Mo Lilie
The biting wind of Longshou Plain swirled and howled above the ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument, whipping up fine snow and stone dust, as if singing a silent elegy for this collapsed symbol. When Xiao Yuxuan returned to the dilapidated military camp carrying the heavy, mountain-like seal, Xuan Weizi had already used the blood-stained fragments of the Soul-Suppressing Monument and the charred Mo family ruler to build a makeshift altar on the leeward side of the camp wall. A few crude sticks of incense were stuck in the cold cracks of the stone, their wisps of smoke rising low before being torn away by the fierce wind.
The old Taoist priest sat cross-legged before the altar, his whisk resting on his lap. His eyes were slightly closed, and he muttered incantations in a low voice, almost swallowed by the wind. Several emaciated, sallow-faced wounded veterans and orphans, wrapped in tattered blankets, knelt timidly around the altar, their eyes blankly fixed on the two peculiar offerings—a cold, blue stone stained with human blood, and a charred wooden ruler engraved with the character "安" (peace).
Xiao Yuxuan did not disturb the silent ceremony. He solemnly placed the seals on the only relatively intact wooden table in the village. The gold, silver, and bronze seals reflected a cold, eerie luster under the dim oil lamplight, and the half-bronze talisman weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. He unfastened the ceremonial sword, from which a corner of his robe had been cut, from his waist and gently placed it beside the talisman. The cold scabbard touched the cold bronze, producing a barely audible sound.
“Governor,” Chen Zhong reported in a low voice, breaking the oppressive silence, “Yan Yang’s troops have all withdrawn from Longxi territory, but… the tax inspector’s headquarters remains in Jincheng, the capital of Hexi Prefecture. Also, the construction camp…” He hesitated.
Xiao Yuxuan's gaze fell upon the lifeless, scorched earth outside the military camp, covered in gray snow: "Speak."
"Before the tax inspector left, he strictly ordered Wang Xu that the ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Stele must be cleared within three days, and the new stele base must be rebuilt within five days! Anyone who disobeys... shall be beheaded." Chen Zhong's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "Now Wang Xu is driving those laborers like a madman, not stopping even in the snowy night! Today... he brought out two more frozen corpses."
Xiao Yuxuan's knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge of the wooden table, causing the oil lamp flame on it to flicker violently. He took a deep breath; the acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with the stench of decaying corpses filled his lungs, but it couldn't suppress the chill and rage surging in his heart. He looked at Xuanweizi, who was chanting scriptures with his eyes closed before the altar, and then at the tortoise-shaped bronze seal on the table, engraved with "Seal of the Craftsman of the Governor of Hexi."
"Go to the workshop." Xiao Yuxuan's voice was hoarse, yet carried an undeniable force. He picked up the cold, tortoise-shaped bronze seal, tucked it into his robes, and strode towards the snow-swept gate.
The biting wind was like a knife, whipping up the gray snow and stinging our faces. The direction of the work camp was brightly lit, but not with warmth; instead, it was the bleak, hellish glow of countless torches flickering in the wind and snow. The piercing shouts of the laborers, the sharp yells of the overseers, the cracking of whips against flesh, and the suppressed groans of pain mingled with the howling of the wind and snow, creating a symphony of despair.
The massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument, like the shattered remains of a colossal beast, lay across the construction site. The laborers split into several groups: one group toiled in the cold mud, digging and clearing away the shattered stones; another group, at a newly chosen site further away, chanted off-key work songs as they carried heavy stone slabs to the newly dug, equally enormous foundation pit. The torchlight danced on their numb, bluish faces, highlighting their sunken eye sockets and cracked lips.
Overseer Wang Xu, wrapped in a thick fur coat, stood on a slightly elevated mound of earth, his leather whip lashing out like a venomous snake's tongue at the slower laborers. Two burly thugs followed him, each carrying a thick, sturdy wooden stick.
"Hurry! Hurry! Haven't you eaten?! This place must be cleared before dawn! If you miss Lord Yan's deadline, I'll skin you alive to fill this hole!" Wang Xu's spittle flew in the firelight.
A thin boy, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, was carrying a piece of gravel wider than his body, swaying as he walked on the wet, slippery mud. He slipped, the gravel slipped from his hand and he fell heavily to the ground, splashing up a cloud of cold mud.
