Gu Huo felt the world crumble around him as the doctor solemnly delivered the words he had been dreading - his father, Master Gu, was gone. Despite the frantic efforts of the code team, they had been unable to resuscitate him after the traumatic shock of learning about Madame Gu's horrific crimes.
Numb disbelief gripped Gu Huo as he watched through a veil of tears while the nurses gently covered his father's still form with a stark white sheet. The finality of that simple act lanced through him like a physical blow. This was it - he was now utterly alone.
His father had been the only tether remaining to the illustrious life Gu Huo had once known as a member of Shanghai's elite dynastic families. With Master Gu's passing, the last vestiges of their wealth, power and reputation had been permanently severed.
