The world stood still.
Yun Meimei's head tumbled through the air, her expression frozen in innocent concern.
"Meimei!"
Her mother's scream tore through the hut—a raw, animal sound of grief—before another invisible blade severed her neck mid-cry.
Puff!… Thud… Thud…
Two heads hit the ground.
Blood sprayed across Yun Lintian's face, warm and thick. He didn't blink. Didn't move. Slowly, he raised a hand and touched the blood on his cheek. Stared at the crimson stain on his fingers.
A laugh echoed through the hut—light, melodic, and utterly merciless.
"Even after losing everything, you still play the hero, Yun Lintian." Tantai Lanling's voice dripped with mockery as her figure materialized from the shadows. "Slaughtering gods yet saving mortals? How ironic."
She tilted her head, her silver hair glinting in the firelight. "What are you trying to be? A saint? A savior?" Her lips curled. "Or just a fool?"
