Hearing him mention the village chief and the other young men, a pang of sorrow struck my heart, leaving me unsure how to deliver the devastating news to them. The young men, whose bodies had been chopped to pieces by Hua Jinlan outside the ancestral hall, were undoubtedly the sons, husbands, and fathers of these elderly women and children. Losing the pillars of their families overnight presented an immense challenge for everyone moving forward. The suffering this village endured due to the Pact of the Sea of Spirits was truly inexpressible.

So, I stammered, deliberately feigning ignorance about the situation down the mountain, and said to Xiao Shu, "Organize everyone to come down. It should be safe down there now."

"What happened last night?" Xiao Shu asked, curiosity coloring his tone. He probably found my reaction unexpected. Normally, I should have spilled out everything that happened down the mountain like pouring beans from a bamboo tube. Yet, I only offered, "It should be safe down there now," to satisfy the curiosity that had built up in the cave all night. This was certainly an unusual move.

"I'm not entirely clear myself. The important thing is that Hua Jinlan has been transcended, and Wang Jue has vanished. Hua Gu and the High Monk just headed down to the village from the mountain opposite. I specifically came over here to find you." Saying this, I turned away, intentionally preventing Xiao Shu from seeing my eyes. They say a person's gaze becomes unnatural when lying; to avoid being exposed, it's best to avoid any eye contact.

"Oh, then I'll go in and tell everyone the good news. Are you coming into the cave with me? While evacuating everyone, I ran into A'li’s mother—the cute foster mother from that story I told you about. She said she couldn't find A'li, which made me remember that A'li, Xing'er, and you were all at Granny's place. So, I took A'li's mother back to Granny's house. Granny said you had already gone to the ancestral hall and told us to take the two children and circle back to the cave, avoiding the main road. She insisted on staying in the courtyard herself, refusing to leave." Xiao Shu took a deep breath, only calming down after a long moment. He was clearly excited to see me signaling everyone to return to the village, speaking so rapidly that he was almost breathless.

However, the happier he seemed, the more sorrowful I felt, an overwhelming sense of guilt welling up inside me. Should I tell him the truth now? I hesitated. Two little figures representing honesty and deception wrestled fiercely in my mind, leaving me anxious about whether to confess. After a few seconds of deliberation, I ultimately decided to keep silent, pretending to know nothing. Since I was the sole surviving witness to last night's massacre, revealing the truth meant betraying Wang Jue. He would be burdened with boundless hatred for the fifty-one lost lives, even though the acts were not his own.

"No need. Please just ask everyone to come out; I'll wait for you at the cave entrance," I said heavily.

"That works too. You stay here, and I'll go call them," Xiao Shu replied before turning and entering the mountain cave.

A few minutes later, a bustling crowd emerged from the cave: women carrying bundles, others holding small children, and some simply walking with empty, swinging hands—a cheerful atmosphere of relief after disaster, filled with laughter, singing, and dancing. Following them were the old men and women, leaning on each other, making slow progress along the uneven, stony path. At the very rear walked Xiao Shu, Old He, and a young man—perhaps A'mang that Xiao Shu had mentioned before. Xiao Shu held Xing'er, and Old He cradled A'li. Walking beside these three was a woman in her thirties, dignified in appearance and plainly dressed; she must have been A'li’s mother, whom I had seen at the village chief's house before.