Feng Li tried his best to suppress the overwhelming grief and bitterness in his heart, his chest rising and falling slightly with his heavy and suppressed breathing.
Her eyes were closed, and after a brief pause, she slowly took a deep breath. The sound of her inhalation could be clearly heard in the silent main hall, as if she were drawing courage from the depths of her soul to confront the cruel truth that was about to be revealed.
Finally, her lips trembled uncontrollably, as if she had used all her strength to utter those words that felt like a thousand-pound stone: "Grandmother, Mother... she is no longer alive."
The sound was like a thunderbolt piercing the clear sky, instantly exploding in the main hall and making everyone present's eardrums buzz.
In an instant, the main hall, which had been filled with laughter and warmth like spring, was suddenly enveloped by a layer of cold and merciless frost. The lively and joyful atmosphere was as if it had been crushed by an invisible giant hand. The air seemed to have been magically frozen into ice in an instant, and the temperature dropped sharply. The bone-chilling cold was like a sharp blade, piercing straight into everyone's heart.
As if struck mercilessly by a swift and fierce lightning bolt, Madam Qi's already frail body shook violently, as if subjected to a violent impact.
Her frail figure, under this sudden blow, resembled a withered leaf, lonely and helpless, swaying precariously in a howling wind, and could be swept into the abyss of despair at any moment.
If it weren't for the maids, as skilled and sharp-eyed as swallows, who swiftly stepped in to support her, she would probably have collapsed lifelessly to the ground like a puppet that had lost its control, sinking into that bottomless, endless abyss of despair.
Her eyes instantly became empty and lifeless, as if the bright light deep within her soul had been ruthlessly extinguished, leaving only a desolate, lonely, and chilling darkness.
His lips trembled uncontrollably, like those of a pitiful person freezing in the snow, as he muttered to himself, "How could this be... how could this happen..."
The sound was so faint, like a candle flickering in the darkness, about to go out. It echoed eerily in the eerily silent main hall, as if it were a desperate wail from the depths of a distant hell.
Tears welled up in her eyes, surging like a dam breaking through the dam, but due to extreme grief, they seemed to be bewitched by a mysterious and evil force, unable to fall. It was as if her soul had been forcibly ripped away by a powerful force, leaving her with only a lifeless, soulless shell, drifting alone in this cold, lifeless world, like a rootless duckweed.
Qi Qing's face was filled with sorrow, as if shrouded in heavy dark clouds, his brows tightly furrowed together, as if they could trap a fly.
He slowly dragged his leaden steps forward, trying to comfort Madam Qi, but he felt as if an invisible yet incredibly powerful hand was gripping his throat tightly. Every attempt to utter a sound felt like an incredibly difficult battle.
Witnessing this heartbreaking scene, Qi Ruyan's eyes welled up with tears that almost spilled out. She swallowed hard a few times, the sound of her swallowing particularly clear in the silence, as if she was trying to suppress the grief and fear in her heart.
After a long pause, a faint, almost inaudible voice, like the fluttering of a mosquito's wings, finally escaped from his parched, burning throat: "Madam, there were many victims in the Yuanxing incident, and Aqi and I were among the unfortunate ones... Yuanxing was nothing short of a hellish place inhabited by demons, a place of utter depravity and outrage. Aqi endured unimaginable torment and suffering there, yet even in the depths of despair, she never gave up protecting Xiaoli. She was so resilient and fearless, yet in the end, she was mercilessly swallowed by that endless darkness..."
Upon hearing this heart-wrenching truth, the already taut string in Madam Qi's heart finally snapped with a crisp, despairing sound.
She could no longer suppress the overwhelming grief within her, which surged like a volcanic eruption. The pain and sorrow that had been suppressed in her heart for so long burst forth like a flood breaking through a dam, and she finally couldn't help but burst into tears.
The cries were like surging, overwhelming waves, relentlessly assaulting the fragile heartstrings of everyone present. They were heart-wrenching and devastating, causing everyone to be infected by this powerful force of sorrow, their hearts aching and tears streaming down their faces. They were involuntarily immersed in this endless vortex of grief, as if the whole world had been submerged by these sorrowful cries.
Her cries seemed to be a sorrowful recounting of her unending, ever-flowing longing for her daughter over the years.
Every day and night, she silently worried about her daughter's safety and hoped for the day they could be reunited.
Now, all of that has vanished. Her cries seem to be an outpouring of the pain and self-blame she feels for being powerless to do anything about her daughter's misfortune.
She hated herself for not being able to share even a fraction of her daughter's pain, for not being there for her when her daughter needed her most. Her grief was also filled with an inability to accept the cruel reality of her daughter's permanent departure, as if it were all a nightmare from which she desperately wished to wake up and see her daughter's familiar and loving face again.
Each cry was like a sharp sword, piercing deep into the soul of everyone present, leaving indelible wounds.
Looking at his grief-stricken and nearly collapsed grandmother, Feng Li felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if his legs had lost all strength in an instant. He collapsed and knelt straight down in front of Madam Qi with a thud.
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