Morning light pierced the thin mist. Like a shy young girl, it cast golden-red rays over Holy Soul Village, which had endured a night of turmoil.
Ning Family Courtyard no longer held yesterday evening's bustle and the scent of meat. All that remained was a shocking expanse of ruined walls and broken rubble.
Charred beams, shattered mud bricks, scattered tiles, and the lingering smell of dust in the air silently told of last night's sudden disaster.
The collapsed house lay sprawled across the ground like a dead beast. Only a few stubborn roof beams still jutted diagonally toward the sky, carrying a trace of sorrow.
Once daylight had fully arrived, several bold villagers could no longer suppress their curiosity and concern. In twos and threes, they gathered around the Ning Family ruins.
When they clearly saw the scene before them, everyone sucked in a cold breath. Their faces were filled with shock, fear, and disbelieving regret.
"Good heavens! This... this perfectly fine home, how did it end up like this..." An elderly woman with graying hair leaned on her cane, her voice trembling and her cloudy eyes brimming with tears.
Just yesterday, she had received a small piece of fragrant pig head meat.
"That noise last night, dear heavens, I thought the sky had fallen!" A sturdy man patted his chest with lingering fear, his gaze sweeping across the ruins as he tried to find some clue.
"Where is Ning Dazhuang's family? Could they... could they all be buried inside?" someone asked shakily. There was a trace of hope in the voice, but faced with such utter destruction, that hope seemed pitifully small.
More and more people gathered, and the discussions grew louder. Fear, speculation, and sympathy intertwined.
Someone suggested clearing the ruins quickly to save people, but looking at