I grinned and watched as the angry crowd approached.

"Bastard!" Father rushed forward and slapped me hard.

"It's all your fault! The first male child in Wangjia Village has become... a..."

I smiled at him and knowingly asked, "Become what?"

The village chief appeared with a bundle in his arms, his face darkened.

The baby inside was chubby and adorable.

But it had no facial features.

No eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, or ears.

It was more like a lump of flesh than a head.

A monster.

Seeing me still smiling foolishly, the village chief became furious.

He drew back his hand and punched me in the nose.

Blood gushed out, splattering into his eyes.

In an instant, a white smoke enveloped him, and his eyes vanished as if they had never existed.

At the same time, a pair of eyes grew on the smooth lump of flesh.

"Ah! Ah!" The villagers around me screamed in fear or excitement.

But the village chief, as if he hadn't realized he was blind, scolded angrily, "Quiet down! What are you screaming like ghosts for?"

"Eyes... your eyes!" Someone pointed at the trembling village chief.

Only then did the village chief realize something was wrong. It seemed as if he had just discovered the loss of his sight, and he screamed in anguish.

"I can't see! I can't see! My eyes!"

He frantically groped his face with his hands.

Blood smears were everywhere.

Meanwhile, eyebrows and a nose grew on the baby.

When I looked at the village chief again, there was no trace of a human face left.

The crowd was terrified, but the old ancestor on the side was wise. How could he not understand the trick?

By smearing the blood of a sinful woman on the facial features of others, the child could develop those features.

"Hold his hand and don't let him move!" The old ancestor shouted angrily, and the villagers, hearing his command, restrained the raging village chief.

"Bring the child's mother here," he continued.

"It's useless." I suddenly spoke up, startling everyone.

"It has to be a male blood relative!"

The crowd fell silent.

Men are the pillars of the family, and how can the pillars be incomplete?

If only women could do it.

The old ancestor snorted and left with a parting remark, "I don't believe it won't work!"

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

It's such a pity.

I sighed inwardly.

I won't be able to witness this good show.

The crowd dispersed, and my sister emerged from behind the Buddha statue.

She untied the cloth that bound me and helped me onto a cushion.

"The huai tree in our house suddenly died. It's strange, it was still blooming in the summer." My sister skillfully applied herbs to my wounds while chattering away.

She and my third sister took turns accompanying me, telling me about the things happening outside the dilapidated temple.

I usually remained silent, and even when I spoke, it was in a soft voice, urging her to leave this village.

She shook her head helplessly and gently massaged my scalp with the hand that tied my hair.

"You can't escape, just like you can't escape from this rundown temple."

Yes, I can't leave here.

I've tried countless times to run away, but I can never escape from this gate.

Not until the old man who declared me a sinful woman died in front of the temple gate.

Only then did I realize that he had made a slight mistake, calling me a sinful woman.

When in fact, I am a condemned woman.

If the lightning strike on the baby tower was a warning from heaven, then my birth was a punishment bestowed by heaven.

The so-called good fortune I received as punishment is nothing more than a fleeting moment obtained in exchange for the blessings of the latter half of my life.

Principal and interest, all must be repaid.

Look, even when heaven wantsto punish me, it can't help but make a few mistakes.

My sister finished treating my wounds and left the temple.

I was alone again, sitting in the dimly lit room.

The sound of cicadas outside the window was the only company I had.

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to the day I was born.

It was a stormy night, with thunder rumbling and rain pouring down.

My mother, who had been pregnant for ten months, endured the pain and gave birth to me.

But the moment I came into this world, the midwife let out a horrified scream.

Everyone rushed to see what had happened, and they were met with a sight that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I was born without a face.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Just smooth, featureless skin.

The villagers were convinced that I was a cursed child, a punishment from the heavens.

They called me the "Faceless One."

My father, unable to bear the shame, abandoned me at the temple gate.

That's how I ended up here, in this rundown temple, living a life of solitude.

Over the years, I had grown accustomed to the whispers and stares of the villagers.

They feared me, believed me to be a bringer of misfortune.

But what they didn't know was that I had a power.

A power that allowed me to take on the features of others.

I discovered this ability when I was a child, playing with the other village children.

I had touched one of the girls, and suddenly, her face became mine, and mine became hers.

It was a strange and terrifying experience.

Since then, I had learned to control this power, to use it to my advantage.

I could take on the appearance of anyone I touched.

But the transformations were temporary, lasting only a short while.

Still, it was enough to cause chaos and confusion among the villagers.

They couldn't understand how I could change my appearance so effortlessly.

They saw it as black magic, a sign of my cursed nature.

But I knew it was just a gift, a strange and twisted gift.

And now, as I sat in the darkness of the temple, I wondered what my purpose was.

Why had I been given this power?

Was it a punishment or a test?

Was there a reason for my existence?

I didn't have the answers.

All I knew was that I was trapped in this body, this faceless shell.

And I would do whatever it took to survive.