This was a small fishing village by the sea, located on the outskirts of the Land of Rivers.
Although it was evening, the village remained exceptionally quiet. Furthermore, not a single wisp of cooking smoke could be seen rising from the houses.
Inside a dilapidated small courtyard, a little girl who looked only four or five years old raised her head. A layer of mist clouded her dark, beady eyes.
"Brother, when will Mommy and Daddy come back?"
Standing beside the little girl was a thin, scrawny boy. He had short, neat hair and skin tanned dark by the sun.
Hearing his sister's words, a flash of anger crossed the boy's eyes, followed by a deep sense of loneliness. Despite this, he quickly hid his inner emotions in front of his sister. He reached out to rub her head and said with a smile:
"Don't worry. Mommy and Daddy just went fishing. They'll be back soon."
"Really?"
The little girl suddenly cheered up, looking at her brother with great anticipation. The boy could only force a smile and respond, "Of course."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A series of raspy coughs interrupted the siblings' conversation. It was their grandfather.
The elderly man, dressed in tattered cloth clothes with a hunched frame, walked out from the small earthen house. His body looked as if it had rusted. His stooped skeleton supported dark, coarse skin covered in wrinkles.
The old man leaned on his cane and said hoarsely, "Mori, Rin, you two come in and eat."
The boy's name was Mori Shiraishi. Upon hearing his grandfather, Mori Shiraishi stood up and took his sister's hand to head home.
"Caw! Caw!"
Suddenly, a dense and unpleasant burst of bird cries rang out. A dark cloud of crows flew across the sky before quickly dispersing and descending toward the small fishing village.
One of the crows landed right on the withered tree in the Shiraishi family's yard. The light of the setting sun splashed across the courtyard like blood.
"Caw..."
"There seem to be so many more crows in the village today," Mori Shiraishi remarked, looking at the crow grooming its feathers on the dead tree.
The grandfather glanced at the crow and then looked away, muttering unclearly, "Too many crows is never a good omen."
With that, he prepared to turn back into the earthen house. Just then, two black figures emerged from the sunset.
The seaside sunset was as crimson as fresh blood. Mori Shiraishi looked at those two figures with a dazed expression. It felt as if he were watching two people walking out from a sea of blood.
"You two, get inside, now!"
The grandfather's expression suddenly turned serious. Mori Shiraishi and Rin Shiraishi did not dare disobey him and hurriedly hid inside the house.
As the two figures drew closer, their conversation became as clear as their silhouettes.
"Damn it, Simu, I'm so hungry!"
Hidan clutched his stomach, which was rumbling incessantly, and complained without stopping.
"I feel like I could eat an entire cow right now!"
Simu glanced at him and said flatly, "Shut up. Or I'll cut your head off so you can't eat anything at all."
Hearing this, Hidan instinctively touched his neck. Although he enjoyed the sensation of being beheaded by Simu, he decided such things should wait until after dinner.
Simu was unaware of Hidan's twisted thoughts. He walked directly toward the courtyard.
"Excuse me, may we have a meal here?"
Simu asked the old man standing at the yard entrance quite politely. The old man leaned on his cane and said tremulously, "Of course. Please, come in, come in."
His frail body moved aside with difficulty to make a path, inviting Simu and Hidan into the yard.
Hidan raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to be so sensible, old man."
Simu shot Hidan a look. This guy truly didn't know the meaning of being a guest.
Like a lord, Hidan strode into the Shiraishi family's yard and walked straight into the house. The house was tiny. After returning inside, Rin Shiraishi had been hidden under the bed by her brother. Therefore, only the scrawny Mori Shiraishi stood before Hidan.
Master Hidan had never had much interest in children. He sat directly on a long wooden bench and shouted boisterously, "Hey, old man, I like fried pork cutlets. Get them ready for me quickly."
Mori Shiraishi was about to say something when he saw his grandfather give him a look. The old man rubbed his hands together and said respectfully, "Right away, honored guests. I'll go prepare it immediately."
He then turned to Mori Shiraishi. "Mori, come with me and help me get things ready!"
"Yes, Grandfather."
Mori Shiraishi's gaze lingered on Hidan for a while before he ran toward the kitchen.
At this time, Simu also slowly stepped into the house. The furnishings were simple: one bed, one table, and some tattered fishing nets and rusted gear hanging on the dusty walls. It was very... clean.
In the kitchen, Mori Shiraishi watched his grandfather about to slaughter a pig and asked in confusion, "Grandfather, why are we killing this piglet for those two guys?"
This was the last pig the Shiraishi family owned. Moreover, it was still a piglet in its prime growing stage. Killing it now was a terrible waste.
Holding the butcher knife, the grandfather killed the piglet without hesitation. He spoke seriously to Mori Shiraishi, "Those two... you must never provoke them."
"If I'm not mistaken, they are from the Jashin Religion."
"Jashin Religion?"
Mori Shiraishi's face was filled with confusion. The grandfather nodded grimly. "It is a cult that worships an evil god and is very fond of blood sacrifices. Five or six years ago, the neighboring Hakuyu Village was slaughtered by people from the Jashin Religion..."
The grandfather's movements paused, as if he were remembering the massacre from years ago. Mori Shiraishi's face turned pale, and his scrawny fists tightened quietly. Unknowingly, his voice became somewhat raspy.
"What are they doing here?"
Facing his grandson's question, the elderly grandfather could only shake his head.
"How could we possibly know what people like them want to do?"
"However, I suspect it has something to do with the Sakamoto Company."
At the mention of the Sakamoto Company, Mori Shiraishi instantly grit his teeth, his face twisting into a grimace. Seeing this, the grandfather sighed.
"Mori, I know you've always been bitter about what happened to your parents. But a giant like the Sakamoto Company is simply not something we can oppose."
"Then we just let them take Mom and Dad away?"
Mori Shiraishi's fists were clenched so hard he could barely control his emotions.
"Sigh."
The grandfather said nothing more. He simply finished cleaning and cutting the piglet, which had stopped breathing. Because there wasn't much oil in the house, he had to negotiate with Hidan to change the fried pork cutlets to roasted pork.
Mori Shiraishi looked at the suckling pig tied to the rack and being roasted. He felt a strange bitterness in his heart.
What was the difference between himself and this pig being roasted on the rack?