"Brother, no, no!" Helen woke up and threw herself on the corpse, wailing, "Is this God's punishment for me?"
Seeing her two brothers lying peacefully on the deck, either soaked or asleep, Helen recalled the voices and smiles of her two brothers in the past, and her tears fell uncontrollably.
In the past, when the siblings were together, they were so carefree. Who would have thought that they would be separated forever?
"Helen, don't cry. Let us bury them properly. I believe they would not want you to be so sad!" As Pei Zi Yun said this, he thought to himself, "You still don't know that your brothers are after us. You will definitely be fine, but I will be in danger."
Not to mention if he could defeat them, even if he managed to kill them while the storm had exhausted them, he would still have to face the curse of Zeus.
Gods could kill the sons of gods, but mortals who killed the sons of Zeus would not have a good ending!
"According to the Greek tradition, the result of this curse would be that one day, I would fall asleep, and Helen would stab me to avenge the death of my two brothers."
Thinking of this, Pei Zi Yun could not help but shiver. The story of Melagros and the wild boar was too vivid. The Greek gods loved to kill each other.
This interest really made people speechless.
Helen did not know what Pei Zi Yun was thinking. She threw herself into his arms and cried, "Paris, I only have you now …"
"Don't worry, I will protect you and will not abandon you!" Pei Zi Yun said as he patted Helen's back.
"Paris, I will depend on you for my brother's funeral." Helen's eyes were red. The ancient Greeks believed that without a funeral, they would not be able to cross the Styx.
"Helen, even if it wasn't for your sake, I've admired these two heroes for a long time." Pei Zi Yun said as he thought to himself, "Castor and Polydeuces were the sons of Zeus. It was one thing for them to become gods, but even Hercules was doubtful, let alone these two.
They would not be restricted by ordinary funerals.
But giving a funeral was a virtue. Thinking of this, Pei Zi Yun called for Gesne and Keselia, "Get some incense and prepare two sets of clothes for the two heroes."
"Also, go to the island and prepare two piles of firewood. Also, build a grave. The grave must be well built."
"By the way, build a small altar nearby. We want to worship the great Zeus and ask him to take care of the souls of the two heroes."
"Yes, Prince Paris," everyone replied.
Pei Zi Yun then took out some fragrant oil and smeared it on the corpses inch by inch. He then helped them change into new clothes. Their faces were glowing, and looked exactly the same as when they were alive. Seeing this, Helen cried and fell onto the deck.
With hundreds of people working, it didn't take long for the pile of firewood to be prepared on the island and the grave to be built.
"Helen, come. Let us send these two heroes off." As he finished speaking, he called for the slaves to carry the corpses of Castor and Polydus away.
On the open area of the island, there were two large piles of firewood. On top of the pile of firewood, there was a large wooden bed. The two bodies were placed on the wooden bed.
Next to the pile of firewood was a small altar. The altar was circular and had a one-meter-high pedestal. On top of the pedestal was a small statue of Zeus.
Pei Zi Yun ordered a servant to bring a ram over, tied it up, and placed it on the altar. The surrounding soldiers and slaves knelt down and prayed to Zeus.
After the prayers, the priests who followed the army started the ritual.
Pei Zi Yun said to Castor and Polydus on the pile of firewood, "Castor and Polydus, I hope your souls can rest in peace. I will treat Helen well. Please rest assured!"
As he finished speaking, he raised his hands and prayed to the statue of Zeus, "Great King of the Gods, your sons Castor and Polydus have suffered a shipwreck. At this time, I am going to hold a funeral. I hope you will watch over them and continue to bless me."
After the ritual, the corpses were cremated in front of the pile of firewood.
Everyone paid their respects to the two heroes, Castor and Polydus, and bowed to them. Torches were used to light the pile of firewood, and before long, the flames engulfed the corpses of the two heroes.
Cremated corpses would usually emit a very unpleasant smell. However, perhaps it was because the bodies had been smeared with oil, or because the two corpses had been heroes when they were alive, the corpses did not emit a strange smell. Instead, a faint fragrance wafted out.
Before long, the corpses and the pile of firewood had been incinerated, leaving behind only a pile of ashes. The servant divided the ashes into two portions and placed them into two boxes before burying them in the grave. Pei Zi Yun was very considerate and placed ten gold coins in each box. This was for them to use to cross the River Styx.
Due to time constraints and the lack of materials, the grave could not be considered grand. However, it was still made of stone.
Helen watched as the ashes of her two brothers were buried in the grave, and tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"My dear, why are you crying? Perhaps the two heroes were only brought back to Mount Olympus by their father. "
"Paris, you don't have to worry about comforting me. You have already done your best. I just feel sad when I think about not being able to see my two brothers again."
"Helen, I can sympathize with your sadness. However, if the two heroes saw you now, they might not be happy either." As Pei Zi Yun said this, he was thinking about something else in his heart.
"Castor and Polydeuces are both dead, and they were even the sons of Zeus. They could not escape. Could this be the fate of the heroes?"
