Chosen: Beyond Fate

Before dawn, a rainstorm had swept through, driving away the damp heat in the air. Morning mist lingered among the cliffs, muffling the roar of the tides below.

Ji Jue, who had only recently fallen asleep, was awakened by the sound of a vehicle driving up the mountain road. He opened his eyes and walked toward the front door, where Tom was.

Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a black suit. After handing over an envelope, the man turned and left, not sparing a single glance toward the corpses on either side that had yet to be buried.

He simply walked away.

“Who was that?” Ji Jue asked.

“One of Lei Yaoxing’s people.” Tom looked at the item in his hands, his expression complicated.

“Here to collect bodies?”

“It does have something to do with collecting corpses and making peace, but not the corpses here.” Tom handed the item over. “See for yourself.”

Ji Jue took the two thin sheets, which looked like some sort of notice. Unlike a wedding invitation, the pure white card was elegant yet understated, decorated with faint watermark patterns.

It was a funeral notice.

“The late Lei Wuye...” After reading the opening, Ji Jue glanced at the signature below—Lei Yaoxing’s—and instantly understood what had happened. “So the old bastard finally kicked the bucket?”

After clinging to life for over half a month, the old man had finally passed, leaving behind a giant mess before dying peacefully. How was it that all the good things in life ended up happening to an old bastard like him?

Still, a funeral at a time like this...Ji Jue had a feeling that something ominous was coming.

Now that Lei Wuye was dead, all those “friends and relatives” he had while alive had probably received funeral notices as well. Whether out of courtesy, obligation, personal circumstances, or plans for the future, they would all have to show up.

In other words, this funeral would likely become the first gathering of every member of Cliff City’s Wasteland Assembly after more than a week of fighting each other to the death.

“This is going to be a summit meeting.”

He let out a sigh of realization.

It was clearly Lei Wuye’s funeral, yet whether Lei Wuye had died peacefully no longer mattered. This funeral could very well become the conference that decided the future of Cliff City’s underworld.

The meeting would likely end in one of two ways: either Lei Yaoxing would use bloody methods to crush everyone into submission and ascend to the throne as the new boss, or the gathering would break apart in failure, everyone returning home to continue slaughtering one another until only a single victor remained.

No... If things were mishandled, then perhaps this funeral would not belong to Lei Wuye alone. No one knew how many more people would end up buried alongside him.

In a moment of fleeting thought, Ji Jue felt as though he had vaguely grasped something, but the line of reasoning quickly blurred again. The thing that confused him even more was the name written on the funeral invitation. The person invited was not Chen Xingzhou. It was Chen Yubo.

He took out his phone, intending to call Wen Wen to ask for information, but the call did not go through. Do Not Disturb mode was on, and only an automated message came back saying she was in a meeting and would call later.

In reality, not long after, he received a call from her. Before he even had a chance to ask her anything, she asked, “Has Chen Yubo received the funeral notice?”

“Yeah,” Ji Jue replied. “Do we need to handle it?”

“That’s up to you. It doesn’t matter whether we go or not,” she said. “It’s already over.”

Ji Jue froze. “Huh?”

“It’s a bit complicated to explain in a short time, but you don’t need to be so tense. If you’re interested, just take that fool Chen Yubo along and go have a look. Might as well enjoy the show.” Wen Wen seemed to think of something and let out a faint laugh. “There’ll be people from the Security Bureau at the scene. As long as you don’t walk up to Lei Yaoxing and provoke him in his face, he won’t be able to touch you. Relax. Going wouldn’t hurt. Just consider it a form of closure.”

It was over?

After hanging up, Ji Jue sat in confusion for a long time, unable to make sense of it. In the end, he still decided to go. After all, Ms. Wen would probably not shove him straight into a pit of trouble. Besides, after being trapped in this fog of conflict and uncertainty for so long, he needed an answer one way or another.

Ji Jue looked at Chen Yubo, whose face was pale. “Shall we go take a look?”

For a moment, Chen Yubo looked like he wanted to speak but stopped himself, tears almost falling. He seemed to ask, “Can we not go?”

“Unfortunately, no. And we also can’t bring the cats. In case one of them jumps onto the coffin during the funeral and scares the dead Lei Wuye back to life, who would be responsible for that?”

So, after tearfully saying goodbye to the two cats, a very unwilling Chen Yubo was finally urged by Ji Jue into the car, along with Tom.

Even though he kept insisting, “Our contract doesn’t include going out, this costs extra!” he still followed anyway, muttering things like, “If things get violent I’m leaving immediately.”

In the end, when they were almost there, he got out of the car to buy grilled sausages by the roadside. He also ate two bowls of soup noodles and three baskets of steamed dumplings in one go, stuffing his cheeks full of food until his mouth was greasy.

Squatting by the roadside, he looked at the passing luxury cars and sighed in amazement.

“Quite lively, isn’t it?”

Lei Wuye had only just died, yet the largest funeral home in all of Cliff City had already been fully arranged. The scene was solemn and imposing, with white wreaths lining the entrance from the gate onward, covered in chaotic mourning couplets.

In the lingering rain, people stood at the entrance handing out umbrellas to guests. One black umbrella after another opened up, droplets of rain shining like beads as they fell. Hundreds upon hundreds of umbrellas moved along the narrow road.

At a glance, that expanse of black looked like dried blood and death flowing out from the cemetery, spreading like a plague down into Cliff City below. The view was so solemn that it was almost laughable.

