In the dead of night, Bai Qingqian stood by the window, her heart heavy.
She had just received word that ten days ago, when the Shellfish Grounds opened for the spring season in the waters around Crab Claw Island in the Outer Sea, a pod of killer whales had suddenly invaded. The three Cultivators there had fought back with all their might, saving most of the Shellfish Grounds from damage and keeping the Mortal fleet safe, but one Cultivator had died and the other two had been injured.
The one who had died was Hou Niao, the Quanzhen Sword Cultivator she had devoted herself to befriending.
As a Cultivator, she could not say she was utterly heartbroken, but she certainly felt lost. It was not entirely because of all she had invested in him; those lost resources meant little beside a living person. More importantly, the Bai Clan had lost an opportunity to draw closer to the Quanzhen Sect.
And personally, she had lost a friend unlike any other. She had thought their friendship would last a long time, perhaps even a lifetime.
In Mirage Tower City, she heard news like this every year. But because she did not know the people involved and they were so far away, it had never affected her much. Now that the friend closest to her had met with disaster, the pain cut too deep for words.
How could it have been him? So young, in the prime of his life, so full of vigor. And he was so quick-witted, ruthless, and shameless in battle that it was hard to imagine such a fate befalling him. In truth, she had never once thought something might happen to this friend.
Shouldn't death have kept its distance from someone like him?
For many days, she had