Chapter 104: Burial

After Xie Daohan left, Shen Yanliu looked at Fan Yuanhai and smiled, "Imperial Envoy, this case has had many twists and turns, and it is truly baffling! Why don't you and I jointly submit a memorial to the Sect, detailing the progression of this matter clearly?"

Fan Yuanhai gave a faint smile and said, "While Magistrate Shen's suggestion is good, our powers and responsibilities are different after all! I think it would be better for us to submit our memorials separately."

"That is fine... that is fine!" Shen Yanliu nodded and smiled.

"Magistrate Shen, Fan has some other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first!" As Fan Yuanhai spoke, he cupped his hands in a salute, rose from his seat, and left.

Shen Yanliu watched Fan Yuanhai's retreating back; the smile on his face faded, and a flash of venomous malice appeared in his eyes. "The case has already broken out; do you think you can extricate yourself just by not getting involved?"

Fan Yuanhai exited the Xiangu County Government Office feeling quite refreshed and walked slowly toward his lodging at the Chunfeng Inn.

Before he had even arrived in Xiangu County, Xu Ruhu had already been abducted from the dungeon!

And now, the case had undergone such a major change; the one who had abducted Xu Ruhu was actually Xie Daohan's own nephew, Xie Lei!

Since the case was, from beginning to end, a matter for the Xiangu County Government Office, why should he wade into these muddy waters?

Shen Yanliu wanted him to submit a joint memorial; did he really think he was a fool? He only needed to report the truth of this case to the Sect in detail and wait for the Sect's reply before deciding on his next steps.

Now that Xu Ruhu was dead, and the order he had originally received was to execute Xu Ruhu on the spot!

Perhaps, after the Sect received the report, they would directly order him to return?

As for the inside story of the case, let the Xiangu County Government Office investigate it!

The details of this case were so bizarre! Such a hot potato—who would hold onto it if they could throw it away?

As soon as Fan Yuanhai returned to the Chunfeng Inn, the proprietress Xu Ru immediately came to greet him, asking this and that with enthusiasm.

This Xu Ru was originally the procuress of Zui Chun Lou; although it was later forced to close by Huaying Pavilion, she still had the eye for reading people.

This Fan Yuanhai was young, spent money lavishly, and was a new face, so Xu Ru had taken note of him the moment he entered.

"Young Master Fan is back! What would you like to eat tonight? I will have the kitchen prepare it for you in advance..."

"No need! I am going out tonight!" Fan Yuanhai said coldly, then returned to his room alone.

Although her warm face had met Fan Yuanhai's cold shoulder, Xu Ru did not mind in the slightest; her face, caked in thick powder, still wore a fawning smile...

Fan Yuanhai prepared to return to his room first to write the memorial to the Sect and submit it to the post station of the Office of Transmission, and then he planned to go visit Huaying Pavilion that night!

Over the past few days, he had heard some talk; the Four Great Flower Shadows of Huaying Pavilion—just hearing their names made one's heart itch!

In the western suburbs of the county town, the ancestral graves of the Xiaojia!

Someone had long since dug the grave pit at the chosen burial spot!

When the funeral procession arrived, there were about two quarter-hours left until the calculated time for the burial!

The person presiding held an old handheld sundial to calculate the time!

Seeing that the time was near, the presiding person's withered hand waved forcefully!

The pallbearers then carried the coffin to the side of the grave pit, preparing to lower it for burial!

Immediately, the sounds of wind instruments and strings and the wailing of mourners rose simultaneously!

Amidst the sounds of wind instruments and strings and the wailing of relatives, six burly men with thick hemp ropes wrapped around their shoulders walked over!

The six men passed the thick hemp ropes under the bottom of the coffin, pulled them over their shoulders, and pulled them taut!

Then, as the other pallbearers stepped away, the heavy coffin dropped suddenly; the six burly men shouted, kicked their legs to exert force, and caught the coffin!

Blood marks were strained onto the shoulders of the six men!

The six men gritted their teeth, steadied the coffin, and then slowly released the ropes to lower the coffin into the bottom of the pit!

The wailing of the relatives grew louder; several threw themselves onto the edge of the grave pit, stretching their necks and crying loudly...

Duan Rong glanced over; these few people were all crying and wailing dryly, their faces parched, and not a single tear could be seen...

After setting off firecrackers and scattering paper money, Duan Rong and the others who had carried the coffin took up iron shovels and began to fill in the soil!

