Chapter 320: Chapter 67: Qi Refining Perfection

Wispy white hair clung to his scalp. Each breath was faint and long, as if it might cease at any moment.

Eighty-five years old.

In an age where plagues, famines, and wars were commonplace, and farmers often perished young from harsh winters or illness, living to such an age was a miracle in itself.

It was for this reason that when Old Allen had grown too old and his solitary farmhouse could no longer provide adequate care, Monte Castle made an exception and brought him into the fortress, placing him in this quiet tower room and assigning someone to look after him.

In the eyes of many, this was more than just care for a man who had lived a long life.

Especially to the devout people of the territory and to visiting guests.

It was a symbol that the territory was blessed by God and of the Governor’s benevolence.

A living "miracle" residing within the castle was, in itself, an auspicious sign and a silent testament.

Thus, when news arrived that Old Allen’s flame of life was about to be extinguished, Murphy decided to personally visit the old man who had witnessed the rise and fall of the Duval Territory and accompanied the Monte Territory through its earliest years.

The room was now filled with people, yet it was exceptionally quiet.

Murphy stood by the bedside in dark blue informal attire, his expression calm as he watched the body, which only faintly rose and fell.

Aurora stood slightly behind him to one side, wearing a simple and elegant ivory-white long dress. Her golden hair was pinned up, and her expression was solemn yet gentle.

She gently held the small hand of Eleanor, who was dressed in a little black dress.

Kaiden stood on his mother’s other side, his lips pressed tightly together.

Beside him were two young women of about the same age.

On his left was Annie Peric.

She wore a somber, dark gray dress. Her red hair was neatly tied back, and the lively expression usually on her face was replaced by a proper sorrow. Her gaze was lowered, her hands clasped before her.

On his right was Alina Laura, the Count’s daughter from the South who held a certain fondness for Kaiden.

Her long brown hair was even richer and more lustrous than it had been a few years ago, gathered into an elegant bun at the back of her head.

A well-tailored, dark green velvet long dress perfectly accentuated the young woman’s increasingly slender figure.

Her brow was slightly furrowed, the sorrow in her eyes more apparent than Annie’s.

Occasionally, her gaze would shift from Old Allen to dart swiftly across Kaiden’s quiet profile, or perhaps meet Annie’s by chance.

Near the door, Arthur leaned on a smoothly polished oak cane, his body severely hunched.

He was seventy-eight years old, his hair thin and snow-white, the deep wrinkles on his face like cracks in parched earth.

His grandson, Luke, who had become an Official Knight’s Attendant, was dressed in neat attendant’s leather armor as he silently and respectfully supported his grandfather.

Arthur’s cloudy eyes were fixed on the old fellow on the bed, who was now little more than a bag of bones, and his lips trembled slightly.

One was a veteran Knight’s Attendant who had served several lords and was now entrusted with great responsibility by the Governor.

The other was an elderly commoner who had gone from groom to farmer, his life always revolving around the land and its livestock.

Arthur remembered over forty years ago, when he himself was a high-spirited young soldier, while Allen was already an Upper-class Groom in the castle stables, tending to the warhorse of the Official Knight, Rotton.

He remembered how meticulously Allen had cared for Luca’s warhorse, "Black Wind." He remembered when he was still a Knight’s Attendant in the Duval Territory, going on patrol to the Black Wood Forest Outpost with Luca, bringing along a young groom named Murphy and Allen.

He also remembered when the Duval Territory changed hands and became Monte Castle. At the wedding of Lord Melfield and Miss Aurora, he and Allen, two men of vastly different stations, had met in a corner and prayed to Oriane together.

So many years had passed, and the familiar faces from back then had disappeared one by one.

The Old Baron, the Lady Baron, Glen, Rotton, Old Jimmy, Kelvin, Sylvan, Lawrence, Luca, Gilbert... all those figures who had once bustled about the halls, courtyards, and walls of Duval Castle had, one after another, returned to dust.

Now, Allen, lying on the bed, was perhaps the last person who could make him clearly recall the old name, "Duval Territory."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the sound of Old Allen’s difficult, slow breaths.

He seemed to have already lost consciousness, completely unresponsive to the stirrings around him.

His lips would occasionally move nonsensically, but no clear sound escaped them. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Kaiden, Eleanor, Annie, and Alina came forward in turn. They stood silently for a moment to pay their last respects to the long-lived old man, then quietly exited the room.

Old Allen’s great-grandson, a good-natured-looking farmer in his thirties, stood awkwardly in the corner, dressed in a long, indigo fine-linen tunic.

Seeing these great figures, normally so far beyond his reach, come one by one to visit his great-grandfather, his eyes reddened with emotion. He unconsciously wrung the corner of his tunic, muttering under his breath, "Thank you, my Lord... Thank you, my Lady... May Oriane bless the Monte family..."

When Murphy’s gaze happened to sweep over him, he lowered his head even deeper, looking as if he were about to fall to his knees.

Supported by Luke, Arthur was the last to approach the bed. He reached out a trembling hand, covered in age spots and thick calluses, and very gently touched the back of Old Allen’s withered, cold hand. He held it there for a few seconds, but in the end, said nothing. With just one last, deep look, he tottered away, leaning on his grandson.

"You may leave first," Murphy said gently to the terrified and humbled great-grandson. "Let us stay with him alone for a while."