After being beaten by the crowd, Zhao Yin was in unbearable pain, watching as two women approached him with daggers. His eyes widened fearfully, wanting to speak, but the words couldn’t come out due to a filthy sock stuffed in his mouth.

"Mm-mm...!"

His hands and feet were bound, and his mouth blocked, Zhao Yin watched helplessly as the two women rolled up his trouser leg and mercilessly cut a piece of flesh from his thigh with the dagger.

The pain made him wish for death, yet his mouth was stuffed with the sock, preventing him from even screaming.

A heart-wrenching feeling, at this moment, only he knew what it tasted like.

The two women couldn’t be bothered with that; they were here to assist the Old Shopkeeper in completing the task. Holding a bloody piece of flesh, they walked over to the Old Shopkeeper, handed it to him, and said, "Hey! Old Shopkeeper, here you go, quickly solve the Gu."

Their actions were swift and clean, leaving everyone present stunned.

Besides the Old Shopkeeper, who understood why they cut Zhao Yin’s flesh, the common folk were oblivious, staring blankly at the two women, thinking they hated Zhao Yin for harming so many Little Kids, and were venting their anger.

"Old Shopkeeper, Old Shopkeeper, why are you standing there like a fool? Hurry up and save them!" The Old Shopkeeper stood there dumbfounded, prompting the two women to shout loudly.

"Oh! Right, right, saving lives is urgent, saving lives is urgent." The Old Shopkeeper snapped back to reality, hurriedly taking the bloody flesh, and frantically began the ritual to save the remaining Little Kids.

No matter how bad Zhao Yin was, he was still his junior, growing up together; watching him suffer, the Old Shopkeeper felt uneasy.

Finally, the Old Shopkeeper managed to solve the Gu for the remaining Little Kids, smiling contentedly as he looked at their now flat bellies, feeling that sacrificing Zhao Yin for the sake of saving these children was worthwhile.

Only now did everyone dare to ask the Old Shopkeeper, why use Zhao Yin’s flesh to solve the Gu?

The Old Shopkeeper explained to them that since these Gu Insects were placed by Zhao Yin, they recognized his scent, so as long as his blood was used as bait, those Gu Insects would come out, drawn by the familiar smell.

Everyone suddenly understood.

They hated Zhao Yin even more—this man was truly loathsome, causing the deaths of so many Little Kids and then daring to claim he was ordered by the Emperor?

They didn’t believe it anyway; the Emperor was typically kind-hearted, how could he possibly commit such a heinous act!

After completing the task, the Old Shopkeeper took leave, but before leaving, he glanced at the tightly bound Zhao Yin on the ground, wearing a conflicted expression, hesitated several times, but finally shook his head without saying a word, turned around, and left the inn.

Only one Little Kid had been taken home by their family, but there were still a dozen whose families hadn’t been found.

After some discussion, the two women addressed the gathered crowd: "How about putting these dozen Little Kids at the city gate? Everyone from each household should call out for those who lost children to come quickly to claim them.

Seeing the pitiable state of these Little Kids, everyone agreed they should be returned to their parents quickly, so they agreed instantly.

A short while later, at the city gate.

Tonight’s streets were livelier than usual; since the phenomenon occurred, tonight was the busiest night.

Among the crowd were many who had lost children from their homes. Hearing about the child claiming at the city gate, they hurriedly rushed over to see if their own children were there.

Zhao Yin had also been brought over by the two women, bound to a nearby stone pillar.

The filthy sock stuffed in his mouth had also been removed by them.

"You bastards, hurry up and let me down, I’m the Emperor’s favorite!"

Clearly, Zhao Yin’s mind hadn’t cleared, as he continued revealing the truth.