Rebirth: IHDSP 2

The rain fell in sheets, washing the grimy streets of Xiangcheng. At the city gates, Qin Xiaolan, her face etched with a quiet sorrow, listened as the handsome and gentle Ma Zhiyuan spoke. "Xiaolan, ask them," he said, gesturing to the stream of survivors, their faces a canvas of hardship, "which one of them has never lost a loved one? This is the way the world is. Life and death happen every day."
Not far off, Hua Mi, partially concealed by the downpour, nodded almost imperceptibly. His words held a certain truth. But her internal agreement was abruptly shattered as Qin Xiaolan's next words cut through the rain: "But that's because I didn't have any news about my brother before. Now Fang Xin said she has clues, and I want to find her."
Fang Xin. The name struck Hua Mi like a cold wave. Again? A prickle of unease ran down her spine. Could Fang Xin possibly know about Qin Ziran? Hua Mi strained to hear more, but Qin Xiaolan and Ma Zhiyuan were already moving, their forms blurring as they hurried towards the city's edge, disappearing into the torrential rain. Hua Mi, bound by her need to observe Liu Shengyuan, couldn't follow. A familiar, unsettling thought gnawed at her: why did everyone connected to Fang Xin seem to meet a terrible end?
