At the funeral, Jiao Shuo was dressed in a black suit and her face was as pale as paper. She didn't cry from beginning to end, but her eyes were fixed on the portrait on the tombstone. The cardinal kept circling around Lu Tingyu's tombstone, uttering sad cries. Her spiritual world must be crying, and the pain and despair that lingered in her body were clearly conveyed to everyone at the scene.
This scene made the relatives and friends present extremely sad. After the sentinel and the guide got married, it was equivalent to a soul bond. For Jiao Shuo, Lu Tingyu's death was more than just a simple loss of a spouse. It was a kind of excruciating pain like the separation of flesh and blood and the severing of the soul, which was unbearable!
Lu Zexuan was distressed when he saw his mother like this. However, he couldn't tell her in advance that all this was an act. Because there would be many people coming to pay tribute to her father's funeral, her performance would be carefully observed by those "interested people".
The Nanshan Cemetery was particularly lively today, with long queues of guests coming to pay their respects. In addition to the soldiers of the Falcon Corps, there were also representatives from other federal legions, as well as Marshal Qin Xiao, Ludwigisi, president of the Guide Association, Professor Mo Wei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and even President Harrison.
All these "big shots" are here.
Lu Tingyu is one of the commanders of the four major legions of the Federation. The fact that the president came in person to pay tribute also gave the Lu family enough face.
The funeral began with three minutes of silence.
Everyone was wearing black, and the atmosphere in the entire cemetery seemed extremely sad and depressing.
After the moment of silence, President Harrison took the lead and stepped forward, bowed to Lu Tingyu's portrait, placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone, and said in a heavy and sad voice: "I feel extremely sad and regretful about General Lu's sacrifice... Dean Jiao, Major General Lu, please accept my condolences."
President Harrison is 66 years old, with white hair and a serious look. Accompanying him are several high-ranking sentinels from the Federal Security Service, who are responsible for protecting the president's safety.
This was the first time that Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan saw the President of the Federation in person.
On the surface, Lu Zexuan was very sad because of his father's death, and his expression was extremely stiff. In fact, his sharp eyes like a hawk had been secretly observing the guests who came to pay tribute.
Lu Zexuan keenly discovered that the president's left and right hands were different. His right hand was the same as that of an ordinary person, but the ring finger of his left hand was much shorter than his index finger, and the shape of his hand looked a little strange. Of course, most people's left and right hands and left and right feet are also different, which is nothing. However, there is still a tough battle to fight next, and he cannot miss any details.
This funeral is a rare occasion for all the important people to gather together, which is a perfect opportunity to observe them.
After hearing the president's words, Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran bowed together to express their gratitude.
Yu Ran accompanied Lu Zexuan to the funeral today as his "boyfriend". Everyone knew that Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran had a stable relationship, so no one was surprised that Yu Ran, the legendary "C-level little guide", showed up at the funeral.
There was no doubt about Yu Ran's behavior. She cried so hard that her eyes turned red and she looked extremely sad.
The president turned his gaze towards Yu Ran and asked gently, "Are you Yu Ran?"
Yu Ran nodded and said flatteredly: "Mr. President, you, you know me?"
President Harrison sighed softly and said to Yu Ran, "I've heard that your guide element match has reached a rare level of 98%. Major General Lu just lost his father and must be very sad. It's a blessing to have you by his side. I hope you can comfort him."
Yu Ran said: "I will definitely try my best."
The two watched the president leave, but they were discussing in their minds: "What did he mean by that just now? Did he ask you to control my emotions?"
Yu Ran said, "It's still unclear whether President Harrison is a friend or an enemy. Mo Wei just mentioned that the president is going to run for re-election. We still need to continue investigating whether he accidentally let it slip or deliberately led me astray."
Lu Zexuan said: "I have memorized all the characteristics of the president and saved them in the mental image. You can check them at any time."
Yu Ran said: "Well, continue to observe others."
There are many benefits to spiritual combination. For example, now, the details that Lu Zexuan sees and remembers will be synchronized to Yu Ran's brain. The sentinel's excellent and sharp five senses combined with the guide's excellent thinking ability, the combination of the two of them is the real "ace partner".
