Her destiny stolen? The Divine Witch Ancestor has returned!

Faint rustling sounds could be heard from inside the dilapidated cowshed.

There were also some rapid, panting breaths, filled with fear and dread.

Phoenix's fiery red figure disappeared into the cowshed and quickly flew out again.

"Master, the situation inside is not good... Why don't you go in and take a look?"

He whispered, then leaned on Wu Zhao's shoulder and buried his head in her hair.

The suffering in this world is too terrible, even worse than the torment he endured in the underworld!

Wu Zhao's eyes flickered.

She raised her hand and touched the dilapidated door panel; the rickety wooden plank collapsed with a thud at her touch.

A foul smell wafted from the cowshed.

Wu Zhao coughed twice.

Fearful screams immediately erupted from the cowshed.

"Sister, I'm so scared..."

"Are they...are they planning to eat us?"

"Waaah, I want to go home... I miss my mom... This place is so scary..."

The faint sound of sobbing reached his ears, and Wu Zhao stopped in his tracks.

"Don't be afraid, don't be scared. Your sister is here, and your sister will never let them hurt you!"

The voice, though trembling, was remarkably firm.

Upon hearing this voice, Wu Zhao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Let's light the fire, Phoenix."

It was pitch black inside the cowshed, and Wu Zhao could not see clearly.

Phoenix exhaled a burst of medical flames, which floated into the air beside Wu Zhao.

She walked into the cowshed, her footsteps startling the people inside.

The crowd, huddled together in the firelight, stirred slightly.

Wu Zhao could see the people inside clearly.

The young girl held the two children tightly, while several other children hid behind her, trembling.

Several mangled figures lay on the straw nearby, their limbs mutilated and covered in festering sores crawling with insects.

The stench was so strong that it made Wu Zhao's eyes hurt.

Such a horrific scene made these children as frightened as birds startled by the mere twang of a bow.

"Who are you?"

Wu Zhao looked at the girl who was watching him warily and asked.

To everyone's surprise, the girl with bloodstains on her face was quite astonished to find that an extremely beautiful woman had walked in.

She then tightened her embrace, looking at Wu Zhao with resentment.

“You beasts who use human lives to do evil, I will never let you hurt these children.”

"You will be punished!"

Her voice was trembling so much it was almost inaudible, yet she was still trying her best to protect the child behind her and in her arms.

Phoenix peeked his little head out from Wu Zhao's hair.

I couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

"I really don't know if this little girl is brave or just scared out of her wits..."

How dare they say such things to their master.

The talking bird made the group even more frightened.

Faint cries rose and fell.

"Don't cry, don't cry."

The girl, flustered and distraught, was trying to soothe the frightened child, tears welling in her eyes.

"Kill me if you must, don't hurt these children."

The crying child desperately hugged the girl.

"No, don't kill Teacher Tao Tao..."

"Waaaaah, Teacher Tao, please don't leave us..."

Wu Zhao was both amused and exasperated.

Is Phoenix scary to look at?

Is she also scary-looking?

"Take the person out; there's no danger anymore."

Wu Zhao sighed.

He glanced at the few people lying on the ground, barely breathing.

Were they with you?

Teacher Tao Tao paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes, it was the driver and the teacher who were with me..."

She stammered as she realized what had happened, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"You, you've come to save us!"

"Great, great..."

Tears streamed down my face, and my heart finally settled down.

"My name is Tao Yueran, and I am a teacher at Dijing Lanlan Kindergarten. They are all children in the kindergarten."

"We were abducted here about two weeks ago when we went on a spring outing..."

Tao Yueran patted the child next to her, a smile of relief appearing on her face.

For the past two weeks, she has been living a life worse than death, worried that the children would be brutally murdered and also terrified that her teacher would die right before her eyes.

She was also an only child and grew up smoothly, doing the job she loved as a kindergarten teacher.

This was the first time she had encountered something so terrifying. If it weren't for her belief in taking care of these children, she would have been completely overwhelmed.

She probably broke down long ago.

Phoenix.

Wu Zhao noticed that Tao Yueran's legs were too weak to stand up, so she walked over to her and reached out her hand.

"Get up, it's all over now."

Phoenix flew out, and a moment later a tall, slender man walked in.

The tall, eerie man was somewhat frightening to Tao Yueran.

She flinched, somewhat fearful.

"He's with me, don't be afraid."

Phoenix clicked his tongue twice, somewhat disgusted and reluctant to touch the person on the ground.

He raised his hand, grabbed the two men by their belts, and lifted them up.

"Master... cough cough, let me take these two out for treatment first."

He coughed twice and quickly left with his men.

Tao Yueran breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with Wu Zhao's help.

She took a deep breath.

"Alright children, we are safe now. Now follow the teacher outside."

"Don't be afraid, just line up properly."

Her voice was gentle, with a soothing quality.

The children, who were initially scared, obediently followed her out.

The empty yard outside the cowshed was soon filled with people.

Wu Zhao counted them and found there were seven children and two teachers.

Including the two wounded and dying men who were taken away by Phoenix first, there were actually eleven people in this group.

Are all your people here?

Wu Zhao observed the faces of these people and found that, apart from being frightened and looking pale and panicked, they were otherwise unaffected.

Several children were too weak to stand.

Wu Zhao clapped his hands, realizing he hadn't brought any food with him.

I should have brought Wu Xingyun with me earlier.

Just then, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Grand Ancestor, Grand Ancestor, are you alright!"

Wu Xingyun jogged over with a backpack on his back and was somewhat shocked to see so many people in front of Wu Zhao.

"What, what's going on?"

The children were somewhat panicked when they saw strangers coming.

Seeing the disheveled state of these people, Wu Xingyun quickly took the contents of his backpack out.

"The little bird just came back with two terribly injured people. It said they needed help here, so I came."

He spoke in a low voice, without saying a word, Barbatos followed behind him.

Wu Xingyun had water and bread in his hands.

Upon seeing the food, Tao Yueran subconsciously swallowed, and her hunger quickly intensified after she felt safe.

"Don't be afraid, have something to eat?"

Wu Xingyun stood still and asked cautiously.

He was handsome, and although he was tall and strong, his smile was very approachable.

The children peeked out from behind Tao Yueran, unable to resist their hunger.

"Thank you, thank you so much."

Tao Yueran took the backpack from his hand somewhat embarrassedly and quickly opened the bottled water.

Seeing that she was too busy, Wu Xingyun squatted down and opened a bottle of water.

"Little friend, would you like some water?"

Seeing him and Tao Yueran taking care of the children, Wu Zhao felt reassured.

"Ok?"

Her gaze swept briefly over the children, finally settling on one of them.

The child looked bewildered and hesitated at the very back.

His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and he gripped Tao Yue Ran's hand tightly, feeling utterly insecure.

Wu Zhao's eyes darkened.

"This is……?"