The next morning, in a grand hall of the Wuliang Daoist Temple, a mourning hall had been set up. A coffin was placed in the center of the hall, with an incense burner and offerings on the altar. A black-and-white photograph of Duan Wuyu was displayed alongside. Yang Jingyi and her daughter Duan Yingying, along with disciples Xu Lingwei, Qi Wu, and Li Zihang, were dressed in mourning attire, kneeling and burning paper money.
Standing to the side were Chang Wude and Wu Weizi, both with faces etched with grief. Wan Yunting, Kang Nuolan, and other disciples also stood nearby. As Grandmaster Gui was escorted in by a disciple, his face revealed sorrow upon seeing Duan Wuyu's coffin.
Yang Jingyi had not decided to announce Duan Wuyu's passing to the public or invite other sects to mourn. Her main reason was to avoid bothering others. Therefore, only the disciples of their sect were present to pay their respects.
At this moment, Qu Guangrong entered with Lu Feiyue and others. Having received news of his master's demise that morning, Qu Guangrong had rushed over immediately. Upon seeing his master's coffin and photograph, Qu Guangrong's eyes welled up. He knelt before the coffin and kowtowed three times, tears streaming down his face. He still found it hard to believe that his master was gone.
Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia stood outside the hall with other disciples of the temple. The two women had informed their master about Duan Wuyu's passing. The Abbess of the Emei Sect had also called Yang Jingyi, expressing her desire to come in person, but Yang Jingyi had declined. Therefore, Zhou Ruoxi's master could only offer words of comfort to Yang Jingyi over the phone.
By noon, led by Grandmaster Gui, Wan Yunting, Li Zihang, Qi Wu, and Qu Guangrong, the four of them personally carried Duan Wuyu's coffin out of the hall and towards the back of Wuliang Mountain.
It was snowing heavily that day. Wan Yunting and the other three carried Duan Wuyu's coffin, guided by Grandmaster Gui. Yang Jingyi and Duan Yingying, draped in mourning clothes, had kept vigil through the night, crying until they were exhausted and had no more tears to shed. Chang Wude and Wu Weizi wore black cotton Taoist robes with white sashes. Qu Guangrong and the disciples behind them were similarly attired.
The disciples in blue Taoist robes wore white sashes around their waists. Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia, along with several senior and junior sisters from the temple, followed at the rear. The procession, carrying Duan Wuyu's coffin, slowly made its way up Wuliang Mountain towards the burial site of the ancestral masters of the Wuliang Daoist Temple.
After nearly an hour of walking, with two brief pauses along the way, Wan Yunting and Qu Guangrong, along with the others carrying the coffin, followed Grandmaster Gui to a cliff cave on Wuliang Mountain, before the memorial hall dedicated to the ancestral masters.
"Stop!" Grandmaster Gui shouted. Wan Yunting, Qi Wu, Li Zihang, and Qu Guangrong gently placed the coffin on the ground. Grandmaster Gui walked to the front of the memorial tablets of the ancestral masters, lit incense, and said, "Esteemed Ancestors, the thirty-fourth generation disciple Duan Wuyu, Taoist name Muqing, has come to join you now. May you take good care of him in the Yellow Springs..."
Hearing Grandmaster Gui's words, Yang Jingyi and Duan Yingying, kneeling on the prayer mats, began to sob again. Chang Wude and Wu Weizi's old faces were filled with sorrow. Wan Yunting stood by, his expression somber.
To bid farewell to Duan Wuyu, Grandmaster Gui began performing a ritual before the ancestral masters. Li Zihang, Qi Wu, Qu Guangrong, and the other disciples had already knelt. Xu Lingwei and other disciples who were close to Duan Wuyu were weeping uncontrollably. The other disciples knelt with heads bowed in grief, as did Wan Yunting, Kang Nuolan, Zhou Ruoxi, and Jiang Tingxia. After Grandmaster Gui finished the ritual, he shouted, "Interment!"
Immediately, a disciple responsible for firecrackers lit them on the other side of the cliff. The sound of the firecrackers seemed to announce to the ancestral masters of the Wuliang Daoist Temple the arrival of Duan Wuyu's spirit.
Wan Yunting, Qu Guangrong, Qi Wu, and Li Zihang, who were carrying the coffin, lifted it again. As Grandmaster Gui opened a stone door, the four carried the coffin into the dim stone chamber.
This was Grandmaster Gui's usual living space, containing only an old wooden bed, a small table, and a wooden cabinet. Various messy items were piled in the corner. Wan Yunting had no time to examine these things. They followed Grandmaster Gui, carrying Duan Wuyu's coffin. Yang Jingyi, Duan Yingying, Xu Lingwei, Chang Wude, and Wu Weizi also followed. However, other disciples could only wait outside.
