"Whoosh, whoosh..."
A thin layer of dust coated the stone steps. The night wind swept through the ruined walls, blowing a few charred leaves to Bai Youyou's feet.
A simple mourning shelter had already been erected amid the ruins of the Main Hall.
Clad in plain white mourning clothes, with a white flower pinned in her hair, Bai Youyou bent over to straighten the old Palace Master's clothes and headwear.
Three days had passed. She had not cried or shed a single tear.
Zi Yuner sat beside the stone railing outside the ancestral hall, her back to everyone, her deep purple hair brushing across her shoulders in the wind.
The pale green petal was still in her pocket. It had lost all its luster, like a withered old leaf.
"Yun'er..."
Lin Shisan walked over and stood beside Zi Yuner. Her shoulders tensed slightly, but she did not turn around again.
"I'm fine..."
Zi Yuner's voice was as flat as a pool of stagnant water, making Lin Shisan's heart sink further instead.
Lin Shisan quietly sat down beside her.
A palm-width bluestone railing separated them. The night wind blew from the ancestral hall, carrying the scent of fresh earth and incense ash.
"That projection of your royal father... did you sense it?"
Zi Yuner fell silent for a long while.
"I did. That last look he gave me was just like that autumn, when he sat outside the stone house on Wish-Repayment Ridge, whittling dead branches."
Zi Yuner paused. "Back then, I didn't know what he was looking at. Now I do. He was looking here."
Lin Shisan did not press her. He merely listened quietly.
Zi Yuner fell silent for another while, then rested her head against Lin Shisan's shoulder, her voice muffled, like a wounded little bird.
"He wouldn't