After the president finished his memorial service, Federal Marshal Qin Xiao also laid a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone.
What he gave was a pure white chrysanthemum - a white chrysanthemum, which meant that he already knew Yu Ran's plan and would fully cooperate with it.
Yu Ran lowered his eyes and bowed, without any communication with the marshal throughout the whole process.
Generals from all military units came to pay tribute one after another, including General Xie Chen from the Star Legion.
She walked with a heroic manner, but her face was extremely ugly. She said nothing and bowed deeply to the tombstone.
This scene reminded her of her sister's sacrifice. She definitely believed that General Lu's death was also caused by the Dark Night Organization. She hadn't avenged her sister yet, and yet another general was killed!
Lu Zexuan lowered his head and saw her clenched fingers at her side, her nails leaving faint red marks on her palms. Her deep-sea black shark did not come out today, probably because she was worried about exposing her master's anger, so she hid it.
Xie Chen nodded towards the family members and simply turned and left.
Lu Zexuan said in his mind: "General Xie was very angry, and his hands hidden in his sleeves were almost pinching his palms."
Yu Ran looked at her aunt's back, and her heart ached slightly. Her aunt must have had a hard time these years, bearing a blood feud. At her parents' funeral, she also stood in the position of family members, bowing to thank everyone who came to pay their respects, but her heart was bleeding, right
Yu Ran said softly, "She has been investigating the Dark Night Organization for the past few years, and she must have a lot of information in her hands. When necessary, I will take the initiative and pretend to control her. Otherwise, I am afraid that the Dark Night Organization will harm her."
Lu Zexuan said: "Well, it is better for us to 'kill' her first than for the Dark Night Organization to do it to her personally. With the ambitions of Mo Wei and the man behind the scenes, they will definitely firmly control all the major legions in their hands, and the Star Legion will definitely not escape this disaster."
General Xie Xi was silenced back then, and now, General Xie Chen is also in great danger. Yu Ran will not watch his aunt sacrifice herself in vain like his mother did, and he will protect this relative who has loved him since childhood.
There were many important people present today because Lu Zexuan personally sent them invitations to his father's funeral. Due to the face of the Falcon Corps and Lu Tingyu's prestige, almost all the people who received the invitations were present.
After several generals from the military left, Professor Mo Wei stepped forward and presented flowers in a hypocritical manner.
He acted extremely sad, and even took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. Looking at his hypocritical appearance, Lu Zexuan felt like vomiting. But in front of him, Lu Zexuan still tried his best to act like he was being controlled by Yu Ran, with a sad and stiff expression.
Mo Wei looked at Jiao Shuo and said, "My condolences, Madam."
Jiao Shuo said, "Thank you for your concern." Her Red Bird's spiritual power was madly draining away, and she could no longer fly. She landed on Lu Tingyu's tombstone and lay down gently. She looked so listless that she looked very pitiful.
Mo Wei couldn't help but say, "Madam's condition is a little dangerous. How about I help Madam stabilize her mental strength first?"
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from not far behind: "I'll help too."
Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran looked back and met a pair of clear blue eyes.
—The president of the Guide Association, Mr. Ludwig. He wore a black suit today, with soft blond hair tied into a braid at the back of his head, still gentle and elegant, with extraordinary temperament.
His appearance has hardly changed over the years. Yu Ran remembered that he looked like this when he was a child. More than ten years have passed, and he is still so young. I wonder if there is a unique maintenance method that can keep youth forever
Ludwig stepped forward quickly and said, "Madam has suffered such a heavy blow, it's normal for her to be confused for a while. Red Sparrow's mental power is slowly dissipating, we have to control it as soon as possible." He looked at Xian Mowei and said, "She is an S-level guide after all, why don't we help Madam heal together?"
Mo Wei was very happy to say, "Of course. I wonder if Madam would like us to help you take a look?"
Jiao Shuo seemed to come back to his senses, glanced at his soon-to-disappear Hong Que, and said softly, "Excuse me, both of you."
Ludwigi and Mo Wei opened their palms at the same time. Several blue tentacles of thought quickly spread from the palms of the two S guides and connected to Jiao Shuo's forehead. Jiao Shuo felt dizzy in her mind, and the soft sea water poured into her spiritual world, purifying the large shadows in her mental picture one by one.
