Song Ciwan stopped at a quiet corner, looking at the house ahead.
Why did she stop not far from this particular house?
Because at this very moment, someone was kneeling before its door.
This person was none other than Aunt Zhou. She held three sticks of incense, kowtowing to the heavens with a piety so intense it was almost frightening.
Her hair was streaked with white and her body was rail-thin. In the gloom of the night, her eyes burned as brightly as two clusters of fire.
With each offering of incense, she kowtowed, her forehead striking the ground with a crisp THUD. Her brow was already a bloody mess, but she paid it no mind, simply chanting endlessly, "Merciful Bodhisattvas, Grandmaster Celestial Emperor, Earth God, City God, all you Immortals… I beg you, please save my daughter!"
"She's only fifteen! She's so young. She came into this world with me and has never known a day of comfort. She can't be gone just like this!"
