Chapter 97: The Funeral

Seeing Lan Shiwen's smile was clear, possessing a kind of innocent beauty. His voice was not loud, but his articulation was exceptionally crisp, as if he were speaking specifically for someone to hear.

Sure enough, no sooner had his words fallen than a long, drawn-out sigh drifted from outside the door:

"Why bother? Seeing Lan Shiwen, I only wanted to retrieve what rightfully belongs to us... Back then, my entire family, young and old, was slaughtered. Even the cleaning staff were silenced. Only a few orphans survived by luck. Is that not enough to appease your anger? Have you not killed enough?"

"Not enough." Seeing Lan Shiwen said with a smile: "I want your entire lineage wiped out, your bloodline severed, and your descendants eradicated. Do you know what it means to be wiped out? As long as one person in your family is still breathing, the slaughter will not end. What are you? Are you even worthy of breathing?"

"Listen, you aristocratic dog, don't let me leave here alive, you hear? Because once I get out, your wife, your children, your friends, your accomplices... everyone connected to you will die, not a single one left."

"I will slaughter every one of you, whether it is your frail, sickly sister, your wife who is with child, or the baby still gestating in her womb. I will slaughter you all, you mongrels. You are not worthy of living, you are not worthy of breathing, and you are not worthy of existing in this world."

Rogue cultivators and aristocratic families are born blood enemies, locked in a struggle to the death.

The voice outside the door paused, seemingly stunned that Seeing Lan Shiwen would know about his frail sister and his pregnant wife.

"You are only capable of impotent rage here." The voice outside continued: "The Immortal Gathering Garden is not a place you can come and go as you please. Without the key, you will be trapped inside forever, and the ghosts of the Yin family will kill you. If you want to leave, agree to my terms..."

"Is that so?" Seeing Lan Shiwen's smile grew even brighter: "Do you know what my rule is?"

"Predicting the future...?" The voice outside faltered.

"That's right, predicting the future. And so, I have predicted that shortly, your corpse will appear before me."

As Seeing Lan Shiwen finished speaking, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe, who stood beside him, opened his eyes: "There is no one at the entrance. He is hiding in the side chamber of the central courtyard."

"OK, I'll go kill him." Seeing Lan Shiwen picked up his gun and left.

"No need, he is already dead." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said nonchalantly.

Seeing Lan Shiwen gave Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe a thumbs up: "Awesome."

He did not ask how Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe had killed the man. Refraining from inquiring about another's ability is the unspoken rule among Gridders.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe led Seeing Lan Shiwen through the flower garden to the side chamber beside the two rockeries. He pushed open the door, and pale sunlight filtered through the paper windows. A man in a pure black suit lay at the entrance of the chamber, his head severed from his body, still clutching a mobile phone that was in the middle of a call.

As long as there is a shadow, Te Rang can find him.

As long as there is a shadow, Master Yeyao can kill him.

A mere mortal has almost no power to resist a Gridder who has mastered more than one instant-death rule; he did not even know how he had died.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe squatted down, picked up the man's phone, and searched his body, finding a leather wallet containing an ID card and bank cards: "Ji Wuxie. This person's surname is not Yin."

"Just a surname changed to survive." Seeing Lan Shiwen unbuttoned Ji Wuxie's suit jacket and skillfully fished out two rusted keys, as if he had done this countless times before.

Seeing Lan Shiwen tucked one of the keys into his own pocket and handed the other to Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe, saying: "The Immortal Gathering Garden has a total of 4 main gates and 4 entry/exit points. The one in Ji Bochang's possession was the main gate key; these are for the other two side gates. Wu Tong and Tu Yu searched for 40 years without finding them, yet now they have been delivered to our doorstep."

However, if it weren't for Ji Bochang's death, the remnants of the Yin family would never have dared to return here.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe accepted the side gate key and nodded: "I don't care about that. The God of Wealth is still outside; this place is not a place to linger."

"Understood." Seeing Lan Shiwen said, pulling a pistol from his coat and firing 12 shots into Ji Wuxie's corpse, emptying the magazine.

