[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 95

City God Temple.

The sky was piled with thick clouds, tinged with a faint blackness, like ink-saturated brushes smudging large patches of pale ink across rice paper. Neither fully overcast nor clear, they held back rain heavily, refusing to fall. The air was filled with an agonizing mix of dampness and heat.

This was a City God Temple that had lost its incense offerings.

Perhaps because the city already had more efficacious and convenient temples, this old City God Temple usually saw few visitors on ordinary days. Devoid of human presence, the old building exuded a decaying gloom from its very foundations.

The tiles were broken, the plaster peeled away, revealing mottled earthen blocks beneath. Thin reeds grew in the cracks between the blue stone bricks paving the main hall’s front. The willow tree outside the hall, untended, grew tall and lush, its countless tendrils dancing in the wind like delicate yet tenacious claws.

At this moment, the desolate City God Temple was packed with people. Faint, hoarse moans came from the abandoned main hall.

They were the wails of those burned in the fire.

When their group stepped into the main hall, the people lying on the ground didn’t even spare them a glance, merely breathing in numb and weak.

Exposed skin was marred by twisted, horrifying scars. Dark red, raw flesh bulged from wounds, oozing a clear fluid that gave the injuries a strange gloss. An unfamiliar odor permeated the air, seeping relentlessly into their nostrils.

Shiliu instinctively frowned, wanting to cover her nose and mouth. But before she could raise her hand, she spotted a little girl leaning against the door behind them.

Her small, thin body was curled up, her arms as bony as twigs, also bearing burn scars more mottled than the vermilion door behind her. Her bare feet were tucked together. Noticing Shiliu’s gaze, she shrunk back in embarrassment.

For some reason, Shiliu felt a secret pang of guilt. She crouched down, lowering herself to eye level with the girl, and asked softly, “Child, why are you alone here? Did you get separated from your family?”

She had intended to help find her family, but the light in the little girl’s eyes dimmed. She just shook her head slightly, her voice barely louder than a pea.

“No family left. They’re all gone.” A glimmer of brightness welled in her eyes, but she suppressed it fiercely, never letting it form into tears.

At such a young age, having survived a fire, how could a little girl possibly survive on her own? Shiliu didn’t want to think about it.

A strange discomfort twisted in her heart. She reached into her robes for her money pouch, but Shiliu was no philanthropist. Her meager savings had dwindled along the journey, and the rest were lost in the fire. The few copper coins she had now were on credit.

Shiliu counted the pitiful coppers and could only turn her wide eyes toward her “creditor.”

But Li Xuanci’s gaze wasn’t directed their way. He was looking deep into the main hall, his eyes distant and cold, utterly devoid of compassion, as if the entire hall’s bloody misery were mere illusions unworthy of his notice.

Left with no choice, Shiliu shifted her gaze to her senior brother, hoping he could contribute something.

He Chong caught her look, glanced at the thin, small girl, understood Shiliu’s likely empathy, sighed, and prepared to open his own purse.

Shiliu breathed a small sigh of relief and smiled at her senior brother. But suddenly, a pain struck her head—pat—a small, hard object hit her skull and fell into her open palm.

A tiny piece of broken silver landed among her meager copper coins.

“Two paupers, competing to play the big spender here.”

A mocking remark drifted down from above. Both Shiliu and her senior brother flushed bright red. The words were true—He Chong’s money pouch had also been lost in the fire. His funds, like hers, were on credit too.

Those who accept gifts are meek; those who take handouts feel short. Shiliu, stung by the comment, could only swallow her pride, quietly accept the silver, and hand it to the little girl, intending to advise her not to flaunt the money.

But then a sharp voice cut through.

“Aha! Slacking off again, are you? Let’s see you get away this time!” A gaunt woman stormed over, cursing as she came. Her eyes were sunken from exhaustion, her mouth protruding, with a set of wildly unruly teeth that seemed barely contained by her large lips.

The woman charged straight for the little girl, a fierce expression on her face, reaching out to pinch her. Shiliu quickly intervened, but the woman was shrewish. With just a slight touch from Shiliu, she immediately planted her hands on her hips, ready to curse Shiliu out along with the girl.

“Fine! You little jinx, found yourself a helper already, you bastard child! The moment my eyes aren’t glued to you, you’re cozying up to men outside! And after our family kindly took in you, this harbinger of doom, fed you, and clothed you! You weren’t enough to curse your own parents to death, now you’re cursing our family too! Truly ungrateful!”