"Trash!" A fierce glint flashed in Wang Xu's eyes, and the leather whip in his hand lashed fiercely at the boy's back with a shrill sound!
"Smack!"
The sound of flesh being torn apart was particularly jarring in the cold night. The boy let out a heart-wrenching scream, his body curled up in a ball, convulsing in agony on the cold mud.
"Playing dead?!" Wang Xu grinned maliciously, took a step forward, raised his foot, which was clad in a thick leather boot, and was about to kick the boy in the waist and abdomen!
"stop!"
A deep, thunderous roar suddenly exploded behind Wang Xu!
Wang Xu froze, his raised foot hovering in mid-air. He whirled around, and in the flickering torchlight, Xiao Yuxuan's tall figure was already standing a few steps behind him. The wind and snow whipped Xiao Yuxuan's mud-stained cloak, his face expressionless, except for his eyes, which, in the dim light, resembled two burning points of ice, fixed intently on Wang Xu's face.
A chill instantly shot from Wang Xu's tailbone to the top of his head, more biting than the cold wind of Longxi. He recognized those eyes, he recognized that person! During the day, on the edge of Ghost Plain, it was this very person who knelt on one knee in the poisonous mud, severing ties with Lord Yan Yang and uttering those earth-shattering words, "I refuse!"
"The...Governor?" Wang Xu's voice trembled without him even realizing it, and he awkwardly pulled his foot back from mid-air.
Xiao Yuxuan didn't look at him. His gaze passed over Wang Xu and landed on the boy curled up in the mud, convulsing from the pain and cold. The bloody welt on the boy's back, left by the whip, was gruesome and glaring in the torchlight. Xiao Yuxuan took off his mud-stained cloak, walked forward without a word, bent down, and gently covered the boy's cold, trembling body with the heavy cloak, which still retained a trace of warmth from his body.
The boy's convulsions seemed to have weakened a little. His lips, which were blue from the cold, moved slightly, but he could not make a sound. Only tears mixed with mud and water silently slid down his face.
Xiao Yuxuan straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the laborers around him who had stopped working and were looking at him with suspicion and uncertainty. Their faces were numb, desperate, and covered in frostbite. He slowly raised his hand, pointing to the massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument, a monster that seemed to devour life, and the newly excavated foundation pit. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears:
"Construction of this monument has been halted."
Dead silence.
A deathly silence, colder than wind and snow, instantly enveloped the entire construction site. Only the crackling of burning torches and the howling of the cold wind in the distance could be heard.
Wang Xu's facial muscles twitched violently, a mixture of shock, fear, and disbelief culminating in a twisted rage: "Stop construction? Governor Xiao! You...you dare disobey Lord Yan Yang's decree?! This is His Majesty's..."
"This is Hexi!" Xiao Yuxuan abruptly interrupted him, his voice like a drawn sword, severing Wang Xu's blustering but cowardly clamor. He took a step forward, his tall figure exuding an invisible pressure, staring intently into Wang Xu's eyes, which were bloodshot with shock and anger. "Here, all construction work is under my control! If I say stop, then stop!"
He pulled the tortoise-shaped bronze seal from his robes, its cold surface gleaming with a deep bronze light in the firelight. Holding it in his palm, his gaze sharp as he swept over the entire area: "From this day forward, all laborers in the construction camp are to be incorporated into the 'Anji Camp'! Their duties are changed—cease building the illusory monument, and dedicate themselves to water conservancy projects, reclaiming frozen soil, and repairing farm tools! Those who disobey..." Xiao Yuxuan's gaze finally settled on Wang Xu's face, contorted with anger and fear, and he said, slowly and deliberately, "...will be subject to military law!"
"Whoosh—!" After a brief silence, a suppressed commotion erupted on the construction site. The laborers looked at each other, a faint but real flame of hope igniting for the first time in their numb eyes. Building irrigation works? Reclaiming land? Repairing farm tools? These words, for those struggling on the brink of death, were as distant as a fairy tale! But now, coming from the mouth of the governor who had just cut off his robe to refuse exorbitant taxes and covered the wounded with his cloak, they carried a chilling power!
"You...you're insane!" Wang Xu pointed at Xiao Yuxuan, his fingers trembling violently with agitation. "Lord Yan won't let you get away with this! The imperial court won't let you get away with this! This is rebellion! It's..."
