Feng Qiqi left the Inner City and climbed up the mountain path.
The flames began to spread to the back mountain; the woods below had already started to burn.
As he walked, he saw people not far away.
The back mountain was a magical peak with a volcanic crater at the top and a dense forest at the bottom. The temperature around the crater wasn't scalding, allowing people to stand around it.
At this moment, his sister, wearing the Sacrificial Crown, was standing among a group of adults, close to the crater.
The way those adults looked at her was no different from how one would look at prey.
Feng Qiqi watched this scene with a touch of sadness.
...What made humans superior to other animals was their rationality.
Gazelles chased by lions would instinctively run towards their herd, risking their companions, but human rationality allowed them to defy instinct, to rebel against nature. It granted humans the courage to wait for death in place or even run in the opposite direction.