It wasn't just Ji Jue—everyone present fell into silence, including Lei Yaoxing, who was staring over. For a brief instant, Lei Yaoxing's expression twitched, as though sensing something.
Yet he didn't even have time to think, because a second car had already pulled up to the entrance.
A luxury car fit for Young Master Lou—a top-trim Guangyuan!
Stepping out was an ordinary-looking, slightly chubby man. Aside from his head-to-toe high-end luxury brands and the prestige watch on his wrist, nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary, yet his presence tightened the tension in the room once again.
It was even more palpable than before.
"Long time no see, Mr. Tong."
Lei Yaoxing shook hands with the arrival. The current CEO of the Tong Group gave a slight nod and signaled his staff to present a funeral wreath.
"The old man at home said he and the elder Mr. Lei were acquaintances for many years, so he asked me to come see him off in his stead."
Lei Yaoxing fell silent for a fleeting moment before stepping aside. "...Please."
And so Tong Shengnian stepped inside, took two sticks of incense, lit them, and pressed his palms together to silently pray for the deceased's eternal peace. Afterward, he also ignored the master of ceremonies' invitation, turning around and walking toward the very back of the hall.
While Ji Jue's eyelid twitched wildly, Tong Shengnian took a seat right next to the elder of the Church of Chongguang.
The Tong family was here too!
Right after that, the next vehicle to arrive was an Empire-made Yaoying, understated yet luxurious. From the door opened by the chauffeur stepped a middle-aged woman with short hair and stern makeup.
Ji Jue had seen this person before.
Back in Professor Ye's workshop...
When Professor Ye had introduced him to her, Ji Jue had smiled more radiantly than a toddler in kindergarten... because she was the manager and plenipotentiary representative of the All-Realm Craftsmen Association's Ring of Taiyi in Yacheng!
Now, after offering incense, she didn't leave either. Instead, she walked toward the back and sat down next to the elder. After a few brief words of greeting, she nodded to Ji Jue and kept silent.
Ji Jue's scalp grew increasingly numb.
The figures arriving after that were all heavyweights as well...
The local branch president of the Star Core Association, the confidential secretary from City Hall, the special envoy from the Governor's Mansion, the business manager from Everlasting Bank, and the heads of Universal Heavy Industries and Boundless Telecom.
And finally, a car arrived that blatantly disregarded all decorum and parked directly in front of the farewell hall's entrance.
Well, it wasn't a particularly nice car, nor was it awful. But whether it was good or bad didn't matter, because plastered on its side was the emblem of the Yacheng Security Bureau.
The young man who stepped out adjusted his sleeves and strolled inside with large strides.
He paid no attention to Lei Yaoxing, cared even less about Lei Wuye, and couldn't even be bothered to offer incense.
He didn't spare the coffin a single glance.
From start to finish, he remained expressionless. His handsome face was chilled with an aloofness that kept people thirty thousand miles away as he walked in without a care in the world.
Under countless furious gazes, he walked to the very back, greeted Tong Shengnian, and then sat down directly beside Ji Jue.
Ji Jue's face twitched once, and then again. Right now, he wished he could duck his head down like Chen Yubo.
Before he could decide to change seats, he heard a voice beside him.
The aloof man turned to look at him, though his expression carried a faint warmth. "Ji Jue?"
"Uh... hello?" Ji Jue nodded, studying the unfamiliar face. "And you are?"
"No need for formalities. Tong—Tong Shan."
The head of the First Department, currently serving as acting director of the Yacheng Security Bureau, introduced himself and shook Ji Jue's hand. "Before I came, Supervisor Wen specifically entrusted me to look after you. Now it seems there's no need for me to meddle after all."
"Uh..."
In an instant, Ji Jue breathed a sigh of relief, feeling all the pressure vanish.
Holy crap, with such an enormous Buddha sitting right beside him, even if Lei Yaoxing pulled a knife, he wouldn't be able to touch a single hair on his head!
Talk about a sudden sense of security!
