Lost Ice Block, Execution Ground

Gulp—

A little girl with her hair tied up with a straw rope stared at the sweet mooncake, drooling but only daring to suck on her fingers.

"Don't stare at the martial lord."

The girl’s mother was thin and withered, like a stalk of straw stuck in the field.

Her gaze toward Ying Bing was timid and fearful, just like the other villagers.

This was also why none of the villagers dared to approach.

A maiden as ethereal as a celestial being, traveling alone in the Southern Borderlands—she could either be a formidable martial artist, a divine attendant serving the Witch Spirits, or perhaps even a powerful shapeshifting demon beast.

Ying Bing was familiar with this kind of gaze.

In the past, wherever she descended, the masses revered her as if she were a deity—no, even more so.

Something that once felt utterly ordinary.

So why did it now feel... so unfamiliar?

"You can have one."

Ying Bing summoned a wisp of cloud mist, gently carrying the mooncake into the little girl’s arms.

"Thank you, fairy sister!"

The girl was overjoyed, but the surrounding villagers—especially the girl’s mother—suddenly turned pale with terror.

She dropped to her knees, kowtowing frantically:

"My lord, she’s still young. Please spare her!"

"I beg you!"

Her forehead split open with the first kowtow, blood, sweat, and tears mixing with dirt until they were indistinguishable.

"I mean no harm."

A beam of moonlight descended in broad daylight, enveloping the woman.

Had Ying Bing not used her spiritual intent, the misunderstanding might never have been resolved.

Only after the little girl licked the mooncake and exclaimed with blissful delight, "It’s so sweet!" did the woman finally believe the coldly elegant maiden bore no ill will.

Still, aside from the little girl, no one else dared to approach her.

"Sister, here’s the map you asked for."

"Thank you."

Ying Bing took the map, pausing briefly when she saw the little girl take a bite out of a chibi-style Li Mo figurine on the mooncake.

A moment later, she lowered her head and examined the crude hunter’s map.

"Celestial sister, who are you thinking of?"

The little girl, Fu Yingzi, tucked the mooncake away and asked curiously.

"I’m looking at the map."

Ying Bing smoothed out the parchment, her serene eyes pausing briefly before she shook her head lightly.

"But Mama looks like that when she misses Papa!"

Fu Yingzi tilted her head, pointing at a nearby mountain path:

"Then, sister, what’s that mountain called?"

The girl’s gaze was pure and innocent, yet it left Ying Bing speechless.

"That’s..."

Ying Bing’s jade-like face stiffened slightly.

She had just been studying the map—this mountain was so close to Baoping Town, she was certain she had seen its name.

Why couldn’t she recall it now?

So the maiden lowered her eyes to the map once more.

Outside was Li Mo Mountain, beside it flowed Li Mo River, along the riverbank stood Li Mo Forest, where the Li Mo Tribe lived...

"?"

Ying Bing’s tranquil gaze froze.

"This is Baoping Town, so of course the mountain is called Baoping Mountain!"

Fu Yingzi suddenly felt this sister wasn’t so scary after all.

Just then—

The sunlight dimmed as if something had blotted it out, and the map filled with tiny Li Mo figures darkened abruptly.

Ying Bing looked up.

A colossal roc, its wings spread like a stormcloud, descended with an overwhelming, ferocious aura.

Its razor-sharp beak parted, and to everyone’s shock, it spoke in human tongue:

"Kekeke!"

"Let this grandpa see if there are any kids to eat!"

The villagers erupted into panic, scattering in all directions like frightened birds and beasts.

The roc circled overhead, its keen eyes locking onto the little girl clutching the mooncake as she fled. With another eerie cackle, it swooped down like a black gale.

A fierce wind howled.

Fu Yingzi’s face turned deathly pale as the roc’s shadow engulfed her tiny frame.

But at that very moment—

A streak of moonlight flashed in broad daylight.

The roc’s charge halted abruptly.

A frost-white sword now rested against its neck, its icy edge a hair’s breadth from slicing through flesh.

The sword’s wielder was the celestial maiden.

"Do you know the way to the Qingluan Clan?"

