Funeral Notice

A rain fell before daybreak, dispersing the humid heat in the air. Morning mist lingered among the cliffs, muffling the clamor of the tide. Ji Jue, who had only just fallen asleep, was jolted awake by the sound of a vehicle driving up the mountain. He opened his eyes and walked toward the gate, where he saw Old Tom standing. There was also an older man in a black suit who handed something over, turned, and walked away—without glancing once at the unburied corpses on either side. He was gone. "Who was that?" Ji Jue asked. "...Lei Yaoxing's man." Old Tom looked at what he held, his expression complicated. "Here to collect the bodies?" "It's related to collecting bodies, all right, but not the ones here." Old Tom passed it over. "See for yourself." Ji Jue took it. Two thin sheets, like some sort of notice. Unlike a wedding invitation, the pure white card was refined yet simple, embossed with a faint watermark pattern. It was a funeral notice. "Late father, Lei Wuye..." After reading the opening line, Ji Jue glanced at the signature at the bottom—Lei Yaoxing—and it clicked at once. "The old bastard finally kicked the bucket?" After dragging out his miserable breath for more than half a month, he'd finally stretched out his legs and died a clean, easy death, leaving behind a massive mess for everyone else. How does every stroke of good luck in the world fall on an old fart like you? Still, a funeral at this critical juncture... Ji Jue instinctively felt a bad premonition. Now that Lei Wuye was dead, all those "friends and family" of his had probably received funeral notices. Whether out of face, etiquette, their current circumstances, or plans for the future, they would all likely have to show up in person. In other words, this funeral was bound to become the first face-to-face gathering of every member of Yacheng's Wild Gathering after more than a week of tearing at each other's throats. "They're calling a summit," he murmured with a sigh of understanding. It was ostensibly Lei Wuye's funeral, yet whether Lei Wuye had died peacefully was completely beside the point now. This funeral could well become the conference that decided the future of Yacheng's entire underworld—and there were probably only two possible outcomes: either Lei Yaoxing used bloody, iron-fisted methods to cow everyone into submission and seize the throne of the shot-caller in one fell swoop, or things ended on a bitter note, with everyone going home to clash with blades and guns until only a single victor remained standing. No, if handled poorly, this might not end up being just Lei Wuye's funeral alone. Who knew how many more people would be buried in the dirt alongside him as sacrificial companions? Amid these fleeting thoughts, Ji Jue felt as though he had vaguely seized upon a crucial hinge, yet the train of thought quickly blurred again. What puzzled him even more was the person this funeral notice was addressed to... It wasn't Chen Xingzhou, but Chen Yubo. He took out his phone to call Wen Wen for some intel, but the call didn't go through. Do Not Disturb mode. Only a preset text message replied, saying she was in a meeting and would call back later. In truth, it didn't take long at all before she called back. She didn't even wait for him to ask. "Did Chen Yubo get a funeral notice?" Wen Wen asked. "Yeah," Ji Jue said. "Should we do anything about it?" "Up to you. Doesn't matter whether you go or not," she said. "It's already over." "Huh?" Ji Jue was baffled. "It's a bit complicated to explain right now, but you don't need to be so tense. If you're interested, take that silly boy Chen Yubo along for the ride. It's a good chance to watch the show." Wen Wen scoffed softly, perhaps thinking of something. "The Security Bureau should have people on-site. As long as you don't go jumping up in Lei Yaoxing's face, he won't be able to touch you. Don't worry." She added, "No harm in going. Consider it seeing things through from start to finish." Over? After hanging up, Ji Jue pondered in a daze for a long time, still unable to make heads or tails of it. In the end, he decided to go take a look anyway. Sister Wen wouldn't just kick him into a fiery pit, after all. Besides, after fretting and suffering on the periphery of this convoluted struggle for so long, he needed some closure, didn't he? "Wanna go check it out?" He looked at the pale Chen Yubo. For a moment, Chen Yubo opened his mouth and closed it again, tears practically welling up in his eyes. Could he not go? Unfortunately, no. And he couldn't bring the cats, either... If your cat jumped onto the coffin during the funeral and startled Lei Wuye into turning into a hopping corpse, who would take the blame? And so, after tearfully bidding farewell to the two kitties, a thoroughly reluctant Chen Yubo was urged into the car by Ji Jue—along with Old Tom. Even though Old Tom kept rambling, "Our contract doesn't cover going out—that's extra pay, you hear!" he still tagged along, muttering things like, "If hands really start flying, I'm booking it instantly." As it turned out, once they were nearly there, he hopped out to buy grilled sausages by the roadside, wolfing down two bowls of rice noodle soup and three baskets of shaomai in one breath, his cheeks bulging and his mouth slick with grease. Squatting by the roadside and watching the luxury cars rolling past, he clicked his tongue in wonder. "Sure is lively." Even though Lei Wuye had only drawn his last breath a short while ago, the largest funeral parlor in all of Yacheng was already fully set up. The venue was solemn and dignified, lined with white floral wreaths right from the entrance, plastered with all sorts of miscellaneous elegiac couplets. In the lingering, sparse drizzle, someone stood by the door handing out umbrellas to arriving guests. One black umbrella after another opened up, droplets of rain falling glistening like dewdrops. Hundreds of umbrellas bustled to and fro along the narrow path. At a glance, that sea of black seemed as though dried blood and death were oozing out from the cemetery, spreading toward Yacheng down the mountain like a pathogen. Solemn enough to be laughable. Ji Jue took a bite of a steamed bun from a