"What?"
Jiang Tian's pupils contracted sharply. His brows knitted together, and the color drained from his lips until they were deathly pale.
In an instant, his mind filled with the image of his elder brother, Jiang Minghai; his sister-in-law, whose tongue was sharp but whose heart was soft; and little Xiao Yuexi, who had just turned four, with her soft, rosy cheeks, eyes like black gemstones, and her sweet, childish calls of "Uncle"...
His body trembled faintly, and his fists clenched without him realizing it.
"How could this be? Where did you hear this?"
"When I was carrying out a sect mission, I stopped by Qingyuan Prefecture City and asked around. I didn't find any trace of your brother's family," Mu Sining said.
"After I returned to the sect to report on the mission, I happened to hear some Foundation Establishment senior brothers discussing a recent mission to wipe out White Lotus Sect disciples in Qingyuan Prefecture. The route and timing of those disciples' flight matched when your elder brother left..."
She paused and glanced at Jiang Tian, as if hesitating over whether she should say what came next.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and continued, "The White Lotus Sect has a technique that requires sacrificing living people, so..."
She didn't finish.
Jiang Tian lowered his eyelids. His gaze was dazed and unfocused, hollow with bewilderment.
He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling.
He had wanted his brother's family to leave early and get far away from Blackwater County's troubles.
But he had never expected things to turn out like this.
For a moment, guilt surged through him like a rising tide, threatening to drown him.
If only...
He didn't know how long passed before he finally began to recover.
He raised his head, his