"Quick, keep ringing the bell! Nobody is allowed to stop!"
In Sha Tao Village, Zhou Pingchun, sweating profusely, bellowed, commanding the villagers to lift heavy mallets and strike the Haotian Copper Bell repeatedly.
CLANG—CLANG—
The resounding bell echoed vibrantly through the mountains, and a streak of morning light pierced through the dense forest ridges, casting its rays down upon the Human World.
Zhou Pingchun's pupils abruptly constricted as a group of figures appeared on the distant mountain path. The garrison's men had returned.
Zhou Pingchun shuddered, bowed deeply, and approached to welcome the party, shouting loudly, "Shangguan, this humble one is guilty, deserving of death a thousand times over! Shangguan entrusted this humble one with the Haotian Bell, but these accursed, ignorant peasants from the backwoods used too much force and knocked the bell off its stand..."