Her words were vile. Shiliu, having grown up sheltered, had never heard such nonsense before. Her face flushed crimson, unsure how to retort.

Behind her, Li Xuanci’s gaze shifted over, darker than the gathering clouds on the horizon, carrying a sharpness that felt like being weighed down by blades and axes.

The woman, oblivious, continued her tantrum. Those around, seemingly familiar with her ferocity, chimed in. Some watching the spectacle commented, “Old Lady Chen, wasn’t that just to get a child bride for free? Your son’s so fat, where would he ever find a wife? Such a young girl, what a sin.”

This sent Old Lady Chen into a full rage. Pointing and shouting, she yelled, “What’s wrong with my son? My son is blessed with great fortune! It’s this jinx here who cursed her whole family to death, burned everything to ashes, didn’t even bring a single coin with her! If I hadn’t given her food, she’d have been dragged to the brothel long ago, ridden a thousand times by those pus-filled, shit-shoveling lowlifes! I treat her well, and she still acts like this, so promiscuous, cozying up to this stray man! Truly rotten to the bone!”

The little girl, barely ten years old, faced with such a torrent of abuse, didn’t dare speak, her eyes reddening as she curled into an even tighter ball.

The woman kept going, “Just you wait! Today, I’ll sell you to the brothel! Let your worthless bones be pressed by thousands, ridden by tens of thousands!”

Shiliu’s hands, hanging at her sides, clenched tightly, nails digging deep into her palms, almost breaking the skin. The tips of her ears turned red, not from shyness, but from anger.

She didn’t know how to argue. Her sect had repeatedly warned her not to conflict with ordinary people, not to use martial prowess to bully civilians.

But at this moment, she wanted to ignore sect rules, disregard taboos, and slap the still-flapping mouth in front of her hard.

A sword gleam was faster than her.

A brilliant flash crossed her vision. The previously chattering woman suddenly had a thin, bloody cut appear on her left ear, followed by a strange sizzling sound. Blood spurted from the extremely fine blade wound. The woman hadn’t even registered it yet.

A bloody ear fell to the ground, collecting dust, becoming filthy.

The woman, belatedly realizing, clutched her left ear and screamed, the sound shrill and piercing. Everyone around was terrified; even the injured scrambled backward.

Li Xuanci merely sheathed his sword, indifferently glancing at the tip.

Even with his sword’s speed, a drop of blood still clung to it, sliding down the blade.

Disgust and impatience flickered in his eyes. Tch, filthy.

His temper worsening, Li Xuanci looked at her as if she were dead meat, coldly stating, “Shut up. Do you not want your tongue either?”

The old woman clutched the bleeding hole where her ear had been, her eyes filled with terror, but she firmly shut her mouth, not even daring to whimper in pain. She slumped powerless to the ground, the color draining from her face.

Having achieved silence, Li Xuanci ignored the old woman and turned to the little girl. But the moment the girl met his gaze, she trembled so violently she seemed about to faint.

Shiliu’s heart was also startled. But ever since her first meeting with Li Xuanci, she had been scared thoroughly.

Forget people; even that massive several-zhang-long conger eel had been dissected alive before her eyes by Li Xuanci. Now, just seeing someone lose an ear—especially someone she despised—Shiliu couldn’t muster much sympathy for the old woman. So, she cautiously glanced at Li Xuanci, then turned to the girl, coaxing her in a very soft voice, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here. He listens to me.”

Perhaps her tone was too confident, her gaze too resolute, the little girl calmed down a bit, finally stopping her violent trembling.

But Li Xuanci grew impatient. He gestured with his chin and asked, “Brat, was your family’s home burned down before?”

This was a detail revealed in the old woman’s earlier insults. Shiliu, too incensed, had missed it.

Shiliu’s eyes widened as she looked at the little girl. She saw struggle hidden in the girl’s eyes, her gaze evasive. But Li Xuanci had little patience. After just a moment of silence, the sword, still bearing a drop of blood, was raised again.

Shiliu gasped, about to speak and dissuade, but the little girl’s eyes fell on the wailing Old Lady Chen and the dirty ear on the ground. Seeming to reach a decision, she replied, “Yes.”