Her voice was cool and detached.

"You dare—?!"

The roc rasped, trying to bluster.

Swish—

Moonlight glinted as the sword flashed.

Feathers drifted down.

The roc suddenly felt a chill atop its head—cold as the sword’s edge, cold as the maiden’s noble gaze.

"The Qingluan Clan despises humans and all males..."

Swish—

Without another word, the sword flashed again.

The roc grew balder, its once-ferocious eyes now brimming with indignation and grievance.

"Can’t we talk this out?! Let’s be reasonable!"

Birds relied on splendid plumage—especially their crests—to attract mates.

......

Meanwhile.

Three bronze horses pulled a carriage, their hooves flying—this was no mere figure of speech.

The carriage was truly skimming just above the ground, allowing it to traverse the Southern Borderlands’ ever-shifting terrain—twisting one moment, barren the next, muddy soon after—with effortless ease.

Having left South Pass at the start of autumn, Li Mo and his companions were now, before autumn’s height, about to reach their first stop beyond the border: Baoping Town.

In the distance, the sprawling majesty of mountain ranges was already visible.

"This place doesn’t seem very lively."

Li Mo peered through the carriage window’s dark gauze, his attire now adjusted to Southern Borderlands fashion—a headscarf tied around his forehead, black robes embroidered with mythical beasts.

Along the journey, he’d witnessed scenes where prosperity and decay coexisted, where life stubbornly persisted in the cracks between.

Compared to the settlements they’d passed, Baoping Town seemed particularly desolate.

Huang Donglai nodded:

"With mountains on three sides and few merchants passing through, it’s only natural the population is sparse."

"But if you travel light and move fast, this is actually the best route to the territory of the Mingjiao Tribe."

Li Mo glanced at the map, recalling Huang Donglai’s explanations over the past days.

The closer to South Pass, the more docile the demon beasts became, and the thicker the garrisons of border troops.

But the deeper one ventured into the Southern Borderlands, the weaker the Great Yu’s influence grew.

Here, peace wasn’t kept by imperial soldiers, but by the ‘Witch Spirits’ worshipped by the common folk.

"Brother Li, about that..."

Murong Xiao, having just finished his daily ritual to suppress his bloodline, spoke up awkwardly.

"Ran out again?"

Li Mo chuckled, producing a gold ingot which he deftly broke into smaller nuggets.

"Yeah... I’ll definitely repay you once we return to Purple Sun Prefecture."

Murong Xiao’s face burned with shame.

"What, trying to hoard all the merit for yourself?"

Li Mo shook his head with a smile, then took out medicinal herbs and grains as well.

The more chaotic the world, the cheaper human life became.

True to his creed of ‘do good deeds without asking why,’ Murong Xiao had never turned away from suffering along their journey.

Even without the need to suppress his bloodline, his compassionate nature would have driven him to act regardless.

To be fair, much of this could be considered Li Mo’s investment.

Well.

Perhaps ‘investment’ wasn’t the right word.

Lately, whether due to his rising cultivation realm or some other reason, even saving ordinary lives barely registered any karmic feedback anymore.

After preparing Murong Xiao’s alms, the carriage finally arrived at the town’s entrance.

Beneath the archway bearing the words ‘Baoping’...

However, as soon as they reached the entrance of the town, they saw a dense crowd of people gathered in the distance. The southern folk, dressed in strange attire, were all gathered there, their murmurs and discussions filling the air.

"How could Fu Yingzi have colluded with the demonic beings?"

"She spoke a few words with that fairy maiden the other day—could that fairy have been a monster in disguise?"

"Stop the child's mother! Don’t let her clash with the officers....."

.....

Hmm?

Li Mo raised an eyebrow.

His gaze pierced through the crowd, landing on the frail little girl kneeling on the platform. She was pale with terror, her lips bloodless.

A bare-chested executioner, gulping down strong liquor, stood nearby, his executioner's blade thicker than the girl's waist.

Glancing at the sky, the presiding official seated on the high platform announced loudly:

"The hour has come!"

"Carry out the execution!"

.....

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