“Xia… Xia… Sister… My sister…”

I sat next to Ying, who was lying on the ground . I, honestly, never thought the first expression I’d see from her would be one of agony . She looked ghastly pale . Lucia sat to one side and held Nier’s hand . Concerned, Lucia quietly said, “She has been this way the entire time . Her fever is too serious . Your Highness, you need to bring a doctor, or she might not make it . ”

Nier asked, “But are there doctors in this village?”

“There’s definitely a doctor except they won’t be professional . Checking a fever is within their capabilities, though,” I said, standing up . “I’ll go look for a doctor . You girls stay with her . Let’s put tonight’s task aside for now . I need to ensure Ying’s safety first and foremost . ”

“It’s dark, Your Majesty . ”

“It’s all right . This village is considerably safe . There are only a few families . I’ll be fine . Also, you should already be aware the people of this village don’t have any actual combat abilities . Don’t worry about me, Nier . You two just watch over Ying . ”

“Mm . ”

Nier was reluctant to let go of my head . I kissed her forehead and quietly said, “Sorry, I know you two have just returned to me, but I have something to do . I promise we’ll go home once this matter with Ying is over . ”

Nier gave a nod and sniffled . I walked up to Lucia and kissed her lips . I had one last glimpse of Ying’s painful expression before turning to leave .

I went down to the village . The stone steps were slightly cold at night . The green shrubs during the day were dark enough to be a little scary . The flames in the village below weren’t bright . Dark clouds shrouded the moonlight . I regretted not bringing a fire torch out with me . I reached the entrance to the village, nonetheless .

The village didn’t have any guards . The main door was shut, but it wasn’t difficult to jump over the shabby fence by the side . I went onto the main street . Homes on either side of the street lit fires for light . I settled on the entrance of the store selling vegetables and meat .

In my opinion, the owner was nice, relatively speaking . He was arguably reasonable compared to the others . He knew what the people feared, so he knew the meaning of Ying’s existence . Therefore, I reasoned it would be all right to see him .

“I’m closed,” said the owner .

The owner came out from the store in coa.r.s.e cloth clothing when I almost ripped the door down . He was angry, though . I told him, “Ying’s condition is very poor . You saw her today, right? She needs a doctor . Is there a doctor here?”

“I guess you could say I’m the doctor of this village . Having said that, I don’t believe I can treat her . I don’t want to enter the shrine, either . You’ve caused an uproar . The shrine is a forbidden zone to us . The villagers will ostracise me if I go inside . They’ll think I helped Ying . Consequently, if Ying once again…”

“Again?” I cut the owner off, eyes fixated on him .

The owner froze . He was aware he just had a slip of the tongue, therefore abstaining from speaking again . He fiddled with his hair, and then turned around: “That’s just how it is . I can’t offend the villagers for Ying or your sake . I need to live here…”

“What exactly did Ying previously do?”

“That has nothing to do with you, does it? Moreover, it’s in the past now . ”

I took a swift step and grabbed his collar when he wanted to turn around and leave . In a serious tone, I said, “You’re coming with me to check Ying’s condition now, or I’ll spare you from having to think about life as a villager anymore . You see those two girls today? I a.s.sure you just one of them alone is enough to ma.s.sacre your entire village, because they’re my bodyguards . ”

The owner looked back at me as though there was nothing in the world worth living for: “If you kill me, there’ll be no doctors to take a look at Ying . ”

“Didn’t you just say that you might not be able to treat her? Let’s have a bet, then?”

The owner sighed: “All right . I’ll go and take a look; however, I can’t promise I can treat her . I’m only a doctor in my spare time . The wyrm wounded her of all things . My medicines might be useless . In any case, *sigh*, I’ll go . ”

I looked around to check that there was n.o.body behind . The owner went back inside to change . He picked up a basket and went with me . He warned, “Don’t stand out too much . Let’s hurry before somebody sees me . I’ll be done for if they see me . ”

“Just walk normally . n.o.body will see you in the middle of the night . ”

“I wouldn’t be so sure . I did something guilty, after all . ”

“Atone for it, then . ”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing now?”

When we arrived at the shrine, he knelt down next to Ying and gave her a check-up . He let out a sigh of relief: “Lucky . She has a fever, though . Her wound is just an ordinary wound . There’s no venom or rotting . You treated her in time . I’ll leave these few bags of medicine . Just serve them to her at the fixed times . ”

“That’s a relief, then . ” I let out a breath of relief .

