The most spacious part of the village was the ancestral temple. The courtyard could be seen from afar and could be used by outsiders.

Ge Chen took out a stick of the size of a small fire match from his bosom. After unscrewing the lid, a faint light came out. The bricks and tiles on the top of the ancestral temple were broken. As it was raining heavily outside, bits of water leaked inside. The tables, chairs, and benches in the room had collapsed and were damaged. There were only a few rags left on the corner of the wall, printed with the plain-colored flower pattern of Jiangnan, still reflecting the prosperity of the old days.

Xu Ling looked around inside and outside the temple and asked, "It seems nobody is here, Marshal, have the local people already run away?"

Gu Yun also frowned slightly, ordering several guards to search around, and leaned over to pick up the printed cloth in the corner.

"The last time I went down to Jiangnan, it was in spring." Gu Yun said, "Flowers were blooming, warm winds gushed by, even rebelling was done in leisure, using some merchant ships filled with compressed fragrance to smuggle Ziliujin..."

Before he had finished, a soldier rushed in and said, "At the back of the ancestral temple, Marshal, you see, there's... in the backyard."

Gu Yun raised his eyebrows: "What's over there?"

The soldier's face flashed with hesitance for a moment, avoiding Gu Yun's eyes, he said with difficulty: "...the villagers."

The small village in Jiangnan was winding and graceful. There was a small river in the middle, houses were built along both sides. There was no distinction between North and South, but now they were all brought to ruin. The four stone signs of 'loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness' at the gate of the ancestral temple had been half broken. The stone pieces rolled into the grass. Xu Ling happened to kick something at his feet. When he looked down, he almost jumped up - it was a skeleton.

Xu Ling: "This... This..."

In the middle of the conversation, Yan Wang had taken the lead to enter the backyard of the ancestral temple. The real ancestor tablets were scattered all over the courtyard. The ruins of Buddhas were covered in dust. On the black slate, countless corpses with heads separated from their bodies were arranged neatly. Men, women, old and young alike, the deep hollows of the skeletons' eye sockets were covered with cobwebs.

Xu Ling took in a cold breath and unconsciously grasped the door frame.