Inner Demons

The embers had all been extinguished.

This place was originally a green grassy slope—a gentle slope in the vast Wild Plains Mountain Range, forty li outside Weicheng.

In the past, the vegetation here was lush, and ancient trees reached for the sky. In the forest, there were giant trees that took several people to encircle, and countless birds and beasts. Even those who had lived in the mountains their whole lives dared not go too deep—for fear of getting lost. The forest was full of ferocious beasts, and a moment of carelessness could lead to one's bones not even being found.

But now, this stretch of the Wild Plains that crossed the mountains near Weicheng had completely changed its appearance.

It was as if a rain of fire had fallen from the sky, or as if lava had spewed from the earth. For a radius of more than ten li, not a single blade of grass grew, and no birds or beasts remained. The ground was covered with black ash. Occasionally, an unburnt, dried tree branch would be exposed in the ash heap, and upon contact with the wind, it would burst into flames again.

Smoke rose from an area as far as the eye could see, like an impending volcanic eruption.

Liu Ling stood here, like a straight, unyielding tree.

Unrecognizable.

Her hair bun had come undone, and there wasn't a single ornament on her head. Her long black hair cascaded down, reaching her waist.