It was eerie and chilling. That night, I was half-awake by my second sister, and I secretly followed her to my parents' window, where I overheard their conversation.
My father told me that the disaster would likely last a long time, and the rice my eldest sister had obtained wouldn't be enough to survive the famine. So he planned to drug my second sister and me, cook us, and then take us to the market to exchange for grain.
I've heard that the flesh of young girls under the age of sixteen is fresh and tender, and very popular among the city's high-ranking officials and nobles. There's a saying that after eating a bite of this tender meat, one no longer envies fresh mutton; this is the meaning of "not envying mutton."
At this point, Su Yunying's eyes were already red.
Ding Bu'er roared in a low voice, "What a sin! What a sin! These are their own children. Even tigers don't eat their cubs. How could they do this to their own daughters?"
Shen Zhao sighed: "We are both cultivators, and we have never experienced how painful it is to be hungry for a long time. The will to survive can bring out the dark side of a person. What is humanity? It is not worth mentioning in the face of survival."
As if he had thought of something, Shen Zhao sighed heavily again.
Su Yunying continued, "When my second sister and I heard the news, we were terrified. We took advantage of our parents' inattention and quickly fled the house."
As soon as I left the village, the other villagers spotted me and went berserk, trying to catch me. To avoid implicating me, my second sister bravely used herself as bait to cover my escape.
I watched as my second sister was caught by the villagers, tied up like a piglet, and taken home despite her cries and pleas for mercy.
I suppressed my fear and sorrow, remembering my second sister's words: go to the Zhao family next door to find my eldest sister; the family she married into had enough surplus grain to support me.
When I arrived at the Zhao family's house, I didn't see my eldest sister. They told me she had gone to bed, and then they took me to eat.
Strangely, the Zhao family was clearly very wealthy and didn't seem like a poor family, yet none of the dozen or so members had any servants.
They were very happy to see me and busied themselves preparing a meal to calm my nerves. When the food was served, I saw that the table was covered with various meat dishes.
The eldest sister's husband, parents-in-law, younger brother-in-law, and more than ten other family members sat down at the table, but the eldest sister herself was nowhere to be seen.
They kept urging me to eat and asking if the food suited my taste, but for some reason, I had no appetite at all looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table; in fact, I even felt a little nauseous.
But they ate with great relish. Seeing that I wasn't eating, they kept piling food onto my plate, and finally, almost threateningly, ordered me to eat.
Seeing the eerie smiles on their faces, I felt a chill run down my spine, and at the same time, I sensed that something might have happened to my older sister.
Just then, a Taoist priest entered from outside. Upon seeing the table laden with food, he roared in fury, overturned the table, and without a word, began to slaughter the Zhao family.
Seeing the bloody scene, I huddled in a corner, too afraid to make a sound. After the Zhao family members were all killed, the Taoist priest walked up to me, knelt down, and told me...
The table was covered in white rice and meat; once you ate it, you wouldn't be considered human anymore, and they were planning to eat me too.
Hearing this, I understood that my eldest sister had probably already been slaughtered and cooked like a lamb when she married into the family during the day.
Today, the table is probably full of my eldest sister's food... But I don't understand, the Zhao family clearly has so much food, why do they still eat people?
The Taoist priest told me that some people are just like that by nature, and cannot be understood using common sense. He then asked if I would like to follow him and become a cultivator.
I agreed without thinking, but less than two years later, my master passed away due to a recurrence of an old injury he had sustained years ago. Even on his deathbed, he couldn't let go of me...
At this point, Su Yunying sobbed softly and stopped talking.
Shen Zhao and Ding Bu'er remained silent for a long time.
Su Yunying wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and said, "Boss Shen, I want to become Empress not for that vague fame and status, but more so because I want to have the strength to prevent such tragedies from happening again."
The Kingdom of Yin has suffered a disaster, and its people are utterly innocent. Countless acts of cannibalism are occurring. I want to do everything I can to help them, but I know that in my current state, there is absolutely nothing I can do.
Shen Zhao sighed softly: "I understand your situation and feelings. So what do you plan to do?"
"I...I don't know either...I just want to save as many people as I can..."
Su Yunying replied with a blank expression, after all, she really had no experience in handling such a large-scale disaster.
Shen Zhao glanced at Su Yunying, then turned and left without saying a word.
Seeing that Su Yunying hadn't followed, he replied impatiently, "Weren't we supposed to be helping the disaster victims? Why aren't you following, my Empress!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yunying immediately stopped crying and started laughing, and followed after him.
Ding Bu'er complained, "Why are there so many trivial matters? I, Old Ding, have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes following a boss like you."
But despite his words, he still followed them.
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