"You hate him that much?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe was somewhat surprised: "How old were you when his family was wiped out? Is it worth it?"

"No, you don't understand, Master Yeyao, you don't understand." Seeing Lan Shiwen said while changing the magazine of his pistol:

"You have never suffered the oppression of the aristocratic families, never felt their tyranny and monopoly, never personally experienced the evil they have wrought... Naturally, you would feel that what I am doing is unnecessary, unjustified, uncalled for, and excessive... Is it really excessive? I don't ask for your approval; I only want you to understand one thing." — Anyone born into an aristocratic family is not worthy of living, not worthy of breathing; they are not worthy of existing in this world.

To slaughter all aristocratic descendants, to have everyone who dreams of ruling the world under their family name wiped out, their lineage severed, not a single one left—this is Seeing Lan Shiwen's life creed.

"Whatever." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe shrugged; it was none of his business.

The two left Ji Wuxie's corpse in the side chamber, dragged the coffin filled with copper coins back to the central courtyard, and left through the side gate of the Immortal Gathering Garden.

Stepping outside, the sky was a pitch-black late night, with stars twinkling above. Tu Yu had already completely blockaded the entire Yunmeng Marsh.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe loosened the iron chain in his hand: "Alright, since the money is in hand, the rest is up to you."

Whether Seeing Lan Shiwen would go buy the God of Wealth's life himself or have someone else do it, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe did not care. He only cared if his reward would be delivered.

"Thanks. After this matter is resolved, I will come find you." Seeing Lan Shiwen nodded: "After dealing with Wu Tong, I must first go and kill all of Ji Wuxie's wife, children, and family. Regarding the matter you asked me to predict, and your rule, I will keep them confidential for you."

"I hope so." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe toyed with the key in his hand, transformed into a peregrine falcon, and flew away from Chuyun Mountain.

June 10th, 12:00 PM, the blockade of Yunmeng Marsh was lifted, and the strange event codenamed 'Wu Tong' was quelled.

=9+Shu_Ba

Ji Bochang's funeral was held as scheduled. Famous merchants and tycoons from all over the Nine Provinces attended, but no one noticed that the corpse in the coffin had been decapitated, and of the siblings who hosted the funeral, only Shi Yurou remained.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe attended the funeral under the identity of Zhang Yangxu, going through the motions in a lukewarm manner. At the funeral, he saw Seeing Lan Shiwen, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, sitting alone in a corner by the window, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

When no one was around, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe switched to the identity of Yu Zi Qian and sat opposite Seeing Lan Shiwen.

"Have you finished your business?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe asked straight to the point.

"Finished." Seeing Lan Shiwen nodded: "Now it is time to fulfill what I promised you. Speak, Master Yeyao, what do you want me to help you predict?"

"I am looking for a ghost." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said directly: "That ghost can compensate for the flaws in my core rule."

Seeing Lan Shiwen's expression was not surprised at all: "You want to know if you will succeed in finding that ghost in the future?... Many Gridders have asked me similar questions."

"So, did I find it?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe asked with a calm expression.

"Hmm..." Seeing Lan Shiwen's eyes dimmed slightly, then brightened again.

Subsequently, a trace of joy appeared on his face: "I asked this question about you six months from now. You said that you have not yet truly mastered that ghost, but you have accurately locked onto its location. Congratulations."

"Having your word is enough." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe let out a long breath: "I have one more question. How do you plan to deal with the remaining two ghosts in the Immortal Gathering Garden?"

Seeing Lan Shiwen shrugged: "The people above in Yun City will handle it. They will probably send death squads inside to try and explore the rules... Why? Is there something you need inside?"

"I want that red coffin with the 'Fu' character." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said directly without concealment: "You can handle the black coffin with the 'Shou' character however you like, but the red coffin with the 'Fu' character might be useful to me. I need you to help me keep it."

"Can do, it is what you deserve." Seeing Lan Shiwen nodded happily: "I will help you state your position. Unless you speak up, no one will touch that coffin."

Seeing Lan Shiwen is a very rare Gridder who possesses a sense of responsibility and conscience. His relationship with the local area is much closer than Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe had imagined.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 98 =====