This thread of life had now been snuffed out by his own hands. Old General Jih worried that Jih Heng would feel self-reproach and guilt, and even though his own heart was also filled with an unbearable sorrow, he still had to force a smile.
Jih Heng raised his head, his face emanating a tragic beauty amidst such a bleak atmosphere. Yet, he merely curved the corners of his mouth, his expression indifferent, his tone without ripples, and in the nonchalant cadence he used when watching plays—the kind that felt no empathy and forgot once it was over—he said, "Then let us scatter the ashes in mother's tomb as he wished."