"Wang Xu," Xiao Yuxuan's voice was as cold as ice, "you, and your overseer team, are hereby relieved of their duties, effective immediately. Those who wish to stay will join the Anji camp and work and eat with the people. Those who do not wish to stay, get out of Hexi."
"You...!" Wang Xu trembled with rage, his face turning a deep purplish-red. He looked around and saw that the sycophants and supervisors who usually fawned over him were now cowering and lowering their heads, not daring to meet his gaze, under Xiao Yuxuan's cold gaze and the increasingly oppressive stare of the surrounding laborers.
"Good! Good! What a fine governor of Hexi! Xiao Yuxuan, you just wait!" Wang Xu glared at Xiao Yuxuan with resentment, stomped his foot, turned around and roared at his confidants, "Let's go!" Filled with resentment and unwillingness, he squeezed out of the crowd in a sorry state, and his figure quickly disappeared into the snow and wind on the official road leading to Jincheng.
As soon as Wang Xu left, the tense atmosphere on the construction site suddenly relaxed. The laborers looked at Xiao Yuxuan with complex emotions: gratitude, awe, but mostly bewilderment and helplessness.
Just then, a figure parted the crowd and walked up to Xiao Yuxuan.
The newcomer wore a faded, patched linen robe. He was not tall, even somewhat hunched, but his steps were steady. His face was deeply lined, bearing the marks of time and hardship, but his eyes were exceptionally bright and clear, gleaming with a focused and sharp light. Most striking were his hands, with large knuckles covered in calluses and fine scars, and black grime and metal shavings still clung to his fingers.
It was Ji Zhai, the great master of the Mohist school. He had arrived at the construction site at some unknown time.
Ji Zhai nodded slightly to Xiao Yuxuan, without exchanging any further pleasantries. His gaze was fixed directly on the massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument, his eyes showing no trace of unease at the power shift, only an examination and assessment of the "materials" before him.
“Governor.” Ji Zhai’s voice was steady, with a metallic quality that pierced through the howling wind and snow. “These stones are of decent quality and it would be a pity to discard them. The Soul-Suppressing Stele is useless, but it can serve as the foundation for irrigation canals and weirs to protect the fields.” He pointed to the distant, vaguely visible, frozen, barren ridges of land. “If there is no water in the spring, the land will still be dead.”
A glint flashed in Xiao Yuxuan's eyes. He understood Ji Zhai's meaning. These mountains of bluestone were tools Yan Yang used to whitewash the truth and suppress the souls of the dead, but in the eyes of the Mohists, they could be levers to unlock life! He nodded emphatically: "Thank you for your command, Mr. Ji Zhai! Anji Camp awaits your orders!"
Ji Zhai made no formalities. He turned to face the laborers who were still standing there bewildered, and his voice, though not loud, clearly reached everyone's ears: "Those who can swing a hammer and chisel stone, stand in the left row. Those who can saw and fell trees, stand in the right row. Those who can read watercourses and terrain, stand in the front row. The rest of you, follow me!"
There were no whips, no shouts, only clear instructions for division of labor. The laborers paused for a moment, then seemed to be injected with a spark of life, beginning to move obediently, pushing and shoving each other, tentatively forming lines. Order quietly sprouted amidst the chaos.
Ji Zhai's gaze swept over the massive stone slabs and the cleared piles of rubble, his brow furrowing slightly. He walked to a stone slab about half a person's height, his rough fingers tracing the cold surface, feeling its texture and density. Then, he crouched down and, using a charcoal stick he had found, quickly sketched a few simple lines and some peculiar symbols on the frozen ground beneath his feet.
"Chen Zhong!" Ji Zhai called out without looking up.
"Here!" Chen Zhong immediately stepped forward.
"Choose ten of the strongest men, bring them thick iron wedges, sledgehammers, and crowbars, and come with me." Ji Zhai stood up and pointed to the huge foundation pit for the monument base, which had already been dug several feet deep at the newly selected site. "Drive wedges down to the east side of the pit, three feet from the pit wall! Wait for my command to bring down the hammer!"
Although Chen Zhong didn't understand, he didn't hesitate. He immediately gathered his men, grabbed their tools, and followed Ji Zhai into the icy pit. Ji Zhai stopped at an unusually hard spot on the eastern side of the pit, tapped the ground with his finger, and drew a cross with a charcoal stick.
