Deathly silence.
Chen Yan rode a chestnut horse, slowly making his way toward the village.
Behind him was a deer weighing a little over a hundred jin, tied to the horse.
The horse and the deer he had hunted were the last gifts he had originally planned to give the Zhu family.
But now, it seemed everything was too late.
Several li from the village, Chen Yan had already keenly sensed everything that had happened there with his Spiritual Sense.
His heart stirred not in the slightest.
He simply kept riding toward the village.
Then Chen Yan pushed open the gate to the little courtyard he knew so well.
As usual, no excited chatter came from Zhu Gang's two children inside the courtyard.
There was only deathly silence.
Chen Yan took a few more steps into the courtyard, his gaze falling on the well at its center.
He did his best to ignore the girl's body lying beside it, long since stiff and even beginning to rot.
Life was unpredictable.
"How pitiful."
Jun Duzhao's voice came from behind Chen Yan.
The Void Return Realm True Lord, dressed in a Black Daoist Robe, clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked up beside Chen Yan, then looked at the body by the well.
"She looks so young. Her life had only just begun... At least, it looks like she didn't suffer before she died."
As he spoke, Jun Duzhao shook his head, seemingly lamenting something.
"It may not be a bad thing."
Chen Yan said,
"Surviving in times like these might be even more painful."
Jun Duzhao fell silent for a moment, then laughed.
"You certainly know how to look on the bright side."
"I'm just comforting myself—or fooling myself, if you prefer."
Chen Yan said,
"After all, how could