Yun Province.
This had once been the Void God Cult Master's domain. Temples and shrines filled the province, their incense offerings flourishing as they enshrined the "Yinsi Primordial Lady."
"Yinsi Primordial Lady" was the Void God Cult Master's divine name.
After the Myriad Calamities Dao Court established its rule, it smashed divine statues throughout the province and prohibited worship of the "Yinsi Primordial Lady." It did not demolish all the temples, however; seventy or eighty percent remained, used to shelter impoverished commoners and refugees.
Yet a faith that had endured for a century or two could hardly be overturned overnight. Even with the Dao Court's explicit prohibition, many people in Law Province still made offerings in secret.
The newly established Dao Court lacked manpower. As long as they did not openly spread the faith, it turned a blind eye.
The provincial capital, Yongning Prefecture.
A young man with a pallid face, bleary drunken eyes, disheveled clothes, and a thick scent of rouge and powder clinging to him stumbled out of the city's largest brothel and staggered through the crowds.
Seeing this weak-legged wreck, plainly drained by wine and women, most passersby looked either envious or disgusted and moved aside.
But a few swaggering street thugs rolled their eyes with ill intent. Laughing, they approached and supported the young man as they led him into a deep alley nearby.
Many witnessed this, but no one stepped forward to stop it. Instead, they gloated, knowing the young man was bound for terrible misfortune. At best, he would be robbed clean; at worst, he might lose his life.
The idlers lingered to watch rather than leave, but even after a long wait, no sound emerged from the alley, nor did any of the thugs come out.
Someone could no longer contain his curiosity