Night fell, and the cold wind inside the Realm wept and howled between the makeshift shacks like the cries of countless aggrieved souls. The drafty thatched shed of the temporary school was crammed with refugees who were both physically and mentally exhausted, tormented by despair and the bitter cold. Children curled up in their parents' cold, stiff embraces, opening blank, wide eyes filled with a fear and bewilderment that did not belong to their years. Inside the shed, there was only the sound of the cold wind blowing through and muffled sobs, creating a suffocating dead silence.
Jingyi stepped onto a low stool improvised from wooden crates. She took a deep breath, the icy air stinging her throat. Closing her eyes, she tried hard to recall a collection of Mondstadt folk songs she had browsed in some corner of the Akademiya library. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze swept across those numb, despairing faces.
A clear, remarkably resolute singing voice with an imperceptible tremor flowed through the dead-silent thatched shed like the first spring water breaking through ice:
Chapter 20