The moonlight was bright and clear, spreading across the bluestone pavement like frost. White lanterns hanging under the corridors swayed in the wind, making the path to the mourning hall appear even more eerie.

Shao Mingyuan rushed all the way to the mourning hall in complete silence, with that black shadow following closely behind.

The mourning hall was a sea of white, and as soon as one approached, the faint smell of burning paper drifted over.

Shao Mingyuan suddenly stopped.

The subordinate behind him also stopped and said in a low voice: “General, look—”

Shao Mingyuan raised his hand, signaling him to remain silent.

The wind blew, swirling up the paper ash from the fire basins placed on the ground in front of the mourning hall. Several women keeping vigil nearby were all fast asleep, letting those ashes fall freely on their bodies.

One person stood motionless before the mourning hall. Shao Mingyuan’s gaze fell on that person’s face, his expression slightly tense.

That person didn’t move, so Shao Mingyuan didn’t move either.

Lanterns hung high in front of the mourning hall, bright as daylight, clearly illuminating the expression on that person’s face.

In the shadows, darkness was heavy, completely concealing Shao Mingyuan and his subordinate’s figures and breathing.

Shao Mingyuan turned his head slightly and nodded to his subordinate.

The subordinate who had been following him understood, clasped his hands in salute, and silently retreated to where several other subordinates were secretly guarding the mourning hall. He made a silent gesture, and they all withdrew to a distance.

In front of the mourning hall, besides the several women whose snores rose and fell, only two conscious people remained—one in the light, one in the dark.

The wind blew, making the white silk flowers decorating the mourning hall rustle, and a wisp of black ash swirled from the fire basin and drifted to Shao Mingyuan’s feet.

That person finally moved.

He walked softly to the coffin placed in the center and stopped, reaching out to place his hand on the coffin lid.

A cold light flashed in Shao Mingyuan’s eyes as he stared motionlessly at that person’s actions.

That person maintained that position for a long time. When the candle flames suddenly flickered in the wind, alternating between bright and dim, he seemed to have made up his mind and suddenly raised his hand to lift the coffin lid.

Shao Mingyuan moved like the wind, reaching that person almost instantly. One hand grabbed his hand while the other covered his mouth. Despite the person’s desperate struggle, it was futile. He dragged him to a secluded spot before stopping.

“Mmph mmph mmph—” When that person saw it was Shao Mingyuan, he suddenly stopped struggling.

Shao Mingyuan released his hand and stared at him coldly.

That person felt quite uncomfortable under his gaze and stammered out, “Second Brother.”

Shao Mingyuan remained expressionless, and after a long while finally asked coolly: “You still know I’m your second brother?”

Shao Xiyuan lowered his head, then raised it again after a moment, asking rather defiantly: “What do you want to do to me?”

The fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth had skin even more delicate and fair than a girl’s. Even his defiant expression seemed so full of youthful vigor, as if there was nothing in this world worth fearing.

Such ignorant courage naturally came from knowing that no matter what trouble he caused, someone would always clean up after him.

Shao Mingyuan’s heart suddenly ached, his voice remaining cold and emotionless: “What are you doing here?”

Shao Xiyuan looked directly at Shao Mingyuan. After the initial panic of being caught red-handed passed, he became fearless instead, his tone carrying its usual provocation: “Didn’t Second Brother see? I wanted to see Second Sister-in-law.”

“See Second Sister-in-law?” Shao Mingyuan asked word by word, anger gradually clouding his eyes.

Whatever the reason, having his own younger brother sneak into the mourning hall like a thief to peek at his deceased wife in the dead of night was not a pleasant feeling.

Instead, Shao Xiyuan was provoked into rebelliousness. He crossed his arms over his chest and said carelessly, “Yes, what’s wrong with seeing Second Sister-in-law? The Second Sister-in-law was always good to me. Can’t I look at her? Unlike you, who doesn’t care at all about Second Sister-in-law’s death—”

Before he could finish speaking, Shao Mingyuan grabbed him by the collar and lifted him.

“If you wanted to see her, why come in the middle of the night?”

Shao Xiyuan’s face flushed red with anger as he tried to slap away Shao Mingyuan’s hand: “Let go! Shao Mingyuan, how dare you hit me?”

Shao Mingyuan’s expression grew even colder, but his tone was exceptionally calm as he asked word by word: “Shao Xiyuan, what gave you the illusion that I, as your elder brother, wouldn’t dare to hit you?”

After saying this, he easily lifted Shao Xiyuan and turned around, then raised his long leg and kicked him directly in the buttocks.

Shao Xiyuan screamed and tumbled to the ground. After struggling for a while, he finally managed to climb up awkwardly, tears flowing from the pain. While wiping them, he said: “Shao Mingyuan, you, you dare to hit me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Mother—”

Shao Mingyuan reached out and grabbed him again, saying coolly: “Tell Mother?”

Shao Xiyuan raised his chin.

What, scared now?

Who would have thought that his brother, who was a full head and a half taller than he, would sneer coldly and, without another word, kick him in the buttocks again?

Shao Xiyuan was kicked to the ground once more. The pampered young master’s buttocks were numb with pain, and this time he simply couldn’t get up.

He still had some backbone and knew that screaming in the dead of night wasn’t a good thing, so he forced himself to remain silent.

Shao Mingyuan half-crouched down, reached out to pull Shao Xiyuan up, and looked him in the eye.

“Shao Xiyuan, look at me.”

Third Young Master Shao, who had never been beaten in his life, wanted to be tough and turn his head away, but with the shadow of his recent buttocks beating still fresh, he instinctively looked into those cold eyes so close to his face.

Shao Mingyuan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked coolly: “Shao Xiyuan, how old are you?”

“Fourteen, so what?” Shao Xiyuan asked huffily, then sneered: “Someone like you who kills people every day naturally wouldn’t remember this.”

Shao Mingyuan completely ignored Shao Xiyuan’s sarcasm and said indifferently: “Since you’re not nursing anymore, you still want to run to Mommy after getting beaten?”

“You—” Young men of this age had especially strong self-esteem. Being questioned like this by Shao Mingyuan, Shao Xiyuan immediately flushed red and stared speechlessly for a long time.

Shao Mingyuan let go of his hand, his tone even more indifferent: “Alright, go back.”

He looked deeply at his younger brother, all emotions completely hidden behind his starlike gaze: “I don’t care what your reasons are. Remember, this is the first and last time.”

Though it was early summer, the youth standing opposite Shao Mingyuan felt the moon was cold and the stars sparse. The burning pain in his buttocks further robbed him of the courage to talk back.

The youth thought to himself: Second Brother is a demon who kills without blinking. Tonight, with the dark sky and high wind, if he continued to be stubborn, this demon might dig a hole and bury him.

Someone who could even kill Second Sister-in-law certainly wouldn’t hesitate to do anything!

Shao Xiyuan snorted as a response, then turned and left.

Shao Mingyuan stood in place, neither blocking him nor speaking.

He silently watched the youth walk some distance before stopping to look back.

“Second Brother, I don’t care what kind of wife you marry in the future. In my heart, there’s only one Second Sister-in-law!”

With the wind cold and moon cold, Shao Mingyuan sighed softly and said indifferently: “As long as you remember she’s your second sister-in-law!”

He turned first and strode away, quickly disappearing into the night.

Shao Xiyuan stood stunned for a long time, raised his hand to wipe his eyes, and limped away.

At the mourning hall, because of the faint screams that had just been heard, several women keeping vigil were instantly awakened. They sat together burning paper money and began chatting.

“General—” Several subordinates who had been watching from a distance spotted Shao Mingyuan approaching and called out softly.