street stall and sighed lightly. "Making such an earth-shattering fuss even in death. What a pity." "Pity about what?" Old Tom asked, puzzled. Ji Jue said, "Pity that I don't like black umbrellas." They ought to hang up some red instead. Wouldn't that be much more festive, much more vibrant? After watching the spectacle from the roadside for a bit, the two returned to the car and brought back a basket of shaomai for Chen Yubo. Unfortunately, Chen Yubo was trembling in terror and couldn't stomach a single bite. One moment he was ranting that a man only lived once and even in death should have some backbone—maybe he should take a knife and go suicide-bomb Lei Yaoxing. The next moment he was sniffling that if he croaked, he was entrusting the cats to Ji Jue and begging him to treat them well and buy them lots of canned food. After an endless barrage of coaxing, cajoling, and assurances that he'd be fine, Chen Yubo finally quavered as he stepped out of the car, hoisted an umbrella, and walked toward the memorial hall. Surprisingly, right at the entrance, they saw the greeter. Lei Yaoxing. This was Ji Jue's first time laying eyes on the mastermind who had stirred up turmoil across Yacheng's underworld in recent days. Yet he looked just like any middle-aged man you might see on the street, his hair slightly peppered with gray, his solemn expression tinged with a mild warmth. He lacked that terrifying aura of someone who ate ten children raw for breakfast. Even though an entire squad of his subordinates had been wiped out at the villa last night, he showed no trace of pleasure or anger upon seeing Chen Yubo today. He merely scrutinized him for two moments. "Chen Yubo?" Chen Yubo tried to feign toughness, but his expression twitched, his voice shaking. "Yes." "It's our first time meeting. I never imagined you'd be so different from your brother... A truly fortunate man, aren't you!" Lei Yaoxing watched him for a long while, then reached out and patted his shoulder. "No need to worry. Today, anyone who comes is a guest. Go inside and have a seat." From beginning to end, he didn't spare a glance for Ji Jue or Old Tom behind him. Ji Jue was more than happy to be treated as thin air. After offering incense, several children and unfamiliar young women wearing black veils bowed in return. They were presumably Lei Wuye's relatives, but even now, their faces betrayed a faint, poorly concealed fluster and unease. Inside the coffin surrounded by flowers lay an old man dressed in new clothes, looking remarkably serene. Once the formalities were done, Chen Yubo scurried off to sit in the very back row, keeping his head down for fear of drawing anyone's attention. Beside him, Ji Jue watched the coming and going crowd with keen interest. Most of them were figures of standing, and quite a few were people he'd seen on television. Yet after offering incense, they all hurried off without lingering, clearly unwilling to get entangled in the Wild Gathering's life-and-death internal power struggle. Still, plenty of people sat down along either side after offering their incense. Some looked grave and somber, others irritated and displeased, whispering among themselves. Grouped according to their respective factions, they sat closer or farther apart, clearly divided. Quite a few wore bandages or plaster casts. The woman seated in front of Chen Yubo, in particular, had "pissed off" practically written all over her face. Disregarding the solemn setting, she smoked a cigarette, casually flicking ash as if no one else were around. Yet across that delicately maintained face, a gauze patch covered one eye. One of her eyes was blinded. When she looked back at the group, Chen Yubo shrank his neck even further. Old Tom stared back blankly, while Ji Jue kept his head down, looking at his phone and paying her no heed. Seeing Chen Yubo's cowardly display, she curled her lip in annoyance and withdrew her gaze. On Ji Jue's screen, camera feeds from around the venue had already appeared, along with surveillance footage from the nearby intersection. Soon enough, a pitch-black sedan caught his eye. It was clearly quite old, but well maintained. The make wasn't some luxury brand—in fact, it was a common model seen everywhere. Most important was the insignia printed on the car body: A radiant halo inset with three nested rings. The Church of Chongguang?! Clearly accorded special treatment, the vehicle from the Church of Chongguang drove right up to the front of the memorial hall. An elderly, somewhat gaunt man stepped out. His skin was parched and covered in sun marks, and he wore a plain black cassock without a single ornament. In the Church of Chongguang, only one sort of person dressed like that: full members who had sworn an oath before the Radiance, vowing never to accumulate private wealth, never to seek personal gain, never to initiate harm against others, and to follow the dogmas of the Radiance for life! Yet in Yacheng, there were only two or three such individuals... Ji Jue's eyes widened, and comprehension finally dawned on him. That was the elder of the Church of Chongguang who oversaw its assets in Yacheng! Evidently surprised by the visitor's arrival, even Lei Yaoxing paused for a second before stepping forward to greet him, exchanging a few words with the old man. After stepping inside, the elder declined offers to support him. He calmly offered two sticks of incense, then once again turned down the master of ceremonies' invitation to rest in the adjoining lounge. Yet he didn't turn around to leave, either. Instead, he walked straight toward the seats along the side, sitting down not far from Ji Jue and the others under the astounded gazes of the entire room. Sensing Ji Jue's startled look, the old man lifted his head slightly, nodded politely, and looked away. His eyes lowered, he sat as still as a mountain. Ji Jue froze for an instant, his scalp prickling involuntarily. Those who had no wish to get involved in the Wild Gathering's internal strife, but had to come out of obligation, had all left after offering incense. Yet an elder had chosen to stay and take a seat right here... Was the Church of Chongguang about to wade into the Wild Gathering's mess?!