Ji Jue took a bite out of a bun he bought from a roadside stall and sighed. “Even in death, Lei Wuye managed to make such a huge spectacle. What a shame.”

“A shame? What are you talking about?” Tom asked.

“A shame I don’t like black umbrellas.”

They should have hung up some red ones[1] instead. Wouldn’t that have been much more festive, much brighter?

After watching the commotion for a while by the roadside, the two men got back into the car. They even brought a basket of steamed dumplings for Chen Yubo, but unfortunately, Chen Yubo was too nervous to eat.

One moment he was saying that if he was going to die, he should at least die with dignity, maybe even bring a knife and go all out against Lei Yaoxing. The next moment he was saying that if he died, the cats would be left to Ji Jue, and he begged him to take good care of them and buy them plenty of canned food.

After much persuasion and reassurance that nothing would go wrong, Chen Yubo finally got out of the car, trembling as he opened his umbrella, and walked toward the funeral hall.

Unexpectedly, right at the entrance, Lei Yaoxing was greeting the guests.

This was the first time Ji Jue had seen the man who had stirred up turmoil in Cliff City’s underworld in recent days. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man with slightly graying hair, a stern expression, but with a certain calm warmth to it. There was no trace of the oppressive, bloodthirsty aura of someone who devoured children alive.

Even though an entire squad of his subordinates had been wiped out at the villa last night, when Lei Yaoxing saw Chen Yubo, he showed no anger or joy. He simply studied him carefully for a moment. “Chen Yubo?”

Chen Yubo forced himself to appear tough, but his face twitched and his voice quivered. “Yes, it’s me.”

“It’s my first time meeting you. I didn’t expect you to be so different from your brother. You’re a man blessed with fortune.” Lei Yaoxing looked at him for a long moment, then reached out and patted his shoulder. “No need to worry. Today, you’re our guest. Go in and take a seat.”

He never even looked at Ji Jue or Tom standing behind him. Ji Jue was more than happy to be treated as if he were invisible.

After offering incense, they saw a few children and unfamiliar young women wearing black veils returning the bows nearby. They were likely relatives of Lei Wuye, but even they showed faint unease and anxiety that they could not fully conceal.

Inside the coffin surrounded by flowers lay an old man, dressed in new clothes, his expression peacefully serene.

After the formalities were completed, Chen Yubo immediately slipped to the very back and sat down, lowering his head in fear of being noticed. Meanwhile, Ji Jue casually observed the passing crowd with interest. Most of the guests were important, well-known figures. Some had even appeared on television.

But after offering incense, they all left in a hurry without lingering. It was clear they did not want to be dragged into the life-and-death struggle within the Wasteland Assembly.

Quite a few people, after offering incense, simply sat down along the sides of the hall. Some looked solemn and serious, others openly irritated and impatient, whispering quietly among themselves. They gathered according to their factions, sitting closer or farther apart, yet the dividing lines between groups were unmistakably clear.

Many of them were covered in bandages or plaster casts. There was a woman sitting in front of Chen Yubo, practically having “I’m pissed off” written across her face. Completely ignoring the atmosphere of the funeral hall, she smoked casually, flicking ash as though nobody else existed around her. A gauze eyepatch covered part of her carefully maintained face. She was half blind.

When she turned back to glance at them, Chen Yubo immediately made himself look smaller. Tom looked over in confusion, while Ji Jue simply looked down at his phone, completely unconcerned.

Seeing Chen Yubo’s reaction, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away.

On Ji Jue’s screen, the feeds from the surrounding surveillance cameras had already appeared, including those at the intersection. Soon, a black sedan caught his attention. It was clearly an older model but well maintained. It wasn’t an expensive brand, but a common car.

Most importantly, there was a symbol printed on the front—a radiant ring encircled by three other rings.

The Radiant Church?!

It was clear that Lei Wuye was receiving special treatment. A vehicle from Radiant Church drove all the way up to the farewell hall. From it stepped a slightly gaunt elderly man, his skin dry and marked with sunburn scars. He wore a plain black clerical robe with no decoration whatsoever.

Within the Radiant Church, only one type of person dressed like this: those who had sworn before the Light to never accumulate private wealth, never seek personal gain, and never take the initiative to harm others. They were devout official members who followed the Doctrine of Light.

But in Cliff City, only two or three such people existed.

Ji Jue’s eyes widened, finally realizing what was going on. That man was an elder responsible for managing the Church’s assets in Cliff City.

Clearly surprised by his arrival, even Lei Yaoxing paused before stepping forward to greet him and exchange a few words. After entering the hall, the elder declined all assistance, calmly offered incense, and even refused the emcee’s invitation to rest in a side lounge.

Yet he did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked directly toward the seating area. Under everyone’s stunned gaze, he sat down not far from Ji Jue and the others.

Noticing Ji Jue’s shocked look, the elder slightly raised his head, gave a polite nod, then looked away. He had his eyes lowered as he was sitting there like an immovable mountain.

Ji Jue stiffened for a moment, an instinctive chill creeping up his spine. Those who came only out of obligation, unwilling to get involved in the internal struggles of the Wasteland Assembly, had all left after paying their respects. But this elder had chosen to stay, and even sat down.

Was the Radiant Church actually going to intervene into the mess of the Wasteland Assembly?!

1. In Chinese culture, red is the most auspicious color. It symbolizes good fortune, joy, vitality, and prosperity. Deeply rooted in the fire element and ancient mythology, it is believed to ward off evil spirits and attract blessings. ☜