The moment the monster locked eyes with Shenhe, a greedy light burst out from its hollow gaze.
"A fate of Lone Star Calamity… ah, what an intoxicating scent!"
"If I devour you, it will surely help me recover a great deal of strength!"
The monster's chilling laughter echoed as it slowly stepped toward Shenhe.
It didn't move quickly.
Perhaps because it was still gravely injured.
Even so, Shenhe's face filled with terror.
To a child, such a grotesque creature was no different from a demon.
Subconsciously, Shenhe tightened her grip on her father's hand.
Only by holding on like this could she feel a little less afraid.
But—
Her father no longer wore the gentle, loving expression from earlier.
Instead, his face was cold.
There was even a trace of flattery in his expression.
He suddenly shook off Shenhe's hand and turned to leave the cave without hesitation.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Shenhe didn't even have time to react before her father had already reached the cave entrance.
When she finally realized what was happening, she turned her head and looked at him in disbelief.
"…D-Dad?"
Her voice trembled.
"Sorry, Shenhe."
"For your mother's sake… I had no choice!"
Her father's voice was icy.
In that instant, it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over Shenhe.
She understood now.
The so-called surprise had only been a trick to lure her up the mountain.
The real purpose—
Was to bring her here as an offering to the monster.
Shenhe shook her head, unable to believe that the father she once saw as strong and dependable was now abandoning her.
Abandoning her to that monster.
"Dad… wh-why… why are you doing this to He'er… what did I do wrong…"
Her voice trembled with sobs.
Tears fell from her face onto the ground.
Ever since her mother died, her father had been trapped in endless grief.
So Shenhe had always tried to be obedient and sensible, hoping to comfort him.
But she didn't understand.
She had done nothing wrong.
Why was her father abandoning her?
She took a step forward, trying to chase after him.
But her father raised his hand and sealed the cave entrance with a barrier.
Shenhe ran up to the glowing barrier and began pounding on it desperately.
"Sorry, Shenhe."
"You were born with the Lone Star Calamity fate. Your mother died because of you!"
"That lord said if I offer you to it, it can bring your mother back!"
Looking at Shenhe's tearful face, her father's eyes briefly showed hesitation.
But in the end, he hardened his heart, turned away, and walked off without looking back.
Shenhe stood there in a daze.
Her father's words echoed in her mind over and over again, like needles piercing her heart.
She couldn't believe those words had come from her own father.
All this time—
He had seen her as the disaster that killed her mother.
Her eyes became empty and hollow.
Was she really a cursed star that killed her mother?
If that was true…
"He'er… I only wish for you to grow up healthy, safe, and happy…"
Her mother's final words suddenly echoed in her mind.
"Mother…"
Shenhe lifted her head.
Light returned to her eyes.
She wanted to live.
No matter what, she wanted to survive!
"Hehehe… what a foolish father."
"He really delivered his own daughter straight to me."
The monster cackled mockingly.
Shenhe pulled out a small dagger from her clothes.
It was a spirit-banishing weapon left to her by her mother.
She didn't know if it would work.
But right now—
She had no other choice.
"Yeah, I think so too."
"How does someone that stupid even become a father?"
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded behind Shenhe.
"Who's there?!"
The monster lifted its head in alarm.
Shenhe also turned around.
Behind her stood a white-haired young man, smiling faintly with a playful look in his eyes.
"Wood Spirit Immortal Lord!!!"
The monster screamed in terror.
Even Shenhe froze.
She didn't understand why someone had suddenly appeared behind her.
"Hm? You know me?"
Jiang Yan glanced lazily at the monster.
He had no memory of it.
"H-How could you possibly be here?!"
Of course the monster recognized him.
It had once been one of the dozen gods of Minlin that attacked Guili Plains long ago.
When Jiang Yan unleashed Thousand-Armed Buddha to purge the gods, it had barely survived with a wisp of its essence.
After thousands of years of slow recovery, it had finally regained this form.
But of course, Jiang Yan wouldn't remember something like that.
"Tch. This is Liyue. Where can't I go?"
Jiang Yan glanced at it indifferently.
He had arrived not long after the monster appeared.
He had simply been observing.
He hadn't expected to encounter young Shenhe here.
Then again, Ningguang and Beidou were still children, so Shenhe not yet being taken in by Cloud Retainer made sense.
Lone Star Calamity…
Heh. Interesting.
Even though Jiang Yan had known this story from Shenhe's quest in his previous life, witnessing it personally was a completely different feeling.
Watching the entire scene unfold, Jiang Yan honestly felt Shenhe's father deserved whatever fate awaited him.
Abandoning your own daughter because of a vague prophecy?
And you're supposedly an exorcist?
All that knowledge might as well have been stuffed into a pig's brain.
Someone who was already dead—
Even the Seven Archons, or even Jiang Yan himself, couldn't bring them back.
And you believe a fragment of a fallen god could do it?
What nonsense.
Meanwhile, Shenhe stared blankly at Jiang Yan.
Wood Spirit Immortal Lord?
As the daughter of an exorcist, Shenhe naturally knew who that was.
There were even portraits of the Immortal Lord and the Geo Lord on the altar in her home.
But she had never imagined the legendary immortal would look so young—
Almost like an older brother.
"Hehehe… Wood Spirit Immortal Lord. This girl has the fate of Lone Star Calamity. If you keep her, she will surely—"
BOOM!
With a casual wave of Jiang Yan's hand, the monster exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
Its body disintegrated instantly.
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
Jiang Yan's calm voice echoed through the cave.
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