"Here, place the wedge! First group, drop the hammer!" Ji Zhai's voice was concise and powerful.
Two burly men pounded the thick iron wedge into the marked spot on the frozen ground with all their might. Then, a heavy hammer, whistling through the air, slammed down heavily on the wedge's end!
A dull thud echoed from the bottom of the pit, sending shivers down one's spine. The frozen soil was as hard as iron, and the wedge only penetrated an inch or so.
"Continue! Drop the hammer!" Ji Zhai's eyes were focused, his gaze fixed on the wedge and the surrounding soil.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" One after another. The heavy hammering sounds were particularly resounding in the snowy night. The laborers stopped what they were doing and gathered around the edge of the pit, looking at the bottom of the pit with suspicion and uncertainty.
After a dozen or so heavy hammer blows, the iron wedge had penetrated nearly half a foot into the frozen ground. Ji Zhai crouched down, his ear almost pressed against the ground, listening intently. After a moment, a glint flashed in his eyes: "Stop! Change to the second set of wedges! Here, one foot to the north, go in!"
Another iron wedge was hammered into the designated position. Then came a dozen more heavy blows.
"Third group! Here, about one and a half feet south, move out!" Ji Zhai's command was given without hesitation.
After the third iron wedge was driven deep into the frozen ground, Ji Zhai stood up, took a few steps back, and said in a deep voice to the laborers who were watching the commotion around the pit, "Everyone, step back ten steps!"
The laborers were puzzled, but they still retreated as instructed.
Ji Zhai's gaze fell upon the three iron wedges arranged in a triangular pattern at the bottom of the pit, deeply embedded in the frozen soil. He took a deep breath, as if feeling the pulse of the earth. Then, he suddenly raised his arm and, facing Chen Zhong and the others who were holding crowbars and guarding the wedges, made a decisive downward chopping gesture: "Chop—!"
Chen Zhong and the other two burly men had been holding their breath for a while. Upon receiving the command, the three of them roared at the same time and slammed their thick, hard crowbars into the pre-drilled holes at the ends of the three iron wedges. With all their might, they pried upwards! The power of the lever was instantly amplified!
"Crack—!!!"
A deafening roar, as if the rock itself were being forcibly torn apart, suddenly erupted from the bottom of the pit! This sound was more muffled and louder than the previous hammer blows, as if a slumbering beast had been awakened from its slumber and was letting out a painful roar!
Then, to everyone's astonishment, centered on the three iron wedges, a series of spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the frozen soil at the bottom of the pit, spreading rapidly! The cracks widened, deepened, and crisscrossed at an alarming rate! It was as if an ice surface had been struck by a heavy blow!
"BOOM—!!!"
The deafening collapse sounded like a thunderclap!
At the bottom of the newly excavated massive foundation pit, a layer of hard frozen soil, spanning over ten feet in diameter, collapsed with a deafening roar under the precise leverage calculated by Ji Zhai and the stress inherent in the frozen soil itself! Large chunks of frozen soil, like shattered ice, mixed with gravel, crashed downwards, instantly forming an even larger, irregularly deep pit at the bottom of the foundation pit! Smoke and dust mixed with snow spray shot into the sky!
"The ground...the ground has collapsed!" "Good heavens!" The laborers at the edge of the pit were terrified by this sudden change, screaming and retreating, their faces filled with fear.
The smoke and dust slowly dissipated. Ji Zhai stood at the edge of the collapse, his gray hair and clothes covered in dust, but his bright eyes remained calm, as if he had only completed a trivial task. He pointed to the softer, deeper soil exposed after the collapse and said to the still-shaken Chen Zhong and the others, "This place can be dug deeper to make a reservoir foundation. Tomorrow, we will use this as the center and dig a culvert outwards." He then pointed to the frozen soil clods piled up beside the collapse, "This frozen soil, broken up and flattened, can be used as the canal walls. It will save us the trouble of chiseling stone."
Chen Zhong stared at the unassuming old craftsman before him, then at the massive, cleverly "manufactured" collapse. His Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes filled with astonishment. This wasn't a ground subsidence; it was a miraculous transformation! The most effortless method yielded the most desired result!
