Two or three hours had passed since the phone call, but there was still no word from Seventh Master's contacts.
Brother Liu did send word, though: another person had died at the address the elder Guo Ying had given us.
This person had also died from slit wrists, but the details were still unknown. The body had already been sent to the Funeral Home.
Only then did I realize how serious the situation was.
So many people had died in just a few days.
There was no telling what formidable figure that organization had sent. They had killed four elders in our circle in one fell swoop, while brazenly carrying out another round of Seven Deaths for a Life in Lanjiang City.
This went far beyond provocation.
They were utterly lawless and had no regard for anyone.
Before that news arrived, Seventh Master and I had stayed at Elder Guo's home. Seventh Master wanted to see his old brother off on his final journey.
It was the first time I had seen Seventh Master so grief-stricken.
At his age, he had already learned to take many things in stride. For his grief to show like this, he must have been suffering terribly inside.
The Guo family were all making funeral arrangements, while the elder's wife sat alone in a room, looking sorrowful.
What was a lifelong partner? Someone who had stayed by your side all your life, with a bond that had long since transcended both familial and romantic love.
At that age, people might take life and death lightly, but the pain of parting was only human. With the sudden death of the person who had spent her whole life beside her, how could the old lady not grieve?
I went in and offered her some words of comfort.