Yun Shu did not answer Shen Jue’s inquiry. Her gaze fell upon the bound young girl.
Then, she glanced at Shen Yu.
Shen Yu understood her meaning and walked toward the woodpile in the center of the ritual altar.
Daoist Master Xuan He, pinned to the ground, his face turned a dark shade of purple like pig liver. Seeing this, he hissed out a cry, “You cannot! The sacrifice has not been burned, and the Locust God’s wrath has not been appeased! If you dare to...”
Before he could finish his sentence, Shen Jue increased the pressure of his foot, forcing the man to emit only ragged, wheezing gasps.
Shen Yu stepped onto the woodpile, the pine and cypress logs creaking slightly under his weight.
The girl stared at him with wide eyes, making muffled whimpering sounds behind the cloth gag. She tried desperately to shrink back, but the ropes held her fast.
Her eyes were filled with both terror and wariness.
Shen Yu drew a short blade from his waist. With a flick of his wrist, the blade glided past the girl’s wrists.
The ropes snapped silently.
Once she gained her freedom, the girl did something that no one expected.
She snatched the short blade from Shen Yu’s hand, turned around, and stumbled as she lunged toward Zhao Qian.
Zhao Qian was kneeling on the ground, trembling. Before he could react, something cold was pressed against his neck.
He looked down to see the blade resting against his Adam’s apple. The cold glint of the steel made his entire body freeze in terror.
“Where is my grandfather?!”
The girl’s voice was so hoarse it barely sounded human. Tears welled in her eyes, her lips quivered, and her hands shook uncontrollably.
The blade trembled against Zhao Qian’s throat, threatening to cut deep at any moment.
She was afraid, deathly afraid.
But she did not let go.
“Su Aheng... you... put the knife down first...” Zhao Qian stammered, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
“Where is my grandfather!” Su Aheng screamed again, her voice louder as tears finally spilled over. “When you took me, you said as long as I was obedient, you wouldn't touch him! Where is he! Where did you take him!”
Feeling the blade press closer to his neck, Zhao Qian panicked and shouted to a nearby Yamen runner, “Why are you still standing there? Go to the dungeon and bring that old thing here immediately!”
The Yamen runner scrambled away as fast as he could.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, two runners hurried from the side of the altar, carrying a dilapidated wooden board.
An old man lay on the board, his hair and beard completely white. He was so thin he was nothing but skin and bones. His prison clothes were tattered, revealing aged skin covered in bruises and purple welts.
His eyes were half-closed, and his lips moved as if he were trying to speak, but no sound came out.
The moment Su Aheng saw the old man, the short blade fell to the ground with a clang.
“Grandfather...”
She threw herself down beside the wooden board, cupping the old man’s withered hand against her face as tears flowed uncontrollably. “Grandfather, it’s me, it’s Aheng...”
The old man’s eyelids fluttered, and he seemed to exert a great deal of effort to see the person before him.
His lips quivered more violently until he finally managed to let out a weak, intermittent rasp.
“Not... not... voluntary... my... Aheng... did not volunteer to be... a sacrifice...”
“Not... not...”
He repeated the same phrase over and over.
Yun Shu stood where she was, her face devoid of emotion. Her features remained as calm as autumn waters without a ripple, as if nothing in this world could stir her heart.
In reality, however, her heart was far from calm.
She had not expected this.
She truly had not expected that someone in Xindu City would dare to perform a human sacrifice.
She had carefully weighed her plans for Xindu City and believed there were no flaws, but she had forgotten that even the best-laid plans could have an oversight.
The rope marks on the girl’s skeletal arms and the purple bruises beneath the old man’s prison clothes were indirect consequences of her schemes.
If she had arrived even a step later today, this grandfather and granddaughter might have lost their lives.
At this moment, she understood with absolute clarity the words her master had once told her: if he could be on the front lines, he would never choose to stay behind and command.
Now, she used the world as her chessboard.
As the player, every piece she moved could affect countless lives, even creating tragedies for others.
But even so, she could only grit her teeth and move forward. Caught in the flood of events, she no longer had a way to retreat.
“The calamity you two have suffered was not written in your fates; it is the work of evil spirits, disrupting the flow of karma.”
The Orchid of the Blue Void appeared out of thin air in her hand. “Since I have witnessed this matter, I shall naturally set things right.”
The white petals transformed into a cluster of golden specks of light, floating toward the grandfather and granddaughter before sinking into their chests.
The rope marks on the girl’s body faded away at a visible speed, and her sallow complexion gradually gained a healthy flush.
The old man on the wooden board coughed suddenly, and his cloudy eyes slowly regained their clarity.
He propped himself up and sat up, looking around in a daze like someone who had just woken from a nightmare.
Below the altar, a wave of astonished cries erupted.
“A miracle... this is a miracle!”
“The Divine Lady has manifested!”
The commoners all prostrated themselves, their foreheads touching the ground as they kowtowed to Yun Shu atop the altar.
【Su Aheng Shock Value +100】
【Su Dashan Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 56,400】
Daoist Master Xuan He, still pinned to the ground, saw this miraculous scene. His pupils shrank in shock.
However, he quickly regained his composure.
His junior fellow disciple was also a reincarnation of a celestial from the heavens, possessing not only divine methods but also the ability to foresee the future.
How could this Divine Lady, who had appeared out of nowhere, compare to his junior fellow disciple’s vast powers?
Just then.
The black shadow on the horizon finally pressed down overhead.
It was not a dark cloud; it was locusts.
A swarm of locusts that blotted out the sky.
Their wings obscured the last light of day, plunging the world into an eerie, dusky yellow.
The buzzing sound rolled in like thunder.
The commoners screamed and scattered in a panic. The torches on the altar swayed violently in the fierce wind, nearly flickering out.
Zhao Qian collapsed on the ground, his face ashen.
“They’re here... the Locust God is here...”
Daoist Master Xuan He suddenly found a surge of strength. He wrenched himself free from Shen Jue’s foot and scrambled to his feet. His Daoist robes were a mess, his hair was disheveled, and blood still stained the corner of his mouth.
He spread his arms and screamed at the terrified commoners below the altar, “Do you see now!”
“The Locust God has arrived!”
“This humble Daoist warned you long ago that a living sacrifice was required to appease the god’s wrath, but this woman...”
He pointed a finger at Yun Shu, his eyes bloodshot.
“She interrupted the ritual and let the sacrifice go! The Locust God’s wrath was brought upon us by her!”
An uproar broke out among the crowd.
“It’s all because of her!”
Daoist Master Xuan He’s voice grew even louder, carrying a nearly fanatical fervor. “If she hadn't ruined the sacrifice, the Locust God would have been appeased, and the people of Xindu would be safe! But now? The locust plague has descended, leaving not a single blade of grass! Your fields, your crops, your very livelihoods—all destroyed!”
The panicked looks in the commoners’ eyes began to shift.
They looked at the sky full of locusts, then at the pale gold figure on the altar. Hesitation appeared in some eyes, terror in others, and resentment in yet others.
“Is it her... did she cause this?”
“Isn't she a Divine Lady? She knows celestial arts...”
“It could be sorcery...”
“Daoist Master Xuan He is right. The locust plague is here, the grain is gone... how are we supposed to live now...”
Fear spread through the crowd like a plague.
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