Das Leben der Landbevölkerung in der Stadt während der Song-Dynastie

Kapitel 3

Unable to find an answer immediately, he had no choice but to proceed with his original plan and pick up Little B first. Although its true identity was a mythical beast, it had always been pampered as a pet and had never suffered such humiliation. Perhaps even it itself would find it difficult to adapt to this change in role.

After entering the elevator at the far right of the lobby, Curry placed his palm on the screen displaying the floor, looked up at the ceiling, and uttered a phrase he loathed: "Sesame won't open the door, peanuts will." Each time he said it, he cursed the person who designed the password system, but he had to say it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get in. The system simultaneously activated four functions: fingerprint, facial recognition, iris scan, and voice detection. Only after successful verification did the hidden button appear on the screen. He finally breathed a sigh of relief—it was said that if the verification failed, a high-voltage current would be released to stun the person. Although it had never happened, it was like a Damocles' sword hanging over his head, always making him a little uneasy. After gently pressing "B7," the elevator began to descend to the 7th basement level. This was the base of Gabe's group; Little B was supposed to be locked up here.

As soon as Curry stepped out of the elevator, he hurried towards Gabe's office. Along the way, he brushed past several members of Gabe's team, feeling the same strange unease, but he didn't dwell on it, going straight to Gabe's office door. He knocked, but no one answered. Curry turned the doorknob; the door was locked. He stopped a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, has Team Leader Gabe come today?"

Unexpectedly, the man completely ignored him, staring straight ahead, and then used almost the strength of a yak to shove Curry aside with his shoulder and continue walking forward without saying a word.

"How could this happen?" Curry stood alone in the hallway, lost in thought. Just then, a door a short distance away was pulled open a crack, and a faint voice came from the inside: "Curry... come this way... quickly..."

"Is that Teacher Guo?" Curry rushed over, but as soon as he entered, the door was closed from behind. The room was dark, and Curry immediately assumed that someone had deliberately lured him in and was now trapping him. He quickly stood against the wall, adopting a defensive stance to prevent any attack.

“Don’t worry… I won’t harm you…” Master Guo’s voice came from behind Ke Li, sounding extremely weak. “There’s a reason I didn’t turn on the lights, please listen to me first… I don’t have much time left…”

"W-what?" Curry wondered if he had misheard. When he saw Master Guo the day before yesterday, although he wasn't exactly white-haired and youthful-looking, he was still quite energetic. How come he's so weak now, like a candle in the wind, ready to be blown out at any moment? And with him saying such things, doesn't that mean he already has a premonition that he won't live much longer?

“Listen to me…you might find it hard to believe…the people here are no longer human…” Master Guo gasped for breath as he struggled to speak clearly: “The Corpse Whisperers have arrived…I once said that the Corpse Whisperers are the masters of corpses. Now it seems they are even more powerful than we imagined…”

"You mean... these people... are all corpses now?" Curry frowned, but he wasn't particularly surprised, as he had a premonition of something ominous, and this was just confirmation of it. Thinking back, the feeling that something was missing from those people as soon as he entered the building wasn't an illusion; what they lacked was "life"! Curry quickly pressed, "What exactly is a Corpse Whisperer?"

“I don’t know either… I only know that the Corpse Whisperer speaks a language that only corpses can understand… or rather, ‘commands,’ and the corpses will obey him… Look, how well the corpses are disguised as humans now…” Master Guo answered slowly.

“No matter how they disguise themselves, no matter how human they look, they are still lifeless walking corpses!” Curry said firmly.

“You’re teachable…it seems there’s still hope for you…” Master Guo became excited. “That’s right, the Corpse Whisperer can make corpses move obediently, and can even recall the souls of corpses…but he can’t give life to corpses after all…you must stop him…you must not let more people end up like the people in this building…”

"Teacher Guo, I was determined to find out the truth. I promise I will stop the Corpse Whisperer's conspiracy!"

"Then... I'm relieved... turn on the light..." You could hear the relief in Master Guo's voice.

Curry switched on the fluorescent light, and the scene before him was one he would never forget: Master Guo sat on the ground with his back against the wall, his pale face devoid of color, and his eyes devoid of their former luster. There was a gaping hole in his chest, as big as a bowl, running straight down to his back; the flesh and bone in between were gone, and even the blood had dried—such an injury seemed insurmountable, and it was hard to believe he had survived until now. Was this a miracle?

