Amid the faint dust and smoke, a red, beautiful figure rushed into the courtyard.
She wore a long golden-red dress, its hem sweeping the ground, with many ornaments hanging from her body and a phoenix crown on her head; she had clearly been dressed with painstaking care.
The instant Ji Mingyue rushed into the courtyard, she saw Ji Mingyuan lying on the ground, all life gone from him. The wine vessel in his hand had rolled to one side, amber wine spilled all over the floor.
Her footsteps suddenly stopped. The color drained from her face in an instant, and her pupils contracted violently.
"F-Fifth Brother..."
Ji Mingyue's voice trembled, almost losing its tune.
She threw herself beside Ji Mingyuan and reached out to check his breathing. Where her fingers touched, there was only coldness, without the slightest rise or fall.
"Fifth Brother!" Her tone became calm as she grabbed Ji Mingyuan's shoulders and shook him.
Ji Mingyuan's body still held warmth, but all life had already left him.
At that moment, Ji Mingyuan's eyes were tightly shut, his face ashen. At the corner of his mouth, there remained a trace of wine he had not had time to wipe away, and a curve that seemed half mockery, half release.
The Black-Clad Swordsman stood quietly to the side, watching Ji Mingyue's lost and broken appearance. A complicated look flashed through his eyes, but very quickly returned to calm. His hand around his sword tightened slightly, yet in the end, he did not speak.
The courtyard instantly fell into utter silence.
After a long while.
Ji Mingyue felt the corpse in her hands gradually begin to cool. She slowly raised her head and looked toward the Black-Clad Swordsman at the side.
"Was this eighth brother's order?"
Though her voice was asking