Chapter 133: Chapter 133: The Good Show Begins

The night deepened. Yang Yu stood atop the cliff behind Black Wind Stronghold, his mourning clothes fluttering as the cold wind whipped across his face.

Shen Haoran came to his side. Unsure of what to say to comfort him, he could only stand there quietly, keeping Yang Yu company.

Atop the cliff, the two stood motionless like a pair of proud, solitary pines. Not until the moon hung high in the sky did Yang Yu finally break the silence.

"Brother Shen," Yang Yu asked, pointing to Black Wind Stronghold below, "isn’t the night view beautiful?"

Shen Haoran paused, taken aback. He gazed at the brightly lit Black Wind Stronghold below, glittering like a sea of stars, and nodded.

"When I was a child, I’d often come here with my father to look at the nightscape. Back then, he told me his greatest wish was for Black Wind Stronghold to move beyond its name and become a Major Sect in the Northern Domain!

Over the years, thanks to my father’s tireless efforts, Black Wind Stronghold grew stronger and stronger. We were hardly inferior to even the Major Sects, but it still wasn’t enough! His wish was so close to being fulfilled. So close... but he passed away before he could see it," Yang Yu said, his voice filled with grief.

"Brother Yang, you had a good father. And he would be proud to have a son like you," Shen Haoran said with genuine feeling.

"Yes, he would be," Yang Yu said, taking a deep breath and pushing down his grief. ’This is no time for sorrow. Countless burdens are about to fall upon me. I must withstand the pressure and complete my father’s unfinished wish!’

"Brother Yang, if I may say one more thing: a true man’s ambition should span the world. Don’t confine yourself to one small place," Shen Haoran said earnestly.

Yang Yu’s pupils constricted at his words, but his expression quickly returned to normal. He looked at Shen Haoran and cupped his fist. "I have learned a valuable lesson." ’It’s true,’ he thought. ’My wishes have been so influenced by my father. All I’ve ever focused on is making Black Wind Stronghold prosper. It really has been rather narrow-minded of me!’

"Haha, I’m sure Brother Yang would have realized it eventually. I was just being presumptuous," Shen Haoran said with a laugh.

"Come on, let’s head back and get some rest. There’s a hard fight ahead of us tomorrow," Shen Haoran said with a mysterious smile before starting down the mountain.

"A hard fight? What do you mean?" Yang Yu asked, confused.

But Shen Haoran didn’t answer. He just thought to himself, ’Tomorrow is the day of Yang Zhentian’s burial. Chao Fei and the others should be making their move.’

...

The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Shen Haoran awoke from his Cultivation. Today was the day of the Old Village Chief’s burial. Everyone in the stronghold—men and women, young and old—was dressed in mourning clothes, standing in the streets and praying silently.

Seeing such a grand scene, the corner of Shen Haoran’s mouth twitched. ’If Old Village Chief Yang Zhentian could see how many people adored him, I wonder if he’d be so happy he’d jump right out of his coffin!’ Shen Haoran mused with a touch of dark humor.

"Lord Shen, Young Master Yang instructed me to escort you to the main hall once you awoke. This way, please." A pleasant voice spoke up beside him just as Shen Haoran’s thoughts began to wander.

"Oh, lead the way," Shen Haoran said with a light chuckle. ’There’s going to be quite a show today.’

When he arrived at the main hall, Yang Yu and the others were all dressed in mourning clothes, standing silently before Yang Zhentian’s coffin. The atmosphere in the hall was stifling.

However, upon seeing Shen Haoran, someone started to grumble. "Young Master, today is the day of the Old Village Chief’s burial. How can someone come into the mourning hall without wearing the proper funeral attire!"

The speaker was the Third Elder of Black Wind Stronghold. Yang Yu frowned and said, "Brother Shen is an honored guest I invited. He is not a member of Black Wind Stronghold, so it is perfectly reasonable for him not to wear mourning clothes."

Seeing Yang Yu defend Shen Haoran, the Third Elder curled his lip, shot Shen Haoran a look of disgust, and turned his head away. Shen Haoran paid him no mind. He nodded to Yang Yu, then leaned against a pillar by the hall’s entrance and began observing the crowd with keen interest.

After scanning the room, Shen Haoran noticed that Grand Elder Chao Fei and his men were nowhere to be found. The smile on his face deepened. ’It seems Old Village Chief Yang Zhentian and I guessed right. Today’s the day Chao Fei makes his move!’

Time trickled by, and in the blink of an eye, it was noon. All the preparations for Old Village Chief Yang Zhentian’s funeral were complete. The time had come to send him off.

The elder presiding over the ceremony called out the names of those in attendance one by one. As each name was called, that person would step forward and bow. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, with no hint of discord. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Grand Elder Chao Fei, to pay respects to Old Village Chief Yang!" Finally, Chao Fei’s name was called. But the mourning hall remained utterly silent. There was no response.

"Grand Elder Chao Fei, to pay respects to Old Village Chief Yang!" Seeing no one step forward, the presiding elder raised his voice and called out again. Still, there was no response.

"Hmm? Where is the Grand Elder?" Yang Yu asked, frowning.

"I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve seen him since this morning," a nearby guard replied.

Hearing this, Yang Yu’s frown deepened. The Grand Elder was the most powerful and senior person in Black Wind Stronghold next to the Village Chief himself; his absence from the funeral was unthinkable! ’Could something have happened to him?’ Yang Yu wondered. But when he glanced over at Shen Haoran, he saw the man break into a wide grin.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s strange expression, Yang Yu said to a guard beside him, "Go and find the Grand Elder!"

"No need to look. I am here." The words had barely left Yang Yu’s mouth when an aged voice called out from outside the hall. The crowd parted, and Grand Elder Chao Fei strode in, followed by several others.

"Grand Elder, you...!" Seeing Chao Fei enter, some people in the hall cried out in alarm. The Grand Elder and the men with him, who should have been in mourning attire, were instead dressed in plain clothes, looking utterly out of place in the solemn hall.

"Grand Elder, your attire..." Yang Yu said, his voice cold as he stared at Chao Fei.

"My attire? What’s wrong with it?" Chao Fei sneered. "I’m not Yang Zhentian’s son. Why should I wear sackcloth and ashes for him?"

Chao Fei’s words were like a boulder dropped into a tranquil lake, sending ripples of shock through the crowd. Everyone in the hall stared at him in disbelief, their minds racing as they began to realize what was about to happen.

"Chao Fei, what is the meaning of this?" Yang Zhenlan, who had a fiery temper, jumped forward and pointed a finger in Chao Fei’s face. "My elder brother always treated you well! Now that he’s gone, what’s so wrong with you mourning him properly!"

"Hmph! Treated me well?" Chao Fei roared, his eyes bloodshot. "What right do you have to say that? Do you have any idea what my life has been like for the past three years? I worked from dawn till dusk, handling every single matter in this stronghold for him! And what did he do? He just lay around comfortably in his seclusion chamber, enjoying the resources that should have been mine! As I see it, I was nothing more than his dog! Treated me well? What a joke!"

"Chao Fei, shut your mouth!" Yang Zhenlan bellowed.