BY THE TIME they reached the Pei Clan, there was nothing left.
The carriage stopped long before the entrance.
But there was no entrance anymore.
No gates stood before them. No walls surrounded the estate. No roofs could be seen beyond the grounds, nor were there any courtyards or buildings left to distinguish one part of the clan from another.
There were only ruins.
Broken stone covered the earth. Dust drifted through the air, settling over shattered weapons, collapsed foundations, and bodies scattered throughout what had once been the Pei estate.
Elder Yanshu did not move.
Neither did the children.
They had known the Pei Clan might have been attacked.
But this—
Lily stared ahead.
There wasn't even a single wall left standing.
At the Lu Clan, people had still been fighting when they arrived. There had been explosions, shouting, magic, shadows.
Here, there was nothing.
No battle.
No voices.
No movement.
Only dust.
Elder Yanshu finally stepped forward.
"Stay close."
