The room was saturated with talismans. The wind whistled through the broken windows, causing the shutters to creak with every gust. Lin Chaoyuan sat huddled in a corner, looking exactly like a terrified prey watching his death stand before him, ready for the hunt.

  Yu Sui stood still, but the crooked smile on his lips suddenly vanished. After a brief pause, he took two steps toward Lin Chaoyuan and began to whistle a tune. Wuzu understood the melody perfectly; a smile bloomed on her face like a beautiful flower concealing a deadly poison. Lin Chaoyuan’s eyes widened, and he began to weep. Restlessness surged through his veins, and he looked around frantically like a madman.

  Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed at the door the sound of someone approaching whose entire body was draped in wooden talismans and whose feet were bound in heavy chains. A figure appeared at the threshold.

  Without stopping, he advanced toward Lin Chaoyuan, the long chains rattling and dragging with every step. Wooden amulets were tied all over his red robes. His eyes were as dark as the abyss, and his lips were pale. In one hand, he gripped a naked sword.

  The figure came to a halt directly in front of Lin Chaoyuan. Yu Sui, still calm, continued to whistle, watching them. Suddenly, Yu Sui’s whistle reached a high, sharp note. At that exact moment, the figure raised his sword and aimed it at Lin Chaoyuan.

  Stuttering, Lin Chaoyuan raised both hands to shield himself from the blade and cried out:

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  "L....L...Lao Duan! Stop! Do you really want to kill me your own father? Look at me, forgive me, Lao Duan. I know you are a good boy, you always listen to me. Don't you?"

  But Lao Duan remained frozen like a carved stone statue.

  Everything fell silent even Yu Sui’s whistling stopped. Yu Sui glanced at Lao Duan one last time and then silently walked out of the ruins. Before leaving, he spoke to Wuzu in a stern, cold voice:

  "You handle the rest."

  With those words, his footsteps took him away from the inn. His eyes were fixed straight ahead as he walked. After some time, his pace slowed, and eventually, he came to a stop. Wuzu approached from behind, knelt before him in a respectful bow, and spoke in an exceptionally reverent tone:

  "Great Ruler. I have completed the task you assigned to me. Now, please grant me permission to depart."

  Wuzu bowed her head once more and vanished into thin air.

  Ashes to Ashes

  Time passed, and the evening began to fade into twilight. Lao Duan stood outside that very room, silent and motionless as a statue; nothing moved except his robes fluttering in the wind. Then, with his fingers, he plucked an amulet from his own clothing. As he held it up, it burst into flames. He dropped the burning amulet at his feet.

  A thick pool of blood was flowing beneath his feet, and the scent of oil permeated the entire room. As soon as the burning amulet hit the ground, the spilled oil caught fire. The flames raced across the floor until they reached the dead body of Lin Chaoyuan. There lay the lifeless corpse of the former Master, his eyes wide and staring blankly, still shedding tears even as blood leaked from his wounds.

  The fire wrapped him in its deadly embrace, and within moments, the entire place was engulfed in a blaze. Lao Duan, despite being surrounded by the inferno, stood still like a monument. His dark eyes did not blink even once.

  In a matter of moments, everything turned to ash. Nothing remained not the inn, not Lin Chaoyuan, and not Lao Duan. The fire swallowed everything, leaving behind only the empty, desolate, and blackened earth, from which wisps of smoke still rose into the night.