The birthday banquet of Emperor Yu Huang will be held two days later. I took this opportunity to sneak into Jiang Shang's mansion to gather information. Unexpectedly, the mansion was empty. I asked an old man who was sweeping the floor and learned that Jiang Shang had gone to Suihan Residence, located ten miles away in the eastern suburbs, for recuperation a few days ago. He would only return on the day of Emperor Yu's birthday banquet, so I had no choice but to go to the palace first.

The blood moon hung high in the sky, and crows flew south.

I was just about to climb over the wall near the South Palace gate when, unexpectedly, the adjacent side door creaked open.

Several black-robed figures sneaked out of the side door and, finding no one around, pushed out a flat cart. There were things piled on the cart and covered with a black oilcloth. They pushed the cart straight to the western suburbs.

I followed closely behind, and the cart ended up in a cemetery. A sense of unease surged within me. As soon as the black oilcloth was lifted, I was shocked by what I saw under the moonlight. The cart was filled with corpses, all female, and they could no longer be called human. Skin and bones, no different from skeletons.

These people quickly dug a pit and haphazardly buried the corpses before swiftly leaving.

As soon as they left, several stray dogs and cats emerged, digging up the soil and gnawing on the corpses. They were familiar with the routine, indicating that they were accustomed to such meals.

I waved my sleeve, driving away the cats and dogs, and examined the corpses. The manner of their deaths reminded me of a past event.

I recalled the immense eyes of my mother when she was still alive.

At that time, almost every woman with immense eyes took the Queen Mother as their role model, accepting male consorts one after another. The more, the better. They kept giving birth to children until they had a daughter.

In previous years, I would purchase the necessary items in the springtime and stay indoors for at least three months after the spring passed.

Because once spring was over, the southern suburbs of the royal capital would be filled with hundreds and thousands of male corpses in the cemetery. Wild dogs would howl, and stray cats would appear, fighting over the entrails, attacking human heads, and sucking their brains. It was a scene of hell on earth, just like the current tragic state of the cemetery in Feather City.

All these women before me died from having their essence drained, indicating that there must be something supernatural within the palace.