In the village, there was a "god" who had blessed everyone for decades.

The god had descended upon this village decades ago. Using divine arts to summon wind and rain and revive plants, he ensured the land remained fertile. The villagers could reap bountiful harvests from the fields without much toil and enjoy a prosperous life.

The god's condition was that the villagers build an altar and regularly sacrifice children born in inauspicious hours. He would take the children's souls to his side to be his attendants and errand runners. The children would also absorb the immortal energy from his body and ascend to immortality, becoming celestial children.

On one hand was a good life of eating one's fill without laboring, on the other hand was having as many children as one wished. The people in this isolated mountain village unanimously chose the former without hesitation.

Children born in inauspicious hours were not easy to bear, but with everyone working together and pooling their wits, there was always a way.

The village women were educated from a young age that as long as they lay down and spread their legs, and knew to pick the timing of birth, endless good days would come.

Most of the villagers felt this was a very good thing. The children could become celestial beings, while they could live happy and prosperous lives. Both sides gained bliss, so why not do it?

But there were also curious villagers who dug up the bones of the so-called "celestial children". They found the bodies still rotted and bred maggots, turning into white skeletons, with no signs of "ascension".

But so what?

A god who could bring rain and harvest was a good god.

After being reverently worshipped by the villagers for many years, the god made a new request.

Children born in inauspicious hours were good, but the best were boys born in inauspicious hours who lived to nine years old. And the more "pure" the better.

The so-called "purity" meant being unable to understand human speech, ignorant of worldly affairs, simple-minded, untainted, with a transparent soul - a true child of nature.

The god's request was not excessive, so the people naturally had to satisfy it.

Thus, they had a temple, and temple priests dedicated to raising the children.

Whichever family had a child born in inauspicious hours, afraid of developing feelings, would take the baby to the temple priest right after birth. After being cleansed, the child would be raised by the priests until nine years old. In the meantime, infants born in inauspicious hours would still be sacrificed. When the first batch of captive-raised children reached nine, the mountain would hold a ritual feast to reward the god by sacrificing the children.

"One" had been quiet since young, rarely crying, and grew to have beautiful, pleasing features after shedding his wrinkled newborn appearance. Thus, he was smoothly selected by the priests to enter the inner hall.

The so-called inner hall was actually a huge prison cell, with only a small, barred window for ventilation.

He grew up in this cell along with the other sacrifices.

They had the best food in the entire village, with three meals delivered daily by the priests.

They only knew how to sing the ritual song. This was the only thing they could "learn" here. None of them knew what it meant, but with the priests singing it outside everyday and nothing else to do, they could only follow along babbling.

Other than that, their only contact with the outside world was occasionally overhearing villagers chatting outside the temple.

Some of the smarter ones, like "One", could vaguely understand human speech, but none of them could learn to talk.

The sacrifices were raised in a daze, not knowing where they were going, and not even very interested in the outside world. They felt people were supposed to be like them, not going anywhere.

Among the children, only "One" liked to look outside, gazing at the moon waxing from a crescent to full in the sky, the sparrows occasionally perching by the iron bars, and vaguely wondering what they were, why they moved, why they could come and go.

When "One" was seven years old, some children disobeyed their parents' warnings and ran to the back of the temple. They peeked through the window, pointing at the children inside and laughing.

The little sacrifices in the room, all dressed in white robes, looked at these unfamiliar faces in confusion and panic.

Seeing their weakness, the children outside became even more unscrupulous in teasing them, calling them pigs raised by the whole mountain, and started throwing stones into the room.

Everyone was dumbfounded until a stone broke a child's head, and blood flowed down his cheek.

He covered his head and wailed in pain.

"One" stood up and walked to the window.

Noticing the movement of the "pigs" inside, the leading child stopped everyone from throwing stones and also walked to the window, boldly rolling his eyes at "One" and sticking out his tongue.

"One" tilted his head, curiously watching his actions.

Seeing "One"'s expression, the child became even more excited and beckoned to him, "You, come here."

"One" obediently walked forward.

The child wanted to snatch his belt, but the gap was too small for his hand to reach in, so he said to "One", "You, come a little closer."

"One" noticed his gaze, looked down at his own belt, and vaguely guessed his intention. He pointed to the belt and asked if he wanted it.

The child laughed, "Little piglet, so obedient. Give it to me quickly."

"One" understood the word "give", so he raised his hand and grabbed the child's hand that was stuck outside the window, unable to enter, and swiftly pulled it into the narrow window frame, inviting him to take it.

The child's arm was crushed against the iron window, making a crisp sound of breaking bones.