She herself is a healing guide. However, the blow of her lover's death is like a sudden separation of souls. Red Sparrow can't find her partner, and she has no energy to sort out her spiritual world. She is a little dazed and feels like she is in a dream.
This is actually very dangerous. Once the spirit is scattered and the cardinal disappears, it will be difficult to save it.
The bond between the Sentinel and the Guide was too deep, not to mention that the two had been married for many years and had always been in love. In the history of the Federation, there were too many precedents of Sentinels collapsing and deforming after the death of a Guide, or of Guides suffering from mental failure and dying quickly after the death of a Sentinel.
Mo Wei offered to help his wife with treatment, and to outsiders, there seemed to be no problem.
Only Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan knew that this was a test - he wanted to personally check Jiao Shuo's mental picture to confirm whether her sadness and pain were real. As for why Ludwigi suddenly intervened, it was still unclear.
Everyone at the scene looked at this scene curiously.
Jiao Shuo's emotions soon stabilized, and Hong Que regained her energy and flew into the sky. She rubbed her temples and looked at the two people: "Thank you, both of you. My late husband passed away suddenly, and I was not able to adjust my emotions for a while. I am sorry to have embarrassed you all."
Ludwig smiled and said, "You are too polite, Madam. You were just blinded by intense negative emotions and lost your composure for a moment. General Lu's sacrifice is indeed regrettable. Madam, please accept my condolences and don't forget that you still have a son to take care of."
This sentence seemed to have a deeper meaning. After he finished speaking, he glanced at Lu Zexuan.
Lu Zexuan bowed to him to express his gratitude.
Ludwigi said nothing more and turned away from the funeral. Mo Wei also turned away.
***
This grand funeral lasted the entire morning.
After all the guests attending the funeral had left, Lu Zexuan supported his mother and went home with Yu Ran.
The hovercraft started the automatic navigation program, and there were only three of them in the car. Jiao Shuo had calmed down, and she suddenly asked: "Zexuan, your father is not an impulsive person. How could he rashly go to the appointment with only a few guards after receiving the threat from the space pirates?"
On the day Lu Tingyu died, Jiao Shuo was attending a meeting with several scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
After hearing the sad news of her husband's sudden death, she fainted on the spot. She stayed at home for the next two days, her mind was in a daze. She didn't see Lu Zexuan, she only knew that her son was busy arranging the funeral. The mother and son had no time to talk alone until now.
Lu Zexuan explained: "It may be because my father is too concerned about my brother's condition and is anxious to save him."
Jiao Shuo wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Lu Zexuan: "Mom, I know you are very sad, don't think too much, go home and have a good rest."
He winked at his mother, and Jiao Shuo realized that many of the guests' cars were also coming down the mountain. The sentinels had sharp hearing, and this was not the place to talk. She suppressed her doubts until the car drove to the Lu family's manor in the suburbs. Lu Zexuan dismissed all the servants and took Yu Ran and his mother to the soundproof study on the second floor.
Jiao Shuo then continued to ask: "Even if he was in a hurry to save people, he would not go to trade with those unscrupulous pirates face to face without any preparation! There must be something behind this... Zexuan, do you know something?"
Lu Zexuan squatted down, found the box where his father usually kept confidential documents, and quickly entered the password. The password of this safe was indeed the same as the activation password of the agent group token his father told him.
When the box was opened, there was a letter inside, which read: From Jiao Shuo himself.
Lu Zexuan handed the letter to his mother. Jiao Shuo opened it hastily and saw a sentence written in bold and heroic handwriting: "Wife, you must have been very sad at my funeral, right? But if you weren't sad, you couldn't hide it from those people. I'm sorry, I'll apologize to you later."
Jiao Shuo: “…”
He's not dead! For a moment, the redbird fluttered around the room, not knowing whether it was angry at his concealment or glad that he was still alive.
Lu Zexuan took the letter, crushed it into powder, and flushed it into the toilet next door. He whispered, "Mom, on the grounds of Dad's 'sacrifice', please take a month off and go spend time with grandma."
