Harvest Ceremony

"Y-yes, I suppose?"

"Not 'suppose.' Of course it is!"

Lü Siya extended an arm adorned with feathers and flowers, pressing hard on Meng Chao's shoulder to emphasize her words. "Thinking about it now, the lives we led in Dragon City were truly sinful. Every day, we schemed against one another, deceived each other, and filled our minds either with how to cultivate and strengthen ourselves, or how to expand our influence and make money we could never spend in a lifetime.

"Even when we fought monsters, if we search our consciences, were we really doing it for so-called 'human civilization'? Wasn't it all for our own ambitions?

"It was as though some mysterious force had controlled us, and without realizing it, we had become its slaves. We were no longer ourselves at all.

"Sadly, back then, I was sunk deep in sin without knowing it, and I savored such a life of competition, deception, and slaughter as though it were sweet dew.

"Fortunately, how did that saying go? 'I could have endured the darkness, if only I had never seen the light.'

"Peach Blossom Paradise Town is the light!

"Only after coming here did I realize that life could be completely different. Everyone could be equal, peaceful and harmonious, carefree and untroubled. We needn't rely on deceit and competition; we needn't race desperately forward as though invisible whips were lashing us from behind. We could stop, take a deep breath, and, without any purpose or sense of mission at all, simply admire the scenery around us—scenery we could never tire of seeing.

"Only now did I feel that I was truly alive. The Lü Siya who had struggled in Dragon City in the past was merely a puppet corpse, unable to control herself in the hell of fame, profit, and