He immediately burst into loud screams and wails.

"One" widened his eyes.

He thought, how come they cry just like us.

This was the only interesting discovery in "One"'s dull life.

Those people outside who looked the same as them could feel pain, cry, and scream, just like them.

But why were they outside while he was inside?

The child who caused trouble was naturally scolded.

And as an important sacrifice, "One" received the greatest leniency.

"One" grew up to nine years old without any waves.

One day, he put on a set of excellent plain-colored clothes and was led out of the room by the temple priest.

Along with him, two other children of about the same age were also brought out.

He was led to a sacrificial altar wrapped in red cloth. The altar was empty, with three yellow deep-bellied bronze plates on it, soon to be filled with the little heads of three children for the god to enjoy.

All the villagers, young and old, gathered under the altar with torches, making sincere wishes.

The children were sent here at birth, so they didn't recognize which of the three children on the stage were their own, sparing them unnecessary heartache and leaving only sincere devotion.

The plain-clothed "One" was tied to the far right.

The temple priest told the three bound children to sing the hymn to the god, and they did.

However, "One" was more interested in the large group of people singing in unison in front of him, and only stared at them, not singing very attentively.

When the song ended, the temple priest silently recited incomprehensible scriptures, holding a small ox-ear sharp knife, and walked to the first child on the left, cutting his throat.

The child, with his hands and feet tied, tilted his head and fell silent, the "holy blood" in his throat gushing like a spring into the bronze vat held in the priest's other hand.

The remaining two children didn't know what this meant and just stared blankly.

With one basin of fresh blood emptied, the priest wiped the knife with a velvet cloth, took a brand new bronze basin, and walked to the second child.

Unexpectedly, a scream erupted from the crowd, "Fire!!!"

The fire descended strangely, as if divine punishment had arrived. It was not ignited from a single point but instantly engulfed every house. The sky was filled with sparks dancing like wild butterflies, turning half the sky red, revealing the hellish scene of fiery red lotuses.

Everyone forgot about the sacrifice and ran back home crying to save their valuables.

The people under the altar disappeared in an instant.

Seeing his own house on fire, the priest panicked. He looked at the two tightly bound sacrifices, thinking they wouldn't escape, then threw down the sharp knife and plunged into the sea of fire.

After the priest ran away, a dark figure nimbly leapt onto the altar from the side and untied the child next to "One" first.

Unexpectedly, the child was not curious about who saved him but was more interested in the fire. He staggered towards the fire. The dark figure called out to him but realized he couldn't catch up. Fearing wasting time and being discovered, he had no choice but to knock him out with a palm strike and carry him on his back. Then he hurriedly untied "One".

"One" looked at the mask he was wearing.

It was an ugly clown mask commonly seen in the market but never seen by him, painted in gaudy colors, quite ridiculous.

Desperate cries of the mountain people unable to turn the tide came from the fire, and the scorching heat had already reached the altar.

The hot fire wind lifted the black-faced boy's dark long hair.

As he untied the ropes, he spoke to a flower glowing with gorgeous spiritual light, "Junior Sister Yan, I traveled to a remote place and heard that people were sacrificing to the mountain god, so I came to watch the excitement. Unexpectedly, the god's body was filled with demonic energy, permeating the entire mountain. It must be the demon leader of the Blood Sect, hiding in this remote corner of the mountains, establishing himself as a god, absorbing the essence and blood of young children to cultivate. Because he was under the name of a god, he had not been discovered for so many years."

With that, he picked up "One" from the torture rack and walked step by step towards a safe, sheltered place in the spreading firelight.

The piercing cries in the wind and his words were transmitted into the flower.

A girl's voice came from within, "...Junior Brother, what have you done?"

The ugly-faced boy, bathed in firelight, did not look back, "Since he could create a god, I can also destroy a god. Now it's just the first step in destroying the god. Since the whole village has its own sins, then..."

With that, he turned his head and said with a smile, "...I am their just deserts."

"One" stared at him blankly, not knowing what thought drove him to raise his hand and pull off the boy's mask.

The boy, who was talking to the girl, was caught off guard when his mask was removed. He looked down in surprise and met the eyes of the child in his arms.

The boy with picturesque features, emerging from the firelight, smiled brilliantly after a brief daze, "...Oh my, I've been caught."

"One" had never seen such a vivid, lively smile full of youthful spirit. His soul was shaken, and he couldn't make a sound.

... He thought, if this was God's will, he would be willing to be taken away by him, to accompany by his side, even if it meant never ascending for an entire lifetime.

Author's Note: One glance captivates the soul.jpg