As the first snow blanketed Imperial, Grandfather Ji sat behind the desk in his study. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and his head hung low. He stared down at his lap in a daze, wondering how everything had come to this.
He had never wanted his granddaughter to find out this way.
His eyes shifted slightly to the crumpled diagnosis report on the desk, and he closed them with a heavy breath.
"It shouldn't have turned out this way…"
When he opened his eyes again, he looked out the window. Snow fell gently—its calm descent a stark contrast to the storm in his chest.
Liu Shan had called to tell him they had lost track of Yue Ling. Grandfather Ji knew his granddaughter well—when she wanted to disappear, no one could find her until she chose to be found.
Still, he hadn't sat back and waited.
He mobilized every resource he had to find her, but he could not find her.
