Every word resonated like a clap of thunder.
The funeral procession stared in wide-eyed shock. They instinctively wanted to kneel, but their knees refused to bend.
Besides shock, Fang Shuo felt an overwhelming sense of worry. Yet, even as he forced his mouth open, he could not make a sound.
Tear tracks still stained Lan Yi's face, but her expression had completely frozen, a fleeting look of panic crossing her eyes.
Realizing they could neither move nor speak, they could only roll their eyes—the only parts of their bodies they could control—and look toward the source of the voice.
There, in the air above the city gates.
A figure clad in moon-white stepped across the moonlight.
Her shoes remained untouched by dust as she walked through the air.
Her sleeves fluttered and rustled without any wind, and the moonlight bathed her figure in a faint silver glow.
Though it was the middle of summer, snow began to fall softly from the pitch-black night sky. Coming from nowhere, the flakes swirled and drifted down, landing on everyone's hair and clothes.
【Fang Shuo Shock Value +100】
【Xu Miao Shock Value +100】
【Lan Yi Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 4,350,800】
Following a soft chime of silver bells, no one realized they had been pulled into a dream.
In the blink of an eye, the Divine Lady landed in front of the coffin.
She stood with her hands behind her back, lowering her gaze slightly to look indifferently at the coffin.
Black mist was slowly seeping out from the bottom of the coffin.
It was thick as ink and slithered like a snake.
Within moments, the onlookers watched in horror as the black mist rapidly spread in all directions, like a monster devouring everything in its path.
“No!” someone shrieked, their voice cracking as they collapsed to the ground.
Immediately after, everyone found they had regained their ability to move, and chaos erupted instantly.
Some scrambled backward on all fours, some slumped to the ground unable to stand, and others went pale with fright.
Lan Yi was also so terrified that she stumbled back several steps, only saved from falling by her maid's quick support.
She stared fixedly at the coffin, the color entirely drained from her face, her handkerchief twisted tightly into a knot in her hands.
The crowd scattered like a receding tide.
Yet, one person ran in the opposite direction.
It was Fang Shuo.
Clutching the memorial tablet, he stumbled and threw himself onto the coffin. His eyes were bloodshot, tears splashing onto the lid as he frantically pounded on the cold wood, each blow harder than the last.
“Father! Father, what's wrong with you?!” his voice rasped, choked with sobs, his entire body trembling.
If it had been anyone else rising from the dead, he would have been terrified. But the person in this coffin was his father.
Anyone else might harm him, but not his father.
No matter what his father became, he would never hurt him!
Fang Shuo's tears flowed uncontrollably, dripping one after another onto the lid and seeping into the grain of the wood.
Suddenly, the churning black mist recoiled. Miraculously, it stopped spreading and even began to slowly dissipate.
The crowd watched this scene in dumbfounded silence.
Fang Shuo did not notice any of it.
He tried to pry the lid open, digging his fingers deep into the gaps and lifting with all his might.
However, the lid was nailed shut tightly and did not budge in the slightest.
Seeing this, Fang Shuo could only let go. He scrambled over to prostrate himself at the feet of the Divine Lady, crying, “Divine Lady, please tell me, what on earth is going on?”
“Your father was meant to ascend to the heavens, but someone used an evil technique to drag him back to the mortal realm.”
“Now, your father is trapped inside this mortal shell, his resentment unresolved. If the coffin is forced open, he will turn into a malevolent ghost this very day, forever losing his chance to ascend.”
The Divine Lady's cool, detached voice reached Fang Shuo's ears.
“Divine Lady...”
“You are merciful and compassionate...”
“Please, I beg of you, please save my father...”
Fang Shuo shuffled forward inch by inch on his knees, knocking his head heavily against the ground. Soon, his forehead was bruised and purple.
“My father was a good man. He never harmed anyone. Why would someone do this to him...” Choked with emotion, he could not go on. He pressed his forehead against the ground, his shoulders shaking violently.
The Divine Lady looked down at him. “Fang Shuo, your father's celestial fate has not been entirely severed. If you can uncover the cause of his death and resolve his resentment, he can ascend to the heavens once more.”
Fang Shuo's crying stopped abruptly. He looked up, his eyes blurry with tears, and stared at the Divine Lady. “M-Me?”
It wasn't that he didn't want to investigate, but he had a very clear understanding of his own capabilities. He was just a playboy who only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun. Asking him to investigate his father's death was like asking a pig to climb a tree.
After mulling it over, he said in a nasal, muffled voice, “Divine Lady, can I ask my senior brothers and sisters from the academy to help me investigate? I feel like if I try to do it alone, I might make my dad so angry that he'll turn into a malevolent ghost right away, climb out of his coffin, and beat me up.”
Yun Shu: “...”
Everyone: “...”
“Host, the local weather-changing skill of the Rainbow and Feather Garment has a time limit. Once it expires, this summer snow will disappear. Hurry up and finish your performance.”
The system's voice rang out in Yun Shu's mind.
She did not respond to the system. On the outside, she maintained her lofty posture as the Divine Lady looking down upon all living things, but her mind was racing.
Regarding Governor Fang's death, she knew the plot from the novel and possessed the Eyes of Good and Evil, so she naturally understood the whole story clearly. She could easily drag out every single perpetrator to make an example of them, unleashing her ultimate moves to quickly farm a massive amount of Shock Value.
However, she did not plan to do that. The reason she had brought the students of Yecheng Academy on this study tour was to train them.
If she stepped in and punished the villains right from the start, how would that train them?
So, after some thought, she decided those people could serve as whetstones before she used them to make an example.
“If they do not fear danger and are willing to aid you, they may naturally investigate this case with you.”
Hearing the Divine Lady say this, Fang Shuo was overjoyed at first. But when he thought of the danger she mentioned, he hesitated, unable to bring himself to ask the other Yecheng Academy students for help.
He might not be smart, but he had basic common sense. Anyone who could use evil techniques to ruin his father's ascension could not possibly be an ordinary person.
Investigating this matter would undoubtedly be incredibly difficult.
The other Yecheng Academy students also understood the stakes.
Consequently, most of them remained silent.
Chen Zhi walked over to Fang Shuo.
“Junior Brother Fang, we are classmates. Your business is my business. I will definitely help you find the culprit!”
Cui He also walked over.
She kept a straight face. “I can help you, but I won't do it for free. You have to pay me.”
With Chen Zhi and Cui He taking the lead, several other students followed them toward Fang Shuo, expressing their willingness to help.
Fang Shuo's eyes welled with tears as he looked at Cui He and the others. He was too moved to speak and could only stammer out his thanks over and over.
Cui He gently pushed Fang Shuo aside, stepped forward, and bowed respectfully to the Divine Lady.
She asked an important question: “Divine Lady, what should we do with Governor Fang's coffin?”
“I will personally suppress this coffin.”
The Divine Lady said slowly.
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