Xiao Yu stood not far away, watching the black coffin being covered bit by bit by the soil, and could not help but let tears fall in torrents...

The grave mound was rounded off, the soil layer was patted firm, and the stone tablet that had been carved in advance was also erected at the head of the grave!

Duan Rong leaned on his iron shovel, standing beside the grave head, looking at the words on Xiao Baijiao's tombstone, his heart filled with emotion...

"When a person dies, the lamp goes out; yin and yang are separated forever!"

Everything was ready, and only the relatives remained to wail for a while; after exhausting their grief, they could leave!

At this moment, a sudden downpour of rain began to fall from the sky!

A torrential rain descended suddenly!

And it was a sun shower!

The bright sun was still above the clouds, appearing and disappearing, while the torrential rain poured down with a splash!

The relatives, who had been preparing to wail for a while, scattered in an instant, and white mourning banners were thrown all over the ground!

Amidst the panic and trampling, Duan Rong searched for Xiao Yu's figure; just as he locked eyes on her, he saw Xiao Yu suddenly move, flickering left and right through the crowd, and in the curtain of rain, a faint afterimage could be seen behind her!

Duan Rong's heart jumped, his gaze flickering. "Cloud Snake Step! It seems even more formidable than Zhu Xiaoqi's! It is a Proficiency-level Cloud Snake Step!"

Xiao Yu suddenly stood still and helped someone up from the crowded throng; it was none other than Xiao Zongting, who had been crying his heart out and had been knocked to the ground!

Xiao Yu supported Xiao Zongting, while Zhu Xiaoqi followed behind holding Xiao Baijiao's spirit tablet, and they followed the flow of people toward the city gate!

Seeing the chaos in the ancestral graveyard and the white mourning banners on the ground being trampled into mud, Duan Rong sighed: it was nothing more than a commotion, and he also headed toward the city gate!

By the time everyone was near the city gate, the heavy rain suddenly stopped!

Looking up, the bright sun had already flashed out from the clouds, hanging high above the Cangqiong!

For a moment, the crowd began to discuss it heatedly!

"This is truly a strange event! I fear it is the Second Miss of the Xiao family manifesting her spirit!"

"The Second Miss has a kind heart! She does not want people crying at her grave..."

Hearing this, Duan Rong's heart stirred slightly; he stood at the city gate and looked at the sun overhead.

Although the sudden rain had only lasted a short while and had soaked everyone like drowned rats, the rain had only fallen in the western suburbs outside the city; the streets inside Xiangu County were actually still bone-dry!

Pedestrians on the street saw a group of people coming in looking like drowned rats and wondered what had happened.

Duan Rong prepared to return to his dormitory first to change out of his soaked clothes; just as he reached the entrance of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, he suddenly saw a Constable wearing a Ya Men uniform limping toward him!

Duan Rong stood beside the stone lion of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, smiled at the man, and said, "Why have you come here?"

"I came to find you!" Yang Zhen looked at Duan Rong with a dejected expression.

"Find me?"

"Yes, do you have time? Keep me company for a drink." A hint of desolation seeped through Yang Zhen's tone.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted; Yang Zhen had something on his mind. "Alright! Wait for me a moment, I'll go back to my dormitory to change my clothes and be right back!"

Duan Rong returned to his dormitory, wiped his wet hair, changed into dry clothes, then left the Yuanshun Escort Agency and went with Yang Zhen to his home again!

On the way, the two bought some dishes at a deli and went to a place that brewed liquor, where they grabbed two jars of yellow wine!

The two arrived at Yang Zhen's home and took their seats in the main hall; the table was covered with food and wine, but Yang Zhen just kept drinking, not eating a single bite of food!

"Wine isn't meant to be drunk like that, you'll ruin your stomach!" Duan Rong pushed a torn-up roast chicken toward Yang Zhen and said.

Yang Zhen acted as if he hadn't seen it, still pouring wine down his throat; once he finished a bowl, he grabbed the wine jar again to pour another!

Yang Zhen went to pour more wine, but Duan Rong pressed his hand down on the wine jar and said, "Whatever is the matter, say it out loud and let me hear it. What is the point of you just drinking these sullen drinks?"

Yang Zhen looked at Duan Rong with listless eyes and said, "Do you know? Brother Lei is dead!"

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat; so that was it.

(End of chapter)