Chen Nan's eyes were red from weeping and her pretty little face was filled with sorrow.
As soon as her eyes fell on Ye Xi-Mei and Qiu Mu-Cheng, the young woman couldn't hold the anguish she had been feeling inside any longer. She burst into another bout of tears.
"Oh god, Auntie Ye, Mu-Cheng, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry..."
Ridden with guilt, Chen Nan fell to her knees.
Tears flowed ceaselessly down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Her weeping tugged at the heartstrings of the other two women.
"Nannan, what happened? What's wrong? Stop crying and tell us what happened. I'll make sure someone answers for what they've done."
Ye Xi-Mei remembered Chen Nan.
The young woman had made a special trip to Yeyang and paid her a visit before the new year.
She had taken a liking towards the polite girl and had thought about making Chen Nan her goddaughter.
Then, she had found out that Chen Nan had come from a prestigious family and had been too embarrassed to bring that up.
Ye Xi-Mei couldn't have foreseen that Chen Nan would appear at their doorsteps early in the morning, fall to her knees and burst into tears while apologizing profusely to them.
Ye Xi-Mei was unquestionably shocked by her outburst.
Qiu Mu-Cheng was puzzled too. She hurried over and pulled Chen Nan up to her feet so that they could have a proper conversation.
But Chen Nan couldn't stop weeping and apologizing.
"You silly girl, come on, tell us what's wrong," said Ye Xi-Mei as she tried once more to get an answer out of Chen Nan.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry...Fan...he's dead..."
BOOM...
The news struck like a bolt of lightning.
Qiu Mu-Cheng froze to the spot when she heard those words. Blood fled her face instantly.
Ye Xi-Mei trembled as her eyes darkened.
The two most important women in Ye Fan's life stood rooted to the ground.
A sudden weakness in her knees had Qiu Mu-Cheng stumbling. Her eyes widened with disbelief as she asked Chen Nan. "What did you just say? What happened to Ye Fan?"
"He's gone. Fan is gone. He's left us forever. I'm sorry. It's all my fault. He would be alive if he hadn't tried to save me," Chen Nan sobbed inconsolably, tears flowing down her cheeks as she stared at her feet.
Her voice was filled with guilt and blame.
The images of fire and blood had been indelibly seared into Chen Nan's mind.
She could still see the flames when she shut her eyes.
She was weeping uncontrollably right now. She dared not look Qiu Mu-Cheng or Ye Xi-Mei in the eye.
She might have lost an elder brother and a dear friend, but Qiu Mu-Cheng and Ye Xi-Mei had lost their whole world.
"No, that's impossible. You're lying to me. This is a lie. Ye Fan can't be dead. He's the King of Jiangdong and the leader of a group of powerful fighters. He's learned martial arts! He thrashed everyone at the battle at Mount Tai and showed everyone what he's made of during the Feast of the Sea and Sky. Japanese martial artists couldn't do anything to him. No one could kill him. No one. How could he be dead?
That's impossible!"
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