1:30 PM.
The banquet had concluded.
After the final mourning, the wake came to an end.
The next step was the requiem, followed by the coffin being taken to the cemetery for burial.
Originally, the requiem ceremony required a priest to officiate, but since the Bolita family was not religious, the ceremony was ultimately conducted by Luso, the coffin shop owner and also a Feng Cui immigrant.
The reason he was chosen was because he was an old friend of Alberto.
The hall was already filled with people at that time.
Everyone was witnessing the moment of the requiem.
The officiant Luso stood beside the coffin, holding a bottle filled with holy water, and Ethan, as Alberto's only son, stood before the coffin, awaiting the ten questions of the requiem.
The others were arranged by rank, from inside to outside.
Those standing on the innermost side were naturally from the five major families.
Sandro stood at the forefront, followed closely by George Evans and Danny Corleone.
At this moment, however, the expressions on George and Danny's faces were not quite pleasant.
Because the previous conversation had ended in disagreement.
Ethan was more uncompromising than they had imagined.
Initially, they thought that even if Ethan was ruthless enough to handle Joan and Fred overnight, having just taken over the Bolita Clan, he had too many issues that needed to be resolved and smoothed out.
So he needed a stable external environment.
He would certainly not want to make enemies, especially not with entities like the five major families.
They were indeed also prepared to pay a price.
Successful negotiations were foreseeable.
However, Ethan had no intention of negotiating at all.
Truly a headstrong young fellow.
The matter temporarily concluded with a remark from Sandro.
"Today we are still holding a funeral, do not disturb Alberto's peace."
And so George and Danny held their tongues.
But their minds were still racing with strategies on how to proceed.
Whether to opt for conflict or to increase their offer.
Whether Ethan's resolve was unyielding, or if he simply wanted a more dignified outcome.
Amidst these flowing thoughts, the requiem ceremony had begun.
Luso, the coffin store owner, donned a pitch-black robe, his expression solemn and dignified, holding the requiem bottle, his head held high, looked more like a priest than a priest himself.
He held a willow branch, tapped it on the holy water bottle, then gently sprinkled it onto the coffin, and, as if chanting scripture, loudly asked, "I have seen the place of the soul, I have seen the shadow of the deceased, I am it, I am your father, Alberto, Ethan, my son, I will question, so that my soul may rest, can you answer me?"
"Yes."
Ethan nodded.
The so-called ten questions of the requiem were actually steeped in religious significance, evidently, even though not religious, this set of rituals inherited from the ancient Fengcui people unavoidably bore religious connotations.
"Can you lead the family to continue down the golden road, so that my soul in heaven may be illuminated?"
"I can."
"Can you take good care of your siblings, relatives, and friends, ensuring the bloodline continues?"
"I can."
"For the light of the family, would you give everything, even if your soul ultimately falls into Hell?"
"I can."
When he spoke these words, a man wearing a bowler hat squeezed into the crowd with difficulty, finally arriving by George's side.
He whispered something to George.
George listened and then widened his eyes, unable to resist looking up at the slightly thin yet firmly straight-backed figure in the distance.
At the same time, Luso asked again.
"Can you vow, for the rest of your life, to unwaveringly walk on the path of defending the family, not allowing the family name to be disgraced?"
"I vow."
I vow.
These words almost landed on Danny's ears simultaneously with another sentence.
Beside him, at some point, a subordinate appeared, reporting the latest news to him.
After he listened, his reaction was almost identical to George's.
He also looked at that silhouette.
Then, he and George exchanged a glance.
With just that one look, they understood.
Why this young man dared to refuse them so firmly.
Tony was dead.
Francis was also dead.
No one expected this young man to be so ruthless and decisive, that during his father's funeral, he let the blood of the family's traitors flow dry.
His father's soul would surely find solace.
No wonder, he could eliminate Joan and Fred overnight.
From the beginning to the end, they had underestimated this young man.
George and Danny were no longer interested in those assets, they were more concerned with how they should face this newly emerged head of the Bolita family.
The ten questions of the requiem concluded.
As Luso sprinkled the last bit of holy water into the coffin, Alberto's soul was completely at rest.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Ethan felt that Alberto's face in the coffin seemed to have a slight smile.
Perhaps, it was just an illusion.
Then the coffin was sealed and carried onto the vehicle by the crowd.
The cemetery was not far from the family estate, located in the eastern suburbs, just a twenty-minute drive away, an excellent spot, what Ethan would call in a past life, prime real estate.
But that was to be expected, after all, Ethan had paid a substantial sum for it.
Once the coffin was on the vehicle, Ethan saw Anya and Virel.
They were somewhat weary, their bodies still carrying a faint scent of gunpowder and blood.
But they had made it back in time, without being late.
Virel was somewhat agitated and wanted to say something, but Ethan patted him on the shoulder, interrupting him, then looked at Anya and said, "Let's go, accompany me in sending my father off on his last journey."
The car started, with many guests following.
In theory, they should accompany to the cemetery, watch Alberto be buried, then throw roses on his grave to console the deceased.
This was also a custom of the Fengcui people.
But evidently, some people no longer wanted to do so, or simply weren't Fengcui people and had no such habit.
So they left.
For instance, George, and Danny.
The burial ceremony concluded before sunset, the grave was already covered with flowers.
The guests had all left, leaving only Ethan and the members of the Bolita family by the grave.
The sun was about to set, but tomorrow a new sun would rise.
Just like the Bolita family, there would be a new beginning.
Ethan took the white rose from his chest, sniffed it at his nose, then gently tossed it onto the grave. He turned to everyone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we should all remember this day, this day is not an end, but a new beginning, our Bolita family will rise to the pinnacle of Wenster like the rising sun."
Everyone lowered their heads.
In that moment, Ethan felt a peculiar pulse.
It was his 'True God's Name' stirring, like a butterfly breaking free from its chrysalis.