"Don't worry."
"Everything's been taken care of."
But to Jiang Ji, those words were like a gentle breeze gliding over a frozen lake, coaxing fine, warm cracks to spread across its surface.
Suddenly, as if a dam holding back his long-suppressed emotions had finally burst, he began to speak at length about the days after she was gone.
He told her how Goye had divined the Heavenly Mechanism day and night, nearly depleting his spiritual power; how Qiu Ye had braved the Northern Forbidden Land alone in search of clues, almost dying when its frigid poison invaded his body; and how the three of them had trekked through a torrential downpour for three days and nights, surviving on nothing but wild fruit and rainwater just to follow her trail...
As he spoke, his voice grew low and hoarse. His eyes became moist and his Adam's apple bobbed, as if he were struggling to suppress an imminent emotional eruption.
