The air in the room seemed heavier at Xia Fang's words. It would have already been that way, given the gravity of the topic, but her question seemed to hasten the forming process of it.
Yang Qing sighed inwardly as he mulled over the best way to break the news. Not that there was ever a good way with something like this.
She seems even thinner, he thought as his gaze fell on Xia Fang. He knew it was probably his mind playing tricks on him to prolong the delay. As beaten down as she was, she was still a late-stage core formation expert with a decent foundation. Losing weight would be impossible for her unless she was injured, cursed, poisoned, or infested by something that ate away at her vitality.
She may not have lost her weight, but she still looked frail.
Sighing once more at the unavoidable truth that no amount of planning could soften the blow, Yang Qing tried to sound as gentle as possible and chose to be direct.
