Chapter 864: Spirit Hall

It was clearly night, yet a light suddenly shone from the edge of the sky.

That light was too bright; at first, it could still be described as brilliant, but in almost an instant, it surpassed every word in the Human World used to describe brightness. Even the commoners far away in Yunzhou City felt it:

The sky had brightened.

For a moment, night turned into day; day and night were inverted, the workings of creation overturned, like a divine miracle.

"Commander Xing, what is going on?" A young man who had just been hauled up for night patrol asked with some trepidation; he had never encountered such a crazy event.

Can day and night really be changed?

Wouldn't that mean man has conquered the heavens and earth?

Xing Ji raised his head to look at the horizon, his expression relaxing a rare bit, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth as he said, "It's nothing. This is our own people fighting."

The young man was somewhat incredulous and said, "This... is this really people fighting? And it's our own people? Which great master is it?" Seeing Xing Ji smile without answering, he suddenly thought of the news Xing Ji had shared that afternoon about a great master arriving, guessed the answer in his heart, and said, "It's him. Can we win?"

Xing Ji hesitated slightly, then became full of confidence and said, "We will definitely win. Because he has never let anyone down, and we can all trust him. Furthermore, if he weren't certain, he wouldn't have started the battle without telling me. He is a person who knows his limits; he must have chosen to act tonight so as not to disturb the Marquis's funeral rites. If acting would only disturb the Marquis more, how could he act rashly?"

The young man caught the keyword: *tell you*? Are you two very close? He couldn't help but mutter, "If that person isn't certain and asks us for reinforcements, would our support be of any use?"

Xing Ji said, "Who said he would leave a message to ask for reinforcements? If he finds the enemy troublesome, what business is it of ours? I meant he would leave me a last will and testament, asking me to distribute his inheritance or something."

The young man was speechless for a moment and couldn't help but say, "Commander, I don't think you're right. If this powerhouse is going to be finished, can we, who are so close, escape? How could we distribute anyone's inheritance when we'll be waiting for someone to distribute our own?"

Xing Ji realized, "You're right, I forgot about that. But I have no inheritance, only debts..."

He was there talking nonsense, and not far from him, the current Yunzhou Dudu Fu Xianchan, who had not slept all night in the main hall, heard it clearly and rolled her eyes, thinking: It's one thing for Xing Ji to be spouting nonsense at a time like this, but where did he gather subordinates who share his train of thought? His adjutants never last long, changing several times a year; perhaps this one is on the right track.

Yet Fu Xianchan also felt some relief in her heart. First, she saw Tang Zhao's light and knew that Yunzhou's strongest person was back; the ship of Yunzhou finally had an anchor. Second, it was because Xing Ji had started talking nonsense, which meant he had relaxed. During this period, Xing Ji had been stretched tight, like a bowstring pulled to its limit; if he couldn't relax, there was a risk of snapping.

In fact, Fu Xianchan was the same; she not only had to suppress her grief and remain vigilant like Xing Ji and the others, but she also had to appear relaxed on the surface, acting with ease before all sorts of people. If she showed weakness in front of others, who knows how many claws would reach out from inside and outside Yunzhou to tear them all to pieces.

Tang Zhao was back, finally allowing people to breathe a sigh of relief, and they knew that at least on the surface, no powerful external force could shake the current situation. Fu Xianchan was also very moved.

Thinking back to the past, when she first met Tang Zhao, she remembered he was just a weak and delicate child who hadn't even practiced martial arts; now he could already bring such a sense of security to others.

Yunzhou passed a sleepless night. Some were happy and some were sad; when the abnormal movements outside the city were discovered earlier, the Dudu Mansion was naturally tense and mobilized, but there were many people with ulterior motives or those who simply enjoyed the chaos and were very excited, just waiting to see if the waters could be muddied and if there were any bargains to be picked up. Then, seeing the strange sight of day and night inverted, many knowledgeable people sighed in their hearts: Forget it, there are no bargains to be picked up now.

Regardless, the sun would eventually rise, and the night passed safely amidst the surging undercurrents. As a ray of Sunlight shone into the Spirit Hall from the East, the funeral rites for the late Yunzhou Dudu, the Gaoyuan Marquis, finally began.

The Gaoyuan Marquis was not originally from Yunzhou; her hometown was in the Jiangzhou area in the south, but her last wish was to be buried in Yunzhou. The burial site was chosen not far from the Zhongtian Prefecture, on Wangqingshan to the north of the city. There were also many soldiers' graves on that mountain, all nameless remains whose families could not be found, buried collectively by the Dudu Mansion.

It took one or two hours for a fast walker to get from the Zhongtian Prefecture to the Marquis's tomb, but according to etiquette, hundreds of people had to escort the coffin step by step, and the round trip was planned to take three days. As the successor, Fu Xianchan naturally had to escort the coffin for burial, perform sacrifices before the tomb, and then return to take off her mourning clothes and formally succeed. Some of the elders who followed the Gaoyuan Marquis would not return, staying stationed at Wangqingshan to guard the Marquis's tomb.

Because of the Gaoyuan Marquis's grace, many people, including Xing Ji, wanted to guard her tomb, but Yunzhou was in a time of need for manpower, and Fu Xianchan had to persuade them one by one, maintaining the integrity of the current team.