"Sir, your skill is truly divine!" Chen Zhong clasped his hands in a heartfelt gesture, his voice trembling with excitement.
Ji Zhai waved his hand dismissively, his gaze then turning to the distant ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Stele, piled high like a mountain: "Those bluestones are still quite sturdy. Select the large, square pieces and transport them to the Wei River east of the village. The terrain there is low-lying, and the water flow is rapid, so we need to build a diversion weir to irrigate the frozen soil downstream. The remaining small stones are perfect for paving the bottom of the canals and reinforcing the field ridges."
His words were simple, yet they painted a vibrant picture. Water diversion, water storage, irrigation, land reclamation... In the eyes of the Mohist master, cold stones were no longer tools for exploiting the people, but rather the sinews and bones that dredged the veins and nourished the land!
"Did you all hear that?" Xiao Yuxuan's voice rang out. He stood on high ground, the wind and snow blowing against his empty left sleeve (the cloak was already covering the young man), but his voice was unusually steady and powerful. "Anji Camp, listen to Mr. Ji Zhai's command! Turn the stone tablets into irrigation canals, bring in living water to irrigate the scorched earth! This is the true 'soul suppressing'! It suppresses the souls of those starving to death, and it puts peace on the souls of those who survive!"
"Yes, sir!" Someone responded first, followed by scattered echoes that gradually coalesced into a lively but somewhat disordered reply: "Yes, sir! We will follow Mr. Ji Zhai's orders!"
The numbness in their eyes began to soften, and a faint but real hope dispelled the air of despair. The laborers spontaneously sprang into action, selecting stones, moving timber, and clearing the collapsed earth under Ji Zhai's command. The atmosphere on the construction site subtly changed. The harsh crack of the whip disappeared, replaced by the clanging of hammers striking stones, the anticipation tinged in the shouts, and the vibrant clatter of tools colliding.
However, this newly ignited flame of life was like a candle flickering in the wind.
Just as the construction site was bustling with activity (at least more vibrant than before) as they changed direction, a soldier stumbled and crawled towards Xiao Yuxuan, his face pale and his voice trembling with tears: "Governor! Something terrible has happened! Wang Xu... that scoundrel Wang Xu, with a squad of Legalist black-clad guards, has... has surrounded our temporary granary! He says he's acting on the orders of the tax commissioner to seize all the grain and fodder to... to use as overdue border taxes!"
It felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head!
Xiao Yuxuan's pupils suddenly contracted! Chen Zhong and the laborers around him also instantly stopped what they were doing. The flame of hope that had just been ignited was extinguished by this sudden bad news. Immense panic and despair, like cold, venomous snakes, once again coiled around everyone's hearts! Without food, in this dead of winter, everything was just empty talk! Let alone building canals and clearing land, even survival was a problem!
Ji Zhai's brows furrowed tightly, and he crushed the charcoal stick in his hand into powder. He looked at Xiao Yuxuan.
The wind and snow seemed to intensify, making it almost impossible to stand. Xiao Yuxuan stood rooted to the spot, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. By day, he had severed ties with his allies and refused to accept the exorbitant taxes; now, the Legalist counterattack was swift and deadly! Cut off their supplies! This was to sever the lifeline of the Anji Camp, to cut off the last breath of life for the people of Hexi!
He slowly raised his head, gazing towards the direction of the temporary granary. There, torches flickered faintly, and shadowy figures could be seen. His gaze swept over the faces around him, which had instantly turned deathly pale, once again shrouded in despair. Finally, his eyes settled on the massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument in the distance, a monument whose construction he had just ordered to be halted.
A cold and resolute thought, like a poisonous fire, frantically grew in his heart.
He turned sharply to Ji Zhai, his voice low but carrying a chilling intent of mutual destruction: "Mr. Ji Zhai, if I want the base of that Soul-Suppressing Stele to... completely disappear, along with everything that might be buried beneath it... how long will it take?"
Ji Zhai followed his gaze and saw the ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Stele, a symbol of Legalist authority that stood like a giant scar on the scorched earth! He instantly understood Xiao Yuxuan's intention—to destroy the ruins, create an "accident," and prevent Wang Xu and the Legalists from finding any fault. At the same time, it would completely sever Yan Yang's hopes of continuing to exploit the area! More importantly, the foundation pit beneath the ruins might also contain the blood-dripping wolf skull talisman that had mysteriously disappeared during the day!
