In Blessing Town's Lower District, Fortune Peace Street ran north to south, reaching straight to the foot of the Upper District's mountain.
Beneath the Night Guard's mist, inside a house beside the farmland at the mountain's foot, three people wearing bamboo hats and masks stood in front, while four others wearing bamboo hats but no masks stood behind.
All of them stared at the family of three kneeling beside the threshold.
A slightly trembling old man, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, and a seven- or eight-year-old boy with bewildered eyes.
One bamboo-hatted figure, whose clothes bore an embroidered golden longsword, said, "I sympathize with you. Child, someone wants to kill your father and grandfather now. As long as you tell the truth, you can save them. If you do not speak, the people behind me will kill your father and grandfather. Starting now, I will count to three. Once I finish, those behind me will act. One..."
"I don't want Father and Grandfather to die. I'll speak," rang out the boy's clear voice.
The father and son's expressions changed drastically, and they both covered the child's mouth.
The bamboo-hatted figures quickly retreated, continuously sweeping their gazes over the boy's surroundings.
Two Blue-Clad Men silently emerged. One seized the boy, while the other took out white needle and thread and stitched his lips together. In less than the blink of an eye, the boy's mouth had been sewn shut with dense stitches.
The boy's father and grandfather desperately pulled at the Blue-Clad Men, but the Blue-Clad Men did not budge in the slightest. Once they had finished sewing, they melted into the night and vanished.
Blood flowed from the boy's wounds. Tears welled in his eyes, but he clenched his teeth tightly and made no sound. He shook his head at his