Eventually, life seemed to return to Shao Cheng's dead eyes. They glittered once again, and he sat up straighter. Still, he continued to study the garden silently, not even sparing a glance at Li Jun, who still sat next to him silently.
With his return to full consciousness, the voices from inside the cottage began to float more clearly out of the open back door into Shao Cheng's ears. Shao Cheng's mother's voice reached the two boys who were sitting like stone statues shoulder-to-shoulder on the garden step. Her voice was hoarse from weeping.
"...It's because of that family, the Ji family…I know it must be. Yuze and I have been expecting some retaliation towards us, but I didn't expect something so cruel as burning down our house even when our son was inside…"
