Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 584 - 16: The Funeral Without Tears (Part Four)

Chapter 584: Chapter 16: The Funeral Without Tears (Part Four)

Zhu Jiuyin only glanced once and determined that the wounds on Cha Xiaodao and the Yan Zhao Club representative who came to greet guests were caused by this man kneeling on the ground, who appeared desolate and was wailing bitterly. He didn’t even bother to ask a question, as an immense black bubble mysteriously enveloped the weeping man’s head.

It didn’t matter who the crier was, why he had injured people, or why he was wailing; what mattered was that he had disrupted Qin An’s funeral, and for that, he had to die. The ins and outs of the matter would become clear once his Three Souls and Seven Spirits were thoroughly scraped away.

At the last moment, his hoarse cries finally reached Zhu Jiuyin’s ears.

"Mr. Qin, I’m kowtowing to you."

Zhu Jiuyin’s gaze turned stiff, and the black bubble hovering over the crier’s head burst with a pop and disappeared.

Most of the representatives attending the funeral had come out, and they were all confused by what was unfolding before them.

Li Yan quickly approached Cha Xiaodao and asked in a low voice, "What’s going on?"

Cha Xiaodao, covering his neck with his left hand, spat before replying, "It’s nothing."

Cha’s heart was filled with both fear and anger.

The wailing man had appeared suddenly, crying and demanding to enter the mourning hall. He was seriously injured, and in the midst of normal attempts to prevent him, naturally one’s guard would be lowered—no one expected him to suddenly lash out and injure others.

As the Proxy Traveler of Taotie, Cha Xiaodao’s body could mostly transform into intangible flames, so by all logic, he shouldn’t have been susceptible to cuts from sharp weapons. Yet, the fact was that his neck was not only sliced open with a ten-centimeter wound, but also that it couldn’t heal.

Cha Xiaodao had seen only one person with such an eerily real ability to inflict damage.

Li Yan’s True Explanation of Qilian Swordsmanship.

"Remove your hand."

A soft and gentle voice chimed in, spoken by an attractive white-collar beauty, who was none other than Yu Shiqie, who had once met Li Yan.

Li Yan stepped back, and the woman’s delicate, slender fingers lightly brushed over Cha Xiaodao’s neck, causing the wound to vanish. She repeated the gesture on the representative with a pierced chest, and the gaping bloody hole was instantly replaced by skin, the person’s breathing stabilizing in an instant.

"Thank you."

Li Yan hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

"It’s a minor matter,"

the white-collar beauty replied with a smile.

Jiao Chong, standing behind Zhao Jianzhong, saw the limping crier with a leg severed and frowned in disgust, "It’s him."

Zhao Jianzhong glanced back at him, "Do you know this man?"

"Yes, his name is Chou Ci, an Eight Extremes Peak Walker from the southwest. He was originally a participant in the Lapel Flower struggle before. However, he injured Kui Niu’s family members to coerce them during his attempt to snatch Kui Niu’s lapel flower and used a dirty bomb-like device in a fierce fight, causing over forty casualties. The series of truck bomb explosions a while back were caused by him. Kui Niu is seriously injured and still unconscious. My men captured him, and it was I who cut off his right leg."

"Then why is he here?"

Zhao Jianzhong asked indifferently.

"I apologize, it’s my oversight. This man’s abilities are very strange, and even Proxy Travelers can be caught unaware. All our Proxy Travelers had come to attend the funeral, leaving those of insufficient strength behind, likely not keeping a close enough watch on him."

Zhao Jianzhong and Jiao Chong’s conversation wasn’t quiet, and everyone present heard it clearly, their gazes at the blood-soaked Chou Ci becoming even more complex.

"I’ll take him away now,"

Jiao Chong said as he walked out of the crowd.

"Please wait."

Jiao Chong’s eyes narrowed as the black-skinned woman who had been the first to applaud during Zhu Jiuyin’s eulogy spoke up.

Her name was Kua Ye, also known as Yang Liaoliao, the Proxy Traveler for Pan Hu.

Before Jiao Chong could stop her, she stepped forward and approached the weeping Chou Ci.

"Do you know Qin An?"

She stared at Chou Ci’s face.

