The next morning, the faint light of dawn brought no warmth to the Duke's Mansion. Instead, it illuminated a horrifying tragedy.
As she did every day, Zhu Lu arrived punctually at Dai Huabin's door, carrying a carefully prepared breakfast. She knocked gently and called softly, "Huabin, time to get up."
There was only deathly silence inside. No one answered.
Zhu Lu assumed he had slept deeply after his troubled mood the night before and decided to let him rest a little longer. She was just about to leave when a faint but intensely bloody stench crept into her nose.
Blood!
Zhu Lu's heart plummeted. An ominous premonition washed over her like ice water. Abandoning all other concerns, she channeled her soul power and struck the door latch with her palm!
Bang!
The door burst open, exposing the scene inside in all its horror.
Blood had already soaked through the carpet, leaving broad stains of dark red that bordered on black.
At the center of that pool of blood lay her beloved fiancé, Dai Huabin, his head severed from his body. It had rolled several paces away, its eyes wide open, frozen with the utter terror and unwillingness of his final moments. His face was contorted, devoid of any trace of life.
"Huabin-
!!!"
A shrill, despairing scream suddenly tore through the morning stillness of the Duke's Mansion. The grief in it struck terror into every heart that heard it.
That mournful cry, like a cuckoo crying blood, instantly alarmed the entire Duke's Mansion.
Within moments, White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, who was still at the mansion, Duchess Zhu Man, their eldest son Dai Yueheng, and Zhu Family head Zhu Shu, who had stayed overnight, all rushed to the scene with alarm and uncertainty on their faces.
The bloody, horrific sight