The dim lamp flickered, and I couldn't sleep, intoxicated. I read by the lamp until the early hours of the morning before falling into a deep slumber.

The river water rippled, waves crashing against the boat's side. In the misty haze, it felt as if Father was gently stroking my head, singing the childhood nursery rhymes to lull me to sleep.

"Spring morning and winter evening, gentle willows brushing my face, I gaze toward my homeland but see it not. The wild geese fly south, autumn arrives with orange and green hues, I yearn for my native land, my heart filled with worry. The bright moon shines alone, radiant and clear, while the vast sea has already changed... "

Since Father's passing, I often wonder what if I didn't have these eyes capable of spewing hellfire but possessed the same eye power as my eldest brother, the ability to move objects. Would the outcome be different?

Would they all have been spared? The insect queen was right; it was these eyes of mine, the eyes of a killer, that caused the death of everyone.

The one who deserves to die is me, not them!

"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Lan Yi awakened me. The day had not yet dawned, and the boat was like indigo, reflecting the starry river. The flickering fishing fires in the river had not yet gone out.

"Did Your Highness have a nightmare?"

I suddenly realized my face was ice-cold. The thunderfly in my right eye had burrowed deep into the flesh, blood streaming down my face.

Ever since my mother gouged out my right eye when I was eight, I coincidentally inserted the thunderfly I extracted from Father's ashes into my eye. I can no longer shed a tear. If tears were to flow, they would be tears of blood caused by the thunderfly's claws.

"It's nothing." I took out a handkerchief and wiped my face, stepping out of the cabin.

Father must be longing for home.

Outside the cabin, the mist enveloped the river's surface. The hazy river mist resembled the dust kicked up by wild horses. Beyond a hundred feet, everything was obscured by a white expanse, just like the first time my eldest brother accompanied me on a mission to kill my grandfather, the chief of the Witch Clan.

If I hadn't accidentally killed my grandfather, Father would have been buried under the maple tree in the back mountains of the Witch Clan. It was a place with a magnificent view, where he would no longer suffer from homesickness.

Even if only a handful of ashes remained, I believe he would still be eager to return to the Witch Clan.

In the morning chorus of birds, there were sounds of oars slicing through the water at the stern.

A paper-made canopy boat drifted towards us, carrying a doll woven from dried leaves. The doll had a smiling expression drawn on its face.

I looked in the direction the paper boat had come from and saw Ling Su, dressed in plain white garments, standing calmly in the morning light, gazing at me with a faint smile.

"My nanny told me that when you're unhappy, make a paper boat, weave a doll, and let it float away with the current. The doll will take away your sorrows, and you will become happy," she said.

She handed me a paper boat and a doll made of dried leaves, gesturing for me to put them in the river.

I wanted to say that my sorrows were too heavy for the small boat to carry, but I did it anyway.

The little boat swayed and drifted with the current until it merged into the green hills and waters, disappearing from sight.

It was somewhat miraculous. Gradually, my mood brightened, tinged by the rosy clouds, illuminating the entire river with a vibrant shade of green.