I left the capital and chose to return to the village for my first stop.

Wangjia Village was bustling. The county officials were wearing white veils as they searched for surviving villagers from house to house.

When the young yamen officer saw me approaching, he impatiently drove me away.

"Go away! Haven't you seen that this cursed village has been wiped out? Do you want to die?"

After saying that, he cursed and walked towards the next house, bypassing the corpses scattered on the ground, muttering, "What kind of sin did we commit to let vengeful spirits come to collect debts? They all died kneeling here, unable to straighten up. It's so annoying, dammit!"

I stopped and looked towards my own home in the distance.

A withered female corpse was kneeling outside the door, facing the direction of the infant tower.

At that moment, someone in the neighboring house suddenly exclaimed.

"Quick, come here! There's a living person!"

"Speak up! What happened to this village?"

"Damn it, she's mute."

They supported a woman and walked out. The woman looked at me as if she could sense my presence.

Tears welled up in her gray eyes, as if she said something. Then, she gathered strength from somewhere and rushed towards the sharp knife of the county office.

I clearly understood what she said.

"I'm sorry."

Thus, Wangjia Village met its end.

Later, I traveled to many places.

I saw the small bridges, flowing water, white walls, and tiled roofs of Jiangnan. I witnessed the setting sun and solitary smoke in the Gobi Desert, the snowy grasslands of the northern frontier, and the exquisite craftsmanship of the ethnic groups in Nanyang.

In the sixth year after leaving the capital, I heard my story in a teahouse again.

"In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that the former tyrant emperor of the previous dynasty kidnapped 101 young children, intending to sacrifice them for the ancestral ceremony. It was said that on that day, under the scorching sun, the young children were all locked in cages. Just as the tyrant emperor of the previous dynasty was about to behead the first child, a sandstorm arose, and all the cages broke open. A black mist suddenly appeared around his right arm. Before the black mist dispersed, his right arm fell from the high platform! Unexpectedly, he picked up the long sword, shouting, 'It's the enchantress who harmed me!' He looked insane and rushed towards the imperial harem. On his way, he encountered the enchantress and was killed by a single move... It all happened so fast. The enchantress was about to break through the palace gate and cause havoc in the mortal world, but the current emperor burst out with the aura of a true dragon, leaving the enchantress with nowhere to hide..."

I had enough tea and was about to leave.

But then I heard a familiar voice.

"Er Ya."

I turned around, and the frightened village girl from before now appeared dignified and exhausted, unable to shake off the weariness in the corners of her eyes.

"Sister?"

I was about to embrace her, but was stopped by the maidservant beside her.

"Er Ya, it has been six years. Sister has given birth to three daughters, but not a single prince."

"Those damn fox spirits dare to blame it on me now."

The person in front of me suddenly became unfamiliar.

Before I could reply, she continued:

"Sister knows that there is a price to pay.

"All of this is blamed on me. I should have burned the first daughter and tried for a son in the third pregnancy. I shouldn't have been soft-hearted. Now, Sister has no other choice but to come to you.

"Help me, please?"

Familiar black lines rolled in from the direction of the imperial city.

Fu Junsu, there are some accounts we should settle.

I looked at her, a faint smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

"Sure."

[The End]