Seeing Curry's puzzled look, Master Guo struggled to turn his head, making a grating "creaking" sound. "Don't be afraid, even though I'm a corpse now..."

"Was this also done by the Corpse Whisperers?!" Seeing such a horrific scene, Corey bit his lip, trying hard to suppress his grief and indignation.

“Yes, it’s the Corpse Whisperer… Actually, you know him too—Gabe is the Corpse Whisperer. He kills everyone else first, then turns their corpses into his servants, trying to secretly replace everyone in the building… But he can fool others, not me… After I discovered him, he first tried to bribe me, but I know what death is, and I don’t want to be a lifeless, emotionless zombie… So he killed me, then bound my soul to a corpse, wanting me to suffer the pain of the corpse decaying to nothingness… But he never dreamed that I carried a piece of cold jade that slows down the decay of corpses… I will use this cold jade to buy time and pass on the truth… The rest is up to you, you must stop the Corpse Whisperer… Although I don’t know how to eliminate him, I believe there will be a way…”

"Yes, don't worry, I won't let you down!" Curry nodded.

“Now I can go in peace…” Master Guo forced a smile, then released his left hand, and a piece of jade with a simple, antique design and a red silk ribbon rolled out of his grasp. Corroded by the corpse's aura, the jade's color had become dull and lifeless, and its material had become extremely brittle, shattering into many pieces upon hitting the ground. Away from the protection of the cold jade, Master Guo's body rapidly decayed and perished: his skin peeled off like rotting tree bark, crumbling into powder; his muscles withered and shrank, tendons snapped; countless cracks spread across his bones, finally crumbling like a trampled biscuit.

Watching Master Guo's body gradually dissipate, a tear rolled down Ke Li's face. He hadn't expected things to turn so bad in just one night. If things got out of control, the whole world could become a world of zombies… He dared not imagine further.

Curry patted his pockets; thankfully, he still had his PDA with him. He took out the PDA, pulled up the building's information, and searched for a safe escape route.

This building, serving as the headquarters of a special police agency investigating mysterious cases, features a specially designed underground section. It employs a "defendable" design philosophy, with a single entrance, capable of withstanding a direct hit from a small nuclear weapon, and stocked with water, food, and sufficient weaponry, making it a fortress-like structure for effective defense. However, this design has a fatal flaw: if an enemy successfully seizes the interior, escape becomes nearly impossible. During the initial design considerations, the seemingly comprehensive identification and security systems prevented a large-scale intrusion. Even if someone had initially proposed such a hypothesis, experts would have scoffed, "How is that possible?" But now the problem is staring them in the face—almost everyone in the building has become a zombie, enemies are everywhere, how will Curry escape?

“The ventilation duct has multiple sealed filters, and it’s too narrow for a person to enter—that’s out… The elevator shaft has cameras and automatic attack weapons—that’s out…” Curry tried every escape plan he could think of, but all were rejected. He tried to recall every high-rise escape movie he’d ever seen, but none of the methods worked here. Unless he had bulletproof armor or overwhelming firepower, escape was impossible. He was almost in despair.

"Don't be discouraged! Hope always exists, but you have to reach out to grasp it!" In a daze, he seemed to hear the voice of his friend Ye Ying from his school days, that older sister who always encouraged him not to give up. "This isn't like Curry at all. Although you're a bit reckless, you're always so energetic, sometimes even I'm ashamed of myself!" Randall's smiling face seemed to appear before his eyes. "No, there's no other way... I've thought of everything!" Curry shook his head anxiously, not because he didn't want to get out of this predicament, but because he had no other options. "Sometimes, the simplest and most direct way is also the best way!" A girl's sweet voice resonated in his mind; it was the voice of Shen Yu, whom he had always admired since his youth.

"Chen Yu!" he cried out, only to find it was all an illusion. But the words of his old friends still echoed in his ears: "If you don't even believe in hope yourself, then all that's left is despair." "Summon your courage, if luck isn't enough, make up for it with courage!" "I believe in you, Corey, you will be the one to turn the impossible into possible!" Corey couldn't help but smile happily. Back then, whenever they encountered difficulties, they always encouraged each other and overcame them together. Now, although they were scattered in different places, those hopeful words, the belief in a bright future, and the enduring friendship remained deeply in Corey's heart.