"No, I must break free from this fate."
After burying the ashes of the two heroes, everyone began to cremate the ordinary sailors and soldiers. This was relatively simple, and the graves were just ordinary mounds of earth.
However, although the funeral ceremony was simple, it did not lose its solemnity.
After the funeral was settled, everyone packed up and returned to the warship.
Pei Zi Yun also brought Helen back to the warship. Seeing that everyone was ready, he gave the order, "Set sail, to Troy."
A fleet slowly sailed out of the harbor, heading towards the city of Troy.
The sky was dark, and the fog was thick. Faint sounds of crying could be heard, which made one's scalp go numb. Looking closely, one could see grey shadows appearing in the fog.
"This is the territory of Hades. Are we dead?" Castor and Polydeuces looked at everything in a daze, and gradually came to their senses.
In order to quickly catch up with their sister, the two of them set sail. In the morning, the sky was still clear, and looking at the weather, it did not seem like there would be a storm. However, a storm soon followed.
In the fog, more and more shadows appeared. They were all ghosts, and they looked familiar. They seemed to be the soldiers that had followed them. The thick fog seemed to hide a terrible evil. Everywhere they could hear sighs, cries, and screams. The two of them could not help but feel nervous.
The two of them looked up and saw that in the distance, many ghosts were gathered on the banks of a large river. They could not wait to cross the river. A person was riding a small boat towards them. Just by seeing it, they could feel it. "Charon?"
Charon shouted, "Look, who do I see? The great sons of Zeus, you are unlucky. I am here to cross you to the other side of the river. "
"However, even if you are the sons of Zeus, the rules are still rules. You can only cross the river with silver coins. Otherwise, you will have to stay here for a year!"
"There's no need for that. You can carry them over, but the great Zeus has made arrangements for these two. They don't need to cross the Styx River to reach the domain of Hades." At that moment, a golden light suddenly descended, and with a boom, a goddess descended.
Unlike the goddess that they had seen when she was alive, Athena's entire body was shining with a golden light, and no one dared to look at her directly.
"Oh, does Zeus want to meddle in the territory of the Underworld again?" Charon took a step back.
"Castor and Polydeuces did not cross the Styx, so they are not the children of Hades. Moreover, the great Zeus, even in the Underworld, has this little bit of authority," Athena replied. She grabbed the souls of Castor and Polydeuces and flew.
In the blink of an eye, they seemed to have broken through a certain space. What they saw was a great Sacred Mountain, which was shining with light. However, they only flew to the foot of Mount Olympus and did not go up.
"Only gods have the right to ascend the mountain. Your residence is beneath the Sacred Mountain." As Athena spoke, she knocked on the foot of the mountain, and a hole appeared. Athena took the lead and entered. Castor and Polydeuces looked at each other, then followed her in.
So the underground that Athena was referring to was beneath Mount Olympus. The brothers could accept it.
After entering, they realized that the bottom of the mountain was not dark at all. There was a faint light, and it was a completely different world. The underground was huge, and there were many mansions.
Athena led Castor and Polydeuces into an exquisite mansion.
Everything that one would expect to find inside, and Castor and Polydeuces were quite satisfied. At this moment, Athena suddenly paused. She tapped the wall lightly, and the wall rippled. Gradually, an image appeared.
The image showed the situation on Leesburg Island. The entire process of Pei Zi Yun retrieving the bodies of the two legendary heroes, cremating them, and burying them in their graves, the two of them watched intently, their expressions complicated.
As the sons of Zeus, the two of them knew that this was the will of God. He wanted them to die, and the responsibility was not on Paris. However, they had died because of Pei Zi Yun, and their hearts were filled with resentment.
"I hope Paris will treat Helen well."
Mt. Olympus, Peak
Zeus drank his wine, watching everything that was happening on Leesburg Island. He was very satisfied with Pei Zi Yun's actions. When Pei Zi Yun performed the ritual, he also took the offerings.
"Paris, because of what you did today, someone will definitely bury you."
Leesburg Island was located on the coast of Troy. It was not far from Troy, and Pei Zi Yun's fleet arrived at Troy on the same day. The lookout signaled for them to enter the port.
Pei Zi Yun gave the order, "Attention, prepare to drop the anchor!"
The crew immediately acted according to the order. Some lowered the sails, some took out ropes, and some took out anchors. Pei Zi Yun looked around, and seeing that the order was being carried out, he turned to Gesne and said, "Gesne, go and inform my father, King Priam, of my return, as well as about Helen."
"Keselia, go to my mansion and tell me about my return, as well as about Helen."
"There is no need to hide anything. As long as it is the truth, answer whatever Onone asks. Tell her that I will report to the King, and I will be back soon."
"Yes!" The two of them were a little surprised and retreated. Looking at their backs, Pei Zi Yun continued to dispatch the fleet and make arrangements. In his heart, however, he was thinking, 'I wonder what the people of Troy will think if they find out that I have really brought back a girl from Greece? The oracle said that if I bring back a girl from Greece, Troy will be destroyed. '
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