Just as Ji Jue was about to seize the chance to play friendly and call him 'one of us,' Tong Shan spoke again: "Not just Supervisor Wen—my silly little sister talks about you quite often, too."
"Ah?" Ji Jue instinctively felt a bad premonition. "What did she say about me?"
Tong Shan paused briefly, the corner of his lips seeming to twitch upward. "The business with 'Mr. Famous Quote'—I shouldn't need to repeat it, right?"
Ji Jue's face twitched once more, completely uncontrollable.
I knew it! I freaking knew it!
Nineteen years of an unblemished reputation, ruined by one slip of the tongue!
Couldn't we just gloss over this chapter?! Why did it suddenly feel like this was going to haunt him for the rest of his life?!
"Ahem, you flatter me... it's a bit of an embarrassment."
"I don't think it's embarrassing at all."
To Ji Jue's surprise, Tong Shan shook his head in all seriousness—so earnest that Ji Jue wondered if the man was teasing him. "I think you spoke very well, and what you did was great. These days, there are too few people who dare to speak what's truly on their minds and then actually follow through with concrete action."
He suddenly asked, "Interested in joining the Security Bureau?"
"Uh..." Ji Jue's expression twitched again. He originally wanted to say he was already an informant, but in someone like Tong Shan's eyes, being an informant probably didn't even count as setting foot through the door, right?
Tong Shan said, "I know the mess over in the Second Department is annoying, but don't worry—the First Department welcomes you anytime. Actually, with your abilities, you could probably go straight to the Third Department, couldn't you?"
Aside from logistics and finance, the Yacheng Security Bureau had three primary divisions, known casually to everyone as One, Two, and Three.
The division most people encountered was the Second Department, the Public Order Department, which was the largest and most complex of the three, responsible for public security across Yacheng's districts. That was why Wen Wen self-deprecatingly called herself a beat cop.
The First Department was the Operations Department that Tong Shan currently headed, reporting directly to the bureau director. They were essentially elite federal civil servants, tasked with Yacheng's defense and the protection of key figures.
It was dominated by the Tianyuan branch, with internal management and discipline far stricter than the Second Department's, accompanied by staggeringly generous pay and benefits. Unaffiliated Tianyuan followers dreamed of passing the civil service exams to get in, which secured a permanent public post. Furthermore, only members of the First Department had access to the Federation's orthodox Tianyuan matrices and various ancestral arts...
After all, the Empire and the Federation were the only two major strongholds of Tianyuan in the world!
As for the Third Department he mentioned, it was the smallest and most mysterious division: the Technical Maintenance Department. They oversaw the upkeep of Yacheng's crucial installations, including but not limited to massive wartime fortifications, various alchemical items... and even Celestial Crafts and forbidden creations. Backed by federal supplies, its personnel didn't bat an eye when consuming ordinary materials.
If this had been half a year ago, landing an offer from any one of them would have made Ji Jue grin from ear to ear. But now, without any regret, he didn't care in the slightest.
Tide Sound Workshop is my home, and Professor Ye is the only sun in my sky!
Ji Jue shook his head without hesitation. "I'd still like to prioritize my studies for now. My apologies."
Tong Shan nodded slightly, not at all surprised. He simply handed over a business card with both hands, solemn and earnest. "If you're ever interested, contact me anytime."
"Definitely."
Ji Jue carefully put it away. Only then did he notice how suffocating and oppressive the atmosphere in the farewell hall had become.
Without realizing it, every seat around him had filled up!
And looking across them, there were people from all walks of life, high and low, yet among them... not a single one belonged to the Wild Gathering.
First was the elder from the Church of Chongguang, followed by the Tong family's Tong Shengnian, the Ring of Taiyi, and then the Security Bureau's acting director, Tong Shan. Like boulders hurled into a pond, each arrival stirred turbulent undercurrents.
With all of them seated here, this funeral was destined not to remain an internal matter of the Wild Gathering.
If anything, it felt more like...
...Demanding accountability?
The thought surfaced unbidden in Ji Jue's mind, but perhaps only that could explain everything unfolding before him.