Before departure, there was one final wave of paying respects. When the time came, the Emperor's envoy would come out to read the imperial decree and sacrificial text, and then they could set off. The sky was only just beginning to brighten, and many people had already arrived at the Hou Mansion.

However...

"There are not as many people as previously registered." Fu Xianchan was keeping vigil before the spirit, and the administrative affairs were temporarily handed over to several Commanders of the divisions. Xing Ji was responsible for the security of the inner venue; he silently counted the number of people and had already discovered the clues.

Although the people who came to pay respects to the Gaoyuan Marquis came from all directions and were a mixed bag, impossible to count, the Dudu Mansion actually had an idea. Those who came once to pay respects and left might not have been counted, but those who lingered in the Zhongtian Prefecture for many days, not even having their lodging settled but stubbornly refusing to leave, had a very obvious purpose; they were clearly aiming for the final day.

To say that all these people had bad intentions might be a bit of a grievance, but to say that half of them sincerely admired the Gaoyuan Marquis and wanted to see her off would be thinking too highly of them. Most people probably didn't have any specific plans to cause trouble, but if one person started, these people would all be dangerous elements who would follow suit.

Intelligence on these people was collected by the Jing'an Division and then handed over to the office led by Xing Ji—not the Land Inspection Division, but the Mountain Sealing Division. This was a new office that Xing Ji had recently formed by pulling people aside; compared to the Land Inspection Division, which specialized in dealing with the Yin Calamity, the business scope of the Mountain Sealing Division was mainly suppressing bandits, suppressing bandits in the Human World; anyone who caused trouble could be wiped out.

Previously, the Mountain Sealing Division mainly operated in the border area between Lingzhou and Yunzhou and did not interfere with the Jianghu forces and idlers within Yunzhou; it was Fu Xianchan who called the Mountain Sealing Division back to use them for public security.

Compared to the Land Inspection Division, which already had a huge organization, the newly established Mountain Sealing Division had simpler manpower and lighter functions, making it very suitable as the "personal army" of the next Yunzhou Dudu. Thus, Xing Ji, who had long-standing ties with Fu Xianchan, easily jumped from being a confidant of the Gaoyuan Marquis to a confidant of the new Dudu.

Xing Ji had originally planned to strike like Heavenly Thunder today to uproot the thieves who dared to offend the Marquis's peace, but seeing that so many people were missing, he knew that many had backed down.

That sun last night was still too shocking to the heart.

However... can those who shrink from the battle escape?

Xing Ji turned to the young man and said, "Compare the list with the people present. Anyone who didn't come must have a guilty conscience and was deterred from coming; you could say they confessed without being asked. Record everyone. After the ceremony, we will pursue them to their very doorsteps. If we don't teach them a lesson, they will think Yunzhou is a place where they can come and go as they please."

The young man agreed, then asked, "Then do those who arrived today not have guilty consciences?"

Xing Ji narrowed his eyes and said, "They have them too, just ghosts with more courage and deeper schemes. These people must not only be tracked but also be the focus of attention; we will hold their sects responsible..."

He gave his orders there, his voice not loud enough to reach the Spirit Hall, but the several Commanders behind him all understood. The Commander of the Jing'an Division, a middle-aged beauty who was no longer young, frowned and said, "Pi Gan Jian, don't you want to advise him to relax a bit? This is still the Marquis's Spirit Hall; don't make a big scene."

Pi Gan Jian, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Land Inspection Division, said, "This is already his relaxed state. Two days ago, I was afraid he would start a bloodbath before the coffin left the city gate. That light from Tang Zhao last night saved some people."

When he said this, he grinned, revealing white, ghastly teeth: "Is there anything wrong with what he just said? Shouldn't these treacherous thieves with ulterior motives be hit hard? This is not the time to show weakness!"

The Commander of the Jing'an Division said, "I naturally know that we must be tough at this time and kill the chicken to scare the monkey, but you all must not ignore the person above. Yunzhou now has a Dudu. Even if the Fuguang Marquis returns..."

Pi Gan Jian's expression was solemn; he looked at her and said, "I know, everyone knows, Yunzhou only has one Dudu. Pi Gan Jian knows his limits."

On that side, the young man beside Xing Ji went around and came back, whispering, "Commander, I found that in addition to the people on the list who didn't come, there are extra people. How do we count that?"

Xing Ji frowned. It was normal for outsiders to watch such a large funeral, but the Zhongtian Prefecture had been under lockdown for a full day, and they had basically checked out all the outsiders in the city. This young man was not a rookie who didn't understand anything, so he certainly wouldn't be surprised to see commoners coming to pay respects; these must be suspicious new faces.

Xing Ji was just about to give orders when he suddenly remembered something and said, "Wait, it wouldn't be a young man even younger than you, would it?"

The young man shook his head and said, "No..." He paused and said, "There are three of them."

Xing Ji glared at him and turned to walk out. The young man followed and said, "Do you think it's the Fuguang Marquis? But isn't the Fuguang Marquis here to support us? Shouldn't he make a grand entrance stepping on auspicious clouds and draped in Sunlight?"

Xing Ji said, "He can make his entrance however he likes. If he is willing to come and take a quiet look at the Marquis..."

He stopped in his tracks as he said this.

Xing Ji's gaze passed through the vast, white-clad crowd and met the eyes of a youth in plain mourning clothes.

Just like in the past.