The distant clatter of hooves drew nearer. At first, the sound seemed to emanate from the locust grove, but a closer listen revealed that the horse was treading not on dead branches and decaying leaves, but on a dirt path.

But the soil, having been baked by the sun all day, had begun to thaw. Now, in the biting cold of night, the slick mud had frozen over into a sheet of ice.

So the sound was that of hooves on ice. If one listened intently, they could even hear the CRACKLE of the ice sheet splintering.

As the group listened intently to the sounds, the horse suddenly seemed to slip, dragging whatever it was pulling down into a ditch.

In an instant, the sound of a horse’s neigh and a man’s shout erupted, startling even the birds that were wintering in the locust grove into flight.

Chen Lian was so stunned he was rendered speechless. The whites of his eyes showed as he was about to faint dead away.

Just then, the old woman hurried over.

"Quick! Now’s our chance! Let’s go save them. You useless boy, Li’an, fainting over a little thing like this. You can’t pass out now. What would we do if you fainted?"

As the old woman was pinching the skin beneath Chen Lian’s nose to revive him, Chen Lin calmly threw off his blanket and began to move his limbs, which were stiff from the cold.

"No rush, Mother. If we go now, it’ll look too deliberate. They won’t be as grateful. Let’s wait a little longer."

’It would be best to wait until that merchant is about to freeze to death before we show ourselves. Then, he’ll have no choice but to worship us as his saviors.’

’With a life-debt like that, won’t the merchant be at our beck and call?’

’But we can’t wait too long, either. Those two drunkards from Sang Village might show up out of nowhere.’

The old woman thought Chen Lin’s idea was excellent and nodded in agreement. "We’ll do as you say."

They had intended to wait longer. But as time passed, instead of the sounds of despair and miserable wailing they expected, they heard faint cheers coming from the direction of the crash.

The old woman’s heart leaped into her throat as she heard the unexpected sounds. "It couldn’t be those two drunkards, could it? Did they take another road?"

Chen Lin immediately shook his head. "Impossible. This is the only road to Sang Village."

"Then did someone from Sang Village happen to come out and stumble upon them?"

It was hard to say, but unlikely.

Still, the noises coming from that direction were certainly unusual, and it made both the old woman and Chen Lin uneasy.

Finally, the two decided they couldn’t wait any longer. They told Chen Dachang to hurry the ox-cart toward the site of the crash.

The closer they got, the more clearly they could hear the commotion.

The faint sounds of gratitude and requests for help confirmed it: someone had beaten them to it while they were patiently waiting!

The old woman and Chen Lin were so furious they felt their blood boil, and they nearly passed out from the rage.

Anyone could tell the difference in importance between the first person to save a life and the second wave of helpers.

Now, they had to see if they could hurry over and get a piece of the action. Or better yet, knock out the rescuers and take their place as the saviors of the two strangers.

The old woman urged Chen Dachang, "Faster! A little faster!"

Chen Lin’s face was a mask of bitter resentment. "Damn it all! If I find out which son of a bitch ruined my plan, I’ll eat him alive."

Chen Lian wore a wooden, dazed expression, his spirit seemingly detached from his body.

The things he’d learned in the last few moments were enough to shatter his mind and break his grasp on reality.

He was completely dumbfounded, biting his lip hard to stop himself from crying out for help.

’What has this world come to?’

’Why did something so bizarre have to happen to me!’

’Is this some grand illusion conjured by gods or demons to confuse me? Are these people in front of me really my family?’

Chen Lian stared vacantly at the moon on the horizon.

Tonight, the moon was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. As the wind pushed them along, the moon would peek out for a moment before vanishing once more.

But the moonlight was dim, and upon closer inspection, there seemed to be patches of blood-red on its surface. ’Could this be the legendary blood moon?’

’A blood moon’s rise means demons and ghosts run rampant.’

’That’s it. This world before me... it’s all an illusion.’

’If I just pass out, everything will be back to normal when I wake up.’

Chen Lian was a man of action. Taking advantage of everyone’s distraction, he viciously slammed his head against the handrail of the ox-cart.

He struck with all his might, and the world immediately swam before his eyes. Within a single breath, he had passed out completely.

The old woman and the others witnessed the entire act. They wanted to stop him, but how could they have reacted in time?

By the time they realized what Chen Lian had done, they were about to go mad with anger.

The old woman twisted Chen Lian’s ear. "A pie falls from the sky right into your mouth, and you don’t even know enough to open it! How do you expect to ever amount to anything?!"