Everyone was experienced in making preparations for the funeral, but this time, they were even more silent and solemn.
Cheng Muyun's hand landed on the heavy wooden door of the ancestral hall. When his fingertips touched the cold wood grain, they trembled uncontrollably.
The door hinges creaked open slowly—directly opposite the door, in the center of the ancestral hall, a pitch-black coffin sat quietly, its body glowing faintly from the incense smoke. In the dim light, it resembled a silent behemoth, devouring all the life around it.
Before he could even stand up straight, a sudden gust of wind swept up outside the courtyard.
Yellow sand mixed with scraps of paper money poured in through the open door, instantly blinding people. The world was shrouded in a chaotic yellow, and even the flames of incense and candles were blown about violently, casting distorted shadows on the walls.
Xu Jixin, who was guarding the coffin, was suddenly choked by the sandstorm. He raised his hand to cover his face, his voice filled with bewilderment: "This damn weather, where did such a strong sandstorm come from..."
Before the words were finished, a tall figure slowly moved in from the swirling yellow sand, against the backdrop of the setting sun.
Her steps were uneven, as if she were walking on a knife's edge. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, and her gauze-wrapped figure looked particularly thin in the dim light. It was as if her soul had been ripped out, leaving only an empty shell moving mechanically.
Xu Jixin staggered to his feet from the prayer mat, his gaze peeking through his fingers as he traced the man's outline.
When he saw the blood-stained hospital gown and the face wrapped in gauze yet still recognizable, his hand covering his face slowly fell, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.
The remaining mourners in the ancestral hall also looked up one after another. The moment they recognized the newcomer, someone whispered, "Young Marshal..."
As if this call had silenced heaven and earth, the raging wind suddenly stopped, the yellow sand fell in a flurry, and the chaos in the air gradually dissipated.
Cheng Muyun's figure became clearer in the bright light—he stood a few steps away from the coffin, his face already covered in tears, which streamed down the edge of the gauze and gathered into a blinding light at his chin.
Those eyes, which once held a murderous intent, were now just endless emptiness, as if the wind and sand had hollowed them out, leaving only surging tears that silently pelted the cold ground.
Xu Jixin's footsteps were swift as he grabbed Cheng Muyun's hospital gown, pulling the fabric taut and causing a sharp pain in his wound.
His voice was like a steel needle tempered in fire, each word piercing the heart: "This is all your doing! Cheng Muyun, Zhuohua was burned alive by those who opposed you! Are you satisfied now?!"
Cheng Muyun swayed slightly, but did not resist.
The wound under the gauze bled as it was pulled, but he seemed oblivious, letting Xu Jixin pull him forward. His empty eyes stared at the other man, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto the back of Xu Jixin's hand, burning hot like fire.
The surrounding anger surged like a tide, but it couldn't wash away the solidified pain in his chest.
Like a reef in the deep sea, no matter how fierce the wind and waves crash against it, it remains firmly rooted to the spot, every line of which is etched with a bone-chilling despair.
"Say something!" Xu Jixin suddenly pulled him towards him with force, his eyes bloodshot like a spider web. "Zhuohua is dead! Gone! And now you're mute?!"
His roar echoed in the ancestral hall, making the white banners on the beams tremble.
Several elders of the Cheng family rushed forward to pull him away and persuade him. One person held Xu Jixin's arm, and two others tried to pry his hands off, but Xu Jixin's fingers were like iron clamps embedded in Cheng Muyun's collar, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't budge him.
Cheng Muyun remained silent, only tears streaming down her face.
He could feel Xu Jixin's fingertips trembling, and he could hear the gasps of shock around him, but none of that could compare to the person in the coffin who would never open his eyes again.
That was his whole world, but now it's shattered into dust, and his soul, along with it, has been buried in that dark coffin.
Cheng Yuguang and Xu Shinong, who were resting in the back, came out when they heard the commotion.
Seeing Xu Jixin, surrounded by a crowd, grabbing Cheng Muyun by the collar with bloodshot eyes, while Cheng Muyun remained motionless and offered no resistance, just like a dead man.
Madam Cheng came out from the side hall and, seeing this scene, immediately ran towards Cheng Muyun.
"Mu Yun! Mu Yun! You're finally awake!"
Upon seeing Madam Cheng, Xu Jixin impatiently released his grip, glanced at Xu Shinong, and turned to leave the ancestral hall.
Xu Zhuohua's death was equally difficult for Xu Jixin to accept.
It was still in that tragic way.
When Xu Jixin saw the body, he was so grief-stricken that he almost had to pound his chest to relieve the pain.
Mingming, this younger sister, was playing with the baby at her nephew's one-month celebration. Little did she know that when they met again ten days later, they would be separated forever.
Burn them alive!
Although the blazing flames were extinguished, they still burn in everyone's hearts.
Madam Cheng held Cheng Muyun and looked him over from left to right. His body was wrapped in gauze, and his hands were clenched into a dumpling shape. Madam Cheng felt sorry for him and shed tears.
"Mu Yun, why aren't you recuperating in the hospital?"
Cheng Muyun looked at Madam Cheng with lifeless eyes, his gaze unwavering, and Madam Cheng's tears did not stir any emotion in him.
A hoarse voice came through: "Mother, I want to see Zhuohua."
Mrs. Cheng's tears flowed even more profusely.
She stammered, "Mu Yun, stop looking."
The charred corpse was burned beyond recognition, making even changing its burial clothes extremely difficult. Due to the hot weather, the rotten tissue fluid seeped out, and the flesh would fall off at the slightest touch.
In the end, they could only wrap the body in a shroud.
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