Stone Fairy!

The sky was rather gloomy today, with low-hanging, gray clouds.

A heavy, damp air permeated the mountains and fields; the leaves of the plants drooped, and even the birds were too lazy to chirp.

The distant mountain ridgeline was blurred, like a faint ink mark.

There was an indescribable oppression in the air, like the calm before a storm, but even heavier and more stifling, making even breathing feel somewhat difficult.

Although the daylight was dim, the village presented a different scene altogether.

In the open space in the center of the village, the shed that was erected yesterday has been adorned with red cloth and colorful ribbons. The red ribbons on the pillars flutter gently in the wind, standing out conspicuously against the gray sky and earth.

There were two more offering tables than yesterday, neatly stacked with various offerings: fruits, pastries, whole cooked chickens and ducks, and several jars of wine, the mouths of which were sealed with red paper.

The incense burner was filled with incense sticks, and wisps of smoke rose up, spreading into a thin mist in the air, mingling with the fragrance of the offerings and permeating the entire village.

Villagers poured out of their homes, men, women, and children all dressed in clean clothes, mostly coarse linen, but washed until they were almost white.

Their expressions were solemn and dignified. No one spoke or laughed loudly, and they moved with utmost care, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Several elderly people were busy at the offering table, arranging the offerings neatly and sprinkling water on the ground.

The large elm tree stands in the center, its branches and leaves as lush as ever, and elm seeds are still falling softly.

But looking at it today, the tree seems to have grown even larger than yesterday, with a denser canopy that almost completely covers the open space in the center of the village in its shadow.

Xie Ning lay prone behind the bushes on the hillside, his eyes fixed on the commotion in the village, his anxiety growing stronger.

"What's going on..." she muttered to herself, her brows furrowed.

"The paper cranes have been sent out for so long, why haven't the help arrived yet?"

"Given their speed, they should have arrived long ago." Xie Ning's voice was low, but the anxiety in his tone was impossible to hide.

Daozhen stood behind her, his gaze passing over her head and looking towards Yushu Village.

In the village, the sacrificial ceremony seemed to have reached its climax.

An old man put down the copper basin, turned around and waved to the crowd.

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

Four strong men carried out two simple stretchers, each with a child sitting on it.

One male and one female.

The boy was about five or six years old, wearing a faded little jacket, with messy hair and big, round eyes looking around blankly, as if he didn't understand what was happening.

The girl was a little older, about seven or eight years old, wearing a floral print shirt. Her lips were tightly pursed, and her fingers were twisting the hem of her shirt until her knuckles turned white.

Both children had red ropes tied around their necks, with small wooden tags hanging from the ropes, which swayed gently in the wind.

They were carried to the front of the big elm tree.

Before the offering table, the old man with a scar on his face turned around, facing the crowd, his voice hoarse yet resonant, echoing in the heavy air:

"May the spirits above us, the entire village of Yushu sincerely offer sacrifices, beseeching your mercy to protect our village, ensure a bountiful harvest, and bring safety to our people and livestock!"

The villagers all knelt down, a dark mass, their foreheads touching the ground, no one daring to raise their heads.

Xie Ning's fingers suddenly gripped the gun barrel tightly.

"No," she said in a low, urgent voice, "we have to take action."

Before he finished speaking, Xie Ning had already darted away.

The red-clad figure drew a striking arc in the hazy sky. Xie Ning lightly touched the rocks with his toes and plunged down the mountain.

In a few leaps, Xie Ning had crossed the dirt road at the village entrance and rushed straight into the open space in the center of the village.

With a long spear in hand, its red tassel fluttering.

"stop!"

A clear shout broke the silence.

Everyone was stunned.

The villagers looked up and saw a girl in red suddenly appear, holding a long spear with a red tassel, her clothes fluttering in the wind.

She was not tall, but her back was ramrod straight, like a long spear, its sharpness fully revealed.

There was a moment of silence.

The old man with the scar on his face was the first to come to his senses.

He slowly turned around from in front of the offering table, the scars on his face twisting in the folds, making him look even more fierce.

The old man looked Xie Ning up and down, a cold glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Where did this little girl come from?" the old man asked in a hoarse, low voice.

"Send men to seize him."

With a wave of his hand, several farmers stood up from the crowd, holding hoes and machetes, and hesitantly surrounded Xie Ning.

"The sacrificial ceremony cannot be stopped." The old man's tone left no room for doubt, and he gave a wink to the four burly men carrying the child.

"continue."

The four burly men exchanged a glance, then carried the stretcher toward the big elm tree.

Xie Ning's expression turned cold.

She didn't speak, but simply slammed her spear into the ground, the butt of the spear striking the muddy ground with a dull thud. Then she moved.

The gun barrel swept across, creating a whooshing sound.

The two farmers at the front felt a jolt in their hands, and their hoes flew out of their hands. Their hands went numb from the shock, and they staggered back several steps.

Xie Ning kept moving, his spear tip darting left and right through the crowd. It seemed sharp, but each time he avoided vital points and only struck the weapons in their hands.

After a series of clanging sounds, the tools in the hands of several farmers fell to the ground, and they all clutched their wrists, grimacing as they collapsed.

Xie Ning walked through them and reached the four burly men carrying the child in just a few steps.

"lay down."

She only said two words.

The four burly men were stunned by the coldness in her eyes, and the stretcher in their hands sank involuntarily.

Before they could react, Xie Ning flicked his spear, gently pushing the stretcher on which the boy was sitting aside. With his other hand, he lifted the girl off the stretcher.

The two children were so frightened by the sudden turn of events that they dared not utter a sound. The girl clutched Xie Ning's clothes tightly, while the boy stood there, looking as if he wanted to cry but dared not.

Xie Ning shielded the two children behind him, held his spear horizontally in front of him, and scanned everyone present with his gaze.

The villagers formed a circle around her.

The old man stopped in front of Xie Ning, staring at her for a long time with his cloudy eyes, before speaking, his voice filled with suppressed anger:

"Little girl, do you know what you're doing?"

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose a few decibels, as if he were questioning or warning.

"You're risking the lives of our entire village."

Xie Ning's brows furrowed even more.

"Ignorant." Xie Ning's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"The more human blood a demon has, the more ferocious it will become. If you feed it young boys and girls today, it will demand even more blood offerings from you tomorrow."

Xie Ning's gaze swept over the villagers kneeling on the ground: "You think this will guarantee your safety?"

"Sooner or later, you will all become its prey."

The crowd quieted down.

Some people lowered their heads, while others secretly glanced at Xie Ning before quickly looking away.

Someone was trembling, their lips were moving, but they couldn't say anything.

Finally, a middle-aged woman stumbled out of the crowd and knelt down in front of the old man with a scar on his face.

"Village chief..." Her voice trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Village chief, I don't want to die."

Then another young man knelt down, followed by several women, an old man, a teenager... one after another, their knees slamming into the muddy ground with dull thuds.

"Village chief, I don't want to die, I don't want my child to feed the trees..."

"village head....."

Low sobs came from the crowd, growing louder and louder, like an undercurrent that had been suppressed for too long finally finding an outlet.

The scarred old man, known as the village chief, had a livid face. He looked at the villagers kneeling on the ground, then at Xie Ning, his expression shifting unpredictably.

And at this moment,

got windy.