The old scholar Parsha leaned by the window, puffing clouds from his pipe. He had quit smoking long ago, but during the recent refugee crisis, so many of his belongings had been looted, and constant fear had left him too anxious, so he had taken it up again.
Recently, the chaos of war had temporarily subsided. The refugees had also been sent back, and his mood had brightened along with the weather. He was no longer anxious, but he could no longer quit smoking.
His old friend Dim had once urged him to quit, but after that miraculous rain of light created by Young Master Pat... most of the hidden ailments in the people of Gelu Town had been dispelled. Dim had started smoking again as well.
So now, neither of them tried to persuade the other.
Feeling the warmth radiating from the fireplace as he exhaled a thick plume of smoke, Parsha wore an expression of pure comfort.
In the depths of winter, this was how one ought to enjoy oneself!
Just as Parsha was savoring his happiness, his gaze suddenly shifted outside the window.
The room was filled with smoke, while dust and snow swirled outside. He could not see very clearly, but from the corner of his eye, he seemed to have vaguely glimpsed a group of people?
Parsha frowned in confusion. "George has warned everyone so many times. Why is anyone still coming out in the middle of the night? And it's already dark and freezing cold. Who would be wandering the streets?"
Still puzzled, Parsha set down his pipe, breathed onto the windowpane, then wiped the fogged glass with his worn sleeve.
When he looked outside through the relatively clear glass, a trace of confusion suddenly flashed through his eyes.
Three people had passed outside.