Forging Unholy Alliances

The echoes of Jiang Xiaolin's tormented shrieks seemed to reverberate through the very walls of the manor like lingering phantoms. As the wails faded into uneasy silence once more, Madam Jiang rose from her seat, back rigid and eyes blazing with unflinching purpose.

"I must begin making the necessary...arrangements," she stated, each word razor-edged with conviction. "The path ahead will require fortifying our family's resolve with unseemly associates. Allies whose very existence you would each no doubt find abhorrent under normal circumstances."

Master Jiang opened his mouth as if to protest, but seemed to think better of it. He exchanged a weary look with his son Xiaofeng before giving a reluctant nod of resignation.

"Do what you must, wife," he said at last, each word feeling like shards of glass against his tongue. "I cannot begin to comprehend the...measures you deem necessary. But I will defer to your judgment in this matter, wholeheartedly."