To the Ends of Heaven and the Depths of the Yellow Springs

Cao Wan'er let out a cold laugh, totally unfazed by her reaction. She just sneered, "Why bother lying to yourself? As a top expert, you can't tell if they're breathing or not?"

"No, no! Stop spouting nonsense!" Ivy Shen snapped back loudly, her voice trembling with anger.

Cao Wan'er snorted, full of disdain. "How long are you going to keep lying to yourself? If you don't believe me, just ask them!" She raised her brows, gesturing at the three survivors—she wanted nothing more than to watch Ivy break down and lose it.

"No, they're not dead! They're just sleeping, right, Adrian? They're just asleep, aren't they? Aren't they?" Ivy Shen turned to Adrian Night, his face covered in blood, and shouted her desperate question.

Hearing this, Adrian Night's face twisted in pain. He was silent for a long moment before finally whispering, "Ivy... I'm sorry... I couldn't save... them!" As soon as he finished, Adrian coughed up blood again, overcome by regret and anxiety.

"Adrian, Adrian..." Seeing this, Ivy Shen rushed to his side and supported his body, shouting his name.

"Ivy... we... couldn't protect them... but don't worry... we're family... we'll stay together, in life and death," Lucian Vane said, struggling to speak as he crawled across the ground.

"In life or death, we do not abandon one another!" Ethan Chu spat out these words, swearing that no matter heaven or hell, their family would always be together. Even knowing how dangerous things were now, nothing could stop them—they would stay with her, even if it meant hell itself!

"No, no..." Endless pain swallowed her whole—no, it couldn't be, they couldn't be dead, no way.

Everything in front of her blurred. Ivy Shen's lips trembled, her fingers shaking as she reached out. The first person she touched was Caleb Miles. She carefully wiped the blood from his face—his eyebrows were still so thick, the kind that made him look like a schemer at first glance.

"Abacus Guy... come on, get up... I never told you, but I’ve been secretly hoarding piles and piles of gold and silver and jewels, you know? If you get up, I’ll show you! I’ll let you count it, let you calculate all the treasures in the world, how about it?" Ivy Shen’s tears splashed onto his face, but the man lying there didn’t move a muscle.

"I’m telling you to get up, did you hear me? Are your ears broken or what? I said get up!" Her voice cracked, trembling and half-choked with sobs.

"Wake up, wake up!" She grabbed his collar and shook him hard—like, really hard—but no matter how much she shook, the guy underneath was just stiff as a board. Completely unresponsive.

"Didn’t you always say they’re all spendthrifts? If you’re gone, who’s gonna keep our family’s accounts straight, huh? If you’re not here, we’ll blow all the money, you know that? If you’re not here, we’ll eat up your mountain of gold in no time! Get up! If you don’t, I’ll just give your gold away to someone else—" Ivy sobbed as she threatened him. Any other day, Caleb Miles would’ve jumped up and yelled, 'Who? Who dares touch my money? Stand up and report your name! Ivy, are you trying to get yourself kicked out of the group?'

But now, he just lay there, totally motionless. No matter what she said, nothing could get through to him.

Finally, her hand—shaking so hard—reached out to check for his breath. In that instant, Ivy just collapsed to the ground, her voice choking, like she could barely breathe from the pain.

"Xin’er..." Ethan Chu struggled over to her side, trying to help her up. But Ivy just flung his hand away, and Ethan fell helplessly to the ground. Ivy kept moving forward, like a puppet with its strings cut—hollow, mechanical, not even seeing him.

"Little Flower... come on, quit messing around... Let’s get up, okay? Weren’t you always bugging me about having a little Flower baby? Hurry up, hurry up and get up! We can go home and make a Flower baby, how about it?" She clutched his collar, tears pouring down in fat drops, shaking her head like crazy and babbling nonsense, every single tear splattering onto Felix Bloom’s pale face.

"Get up! Didn’t you say you’d love me forever? Didn’t you say you’d stick to me for life? Get up, why are you just lying there? Get up, okay..." Ivy tugged at his sleeve, sobbing so hard she couldn’t even talk straight.

"Xin’er..." Seeing this, Ethan Chu’s tears just kept pouring out. His heart ached so much it felt endless. Last night, those three brothers were all laughing and chatting together, and now...