"I am a real man. If I can't protect everyone, who else can I rely on?" He tried to calm himself down and then began to think calmly about how to escape from the deep underground of this building full of zombies.

6. Disrupted plans

"What am I hesitating for? Just barge out! The longer I drag it out, the more dangerous it becomes." Having escaped the dead end of searching for the safest solution, Curry suddenly understood, and his mood brightened. Although it wasn't safe at all, this most direct method might be the most effective. With courage and a little luck, it was entirely possible to get out as smoothly as he had come in.

While it required courage, it wasn't about acting recklessly. He turned off the light, pressed his ear to the door, and only when he heard no footsteps in the hallway did he gently push the door open a crack and slip out. He moved as quietly as possible towards the nearest building.

He moved forward towards the top of the stairs. He knew that he absolutely could not take the elevator at this moment, because the other side had control of the elevator, and it was equipped with an electric shock weapon that could stun people. If the other side used it, he would be in a worse situation than a turtle in a jar.

As luck would have it, just as he turned into the stairwell, he heard a series of hurried footsteps.

"Oh no, he's escaped!" someone shouted.

Then, the sound of a door opening came from inside. "What?! What are you all doing?" It was Gabe's voice, and he sounded furious.

Curry's heart pounded wildly. He hadn't expected Gabe to be here. According to Master Guo, Gabe was the Corpse Whisperer, the enemy boss Curry had to face! And judging from the situation, if Gabe wasn't talking about Master Guo, then he was talking about Curry. Had he already decided to deal with him? Thinking this, Curry felt a real urge to rush out and fight Gabe to the death, but without a second thought, he knew he couldn't possibly win—he couldn't even handle ordinary zombies, let alone a Corpse Whisperer. That would just be suicide. Curry had no choice but to suppress his impulse and, before they noticed, go upstairs.

“Wait, he’s still here! I can feel him!” Gabe exclaimed. Curry shuddered. Could Gabe sense his presence? Or could he distinguish the aura of a living person? “Run or not?” He hesitated slightly. If Gabe notified his superiors in time, Curry would be surrounded even if he ran. “How about the armory?” he suddenly had an idea. Although he didn’t know the situation elsewhere, Curry’s office area was in B8. He was familiar with the terrain there, and he had the keys and passwords for the warehouses storing water, food, and weapons. Moreover, Curry’s group was described by their superiors as “consistently disorganized,” operating on a SOHO (single-home) basis, only coming out when necessary, and only occasionally holding meetings. There shouldn’t be anyone there now, so they wouldn’t be turned into zombies. “I didn’t expect being disorganized had its advantages; otherwise, we would have been wiped out.” Thinking this, Curry felt a slight sense of relief. But the situation was critical; he didn’t have much time to hesitate. He had to seize the fleeting opportunity and quickly decide where to run.

"I still have the mission of spreading the news of the Corpse Whisperer invasion. I can't take too many risks before entrusting hope to them!" He finally decided to go down to B8 first, find some weapons, and then break out on his own.

Just then, a shout came from the hallway: "Here, grab him!"

"Found out?! No way?" Curry was quite confident in his ability to hide, always considering himself Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Being discovered so easily was a huge blow to him.

But to his utter surprise, the other person wasn't actually talking about him.

"Woof! Woof!" The familiar barking of a dog echoed through the hallway—who else could it be but Little B? Little B had broken free of its cage, and Gabe and the others were chasing it. Now, Curry's escape plan had been completely rewritten—with Little B, what was there to fear?

Curry could no longer contain his joy and rushed out from the stairwell. Little B, seeing him, let out a soft whimper like a baby crying, jumped to his side, and clung to Curry's legs, licking them with its warm tongue. Upon seeing its loved one, it completely forgot the danger lurking nearby. If this were accompanied by the setting sun, it would be a classic scene straight out of "Lassie's Homecoming."

"Alright, alright, good boy, don't be like that! Go deal with them first!" Curry patted Little B's head. Although he was also extremely excited, he hadn't forgotten the danger around him like Little B had. He remembered the move Randall's Ace had used, pointed at Gabe, and said to Little B, "Little B, prepare the Starburst!"

