The Day the Gods Turned Their Faces

As Lin Wei rode his black Stallion through the gate of Qinghe City his hometown, the hooves echoed louder than they should have. It was too silent. The kind of silence that crawled into the bones and whispered the end of things.

No laughter as usual.

No merchants shouting prices.

No children's voices chasing across the cobbled streets.

Only the sound and the effect wind was heard and felt.

A thick, iron scent invaded his nostrils just like something heavy, thick blood. It clung to the walls, to the soil, to the very breath of the place. His heart, already uneasy since that heart pain started, began to pound harder, more erratic, like a drum at a funeral.

But something was wrong—worse than wrong.

There were no bodies.

Not a single corpse lined the roads.

That is what made it terrifying.

He pressed his heels to the stallion's flanks and galloped toward the market square—the closest place to reach, where his Grandpa would usually be working at his blacksmith stall, shouting orders and hammering steel.

But what awaited him is nothing but…

Emptiness.

The stalls were overturned. Blood was splattered across the walls, the floor, but not a single body. It was as if the entire city had vanished mid-breath. Devoured.

The market screamed of terror, of something unnatural. His hands trembled as he dismounted.

"Grandpa?" His voice cracked. "Grandpa!"

No answer.

He turned to run.

Home.

If there was ever a moment where fear overpowered logic, it was now. His legs moved on their own as he raced down alleyways and streets that should've been familiar but now felt like tombstones because of the silent and coldness that seems that penetrate his heart core, his being essence of being. When he reached his home, the door was already ajar.

It looked abandoned.

Not just abandoned—cursed.

The wood was rotting unnaturally fast, Inside, furniture was overturned. His grandpa's smithing hammer lay shattered on the ground. No sign of Grandpa.

And yet…

That scent. Blood. The smell was is there.

But again… no bodies.

The dread in Lin Wei's chest was now a beast, clawing its way through his ribs. Each step forward felt like walking into a grave carved just for him.

Tears welled in his eyes, but he forced them down. There was one more place.

One more hope.

The city Lord's mansion

The City Lord's Daughter.

He leapt onto the Stallion and rode like a spirit possessed. The moon rose high above him, casting a pale white glow over the world, but the trees around him whispered in tongues, their leaves shaking with warnings.

The road to the City Lord's mansion had never felt this long.

Was it the distance—or his fear?

The omen wasn't just a warning.

It was a countdown.

When he arrived… the world died again.

No guards,

No lights.

The entire compound stood silent—ruins in the moonlight.

The mansion was broken, looking like something that is being hunted.

Something is not right, he can feel a presence.

His horse refused to go further, so Lin Wei dismounted, legs shaky. He stepped through the shattered gate, and then—he saw them.

Five figures cloaked in black.

Faces hidden.

Standing like wraiths amidst the ash of the once-grand mansion.

One stood at the center, taller, sharp and seems like he is the leader amongst the other four

In his hand, a curved dagger glowed with sickly purple light. In the other hand—dangling—was a head.

The City Lord's head.

"Ah," the figure said, turning slowly. "You're late."

(The voice was oily, too calm, too real)

"We had to cleanse the city before leaving. You understand—no survivors. No witnesses. No tales told."

Lin Wei's breath caught. "W-Why…?"

"Why?" the man echoed. "Because of his daughter he said pointing at the city Lord's head without thinking too much about it."

Silence.

Lin Wei's body felt drained, like his soul was leaking out through his feet.

"Where is she?" His voice broke. "Where is she?!"

The five men paused, then looked at each other.

One chuckled, the sound dry and empty. "Dead."

He didn't even ask about his grandpa.

He already knew.

His knees buckled, but he stood.

His knees buckled, but he stood.

"Why…?" he whispered. "Why all of this?"

Another spoke, voice like sandpaper on his heart. "you are the one she was meant to get married to right?.

"But no reply was given by Lin Wei "

She carried the Blood of Eden," the leader said. "You have no idea what she was, do you?"

Lin Wei's eyes widened.

The man continued. We did not come here by chance. The Blood of Eden is rare… too rare. Even in the Divine Realms, such a bloodline is nothing short of legend.