The owner fumbled through his bag . He took out a few paper bags and placed them to the side . He told me how to prepare and serve the medicine . He immediately got to his feet after . He didn’t want to stay inside for another second . I stood up and left the shrine with him, with him walking in front .

He suddenly stopped at the entrance of the shrine . He turned around . I tilted my head and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I think there are some things I should tell you . I can’t mention them in the village, but I can now . Furthermore, if I don’t tell you now, you’ll probably go and verify it soon, won’t you?”

The owner reached into his pocket and took out a few rolls of paper . He took out a stick, lit it up then put it in his mouth . He took in a breath and blew out a mouthful of smoke . He didn’t look at me; instead, he looked at the dark sky . Voice soft, he asked, “You noticed her calling a name in her current state, right?”

“Yes . ”

“That’s her younger sister’s name . ”

“I know that already . ”

“Do you know where the child is right now?”

“I don’t . ”

The owner smiled, and then had another smoke . I watched the lit up red circle slowly move . I waited for him to continue . He elaborated, “I told you I did something guilty on the way here . I did something I’m very guilty about . When Ying first arrived at the shrine, we didn’t treat her with this att.i.tude . Ying got along with everybody really well . Lots of kids were willing to play in the shrine, too . At the time, Ying’s sister, Xia, was still with her . One unfortunate day, Ying went berserk . Xia tried to stop her but failed . That day, Ying murdered five kids in the shrine . After that fiasco, the infuriated villagers charged to the shrine and kidnapped Xia . They blinded Xia, and then locked her in the house by the harbour . That’s what led to Ying’s relations.h.i.+p with the villagers completely changing . From then on, Ying never showed any emotion again . ”

“So, you’re saying that Ying is here to atone? You’re saying the villagers fear her, because of her going berserk?”

“But I saw the truth . I came to deliver stuff that time and saw what exactly happened . ”

The red flame went out . The owner firmly stepped on it: “The truth is Ying wasn’t the one who went berserk . It was the children who went berserk . They picked up Ying’s sabre without her knowledge . The sabre is, in fact, the source of Ying’s power, which can also be described as a sabre containing hatred and souls . It’s not a power an ordinary person can withstand . The sabre consumed the children . The sabre turned the children into a part of the countless evil souls Ying had slain . Ying had no choice but to kill the children . She didn’t explain herself; or rather, n.o.body would’ve believed her explanation . We blinded her sister, because of those children who brought it upon themselves . Consequently, we turned her sister into a chain to restrain her . The pain and self-blame Ying felt further pushed her to stay here and endure all of this for eternity . ”

“Is that the reason she won’t retaliate no matter what you do to her?”

“Yes . I’m a sinner; I knew the truth, yet didn’t dare to speak up . Do you know how it feels to personally steal the perfectly functional eyes of a girl? I, personally, took her eyes . I’m now looking at the world Xia won’t ever see again . I’m watching those iron chains restrain her forever . I’m still a weakling, even now . You’re not, though . You’re an outsider, and you care for Ying . I can’t do it . I have too many concerns, but you can help Ying . ”

He gave me a few soft pats on my shoulder . After a long sigh, whispered next to my ear, “Don’t let others know I was the one who told you . Xia is in that house . Bring her out . Ying has the right to choose her own life . It wasn’t her mistake, but she’s too kind and gentle… Take her away . I’m begging you . Take her away . Ying shouldn’t belong here . ”

I never knew a person’s tears could be so clear and bright . I didn’t say anything so as to avoid making him feel awkward . He wiped the corner of his eyes . Then, he took in a big breath and gave me a few shoulder pats before leaving the shrine .

I went up to the stone steps and watched the owner slowly vanish into the darkness . He looked feeble from the rear . He looked as if the darkness could swallow him at any given moment . He was comparable to a star weakly s.h.i.+ning for its last few moments . Only a few stars shone through the sinister dark clouds . Even then, their light was almost invisible . However, a weak light was still a light .  Perhaps I should say,” Only when weak stars gather together, can they s.h.i.+ne through the dark clouds shrouding the sky . ” I wanted to save her . I could save her .

I went back to the shrine . Lucia and Nier were lying down next to Ying . The two of them were falling asleep . The two of them had to busy themselves right after they were rescued . As a result, they were spent . I walked up to their sides and whispered, “Rest up you two . Leave the rest to me . ”

“Mm… Your Majesty…”

“All right, Your Highness . ”

The two nodded . They grabbed my hands and shut their eyes .

I focused on Ying’s face, but I wasn’t sleepy at all…

.  .

“Xia… Xia… Sister… My sister…”.

