"Mm..."
Master Mo fell silent for a moment. His plump face, usually so genial and faintly smiling, showed unmistakable surprise.
His old friend had passed away?
The news left Master Mo stunned for a moment. But he was nearly fifty and had weathered plenty of storms in his life.
That was life.
You never knew when you might hear that someone who ought to have been alive and well had suddenly left this world.
Master Mo soon composed himself. At the same time, he began to realize that Jiang Qingran might have come for more than a visit.
Who would go traveling just a month after her father's death?
Besides, Jiang Zhan had been a third-rank official of the Imperial Court. Plenty of people would be watching his daughter's every move.
"How could this happen...? What happened?"
Master Mo kept his expression unchanged and asked with evident concern.
Of course, he would say nothing himself.
He would wait for Jiang Qingran to speak.
"He died of illness."
Jiang Qingran lowered her gaze. The young woman in the pale yellow dress seemed to show no emotion at all.
But Chen Yan saw otherwise.
Jiang Qingran's talent and insight for cultivation might rank among the best of the True Purity Realm Sages, but right now she was only a child who had lived a little over a decade.
She was far too easy to read.
With scarcely a glance, Chen Yan could see her pride.
Someone like her would never willingly be bound by a marriage arranged before she was born.
"Father's health had been poor since last year. Then, a month ago, his condition suddenly worsened. He didn't hold on for long, and..."
Jiang Qingran trailed off.
"You poor child."
Seated in the place of honor, Master Mo looked grave and