Gabe was intimidated by Curry's imposing presence and took two steps back. However, Little B looked up at Curry, only panting with its tongue lolling out, but didn't attack—it didn't know how to use the Evil-Slaying Starlight at all!

"Hmph, so it was all a bluff!" Gabe sneered. "Team Leader Corey, a wise man submits to circumstances. Join us! Death is but a temporary pain; we will gain eternal life!"

"Bah! Immortality? You're nothing but walking corpses, you have no life at all!" Corey retorted angrily.

"Walking corpses? Hmph... There are plenty of them in this city! What's the difference between people without their own thoughts, who toil away all day and are just walking corpses? What's the meaning of their lives? People often say 'holding a position without doing anything,' which just means those who eat for free are like corpses, maybe even worse!" Gabe spoke eloquently, a cold smile faintly appearing on his gloomy face. "Even though I am a corpse now, I have ideals and beliefs. My existence is more meaningful than the lives of those who live in vain!" He continued in an aggressive tone, making one wonder what kind of "ideals and beliefs" he might have.

Curry was momentarily speechless. Although he knew Gabe's words were utter nonsense, he struggled to find the right words to refute them. He could only pretend not to hear, raise his left hand, which was adorned with the Sirius Ring, and say to Little B, "Little B, quickly return to your original form and defeat them!"

But Little B still looked silly, tilting his head and staring at Curry, completely oblivious to what Curry was saying.

“How could this be? Could it be…” In an instant, Curry thought of the worst possible scenario—Randall had forgotten to tell him the incantation to release the seal. “Always saying I’m reckless, Randall isn’t much better.” Curry was grumbling about Randall when a pair of cold, large hands reached for his neck from behind. Luckily, he knew someone was behind him and reacted quickly enough that before the hands could touch his skin, he used an over-the-shoulder throw to toss the person towards Gabe, while patting Little B on the back: “Let’s go!”

Taking advantage of Gabe's moment of distraction, Curry led Little B down the stairs, heading straight for B8 as planned. However, the original plan needed revision; time was of the essence, and he couldn't go to the armory. He had to go to the office first, where fortunately, there were some weapons in the safe.

As he ran, Curry pulled out his keychain, searching for his office key—in a life-or-death situation, every second counted. Reaching the office door, he grabbed the key, dashed to it, opened it, slammed it shut, and then grabbed a nearby table and chair to prop it up—it might not work, but something was better than nothing. Next, he inserted the key into the safe's keyhole, turned it three and a half times, and a small keypad filled with letters and numbers popped out. Curry began entering the password. Although not terrified, his hands trembled with nervousness, and he made several mistakes. Just then, a loud banging came from outside the door.

"Damn it!" Curry wasn't sure if he was cursing himself or the zombies outside. He wiped the sweat from his brow, tried to calm himself, and prepared to re-enter the password. Just then, his phone rang. Who could it be? The building structure here should be able to block cell phone signals! He was a little puzzled, but after a moment's hesitation, he took out his phone and answered the "uninvited call."

"Hey, Curry, what are you doing?" Randall's tired voice came through the phone, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"You've come at the perfect time!" Curry finally grasped at a straw. "Forget everything else, tell me how to break Little B's seal!"

“Oh…that’s what I was going to say! Hehe, sorry, I forgot. You have to wear the ring on the ring finger of your left hand, and then just point the ruby at Little B’s forehead and say ‘Break the seal.’”

"W-why wear it on the ring finger? Doesn't that mean you're married?" Curry asked, somewhat surprised.

"Hmm... this represents a contract. After all, this sacred contract is no less important than a marriage contract, right? Think about it, divorce is much easier than dissolving this contract..."

"What about my wedding ring?"

"I don't care! Haha, you're starting to worry about this too? Don't want to be a bachelor for life?" Randall chuckled.

"You're thinking about that now... I don't have time to talk to you about that. Tell me quickly what special abilities Little B has and how to use them!"

"After the seal is broken, the memories passed down through generations of the Demon-Slaying Sword will also be awakened. It will gradually learn to recognize various monsters and learn various moves... However, there is also an element of talent involved, so it is uncertain how well it will learn. The reason why my Ace is called Ace is because it is a proud ace warrior!" Randall was clearly laughing with pride, and the phone could be heard calling Ace.