I sat next to Ying, who was lying on the ground . I, honestly, never thought the first expression I’d see from her would be one of agony . She looked ghastly pale . Lucia sat to one side and held Nier’s hand . Concerned, Lucia quietly said, “She has been this way the entire time . Her fever is too serious . Your Highness, you need to bring a doctor, or she might not make it . ”.

Nier asked, “But are there doctors in this village?”.

“There’s definitely a doctor except they won’t be professional . Checking a fever is within their capabilities, though,” I said, standing up . “I’ll go look for a doctor . You girls stay with her . Let’s put tonight’s task aside for now . I need to ensure Ying’s safety first and foremost . ”.

“It’s dark, Your Majesty . ”.

“It’s all right . This village is considerably safe . There are only a few families . I’ll be fine . Also, you should already be aware the people of this village don’t have any actual combat abilities . Don’t worry about me, Nier . You two just watch over Ying . ”.

“Mm . ”.

Nier was reluctant to let go of my head . I kissed her forehead and quietly said, “Sorry, I know you two have just returned to me, but I have something to do . I promise we’ll go home once this matter with Ying is over . ”.

Nier gave a nod and sniffled . I walked up to Lucia and kissed her lips . I had one last glimpse of Ying’s painful expression before turning to leave

I went down to the village . The stone steps were slightly cold at night . The green shrubs during the day were dark enough to be a little scary . The flames in the village below weren’t bright . Dark clouds shrouded the moonlight . I regretted not bringing a fire torch out with me . I reached the entrance to the village, nonetheless

The village didn’t have any guards . The main door was shut, but it wasn’t difficult to jump over the shabby fence by the side . I went onto the main street . Homes on either side of the street lit fires for light . I settled on the entrance of the store selling vegetables and meat

In my opinion, the owner was nice, relatively speaking . He was arguably reasonable compared to the others . He knew what the people feared, so he knew the meaning of Ying’s existence . Therefore, I reasoned it would be all right to see him

“I’m closed,” said the owner

The owner came out from the store in coa.r.s.e cloth clothing when I almost ripped the door down . He was angry, though . I told him, “Ying’s condition is very poor . You saw her today, right? She needs a doctor . Is there a doctor here?”.

“I guess you could say I’m the doctor of this village . Having said that, I don’t believe I can treat her . I don’t want to enter the shrine, either . You’ve caused an uproar . The shrine is a forbidden zone to us . The villagers will ostracise me if I go inside . They’ll think I helped Ying . Consequently, if Ying once again…”.

“Again?” I cut the owner off, eyes fixated on him

The owner froze . He was aware he just had a slip of the tongue, therefore abstaining from speaking again . He fiddled with his hair, and then turned around: “That’s just how it is . I can’t offend the villagers for Ying or your sake . I need to live here…”.

“What exactly did Ying previously do?”.

“That has nothing to do with you, does it? Moreover, it’s in the past now . ”.

I took a swift step and grabbed his collar when he wanted to turn around and leave . In a serious tone, I said, “You’re coming with me to check Ying’s condition now, or I’ll spare you from having to think about life as a villager anymore . You see those two girls today? I a.s.sure you just one of them alone is enough to ma.s.sacre your entire village, because they’re my bodyguards . ”.

The owner looked back at me as though there was nothing in the world worth living for: “If you kill me, there’ll be no doctors to take a look at Ying . ”.

“Didn’t you just say that you might not be able to treat her? Let’s have a bet, then?”.

The owner sighed: “All right . I’ll go and take a look; however, I can’t promise I can treat her . I’m only a doctor in my spare time . The wyrm wounded her of all things . My medicines might be useless . In any case, *sigh*, I’ll go . ”.

I looked around to check that there was n.o.body behind . The owner went back inside to change . He picked up a basket and went with me . He warned, “Don’t stand out too much . Let’s hurry before somebody sees me . I’ll be done for if they see me . ”.

“Just walk normally . n.o.body will see you in the middle of the night . ”.

“I wouldn’t be so sure . I did something guilty, after all . ”.

“Atone for it, then . ”.

“Isn’t that what I’m doing now?”.

When we arrived at the shrine, he knelt down next to Ying and gave her a check-up . He let out a sigh of relief: “Lucky . She has a fever, though . Her wound is just an ordinary wound . There’s no venom or rotting . You treated her in time . I’ll leave these few bags of medicine . Just serve them to her at the fixed times . ”.

