At that very moment, Cui Ciyou was riding Gale, racing toward Buena Village.
His mind was still replaying what had happened in Roa yesterday.
Just as the last glow of the setting sun was about to sink beneath the horizon,
the outline of Buena Village finally appeared at the edge of his vision.
Wisps of cooking smoke, scattered wooden houses, the distant lowing of cattle, bleating of sheep, and barking of dogs...
Everything looked as it always did, peaceful and serene.
Yet when Cui Ciyou led Gale into the Greyrat family's stable and settled him beside Paul's beloved horse, Caravaggio,
he keenly sensed that something was wrong.
The entire Greyrat household was far too quiet.
When Cui Ciyou entered the Greyrat family's living room,
he found everyone there, unusually silent.
An unbearably oppressive atmosphere hung in the air.
So... what... happened here?
The living room was brightly lit, yet there was a deathly stillness to it.
Zenith sat in the seat of honor, her face drained of color, her forehead resting in her hands and her elbows propped on the table.
Hearing Cui Ciyou open the door, she raised her head.
Her lovely golden braid was somewhat disheveled, her face streaked with tears, her eyes red and swollen.
Her once-gentle eyes were now hollow and lifeless, and her body trembled slightly beyond her control.
Her lips, too, had lost their color from being pressed together so tightly.
Lilia sat opposite Zenith with her head lowered.
Her face was white as paper, her body rigid, her hands clutching the hem of her apron so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
Paul, the head of the household, looked like a child who had done something wrong.
He huddled against the wall beside the living room, his head down, not daring to