“Okay, anyway, I finally have hope! Thank you, Randall!” Curry hung up the phone, because while they were talking, Gabe and several others had already broken down the door.

"For the sake of being old colleagues, I'll give you one last chance. Join us!" Gabe said with a smile, his tone enticing.

“My only answer is ‘no,’ Corpse Whisperer!” With Little B as his trump card, Curry was brimming with confidence.

"The Corpse Whisperer? You think it's me? Hahaha..." Gabe burst into laughter, leaving Curry somewhat bewildered. Didn't Teacher Guo say before his death that Gabe killed him, and that Gabe was the Corpse Whisperer? Had something gone wrong? Gabe stopped laughing, looked back warily, and then lowered his voice to say, "I'm sorry, your guess is wrong. But if you're willing to join forces with me, we can seize the Corpse Whisperer's power and bring this world under our control..."

Curry then realized that Professor Guo was truly wrong. Judging from Gabe's personality, he was merely a high-level pawn in the Corpse Whisperer's game. However, this pawn also had the potential to devour its master's heart.

7. When no one is around at midnight and the corpses are talking...

"Whether you are a Corpse Whisperer or not, I will not let you go! You blood-stained villain!" Corey moved the ring from his left pinky to his ring finger, preparing to recite the incantation to break the seal.

"Oh? So you're here to avenge Old Guo?" Gabe squinted, his tone mocking. "Hatred blinds the eye! Think long-term, Corey!" He glanced around again, then narrowed his eyes, enticingly saying, "Join me, defeat the Corpse Whisperer, and seize that power! Though we have no life,..."

It can exist forever, and this world will belong to us forever!

“Damn ambition! Even if you’re not truly a Corpse Whisperer, how are your actions any different from his?” Corey cried out in grief and indignation. He realized that human ambition was no different from that of demons. Ye Ying had said that truly cunning demons were born from the evil heart of humans, because they could use human wisdom for evil purposes. Corey had previously only been skeptical, but now he was completely convinced.

Finally, he slowly raised his left hand and aligned the cross-shaped ruby on his ring with the same pattern on Little B's forehead.

However, his plans were disrupted once again.

Gabe suddenly adopted a pitiful expression, clutching his head in pain and groaning. He looked at Corey with pleading eyes, stretched out his hand, and said, "Help me, Corey! I didn't want to be like this! This isn't my intention! Please, help me defeat the Corpse Whisperer, only then can I break free from his control!"

Could this be Gabe's true feeling? Was he a puppet controlled by the Corpse Whisperer, forced to say those words? Corey took a step forward, but then suddenly remembered the story Ye Ying had told him before—a story of trust and betrayal (interested readers can refer to my work, *The Goddess's Confession*). If one is too naive and trusts those who cannot be trusted, then one will only suffer. Gabe, usually two-faced and nicknamed "Smiling Tiger," might be setting a trap. Thinking of this, Corey stopped.

Gabe's face showed astonishment, clearly saying, "Why don't you believe me?" Before Curry could speak, a young man with a livid face stepped forward from behind Gabe, grabbed Gabe's shoulder with one hand, and said, "Do you really want to betray your master?"

"So what if he betrayed me? He turned me into this inhuman, ghostly mess, am I supposed to be grateful to him?" Gabe shoved the man away and roared.

The young man said, "We are all loyal servants of the Corpse Whisperers. You swore an oath, so you should know the fate of traitors!"

"So what if you swore an oath? What a load of rubbish! How many people have you seen who 'risked their lives' or 'willingly be struck by lightning and die a horrible death' actually fulfill their oaths and died?" Gabe scoffed at this. Curry thought to himself, "Luckily I didn't believe him earlier. So that ambition was exactly what he wanted."

Unexpectedly, the young man took a step back, chuckled, pulled a tape recorder from his pocket, and then, to everyone's astonishment, pressed the play button.

"What I gave you, I can take back!" After a brief silence, a sinister voice came from the tape recorder. Gabe and the others trembled, their faces turning extremely pale. "Turn it off! Don't you want to live either?" Gabe shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes wide, and then rushed forward to grab the tape recorder.

The young man didn't answer, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Rusimiku, Sarathos..." The tape recorder continuously played scriptures recited in an unknown language. Gabu's massive body froze in mid-air, his outstretched hand already touching the tape recorder, yet unable to move any further.