Half a month of shadow warfare had dragged on for far too long.
As the fighting spiraled out of control, its impact had reached far beyond the Wild Gathering. It affected the Church of Chongguang's hospitals and relief work, the Tong family's business operations, the Ring of Taiyi's material transport and contraband control, the Star Core Association's neutrality and cohesion, the functioning of City Hall, the security of the Governor's Mansion, and above all... the order and stability of Yacheng.
To be sure, as long as human nature endured, chaotic and lawless wilderness would always exist. But now, too much blood had been spilled on that wilderness, overflowing into the civilized world beyond and pooling right at everyone's doorsteps.
By the time yet another guest took a seat after offering incense, the entire farewell hall had plunged into dead silence, where even a dropped pin could be heard.
A middle-aged man whose features bore some resemblance to Tong Shan's took his seat with casual poise. Dressed in a relaxed suit, he possessed an untamed, dashing air and undeniable presence.
After nodding to Tong Shengnian, he patted Tong Shan's shoulder with familiar affection and sat down beside him. "Long time no see, A-Shan."
"Hello, Fourth Uncle," Tong Shan greeted him with a solemn nod.
"Come on, relax a bit. I was even wondering whether to call you by your official title—wouldn't that be more fun?"
Fourth Uncle waved his hand with a carefree grin, showing none of the solemnity befitting the occasion. "When A-Hua got home last time, she was so angry she ate several extra bowls of rice. You siblings really have the most amusing dynamic."
Beside them, Ji Jue and Old Tom kept their eyes fixed on their noses and their noses over their mouths, sitting bolt upright and hardly daring to breathe, meekly ducking their heads.
The moment the man had appeared, Ji Jue had recognized the emblem pinned to his chest...
The badge of the Haizhou Book Lovers Club.
A seemingly harmless club, yet who would ever suspect that this place was the largest intelligence exchange hub in all of Haizhou for Celestial Chosen of the Aether?
And the man Tong Shan called Fourth Uncle was precisely the Tong family's Celestial Chosen, the current president of the Haizhou Book Lovers Club: Tong Ting. Sitting here now, he represented every Aether-aligned Celestial Chosen in Yacheng.
Yet among all the attendees present, the Tong family alone accounted for three representatives across commerce, the Security Bureau, and the Aether faction. From this, one could catch a glimpse of the terrifying influence the usually low-profile Tong family held...
Unexpectedly, unlike the headstrong and fierce Tong Hua, Tong Ting never activated his Eye of Aether, nor did he look around inquisitively. After greeting Ji Jue politely and offering a couple of compliments to the young man, he said no more.
As guest after guest arrived, offering their respects before either taking a seat or leaving, the once-spacious farewell hall had become so crowded that not a single empty spot remained.
The busy staff were about to bring in more stools, but Lei Yaoxing, who had remained silent the entire time, raised his hand and waved them off.
No more guests would be coming.
Or rather, the final guest had already arrived before him.
"My apologies. I was delayed on the road and arrived late."
Seated in a wheelchair, a slightly pale man coughed twice and instructed the master of ceremonies beside him, "Before coming, I had someone buy some fresh flowers. Please arrange them up front for me."
Behind him, the elderly, one-armed man collapsed his umbrella with a flick of his arm. A sparse trickle of rainwater dripped from its tip, tinged with a faint shade of crimson.
"Brother!"
Cowering at the very back, Chen Yubo finally lifted his head. Seeing who had arrived, his eyes lit up, and tears nearly spilled over.
Yet aside from him, not another soul spoke.
There was only the subtle crunch of wheelchair wheels rolling over the floor, heading straight into the memorial hall.
The hall was silent; the drizzle outside was dense.
"Long time no see."
Before the altar, Chen Xingzhou calmly raised his gaze, greeting Lei Yaoxing: "Young Master Xing, have you been well?"
This very moment mirrored a moment once passed.
From within the lingering, stifling, humid breeze, lightning flashed across the distant clouds.
And then came the earth-shaking roll of thunder.
Chapter 139