“That’s a relief, then . ” I let out a breath of relief

The owner fumbled through his bag . He took out a few paper bags and placed them to the side . He told me how to prepare and serve the medicine . He immediately got to his feet after . He didn’t want to stay inside for another second . I stood up and left the shrine with him, with him walking in front

He suddenly stopped at the entrance of the shrine . He turned around . I tilted my head and asked, “What’s the matter?”.

“I think there are some things I should tell you . I can’t mention them in the village, but I can now . Furthermore, if I don’t tell you now, you’ll probably go and verify it soon, won’t you?”.

The owner reached into his pocket and took out a few rolls of paper . He took out a stick, lit it up then put it in his mouth . He took in a breath and blew out a mouthful of smoke . He didn’t look at me; instead, he looked at the dark sky . Voice soft, he asked, “You noticed her calling a name in her current state, right?”.

“Yes . ”.

“That’s her younger sister’s name . ”.

“I know that already . ”.

“Do you know where the child is right now?”.

“I don’t . ”.

The owner smiled, and then had another smoke . I watched the lit up red circle slowly move . I waited for him to continue . He elaborated, “I told you I did something guilty on the way here . I did something I’m very guilty about . When Ying first arrived at the shrine, we didn’t treat her with this att.i.tude . Ying got along with everybody really well . Lots of kids were willing to play in the shrine, too . At the time, Ying’s sister, Xia, was still with her . One unfortunate day, Ying went berserk . Xia tried to stop her but failed . That day, Ying murdered five kids in the shrine . After that fiasco, the infuriated villagers charged to the shrine and kidnapped Xia . They blinded Xia, and then locked her in the house by the harbour . That’s what led to Ying’s relations.h.i.+p with the villagers completely changing . From then on, Ying never showed any emotion again . ”.

“So, you’re saying that Ying is here to atone? You’re saying the villagers fear her, because of her going berserk?”.

“But I saw the truth . I came to deliver stuff that time and saw what exactly happened . ”.

The red flame went out . The owner firmly stepped on it: “The truth is Ying wasn’t the one who went berserk . It was the children who went berserk . They picked up Ying’s sabre without her knowledge . The sabre is, in fact, the source of Ying’s power, which can also be described as a sabre containing hatred and souls . It’s not a power an ordinary person can withstand . The sabre consumed the children . The sabre turned the children into a part of the countless evil souls Ying had slain . Ying had no choice but to kill the children . She didn’t explain herself; or rather, n.o.body would’ve believed her explanation . We blinded her sister, because of those children who brought it upon themselves . Consequently, we turned her sister into a chain to restrain her . The pain and self-blame Ying felt further pushed her to stay here and endure all of this for eternity . ”.

“Is that the reason she won’t retaliate no matter what you do to her?”.

“Yes . I’m a sinner; I knew the truth, yet didn’t dare to speak up . Do you know how it feels to personally steal the perfectly functional eyes of a girl? I, personally, took her eyes . I’m now looking at the world Xia won’t ever see again . I’m watching those iron chains restrain her forever . I’m still a weakling, even now . You’re not, though . You’re an outsider, and you care for Ying . I can’t do it . I have too many concerns, but you can help Ying . ”.

He gave me a few soft pats on my shoulder . After a long sigh, whispered next to my ear, “Don’t let others know I was the one who told you . Xia is in that house . Bring her out . Ying has the right to choose her own life . It wasn’t her mistake, but she’s too kind and gentle… Take her away . I’m begging you . Take her away . Ying shouldn’t belong here . ”.

I never knew a person’s tears could be so clear and bright . I didn’t say anything so as to avoid making him feel awkward . He wiped the corner of his eyes . Then, he took in a big breath and gave me a few shoulder pats before leaving the shrine

I went up to the stone steps and watched the owner slowly vanish into the darkness . He looked feeble from the rear . He looked as if the darkness could swallow him at any given moment . He was comparable to a star weakly s.h.i.+ning for its last few moments . Only a few stars shone through the sinister dark clouds . Even then, their light was almost invisible . However, a weak light was still a light .  Perhaps I should say,” Only when weak stars gather together, can they s.h.i.+ne through the dark clouds shrouding the sky . ” I wanted to save her . I could save her

I went back to the shrine . Lucia and Nier were lying down next to Ying . The two of them were falling asleep . The two of them had to busy themselves right after they were rescued . As a result, they were spent . I walked up to their sides and whispered, “Rest up you two . Leave the rest to me . ”.

“Mm… Your Majesty…”.

“All right, Your Highness . ”.

The two nodded . They grabbed my hands and shut their eyes

I focused on Ying’s face, but I wasn’t sleepy at all….

 .