He raised a pale crystal—shimmering with red threads that pulsed like veins. "This tool… tracks the aura of that blood. When it first awakened, we were the first to sense it. First to find it. First to move."

He smiled. "Others are still searching—sects, clans, and divine empires. If we had not acted, they would have. And when they do… the chaos will be worse than anything you can imagine. So we handled it."

Lin Wei's lips trembled. "Handled it...?"

The man tilted his head, speaking as if teaching a child. "If we had taken her to the Divine Realms, her existence would have been exposed. Opposition would rise. Balance would shatter. Sects would war. Realms would fall just to possess her. So we made the logical choice… we erased her.

Another stepped forward, his voice like dried leaves in wind. We did not just kill her. We cleansed the soil she touched, silenced the city that harbored her, removed every trace. You see... if we didn't, someone else would claim her. That, we couldn't allow.

The leader's eyes gleamed behind the mist. "Her bloodline… it grants more than power. It grants resonance with the Dao. A path to immortality, perhaps even something more.

He pointed a finger at Lin Wei. You don't understand now, but you will. That bloodline changes fate. It bends heaven. Those who carry it… aren't meant for this world.

Another figure added quietly, almost kindly:

"She was special. Too special. It was better this way. We did what had to be done.

The leader gave a final nod, almost respectful.

"Now you've heard the truth. I understand that you won't blame us. We only acted to prevent a far worse outcome. We only did what anyone in our position would do.

As if their logic made sense.

As if the blood-soaked soil around Lin Wei's feet did not scream otherwise.

As if her smile, her voice, her life meant nothing.

Tears slipped down Lin Wei's face silently, but his eyes no longer trembled. They burned.

And yet, they waited. Watching.

Daring him to hate.

She wasn't supposed to bleed," the man said. "Not until her awakening. She triggered her bloodline. Others would've come. So we came first. To clean it up.

Lin Wei staggered back, hands clenched. His mind was unraveling. "So I… I killed her…"

Every thing now make sense to him because it was because of his necklace which is still currently on his neck that made her sustain the injury"

(They heard him blaming himself for her death)

You remember it, don't you?" the leader hissed. But Lin Wei was no longer paying attention

The day it rained. The chill in his veins. The heartbeat. The strange visions. The treasure he found weeks later as if led by fate that because of her blood that he unintensional swallow when trying to stop her bleed.

Laughter.

He began laughing and crying at once. "i killed her"

Blood leaked from his eyes. Real blood.

Visions assaulted him—his grandpa's laughter, The City Lord's smile, The smell of baked bread from the morning streets, Her hand in his, Her kissand they promise to each other's.

I swear__he whispered, then screamed to the heavens.

If I survive today—even your gods will flee when I come for you! I will burn your roots. I will butcher your kin. I will make your name a curse sung by ghosts!"

The five men looked at each other.

The leader smirked. "That's if you survive."

And then—stab!

The curved dagger pierced Lin Wei's heart. Blood exploded from his chest, dyeing his robes crimson. He collapsed, laughing faintly, the sound growing dimmer… and dimmer…

And that was the moment a thunderclap shook the heavens.

The five assassins froze.

Did… Did Heaven notice us?"

We've stayed too long. Let's go!"

They pulled out a glowing silver-black stone—Heaven's Veil Portal Stone—used only by ascended beings from the Divine Realms.

They vanished into light—but not before the leader ripped his dagger from Lin Wei's chest.

Silence fell.

The once-lively city was nothing but ash.

The vultures circled. Crows cried out.

The City Lord's headless body lay near his shattered throne

But the crows wouldn't touch Lin Wei.

Something was guarding him.

(Something that is within)

With trembling fingers, Lin Wei reached into his sleeve and pulled out a faintly glowing pill—a treasure once gifted by the clan head of Baishi city.

He swallowed it with effort.

His eyes rolled back. His body went still.

He lay there for days.

The kingdom sealed the entire city. No one went in. No one came out. Rumors flew. Fear spread.

But one night—beneath the full moon—his eyes fluttered open.

They were glowing.