Grandmaster Gui opened another large stone door, revealing the burial chamber where the ancestral masters of the Wuliang Daoist Temple were formally interred. The chamber was very large and completely dark. Grandmaster Gui asked Chang Wude and Wu Weizi to light the oil lamps within the tomb.
Suddenly, they saw over eighty coffins of various sizes, styles, and made from different types of wood, neatly arranged inside. This sight caused Wan Yunting, Qi Wu, Li Zihang, and Feng Yuxiu's eyes to widen, filling them with a sense of dread. Moreover, a special magnetic field permeated the vast tomb, but it was not an eerie aura; instead, it exuded a sense of righteous energy, which made Wan Yunting feel both strange and indescribable.
"This is Wuyu's place. Place it here," Grandmaster Gui said, holding an oil lamp and leading Wan Yunting and the others with Duan Wuyu's coffin. He pointed to an empty spot to the right of the stone door, where a specially built base for the coffin was located. The stone slab beneath had holes, seemingly for drainage. This spot had been designated for Duan Wuyu's coffin after he became the Abbot.
The reason for over eighty coffins in the tomb was not solely for the Abbots of the Wuliang Daoist Temple. Other senior uncles and masters, as well as other elders of the temple, were also qualified to be buried there. Next to Duan Wuyu's designated spot was the coffin of Grandmaster Gui's senior brother, Master Rendao.
"Lower it," Grandmaster Gui instructed. Wan Yunting, Li Zihang, and the other three slowly lowered the coffin onto the base. The coffin was suspended about ten centimeters above the ground to prevent the wood from coming into contact with the ground, thus avoiding dampness or termites. This was clearly a design from when the ancestral masters first built the tomb.
"Wuwu, Daddy..." Duan Yingying ran over and lay on her father's coffin, crying with reluctance.
"Sigh..." Grandmaster Gui shook his head, his frail body bent. He turned and walked towards the exit, saying, "Come out now. Don't stay too long, lest you disturb the Ancestors." Chang Wude and Wu Weizi nodded and waved to Wan Yunting and Qu Guangrong, urging them to leave quickly.
"Sister-in-law, Yingying, let's go out too." Wu Weizi gently pulled Duan Yingying, who was leaning on her father's coffin, back. Chang Wude also reminded Yang Jingyi. She cast a last, reluctant look at her husband's coffin with her red eyes, then, leaning on her constantly weeping daughter, left the tomb with her.
As they emerged, Grandmaster Gui called Wan Yunting over and slowly closed the heavy stone door. Seeing Yang Jingyi and Duan Yingying crying, Grandmaster Gui said, "Alright, you can all go down now. Come up again after three days."
"Yes, Grandmaster Uncle..." Chang Wude, Wu Weizi, Wan Yunting, Qu Guangrong, and the other disciples bowed respectfully to Grandmaster Gui. They then led Yang Jingyi and Duan Yingying out of the stone chamber and instructed the disciples waiting outside to descend the mountain in an orderly fashion. The ceremony for burying Duan Wuyu thus concluded.
Upon returning to the sect at the foot of the mountain, Yang Jingyi was supporting her daughter as they headed towards their residence. She then asked Xu Lingwei to take Yingying ahead, while she turned to Chang Wude, Wu Weizi, and Wan Yunting, saying in a hoarse voice, "Junior Brother Chang, Junior Brother Wu Wei, I will trouble you to take care of matters at the temple for these next few days."
"Rest assured, Sister-in-law. We will handle the temple's affairs. You should go back and rest first, as you must be exhausted," Chang Wude replied with a nod.
"Yes, thank you," Yang Jingyi said, bowing slightly. Chang Wude and Wu Weizi nodded. She then turned and followed Xu Lingwei and her daughter.
"Sigh..." Wu Weizi sighed, watching his sister-in-law walk away alone. He then turned and waved to the disciples behind him, "Everyone, go back and tidy up."
"Yes, Uncle Master..." The disciples returned to clean up the mourning items set up in the hall.
"Senior Brother Chang, where should our Wuliang Daoist Temple go from here?" Wu Weizi asked as he walked with Chang Wude towards his residence. Wan Yunting, Kang Nuolan, Qu Guangrong, and Lu Feiyue followed them.
Suddenly, Wan Yunting remembered something and turned to look at Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia, who were following at a distance. He jogged over and said, "Senior Sister Zhou, Senior Sister Jiang, you should go back and rest too. I'll come find you later."
"Okay, Junior Brother Wan. We'll head back then," Jiang Tingxia said. Zhou Ruoxi gave Wan Yunting a knowing glance with her bright eyes and nodded slightly without saying anything. She and her junior sister turned and headed back to their residence. Wan Yunting watched them leave before turning to catch up with Chang Wude and the others.