Truth

Knocking lightly on the door of the house, Xuan Yi and Yun He waited as the occupants hurried to open the door. A housekeeper opened the door and looked at them with a confused look.

"Who are you?" He asked in a polite tone.

"We need to speak with the master of this house, it's regarding his daughter." Xuan Yi told him and saw the face of the housekeeper pale a little before he went back into the house. Moments later, he returned and ushered them inside the house. An older man, dressed in slightly better quality robes stood up to greet them.

"This lady's name is Xuan Yi and this is my husband, Yun He." Xuan Yi introduced to the man. If people asked around, they would be suspicious of why are they sharing a room. Siblings their age do not share rooms and the only reasonable excuse would be that they are a married couple. Yun He choked on his saliva the moment he heard Xuan Yi's words and glanced at her just in time to catch her glare. Yun He nodded readily at Xuan Yi's lies and saluted to the man as well.

"This old man is a village elder, you can call me elder Jin." The man returned their greetings and asked them to sit down while the servants served them tea. This village fares better than the rest because it is near the sea but also sustains the most dangers when it comes to the water. The house did not have many servants and it is not very extravagant. Xuan Yi nodded her thanks when the servant handed her a delicate teacup.

Yun He grinned at the servant before he took a small sip and exclaimed that this is the second-best tea he has ever tasted in his life, making Xuan Yi and Elder Jin raise their eyebrows. Yun He chuckled as he said that the best tea is the one he had from his wife's house and Xuan Yi snorted. This successfully made Elder Jin softly chuckle, lightening up the heavy atmosphere.

Yun He lowered his eyes and mumbled his condolences and Elder Jin nodded gratefully but before he could say anything else, Xuan Yi told Elder Jin a shocking statement.

"You should not drink too much tea, Elder Jin."

Elder Jin tilted his head in question at the sudden statement. "Why would Lady Xuan Yi say so?"

"Because your daughter has been glaring at you from behind the moment you took a sip," Xuan Yi answered nonchalantly.

Smash!

Elder Jin dropped his teacup and it shattered upon hitting the floor. A servant rushed to their master while the other quickly went to clean up the broken shards but Elder Jin waved them away. He stepped towards Xuan Yi with shocked eyes.

What Xuan Yi had said was what his daughter had always said to him when she was still alive. His daughter had always been filial and was constantly worried about her father's health.

"Drinking too much tea dehydrates the body!" His daughter would snap at him and confiscate the tea leaves whenever she spots her father drinking it.

A lone tear slowly dripped down from his eyes as he stumbled forward towards Xuan Yi. Xuan Yi put down her teacup and stood up facing Elder Jin.

"You said Lin-er was behind me?" Elder Jin looked behind him as if trying to make out the shadow of his deceased daughter.

"I see the souls of dead people," Xuan Yi answered honestly, making Yun He jump. He thought they were not supposed to expose their identities?

"Is that so? Does that mean Lin-er is here? Can I see her as well?" Elder Jin was in a mess. He had lost his daughter recently and the village elders did not allow him to even hold a funeral because they said it is a great honor to be offered to the water god. Holding a funeral would make it seem as if it was a misfortunate event that might anger the water god.

"Yes, she is here. And no, you cannot see her. Only people gifted with the third eye can see them," Xuan Yi said, her expression never changing even at the face of a father mourning for his loss. What she said was not a lie. Some humans were gifted with the third eye and they can see things others could not. She had said people and not humans. People would not be able to differentiate the difference in the terms she uses but Yun He could and he gave her a look that says "I saw what you did back there" to which Xuan Yi ignored.

"Lin-er, father has failed you. It is all my fault, I am incapable!" Elder Jin collapsed onto the floor as he cried miserably. Xuan Yi removed her eyes from the frail form of Elder Jin and stared at the dead Young Miss Jin Lin standing behind her father.

The dead Young Miss bit her lips as she stared at her father's crying form. The anguish in her eyes was apparent and Xuan Yi could feel the resentment coming from her. She had silently followed her father after her death and could slowly see her father falling into depression. Her mother died when she was born and her father only has her left. And yet, she is dead.

The moment she heard that Xuan Yi could see her, her head snapped and she stared at Xuan Yi in astonishment.

"Can you really see me?" Young Miss Jin Lin asked and Xuan Yi nodded at her while staring straight into her eyes.

