of nonsense have the Ji Family fed you?” Grandma Xu’s voice grew colder. “Wenyao, do you realize Shuyun has tickets to the Ma Institute’s event? Come back immediately and apologize to her. She said she’ll let bygones be bygones as long as you apologize.”

Xu Wenyao settled in his seat, always very polite, “Grandma, I don’t have time to come back, I still have things to take care of here. If you don’t have anything else, I am going to hang up.”

“Wenyao!” Grandma Xu sounded anxious, “You don’t want the tickets anymore?”

“Grandma, I’ll call you back later.” Xu Wenyao hung up the phone, sat in the driver’s seat, elbow resting lightly on the window, gaze fixed on the buildings outside.

He pressed his brow for a long while before driving the car to the museum.

On the roadside, Jiang He held a sugar-coated haw on a stick, slowly nibbling at it with his head down.

Xu Wenyao rolled down the window.

Then he heard Shen Qing muttering to Ji Shaojun while opening the door, “I told you, he’s had too much sugar today, and you still bought him candied haw? I was just having a chat with my dad. Did you have to buy it and bring it back? Do you think I can’t afford to buy it for him?”

Ji Shaojun didn’t say a word, another sugar-coated haw in hand, silently leading Jiang He into the car.

Xu Wenyao felt like laughing.

The Xu Family always had many rules and never such lively scenes.

Sitting comfortably in the passenger seat, Ji Heng said to Xu Wenyao, “Wenyao, just take us to Alian’s place. It’s perfect since Shaojun has brought her candied haw.”

“Alright,” Xu Wenyao was also curious about which library Bai Lian was at. He had heard she was in Chang’an District but had never actually seen her, “Please give me the address.”

The area around Bai Lian’s place was complex, with many roads and several forks.

Ji Heng forwarded the address Bai Lian had previously sent him to Xu Wenyao.

Xu Wenyao steered the car onto the main road, casually tapped open the message on the phone mounted on the support, switched to the map following the address Ji Heng had given, and glanced at the address.

Boyuan Base.

He activated the navigation, and just as the car moved a meter—

“Screech!”

Suddenly, an abrupt stop, and the car parked at the side of the road.

“Boyuan Base?” Xu Wenyao slightly turned his head, “She’s at Boyuan Base now?”

Behind him, Shen Qing stabilized Jiang He.

With his usual gentle demeanor, Xu Wenyao had startled her with his sudden braking, “Yes, can’t she be there?”