[Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfiction] I Raise A Ying in Yiling

Wei Chaoyan carried Qingyan and walked at the front of the crowd, leading everyone along the familiar road, turning left and right, and after walking for a while, they finally arrived at the halfway point on the south side of the back mountain of Wei Village, where the ancestral graves of Wei Village were located.

After arriving at the ancestral graves, Wei Chaoyan led them carefully around many graves of varying sizes and ages before stopping at a new grave on the northernmost edge of the ancestral graves. This was the grave of Wei Zhu and his wife.

Stopping in their tracks, Wei Chaoyan turned her back to Yan Niangzi and the others and said in a hoarse voice, "Aunt Yan, we've arrived at Father and Mother's graves. Please make yourselves at home. I'll take Qingyan and the others to talk to Father and Mother."

"Alright, I understand. You may go now." Lady Yan replied in a deep voice. She then had someone place a large bamboo basket containing incense, candles, paper money, sticks, fruits, chicken, and other offerings in front of the tomb, indicating that it was prepared for Wei Chaoyan. She then handed Wei Chaoyan a small tinderbox.

Seeing that Wei Chaoyan put down the person in her arms and took the tinder, Lady Yan didn't care what she wanted to do. She reached out and took another bamboo basket with the same contents from the hands of her subordinates behind her. She walked a little distance to the right and began to light incense, burn paper money and arrange offerings. The others followed behind Lady Yan and did the same.

While Lady Yan was busy preparing, Wei Chaoyan wasn't idle either. She first took out fresh fruit and chicken from the bamboo basket and placed them before her parents' graves, then lit the incense and candles and arranged them neatly. Next, she pulled Wei Ying, Qi Ye, and Qingyan to kneel down on the ground before the graves with a thud, leading them to respectfully perform the three bows and nine kowtows in the direction of the tombstone. After finishing, she didn't stand up. Instead, Wei Chaoyan raised her head with a bright smile, pointing at Qi Ye and Qingyan beside her and boasting proudly, "Father, Mother, look how well I've raised my brothers while you were gone for over a month! They haven't lost weight; in fact, they've gotten quite plump! Hehe, Father, Mother, see how amazing I am!"

Then, wrinkling her nose, she complained, "Hmph, let's see what Mom says about me now—a lazy pig who 'eats everything and is good for nothing'! Now you see what I'm capable of, right?"

"Oh, right!" Wei Chaoyan, who was happily complaining, patted her forehead and crawled a few steps toward Wei Ying's position. She reached out and took Wei Ying's hand, raised it high and waved it up and down to greet her parents lying in the tomb: "Hehe, Father and Mother, look, this cute boy I'm holding is the new son I found for you! Come on, A-Ying, wave and say hello to Father and Mother."

After waving and greeting Wei Ying, Wei Chaoyan released his hand, stopping him from continuing his bowing. She whispered to the shy and excited Wei Ying, "Alright, stop bowing. You've already done that. Here, take this paper money and burn it with Qi Ye for Father and the others. Be careful not to burn yourself." At the same time, she stuffed yellow paper money into Wei Ying and Qi Ye's hands and pushed Wei Ying towards Qi Ye.

After stuffing the paper money into the grave, Wei Chaoyan stood up, scooped up the kneeling Qingyan, and led him to bend down and clear away the overgrown, withered weeds around the grave. As she pulled, she muttered, "Father, Mother, please don't blame your daughter for taking it upon herself to adopt a son for you. Aying's parents were the immortal master Zezang who saved our family half a year ago. Their kindness to us is immeasurable. Now they've died after exorcising evil spirits, leaving Aying alone and destitute on the streets. How could I abandon him? Don't you agree?"

"Hey, I knew you made the same choice as me, Dad and Mom! Anyway, we're not short of food at home, and having a well-behaved, sensible, cute, and sweet-talking little brother is pretty good too!"

"Oh, right!" As she spoke, Wei Chaoyan glanced up at Yan Niangzi not far away like a thief. Seeing that Yan Niangzi was focused on speaking quietly to the tombstone and had no time to pay attention to her own commotion, and judging that she couldn't hear her complaints, she patted her chest and continued to chatter.

"Ahem, Father and Mother, if you're watching from heaven, did you secretly do something to Aunt Yan? Otherwise, why is she so good to me and A-Ying? She's always there for us, so thoughtful and considerate. She wasn't this kind of person to me when you were alive!" Wei Chaoyan asked, her voice lowered in confusion. It wasn't that Wei Chaoyan was ungrateful; Aunt Yan had indeed been unusually kind to her lately. Although her mother and Aunt Yan had a good relationship, it shouldn't have been to the point of her being so accommodating. No wonder Wei Chaoyan was suspicious. However, apart from Aunt Yan herself, no one could answer Wei Chaoyan's question; it remained just one of the countless unsolved mysteries in Wei Chaoyan's heart.

Wei Chaoyan, the wife of Wanyan, asked another question that hit the nail on the head: "Hey, Father and Mother, I've built a new house for Aying's parents not far from you. If you see them come to stay here, please remember to tell them that Aying has now joined our Wei family. As his elder sister, I will take good care of him and raise him. Please don't worry! If you have time, remember to visit Aying in his dreams. He misses them."

At this point, Wei Chaoyan suddenly rubbed her slightly sore nose and choked up, letting out a slightly moist voice from deep in her throat: "Father, Mother, I miss you so much!!"

Perhaps because she had cried too much earlier, even recalling her parents' past voices and smiles now caused her heart to reflexively fill with sorrow, and the tears hanging precariously from the corners of her reddened eyes stubbornly clung to her black eyelashes. Wei Chaoyan casually wiped away these tears with the back of her hand, then bent down and continued to diligently pull out the weeds from the surrounding corners.

After plucking the dirt, he took out a black handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped Qingyan's fingers, which were covered in mud and grass clippings. After wiping, he turned the handkerchief inside out, folded it into a small square, squatted down in front of the tombstone, and began to wipe away the dust bit by bit. As for Qingyan, he had him follow behind him and devoutly arrange the paper money in circles around the grave, one sheet at a time.