"Could you tell us the entire truth behind this sacrificing ritual? We only want to help," Xuan Yi finally spoke to both father and daughter. Elder Jin gathered himself and stood up slowly with the help of a servant and he hobbled back to his seat while his daughter floated behind him.

"This entire thing is a farce." Elder Jin began gravely.

The village head is an ambitious man and he is extremely greedy. Elder Jin had believed the sacrifice was indeed trying to appease the angry water god but one night, he was feeling restless and went to take a short walk along the coast. When he was walking along the shores, he saw the priest and the village head ahead. He then wanted to greet them but he saw that they were acting suspiciously so he hid while eavesdropping on them.

"How many girls do we have now?" Elder Jin heard the priest ask the village head.

"We have 4 high-quality ones and around 15 common ones from the slum," the village head answered.

"Good, we can sell those common ones to brothels or slave traders. As for the high-quality ones, we can sell them to the nobles from the capital. I personally know a few of them who have sick hobbies like this," the priest grinned sickly.

"If we keep supplying the nobles their toys, we will slowly reap the rewards." The village head exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course. After we squeeze this entire village dry, we will move on to other villages. There are always buyers for such goods," the fake priest agreed.

Elder Jin felt his blood went cold as he processed what is actually going on. He was hot-headed and extremely angry at the village head and the fake priest. He wanted to confront them immediately and ask them to return the girls back to their homes but his daughter's face suddenly came into mind and he stopped.

He could not risk his daughter's safety. Anything but his daughter.

And so Elder Jin quietly went back to his house and started to make his plans. Although the floods are destroying the crops, it would not fully endanger the village as the village head kept preaching. He buried himself in his study and research, digging out evidence to go against the village head. As Elder Jin kept disagreeing with the village head in public meetings, the village head could no longer stand him and ordered that his daughter be sacrificed next.

Elder Jin fought back heavily. He was extremely protective of his daughter and would never sacrifice her for anything. When her mother died, he swore he would protect their daughter with his life. However, the villagers were persistent and brainwashed by the fake priest so his protest was useless. In the end, the village head had some men kidnap the young lady and threatened that if she does not offer herself to the water god, they will murder his father and display his body in the middle of the village to set an example.

Scared by their threat, she agreed to be the next sacrifice and under the eyes of the villagers, she sat on a boat and rowed out into the raging currents alone where she drowned and died. After the death of his daughter, Elder Jin lost the purpose of his life and he now shuts himself in his house, running away from everything.

Yun He felt his throat constrict as he listened to the broken Elder Jin. His heart went out for him and he wanted to call upon a huge wave to bury the entire village under the water as punishment. He knows it is reckless and the heavenly realm would never allow his actions but his heart hurts for Elder Jin. The rim of his eyes was a little red and he tried to hold back his sobs when he felt Xuan Yi's gaze on the both of them. Her eyes seemed to be looking at them but they were slightly glazed over as if she was not seeing them but something else.

"Xuan- Dear?" Yun He quickly corrected himself as he called out to her and Xuan Yi's eyes focused immediately.

"Sorry," Xuan Yi muttered.

Yun He furrowed his brows at Xuan Yi's odd behavior. She is not one to zone out at times like this but Xuan Yi ignored his worried stare. Instead, she turned towards Elder Jin.

"Do you know where they are keeping the ladies?"

The Elder shook his head but his daughter nodded. Xuan Yi memorized the location that Young Miss Jin told her and thanked both of them before leaving the house with Yun He in tow.

Yun He is in the mids of admiring Xuan Yi. He rambled on as he continued to praise Xuan Yi for her cleverness and her quick wit. If he was alone, he would not be able to progress this far in less than a day.

"When I first met you, I didn't expect that my little kitten is such a smart lass." Yun He grinned as he hooked his arms around Xuan Yi's slender waist, earning him a glare from the Lady herself.

"Don't give me that threatening look as if you are gonna rip my balls apart, we are supposed to be a married couple right?" Yun He laughed cheekily.

"Now we just free those girls and show them to the public, exposing that vile village head and the fake priest and our job is done. Then we can go home and drink some alcohol. I happen to chance upon your incredible collection of wine so I am looking forward to our drinking session after all of this is over."

Xuan Yi rolled her eyes. Does he want to drink one of the best alcohols in her storage when he has done nothing to contribute? Dream on. Xuan Yi made a mental note to kick him out of the demon palace once they return. Besides, it is not as simple as Yun He says.