After a long moment, Chou Ci wiped his face and nodded vigorously: "Mr. Qin saved my life and taught me some tricks for identifying antiques. I followed him for two months."

Pan Hu nodded: "He used to do these boring things."

She bent down: "But you have killed many innocent people, and you have disturbed a funeral. You are definitely going to die today, do you understand?"

Chou Ci was somewhat distracted but then looked directly at Pan Hu without fear: "I am not a Proxy Traveler. I failed the Yan Fu trial ten days ago, and I don’t qualify to attend Mr. Qin’s funeral. I won’t make excuses for what I’ve done; I’ve already kowtowed to Mr. Qin, and I have no regrets in death. I’m just a minor character, but I have some questions to ask the members of the Yan Zhao Club."

Pan Hu’s face seemed to smile but not really: "Then you’d better be careful with what you say."

Li Yan had been watching coldly the whole time. When he heard this, he involuntarily tugged at the corner of his mouth, his face showing undisguised contempt.

Chou Ci swallowed hard, trying to suppress his racing heart. He was just about to speak when Jiao Chong’s vigorous voice came through.

"Are we standing here just to listen to him spout nonsense?"

Jiao Chong stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Pan Hu: "The number of ordinary people who have died at his hands is at least in the double digits. He also severely wounded Kui Niu, the Gu Diao, and a new Proxy Traveler. Pan Hu, you’re not trying to shield him, are you?"

Pan Hu smiled, squinting his eyes: "I wouldn’t dare to provoke the Human Master’s bad luck."

Jiao Chong no longer paid him any mind and extended his well-defined large hand towards Chou Ci.

Snap!

Pan Hu grabbed Jiao Chong’s wrist: "But Jiao Chong, even if you want to take someone, you should at least let the man finish speaking, no?"

Others in the crowd seemed eager to move.

Jiao Chong raised his eyebrows, just about to lash out.

"Everyone stop."

Jiao Chong and Pan Hu both clenched their fists. Had it been someone else, they might have ignored the command, but the speaker’s status meant they couldn’t help but pause.

Zhu Jiuyin had interrupted Jiao Chong, having been expressionless and lost in thought just before, but now he suddenly turned to Zhao Jianzhong: "Old man, we had an agreement. I decide everything about An’s funeral. The Lapel Flower was sent by me, and it was my instruction for them to decide its ownership privately. So why are you arresting people?"

Jiao Chong attempted to defend himself: "Mr. Zhuo, it was me who ordered the arrest, the old man didn’t know. Luoyang isn’t that big—if we let them make such a fuss, it would pierce a hole in the heavens."

Zhu Jiuyin winked at Jiao Chong: "You, ordered the arrest?"

Jiao Chong felt a chill in his heart, sensing he had committed a very low-level mistake.

Zhao Jianzhong had held unchallenged authority in the real world for too long, so long that they had forgotten that Yan Fu has Ten Masters.

Before Jiao Chong could speak again, Zhao Jianzhong interrupted him: "As a Yan Fu Peak Walker, I have the right to question anything that interferes with the normal lives of people. This includes what was agreed upon, Jiuyin. Jiao Chong is confused and acts carelessly. Do you really need to take it up with him?"

He then turned to Jiao Chong: "The arrest can wait until after the funeral is over."

Jiao Chong nodded silently, but he knew that although Chou Ci had been certain to die, if he slipped into the Yan Zhao Club, the worst punishment would be losing the legacy of the Proxy Traveler. Besides, with the current tense situation, it was unlikely that someone would be expelled from representing the Yan Zhao Club for such a reason.

Moreover, although Chou Ci had offended many people this time, he might have gained favor in the eyes of others, at least Zhu Jiuyin was willing to protect him.

"Rain Master, do me a favor and heal his leg injury."

Zhu Jiuyin addressed Yu Shiqie.

Yu Shiqie nodded, without any comment. She simply walked over to Chou Ci and gently gathered at the place of his broken leg. Instantly, bone and flesh regrew, and some scattered injuries on Chou Ci’s body were also healed.

Zhu Jiuyin suddenly let out a breath: "An mentored quite a few juniors, yet there’s not even one willing to weep by his grave at the funeral. It is somewhat desolate."

He beckoned: "If there’s nothing else, let’s continue this conversation inside."