A sharp, hawk-like glint flashed in the old man's eyes. He quickly crouched down and began to trace patterns on the cold ground again with a charcoal stick. This time, the lines were more complex, the symbols denser. He calculated the weight of the ruins, the structure, the depth of the foundation pit, the stress on the surrounding soil... The wind and snow ruffled his gray hair, but he was oblivious.
A moment later, Ji Zhai suddenly stood up, pointing with a charcoal stick to several key support points and weak points under the foundation of the ruins. His words were fast and clear: "Here, here, and here! Use explosives! I will personally prepare the quantities! Twenty quick, daring, and meticulous people are needed to lay the explosives at my command! The fuses must be long enough to ensure everyone is at least a hundred paces away!"
He looked up at Xiao Yuxuan, his eyes like a tempered Mo family ruler: "Half an hour! Half an hour later, this place... will no longer have the base of the Soul-Suppressing Stele! There will only be a flat piece of land available for cultivation!"
Xiao Yuxuan's eyes flashed with a cold light: "Good! Chen Zhong! Pick the men! Be quick!"
"Yes, sir!" Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Zhong immediately turned and rushed into the crowd.
The wind and snow howled, the night as dark as ink. The massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument lay dormant like a monstrous beast in the darkness. Beneath its base, twenty chosen figures, like ghosts, under Ji Zhai's precise command, carefully buried packets of black powder, each meticulously wrapped in oiled paper and weighed according to precise measurements, into designated locations. The long fuses, like the tongues of venomous snakes, swayed gently in the cold night wind.
Xiao Yuxuan stood on a mound a hundred paces away, watching silently. In his arms, the tortoise-shaped bronze seal was cold and hard. At his feet, the piece of blue robe he had torn off, which had fallen into the poisonous mud, was already soaked with filth, with only a corner of its dim blue showing.
Half an hour passed in anxious waiting.
Ji Zhai checked the connection of the fuse one last time, then raised his arm high towards Xiao Yuxuan on the distant earthen slope.
Xiao Yuxuan took a deep breath, the biting cold wind and the stench of poisonous miasma filling his chest. He suddenly swung his arm down!
Ji Zhai brought the tinderbox in his hand precisely to the end of the fuse!
"laugh--!"
A blinding flash of light, like a venomous snake's tongue, suddenly blazed in the darkness! Following the long fuse, it hurtled wildly towards the base of the Soul-Suppressing Monument ruins at an astonishing speed!
Everyone's hearts were in their throats!
The firelight disappeared into the shadows of the ruins.
Dead silence.
The brief moment of deathly silence seemed to be stretched out infinitely.
Then--
"boom--!!!!!!"
A terrifying roar, indescribable and ear-ripping, suddenly erupted from the depths of the ruins! The sound surpassed thunder, as if the earth itself was roaring! Immediately afterward, a massive mushroom cloud, a mixture of rubble, mud, smoke, and flames, shot into the sky from the bottom of the ruins! The violent shockwave, like an invisible giant hammer, swept in all directions!
The earth trembled violently! People a hundred paces away were thrown about! The massive ruins of the Soul-Suppressing Monument, a symbol of Legalist authority that had devoured the blood, sweat, and lives of countless laborers, along with its deeply buried base, were as if crushed and hurled into the air by an invisible giant hand! Countless fragments of stone rained down in all directions! Dust and smoke instantly engulfed everything!
While the deafening roar still echoed over Longshou Plain, while the billowing dust still rose and blotted out the sky, while everyone was still reeling from the earth-shattering shock—
Xiao Yuxuan's gaze, like a sharp arrow piercing through the fog, was fixed on the epicenter of the explosion, on the scorched earth that had just been forcibly smoothed over, resembling a huge wound.
In the gaps of the billowing smoke and dust, on the edge of the churning earth, a cold, familiar glimmer of light once again pierced his eyes!
A bone talisman, engraved with a blood-dripping wolf's head and menacing fangs, was ripped from deeper layers of soil by the blast wave. It was now half-buried in scorching rubble and charred earth. The twisted dark red symbol on its forehead, illuminated by the lingering firelight, resembled the one-eyed eye of a demon, flickering with an ominous light.
It has appeared again!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