Jiao Shuo's hometown is in the Ursa Minor constellation. The land there is very suitable for growing crops, so it is used by the Federation as a cultivation base for various grains and fruits. There are no alien monsters and it is very safe. My grandmother planted a large area of grapes there.
Lu Zexuan obviously wanted to get his mother out of the way so that he could carry out the next plan with Yu Ran without any worries. Otherwise, if the Dark Night Organization took Jiao Shuo as a hostage, Lu Zexuan would be in a difficult situation.
Jiao Shuo understood what her son meant. She looked at Lu Zexuan, who had a calm expression in front of her, and felt a little complicated.
In their memories, the son who needed their protection and care has grown up.
Now, it is his turn to protect his parents.
Jiao Shuo's eyes were slightly sour: "Can you handle it if you stay alone?"
Lu Zexuan said firmly, "Don't worry, I will take over the Falcon Corps and take good care of the soldiers. As for the Dark Night Organization, I will root them out and completely liquidate them. Tomorrow, I will send a few people to escort you to your grandmother's house, and you can rest there for a while."
Jiao Shuo was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I haven't seen your grandma for a long time, so it's a good opportunity for me to go back to my hometown."
She knew that Lu Tingyu had been investigating the Dark Night Organization for many years, and now, Lu Tingyu handed this task to his young son. Since Lu Zexuan wanted to get rid of her, she naturally had to hide well, so as not to become his weak spot.
Jiao Shuo patted his son's shoulder and looked at Yu Ran: "Ran Ran, do you want to come with me?"
Lu Zexuan immediately said: "He can't leave yet."
Jiao Shuo raised his eyebrows and said, "Ranran, isn't it safer to leave with me?"
Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran looked at each other. Jiao Shuo didn't know how strong Yu Ran's mental strength was, and thought he was a C-level guide who needed to be taken care of. Yu Ran smiled slightly and said seriously: "Don't worry, Auntie, I want to stay with Zexuan. We have already marked each other, and it would be bad if we were separated."
Jiao Shuo: “…???”
You are so good, you dare to tag the guide before you get married?!
Facing his mother's sharp gaze, Lu Zexuan said awkwardly: "We will make up for the wedding later..."
Yu Ran agreed obediently: "Well, I'll follow Ze Xuan's arrangements."
Lu Zexuan: “…”
The more you explain, the worse it gets. I was obviously the one who was listening to you the whole time, okay
Jiao Shuo looked at Yu Ran's obedient appearance and glared at Lu Zexuan with mixed feelings: "Take good care of Ranran. You kid, let your dad deal with you later... I'm leaving first, take care of yourselves."
After Jiao Shuo left, Yu Ran's expression changed rapidly. He said calmly in his mind, "I still feel something is not right."
Lu Zexuan asked: "What's wrong?"
Yu Ran said: "Mo Wei, if I remember correctly, his spirit body is a dolphin, and he is a healing guide, right? Today, he also treated your mother with the president."
Lu Zexuan said: "Yes. I saw Mo Wei's spirit body at the opening ceremony of the sanctuary last time. It was indeed a cute dolphin."
Yu Ran frowned slightly: "But that day, at the B73 base, when he suddenly attacked me, my primeval forest was quickly submerged by his tsunami, and what I felt was an attack force of at least S."
Most of the attacking wizards only know basic healing skills below level B. The healing wizards are generally not very aggressive. There is only one dual-cultivation wizard like Yu Ran in the entire federation.
Lu Zexuan couldn't help but be stunned: "How could this happen?"
Movi's spirit is a cute dolphin, a healing spirit. How can it have an S attack power
Lu Zexuan asked: "Could it be that he has awakened the healing and attacking dual spirit bodies like you?"
Yu Ran shook his head: "Impossible. If he had two spirit bodies, I would not have been able to resist that day, and your snow mountain would have been exposed. I suspect... Either the person we saw that day was not Mo Wei at all. Or Mo Wei's spirit body was disguised and was not the healing dolphin at all."
The two looked at each other.
They thought they had contacted the top leader of the Dark Night Organization, but they found out...
They have only scratched the surface of that mysterious figure.
(End of this chapter)