"Breaking through the Ning family's side was far bloodier than we anticipated," Xia Fang said, her voice shaking with a slight tremor. Of the countless horrid memories she had courtesy of the three clans, that particular memory definitely took the cake as one of the worst.
"The mountains, the rivers, the forests, the air, the buildings… everything was stained red with the blood of my clan members as they paved a path for us," she added somberly.
"Even with the element of surprise, we still couldn't escape paying a heavy price for our passage through their lands," she said, shaking her head.
"Even when I first heard the plan where my grandfather and the others estimated they likely wouldn't make it out and would have to trade their lives for ours—some part of me still thought…"
She paused, shaking her head again.
"Or rather, held on to a glimmer of hope that maybe we could all make it out together," she added, a pained smile tugging at her lips.
