The warm spring sun shone on Seven Stars Castle, but the people within felt none of its warmth.
The air throughout Seven Stars Castle was thick with the suffocating stench of blood.
The eyes of those who walked its grounds were filled with fear and confusion.
On the lawn in the southwest corner of the East Courtyard, weeds had just begun to sprout tender shoots, yet dark red bloodstains, long since dried, were caked between the blades.
Two days ago, a guard had lost control and beaten a fleeing disciple to death. The blood was from that incident.
The once-glorious Main Altar of the Seven Stars Gang had lost all its former splendor, becoming nothing more than a prison.
Countless Seven Stars Gang disciples who had tried to flee were now trapped inside.
The bronze beast-head rings on the main gate of Seven Stars Castle were coated in a layer of dust. Once so polished they could reflect a person's image, they were now matted with dried hair and streaks of blood.
