When I woke up, I found myself and Liu Fei tied to the pillars of the stone platform. The villagers below glared at us with gritted teeth.

Liu Fei had a swollen face and mournfully said, "That woman is really cunning. She knew you would come back, so she had already arranged for people to ambush nearby."

"You're still thinking about coming back to deliver food. Well, now they're offering a buy one, get one free deal on roasted skewers."

I didn't speak. My attention was drawn to the commotion below.

The noisy crowd suddenly quieted down and parted to make way.

"Bai Min" slowly walked towards us, dressed in ancient and luxurious attire, which accentuated her solemnity.

She ascended the stone platform and briefly spoke a few words.

The gist was that they would burn us, two wicked criminals, as a sacrifice to pay respects to Grandma Bai and Bai Ling in the afterlife.

The villagers below were stirred up and shouted, "Burn them alive!"

She took a torch from someone nearby, ignited the pyre beneath our feet, and then left without ever looking at me again.

The temperature kept rising, and thick smoke filled our nostrils. Liu Fei and I coughed violently.

Liu Fei grimaced and said, "Yu Zi, do you smell something fragrant?"

Amidst my coughing, I shouted at him, "Go to hell! We're not cooked yet!"

"Liu Fei, if we manage to survive, how about calling me 'father'?"

"If we don't die here, forget calling you father, you'll be my father from now on!"

At that moment, the villagers below held their heads in pain, screaming as if they had gone mad.

After a while, their madness ceased.

They stood motionless in their original positions, staring blankly.

I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Help us! We're going to be burned alive!"

Only then did they come to their senses and rush towards the platform in a frenzy...