The One Who Had Passed Away (1)

The two split up to ask around town. Within half an hour, they found a lead in the back courtyard of an inn called the Welcome Inn.

"A girl in a white dress?" The innkeeper wiped the counter with a rag, frowned, and glanced toward the back courtyard. "Oh, she's staying in the room converted from a woodshed back there. She brought a... Ah, never mind. Poor thing."

He shook his head and pointed toward the courtyard. "It's the wooden door with the crooked frame. Easy to find."

They hurriedly thanked him, pressed a few pieces of silver into his hand, and rushed into the courtyard.

Before Ye Linfeng and Wei Qingshuang could push open the wooden door, they both stopped short. After a surge of powerful spiritual energy, several familiar figures appeared in the courtyard. At their head stood the sect leader, their eldest senior brother's master.

Several older senior brothers and sisters stood behind him, every face grave. Clearly, they had come as quickly as possible after receiving the message.

Their eyes met. No one needed to speak; the shock and gravity in their gazes said it all. The sect leader gave a slight nod, and Ye Linfeng and Wei Qingshuang bowed in unspoken accord. A wordless weight hung in the air.

The sect leader raised a hand and pushed open the crooked wooden door. The old wood let out a piercing creak, jarringly loud in the quiet courtyard. No lamps were lit inside. A few threads of daylight slipped through gaps in the window lattice, barely illuminating the dim corners.

A slender figure sat beside the bed, her back to the door. Holding a warm cloth, she wiped the man's cheek with exquisite care, little by little. She moved as slowly as if performing a solemn rite,