"No!!!" Gabe screamed in heart-wrenching despair. Curry witnessed once again the scene that had happened on Master Guo's corpse: several people, no, several corpses, gradually decayed until only a pile of ashes remained. The tape recorder also fell to the ground and stopped spinning.

"This...this is the power of the Corpse Whisperer? Could it be...the language played on the tape recorder just now, the language that can command corpses...Corpse Whisper?!"

Curry stood there stunned for a moment before picking up the tape recorder. "The Corpse Whisperer isn't so clever after all; they left me a powerful weapon against the walkers." He happily pressed the exit button, intending to retrieve the tape, but to his surprise, as soon as the tape compartment opened, a sticky, foul-smelling green liquid flowed from the recorder. "Plop," a clump of indistinct flesh fell to the ground. Upon closer inspection, Curry realized it was a severed lip and tongue. In an instant, he understood: the Corpse Whisperer wasn't stupid at all, and was far more cunning than he'd imagined. This recorder was specially made; it contained human lips and tongues soaked in that unknown, disgusting liquid, allowing the Corpse Whisperer to produce the sounds they desired. Although he didn't understand the principle behind it, he was certain it was a brilliant combination of witchcraft and technology.

Just as Curry was still gaping in astonishment, Little B curiously leaned forward and pressed its big nose close to the ground, sniffing the disgusting mess. Curry immediately dropped the tape recorder, yanked it away, and scolded, "Little B! If you dare smell that disgusting stuff again, I won't let you sleep in my bed anymore... Hey, don't lick it! Or I'll pry your mouth open and brush your teeth with your least favorite herbal toothpaste!"

As soon as the herbal toothpaste was mentioned, Little B, as expected, slunk away behind Curry with its tail between its legs, though not very willingly. Curry breathed a sigh of relief; after all, he still had a trump card to deal with Little B. Without further ado, he didn't bother to retrieve his weapon and quickly led Little B up the stairs.

Before even reaching the lobby, Curry was greeted by a pungent stench of decay. "Could it be that those corpses too…?" His suspicions were quickly confirmed – the lobby was littered with rotting corpses, though their decomposition was far slower than that of Gabe and the others. Curry felt no joy at escaping; the mere aftershocks of the recording had caused such widespread destruction. The power of the Corpse Whisperer was clearly not to be underestimated. With a blank expression, he silently led Little B out of the building, greedily inhaling the fresh air. After a long while, he recovered from the shock, pulled out his phone, and called his superiors to report the tragedy.

However, a huge question lingered in his mind: Why would the Corpse Whisperer abandon all the zombies here? Was it because he didn't care? Or did he have another purpose? Based on the existing clues, Curry just couldn't figure it out.

8. Exploration and Speculation

Less than an hour later, the members of Curry's Silver Tiger team had all gathered at the building entrance, surrounding the exhausted Curry and asking him all sorts of questions. Behind them, police and military personnel had set up multiple lines of cordon, completely sealing off the area.

"That was awful... Boss, I'm impressed. If it were me, I would have been scared to death. Here, have some beer to calm your nerves!" Deng Kun handed over a can of beer.

Sitting on the steps, Curry pulled open the can and drank half of it in one gulp before letting out a long sigh of relief, feeling slightly better. Little B next to him also leaned over to smell it, but Curry gently pushed it away with affection: "This isn't something you can drink... Hey, Deng, is there anything to eat? Little B is starving too."

"Boss, don't worry about the dog, are you alright?" Annie whispered from the side.

"I was almost at my breaking point for a while... but thanks to all of you, everything's alright now." Curry smiled. "Quick, get Little B something to eat; it's really starving."

"Yes, yes! I knew you cared more about the dog!" Deng Kun took out a sausage, and Curry personally fed it to Little B. It looked really hungry, finishing one in a few bites, and then wanted more.

Meanwhile, chemical warfare soldiers, clad in full-body protective suits, began carrying bodies wrapped in black plastic bags out of the building. Curry and his team were deeply saddened. Just a day or two ago, they were living, breathing people working in this building; some were even their family and friends. Now, they were all cold corpses—how could they not feel heartbroken? Moreover, many figures considered "the elite of the police force" had also perished, a truly devastating loss.

“How pitiful…” Anne sighed softly.