Chapter Twenty-One: An Extravagant Funeral Ceremony

Ye Yuan and Ye Yanan had been living in their new home in the county seat for three days. Ye Yanan was thrilled about moving to the county town. Seeing her so exuberant, Ye Yuan felt genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart.

As for Xiao Bo and Liu Ping, they had not left. According to Sun Ting, the first live broadcast of "Retracing the Red Path" was scheduled for the next day. The two military officials had taken a few extra days off, intending to witness the program in person before returning to the city.

Early one morning, Ye Yanan was awakened by a noisy commotion. Groggily, she opened her eyes, walked to the window, and saw an endlessly long funeral procession parading loudly through the streets. Confused, she went to the living room and found Ye Yuan standing outside, gazing intently.

Curious, she approached and stood beside him. “Grandfather, what’s going on with this family? Why such a grand funeral?” Ye Yuan remained still, his eyes weathered yet authoritative, fixed on the vermilion coffin.

“This is Liu Dehai’s funeral procession,” Ye Yuan said slowly.

“What?!” Ye Yanan’s face showed surprise. “These past few days, the whole county has been celebrating Liu Dehai’s death, glad to be rid of a troublemaker. How dare that Liu Debao put on such a big show?”

“He’s putting on a performance for us,” Ye Yuan replied, turning his head with kind eyes that held a grave seriousness beneath. “Liu Debao is blaming us entirely for Liu Dehai’s death.”

He knew this matter was far from over. Liu Debao was a venomous snake. Usually hidden and seemingly harmless, but once he found an opportunity, he would bare his fangs and deliver the deadliest strike to his enemies. Perhaps he had already begun his moves, though Ye Yuan was yet unaware.

Ye Yanan couldn’t comprehend such depth.

Hearing Ye Yuan’s words, she puffed out her cheeks in anger. “How can someone be so shameless!”

At that moment, the entire funeral procession suddenly halted. A man jumped down from the lead vehicle—it was Liu Debao. He jogged over to Ye Yuan and Ye Yanan.

Ye Yuan instinctively stepped forward slightly, shielding Ye Yanan behind him, and looked at Liu Debao with an expressionless face. “Boss Liu, is there something you need?”

“Nothing much,” Liu Debao said with a bright smile. “I vaguely saw the old hero standing at the door, thought it over, and decided to come say hello.” He continued warmly, “So you’ve moved here with your granddaughter? We should keep in touch. I used to be a soldier too, and I hold great respect for an old hero like you.”

“No need. I don’t like crowds,” Ye Yuan said coldly.

Liu Debao chuckled, his gaze shifting past Ye Yuan to Ye Yanan. “This must be your granddaughter. I heard she was top of the science stream in our province—didn’t expect such a brilliant student to come from our county.”

“University is expensive, old hero. Let me cover her tuition; it’s a way to atone for my brother’s sins,” Liu Debao offered.

“No, thank you,” Ye Yuan’s tone grew colder.

Though Liu Debao appeared sincere, he was actually warning Ye Yuan to drop the matter of Liu Dehai’s death and stop digging further. But Ye Yuan was not one to yield.

“Instead of saying this here, maybe you should consider if there are still skeletons in your closet,” Ye Yuan said deliberately. “Many are watching this now.”

“Hahaha… Old hero, you’re truly witty,” Liu Debao laughed heartily, showing no trace of guilt.

“Liu Debao! What are you playing at?” From a distance, three men hurried over—it was Xiao Bo, Liu Ping, and Cong Gui.

They would never neglect Ye Yuan and his granddaughter, who were under their watch. Upon learning of Liu Debao’s ostentatious funeral for Liu Dehai, they came immediately and found Liu Debao standing before Ye Yuan.

“Chiefs, I’m a decent man! Do you think I’m the type to do bad things?” Liu Debao smiled broadly, shrugging at the three. “I just came over to greet the old hero upon seeing him.”

“Hmph!” Xiao Bo’s face darkened. “Better be so… Do you have no idea how many evil deeds Liu Dehai committed? Aren’t you afraid of stirring public anger with such a show?”

“He’s already dead, isn’t that enough?” Liu Debao retorted. “But Chief Xiao, you remind me—I should install cameras at my family’s ancestral grave. If anyone dares to vandalize my brother’s tomb, I’ll call the police to handle it.”

With a grin, he waved at them. “Gentlemen, until next time.”

As Liu Debao left, their expressions turned grim.

“Why is this man so persistently clingy?” Cong Gui frowned. “Doesn’t he fear anything?”

Liu Ping sighed helplessly. “He’s a seasoned fox from his army days, plus years of scraping by in society…”

“He knows exactly where the line is. Though he flirts with it, he never crosses it.”

“Don’t let me catch him out of line,” Xiao Bo’s eyes grew icy. “Or he’ll never laugh again.”

At that moment, a taxi stopped outside, and Sun Ting stepped out. She was supposed to have left with Sun Weiguo, but since she was the only TV staff connected with Ye Yuan and had volunteered, the station assigned her to oversee this program.

“Sister Tingting,” Ye Yanan greeted politely.

Sun Ting nodded but frowned deeply. “There’s a problem with public opinion about Grandfather Ye.”

“What do you mean?” Cong Gui asked.

“I don’t know why, but there are many negative comments about Grandfather Ye online. Forums have posts calling him a deserter, detailed and slanderous, and some newspapers have exaggerated these claims.”

“If this isn’t dealt with, the truth will never be cleared!”