Chapter 37: Laughing Aloud, I Walk Out the Door

Soon, amidst the wailing and lamentations of the crowd and under the calm gaze of Xue Fan, the old patriarch drew his final breath.

As his eyes closed, the weeping in the room grew even more shrill and piercing. Only Xue Fan walked out alone to fetch hot water and set the burial clothes aside. He did not trust anyone else to bathe his grandfather; these people had never done it before, so how could they possibly do it right?

Just as he had done every day in the past, he dampened a towel, checked the temperature, and then, bit by bit, helped his grandfather turn over to wipe him clean. The irony was that throughout this entire process, everyone else remained on their knees, wailing and competing to see who could cry the loudest, yet not a single soul stood up to lend a hand. Perhaps in their eyes, this was a task that belonged to Xue Fan—after all, he had been doing it for so many years, so there was no need to worry.

Ten minutes later, Xue Fan finished dressing his grandfather in the burial garments, then silently carried the basin out and poured the water away.

*Splash.*

By the time he returned, these "filial" relatives had already scrambled to carry the old man out and place him into the coffin, setting up bamboo poles to organize the funeral hall. They were more enthusiastic than anyone else when it came to tasks visible to outsiders. Xue Fan could not be bothered to fight them for it; he knew that in such matters, they would certainly strive for perfection. Exhausted from not having closed his eyes for several nights, he took one last look at his grandfather before the coffin, and seeing that his face was peaceful, he felt completely at ease. He gave a nod to his father and went back to his room to rest.

*Clang!*

Xue Fan did not know that as soon as his door closed, the people busy in the courtyard all paused, casting suspicious glances toward his room.

"Tell me, the grandfather he took care of for so many years is finally gone, and he didn't even shed a single tear. Is he even human?" his second uncle asked casually after pulling back his gaze, and the others nodded in deep agreement.

"This, this, this... sigh!"

As for Xue Fan’s father, he knew best whether his son was filial or not. But the old patriarch had taught him since childhood to maintain harmony among relatives and avoid discord. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only sigh. He secretly decided to have a serious talk with his son later. After all, one cannot live only for substance while ignoring appearances, especially now that the old patriarch was gone and a new head of the Xue clan had to be elected. As the eldest son of the former patriarch, he could not afford to give anyone ammunition to use against him at such a critical moment.

"This kid, why doesn't he understand these things!" he muttered to himself before busying himself with the crowd once more.

...

Three days later.

Following the necessary funeral rites, the day of the old patriarch’s burial finally arrived. Every household in the Xue clan had placed braziers and paper flowers at their doors, and they had even hired professional funeral troupes. The Xue clan was the largest in the village, and the funeral nearly turned the entire place upside down. The sound of *suona* horns and wailing was deafening, causing all the dogs in the village to bark in the street corners, while black smoke and paper ash filled the air.

As it was the passing of the old patriarch, the members of the Xue family who lived in towns and cities had all returned. It was likely the highest attendance of the Xue clan in the last decade, and the funeral procession stretched out like a long dragon.

Regardless of whether they had even met the old patriarch, the younger generation of each family tried to outdo one another in their weeping. Because of this, Xue Fan, who remained calm amidst the sky-shaking wails, stood out like a sore thumb. Relying on his closeness to his grandfather, he had positioned himself at the very front of the procession despite his lower seniority, showing no sign of wanting to cry.

Seeing this, his father could no longer hold back and hurriedly tapped his arm. "Fan, this is the final journey for your grandfather. I let you be before, but now you should at least shed some tears!"

However, facing his father's reminder, Xue Fan only glanced back at his grandfather’s coffin, then shook his head and replied calmly:

"Father, although Grandfather couldn't move easily these past years, I spent every day with him and could see clearly that he had no regrets and departed in peace."

Over the years, besides caring for his grandfather, he had loved to read ancient texts in his spare time. Having absorbed the wisdom of the sages and reflected deeply, he had developed his own philosophy.

"I believe that birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural course of life. Since Grandfather went peacefully, that is for the best, and there is no need to cry, much less to pretend to cry."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it was perfectly clear to those who were listening. Suddenly, the wailing nearby ceased, and dozens of gazes converged upon him, as if they wanted to devour him alive. Yet, everyone knew that today was the day of the burial, and for any reason, they should not cause a scene. They silently took note, treating it as leverage to be used later.

Afterward, the funeral procession carried the coffin up the mountain and interred the old man in the ancestral graveyard. They knelt, kowtowed, lit incense, and scattered rice, ensuring the old man was successfully laid to rest.

Upon returning to the village and after dinner, with everyone gathered, the elders of the Xue clan met to discuss the next patriarch. Xue Fan’s father, being the first in line, naturally took the lead and began to recommend himself. But...

"Listen here, big brother, we all heard the outrageous things your son said on the way to the burial. Given that he is such an unfilial descendant, is it really appropriate for you to be the patriarch?" the second uncle immediately challenged him.

"That's right! Who doesn't shed a single tear at their grandfather's funeral? He’s clearly a heartless wretch. We won't go as far as saying 'like father, like son,' but with the way you've raised him, can you really lead the entire Xue clan?" The others chimed in.

Suddenly, everyone attacked him, targeting the point of "unfilial behavior." Xue Fan’s father, a man who valued his reputation, saw his face flush red and stepped down before they could even finish their harsh words.

Having fled the clan meeting in disgrace and unable to contain his anger, he knocked on Xue Fan’s door and unleashed a torrent of abuse. After listening for a long while, Xue Fan finally understood. He let out a breath and stood up.

"Father, I don't believe I did anything wrong. If you think I'm wrong, I have nothing to say, but one thing is clear..." Looking at his furious father, Xue Fan remained calm.

"I don't want to endure this anymore."

"I ignored those people before because Grandfather was still here. He loved harmony within the clan, so I didn't argue with them, and I let them do as they pleased."

"But now that Grandfather is gone, and he left in peace, I have nothing left to worry about. They just think we are easy to bully, don't they? Then I will let them know that I am not as soft as they think!"

Without waiting for his father to react, Xue Fan turned and stormed out of the house. He went straight to the ancestral hall, pointed at the noses of those people, and began to curse them with the intensity of a madman. At first, they tried to argue back, but Xue Fan’s every word hit home. Eventually, driven by shame and anger, the second uncle and a few others raised the hoes they had been using.

"Come on! If you don't beat me to death today, you're my grandsons! And if you do kill me, I'll just go down and keep Grandfather company, so he’ll have someone on the road—and I’ll be sure to tell him who the real unfilial descendants are!" Xue Fan shouted, pointing at his own head. His aura stunned everyone into silence.

After a long moment of hesitation...

"Get out! Get out of here! The Xue family has no place for a wretch like you! Get out!" The second uncle, who had only been putting on a show, dropped the hoe and began to incite the crowd again.

"Heh, the Xue family?" Xue Fan sneered upon hearing this. "The only reason I stayed here was because of Grandfather. Now that he is gone, why should I stay?"

With that, he grabbed the hoe from his second uncle’s hand with a burst of unnatural strength and swung it in a wide arc, knocking all those so-called uncles to the ground, deciding to teach them a lesson on his grandfather's behalf.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

"Ah!"

"Ouch!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Help!"

The room was filled with dust and the echoes of their screams!

A moment later, when everyone lay on the ground, bruised and swollen, writhing and wailing like maggots, Xue Fan finally stopped. He cast a cold look at them, turned, and walked out of the room, laughing up at the sky.

"Grandfather is gone!"

"There is no longer any Xue family!"