Ruan Tang listened in a trance.

Yu Guiwan and the others also remained silent and attentive.

Ruan Lan felt a pang in her nose, suddenly missing that brother-in-law who always exasperated her to death.

Clearly he was so bad, how did he suddenly end up underground? Weren't they supposed to say that scourges last a thousand years? That brother-in-law was clearly still so young.

Ruan Lan quietly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

In fact, she had been very sad during these days, and the only reason she could eat heartily and sleep on time was to conceal her inner sorrow.

There were already enough people in pain, someone had to be the sun, leading those in pain out of the darkness.

Ruan Lan.

Was willing to be that beam of light.

Ruan Lan pulled herself together, slightly disdainful as she said, "Sister, stop listening, let's go. The storyteller exaggerates too much, flattening the Nine Kings' Palace wasn't just the work of that stinky brother-in-law alone."

"Let's finish listening."

Ruan Tang smiled gently, a familiar gentle smile bright enough to make Ruan Lan's whole world flicker.

"Ah, alright..." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Ruan Lan responded awkwardly, wondering if her sister had emerged from her grief.

As Ruan Lan pondered, the storyteller downstairs finished his little song, and amidst the surrounding sighs of regret and remembrance, he clasped his hands together in a bow to the many onlookers, then walked out of the tavern with his luggage on his back.

There were quite a few taverns in Qiuyue City, and after the storyteller finished at one, he went on to another.

The same story and song, performed all day long.

And Ruan Tang.

Also listened the whole day.

As dusk fell, after the storyteller finished his last performance of the day at a tavern in the town's farthest corner, he did not rush to leave.

Instead, he dug into his own pocket to buy some snacks to go with his drink, took out the liquor he had prepared from his luggage, and quietly drank.

The storyteller was very old, dressed in a long black robe full of patches, appearing to be sixty or seventy years old, with no spiritual energy within him, a truly ordinary person.

He only took small sips as he drank, showing a very satisfied expression on his face.

He patted his thigh under the long robe and shook his head as he hummed the tune he'd sung all day.

During this time, many cultivators or ordinary people who were enraptured by the story initiated conversation, and the old man would smile and respond with a sentence or two.

However, he refused to take any extra tips from them.

"The old gentleman is quite peculiar, he's been in this city for three days now, visiting every tavern, telling the tales of Great Emperor Qingfeng. He doesn't take tips, doesn't accept gifts, only charging a single silver leaf for each performance."

The shop assistant said with a smile, "So, dear patrons, please don't disturb the old gentleman."

"I see."

Many people suddenly understood, no longer wasting their efforts, raising their wine cups from afar to offer a toast, to which the storyteller would also respond.

By the window in the tavern.

Ruan Tang and her group sat there, ordering two plates of beef and a pot of wine.

Ruan Lan grumbled as she ate, "Sister, we've been trailing along all day, let's head back after eating."

"Little aunt, don't talk while eating or sleeping," Xu Yiyi said softly.

"Ha?"

Ruan Lan squeezed her niece's cheeks with both hands, giving a forced smile:

"You little girl, dare to lecture your little aunt? I'm worried your mom will feel sentimental, you know?"

"I'm wrong, I'm wrong, little aunt."

Xu Yiyi whimpered as tears filled her eyes.

Yu Guiwan massaged her forehead: "Ruan Lan, stop bullying Yiyi."

Xu Ping'an paid no mind to the fuss of his little aunt and sister but instead stared directly at the storyteller.

The latter seemed to sense it, nodding and smiling at Xu Ping'an, though his head full of white hair stood out starkly in the dim light.

"Old gentleman, my ancestors started hearing the story of Great Emperor Qingfeng in their time, can't you tell something new? Like about Emperor Bahuang, Great Emperor Jin Shi."

Someone stirred up the crowd.

The storyteller, somewhat inebriated, did not answer, just chuckled to himself:

"I, ah, come from a small, remote country, the Stone Country, in the Eastern Desolate Domain. It's a rich and peaceful place, never swept by the flames of war, a paradise."

Upon hearing the storyteller begin to speak of the past.

The noisy tavern gradually quieted down, leaving only the faint crackle of burning candles.

"Thirty years ago, a demonic beast ran rampant in Stone Country, and no one could subdue it. King Shi, for the sake of his people's survival, voluntarily sacrificed young boys and girls to venerate the beast. But secretly, he sent the Crown Prince to seek help from the outside world."

"On the edge of Stone Country, there is an Immortal Mountain, which is annually offered various spirit plants. The Crown Prince knelt in front of the sect gate for days and nights, but the immortals, who were usually aloof, not only did not assist but, seeing the beast's formidable strength, proactively revealed the request for help."

"The demonic beast was enraged, turning the Stone Country into a living hell."

"Really, it can be understood, the Immortal Domain is simply survival of the fittest. A small country that never even produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who would care about it?"

The storyteller's voice gradually grew hoarse: "The Crown Prince hurried back to Stone Country, witnessing his father and mother die before him, while his infant sister became the beast's meal."

The storyteller clenched his fists, offering a bitter smile: "The Crown Prince hated it, hated that he was not a cultivator, hated his lack of a spiritual root, hated that he couldn't kill that demonic beast."

"You tell me, what should the well-read but powerless Crown Prince do? What could he do!"

"..."

No one in the tavern answered.

But all the listeners drew heavy breaths, with Ruan Lan clenching her fists, eager to personally slay that demonic beast.

The candlelight on the table flickered.

Ruan Tang lowered her gaze, her fingers lightly tracing the wine cup, hearing the storyteller's trembling voice:

"The story ends here, with no heavenly warriors descending, no wandering heroes drawing swords to right wrongs, Stone Country was no more."

"Stone Country's million households, all gone. Only the Crown Prince survived, with the beast intending to let him live in despair and darkness for life."

The storyteller's hands trembled as he downed his cup of wine, slammed down to rise: "I, ah, read sage books all life, only to learn that scholars are but useless in the end."

"I traveled city after city, country after country, yet never even left the Eastern Desolate Domain, seeing many sights, knowing that in the Immortal Domain, lives are as cheap as straw."

"Later one day, I met a middle-aged man, and we became fast friends. He bragged drunkenly that he once bore the flag for some great figure, claiming Great Emperor Qingfeng was the first emperor of the Immortal Domain."

"I said, if Great Emperor Qingfeng is so formidable, with the Heavenly Court being the foremost Tao Lineage of the Immortal Domain, why couldn't they save a Stone Country? He didn't argue, just said 'sorry.'

The storyteller sat down, his emotions gradually calming: "Actually, I also know, the Immortal Domain is vast, too vast for the Heavenly Court and Great Emperor Qingfeng to manage.

"Nothing new under the sun, when is there a day without death? Everyday people are dying, and now... Great Emperor Qingfeng has died too."

The storyteller smiled: "I've always wondered, he was known as the supreme among emperors, Great Emperor Qingfeng, in his prime, how could he die in Heaven Beyond Heaven?"

"Only recently did I understand, he died for the sake of the Immortal Domain, for us."