A restaurant in the center of Jiannan Prefecture City.

Su Que sat on a long bench, sipping tea.

The waiter at the restaurant was attentively bringing the dim sum Su Que ordered to the table: steamed shumai, thin-skinned shrimp dumplings, steamed rice rolls with sauce, and other snacks.

Before the morning roll call, Su Que had a quick breakfast at a stall.

But after the roll call, he felt hungry again and came to this famous restaurant in Jiannan Prefecture City for another meal.

The restaurant was set up along the street, with a canopy, and underneath were square tables surrounded by long benches.

At this time, many people were already sitting under the canopy.

There was a street loafer playing with a caged bird while eating breakfast;

there was a woman struggling to feed a three-year-old child who refused to eat;

there were old men gathered together boasting;

and there were businessmen who had just sat down, wiping sweat with their sleeves...

The canopy was noisy, full of the breath of life.

Su Que picked up his chopsticks, grabbed the rice roll drenched in sauce, and put it in his mouth.

His gaze moved from under the canopy to the funeral procession passing by on the street.

The Thunderbolt Army soldiers who died last night, although their bodies were burned to ashes, their relatives and friends couldn't see the corpses.

But since those soldiers were missing overnight, they were assumed dead.

This morning, many residences in the city hung white flags at their gates.

Coffin shops almost sold out all their coffins.

Funeral shops selling paper effigies and money were thriving today.

The sound of suonas on several main streets was almost nonstop.

However, because the ashes of the bodies were mixed together,

today's burials were all empty coffins with just the deceased's clothing.

Amid the long, mournful sound of the suona, the diners under the canopy suddenly heard a commotion from one side of the long street.

Everyone looked up and saw several strong men using their sturdy shoulders to forcefully push open the gate of a residence with white flags and white lanterns hanging at the entrance.

Then, a dozen people followed these men and rushed into the residence.

Su Que saw their vigorous way of breaking down the door, with force concentrated on their shoulders, and recognized it as a common Martial Arts technique, "Iron Mountain Lean."

He concluded that these were indeed trained Martial Artists.

He was just wondering why these people were forcefully entering a residence hosting a funeral.

Su Que was considering this when suddenly he heard voices two tables away.

Glancing sideways, he saw a man in his thirties with a goatee and wearing a jade ring, talking to two companions at his table.

"The owner of that residence is a Centurion from the Thunderbolt Army, quite skilled in Martial Arts."

"I've heard he's a Five Blood Martial Artist... I don't know much about Martial Artists, but I know he's very strong..."

"His family, relying on his status, bullied many people in the Prefecture City and took away the fortunes of several families."

"Now that he's dead, his family has no backing, and it's time for those they bullied to settle old scores."

Su Que, with excellent hearing, soon heard the sounds of arguing and wailing coming from that Centurion's residence.

Listening for a moment, he shifted his focus and finished the rice rolls in front of him.

He then picked up a thin-skinned shrimp dumpling with his chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and put it into his mouth.

A while later, a larger funeral procession emerged from one side of the long street.

There were eight suona players.

The coffin was made of fine redwood, engraved with intricate, delicate patterns.

In front and behind the coffin, there were several paper effigies for accompaniment.

On either side of the coffin were two masters scattering paper money.

Their technique in scattering the paper money was extraordinarily skillful.

They would grab a stack of paper money and cast it into the sky.

The paper money would first form a line, holding together without dispersing.

Not until it reached high in the sky would it begin to scatter.

The paper money then floated above the long street for a long time.

Leading the funeral procession was a man dressed in mourning clothes, tall and robust, with thick facial hair on his lips and chin, and a solemn expression with fierce eyes concealed within.

Su Que recognized this person as Ou Haquan.

This procession was the funeral procession of the Ou Family.

Ou Haofeng's body was also turned into ashes by Su Que last night, mixed with the ashes of other soldiers.

It seemed that the coffin being carried by this funeral procession was also empty.

"This is the funeral procession of the Ou Family."

Su Que heard the man with the goatee speak in a low voice.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one to recognize Ou Haquan.

"I've heard that among the Thunderbolt Army who died outside the city last night, one was the Ou Family's Ou Haofeng..."

"Heh, the Ou Family has dominated Jiannan Prefecture City for so many years, and lately, with people dying one after another, it seems their luck is running out..."

The man with the goatee grinned as he whispered to his two companions.

Su Que internally shook his head; this man with the goatee thought that speaking softly would keep Ou Haquan from hearing him.

But Ou Haquan, being a Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist, could hear him clearly.

Su Que saw Ou Haquan give a signal with his eyes to the funeral procession behind him.

Immediately, two strong men dressed in mourning clothes left the Ou Family's funeral procession and walked into the restaurant.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they walked straight towards the man with the goatee.

The man, seeing the fierce expression on the two men's faces as they approached, turned pale: "What do you want?"

As he spoke, his legs trembled, and he wanted to stand up and escape.

The two strong men took large strides and quickly reached each side of the man.

Without letting him speak, one of them grabbed the man's arm and lifted him up.

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