The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

"Isn't it time we agreed on?"

Chen Guan mumbled, "I don't think so."

The old man nodded: "It seems you want to break the contract."

The child's face turned pale, and he gripped Guan Jinyue's hand tighter, his nervousness evident.

The old man finally glanced at him.

"Seven, you've grown taller again."

The child did not answer because he did not like this person.

Every time the bone-collecting team came, the city lord would nod in approval, and every time someone was pushed to the bone well, the city lord would hold the bowl and personally sprinkle bone powder into the well.

The old man ignored his silence and continued, "You wouldn't have lived to this day anyway."

The child's throat moved: "I know, it was the teacher who saved me."

The old man raised his hand and pointed to the coffin: "He saved you because he also needed to open the door."

Guan Jinyue looked at Chen Guan. Could it be that even the man in the long robe played by Chen Guan wasn't a good person in this story?

That's why the mural depicts that scene. Guan Jin thought about it more and more and felt that his idea was right.

The old man continued, "Sir, do you remember? When you first arrived, you were carrying that coffin, and everyone in the city thought you were a dead person. You sat under the city gate for three days, neither eating nor drinking, just looking at the patterns on the gate."

Chen Guan's ears perked up; he liked these helpful people who provided clues.

The old man spoke slowly, as if he were recalling an old friend for this ancient city, which greatly facilitated Chen Guan's memory.

"On the fourth day, you said the door pattern was wrong."

Among the crowd kneeling by the well, someone let out a very soft gasp. The old man looked over, and the person immediately kowtowed to the ground.

After calming the slight commotion among the crowd, the old man continued, "Our ancestors have guarded this well and this door for generations. During every storm, we offer our bones to close the door in order to gain its protection. After the storm, we offer our bones to open the door so that caravans from outside can enter the city. If you say the door markings are wrong, no one in the city will believe you."

"Later, you changed a stroke without permission."

That year, the door opened.

"Even without donating bones, the door was still open."

"So the people in the city respect you, fear you, and hate you."

We respect him for his ability to ward off wind disasters, fear his supernatural powers, and hate him for his ability to sow discord among people.

Chen Guan understood.

The real robed people came here, changed the door markings, and saved this city.

But he didn't destroy the man-eating bone well, perhaps because he couldn't, or perhaps for some other reason.

The tall, thin man knelt on the ground, gritting his teeth as he interrupted the old man's long-winded recollection, saying, "City Lord, he's taking Qi Kou away today. If Qi Kou leaves, who will open the gates for the next storm?"

"The master no longer has the ability to change the door pattern, and he will leave sooner or later. Seven-Knob Boy is the only one who can open the door."

The old man ignored him, only looking at the coffin: "Sir, are you really going to take him away?"

The child looked up at Chen Guan. He didn't ask any questions, but just looked at him hopefully, his eyes filled with so much.

Half a hard biscuit, a small piece of dried meat, a house that was half collapsed, and a word that he had written over and over again but had never seen before.

Family.

Chen Guan glanced at him.

"Today, I'm taking him away."

As the words fell, the crowd kneeling by the bone well raised their heads; some faces showed terror, while others had resentment in their eyes.

The old man sighed and straightened his back: "You can't take it with you."

Guan Jinyue stepped forward, sword in hand: "Who dares to stop me?"

The old man looked at her, his gaze falling on her sword. His eyes were no longer cloudy, but filled with wisdom: "Outsider, this is not your city, nor is it your era. You killed the bone-collecting team, you killed me, but the bone well is still there. When the storm comes, these people will still push the Seventh Gate down."

Guan Jinyue did not sheathe his sword.

The old man added, "Because they want to live."

As soon as those words were spoken, as if signaling something, a middle-aged man in the crowd by the well suddenly looked up.

"We didn't want this either!"

His throat was dry and hoarse, and his face was covered with cracks left by the wind and sand.

"If we don't open the gates, the grain brought by the people from the central city won't come in; if we don't open the gates, the well water will dry up; if we don't open the gates, a typhoon will blow the roof off. Who wants to watch their children starve to death?"

The child looked at the man.

The person met his gaze, then immediately looked away.

Another woman said, her voice trembling with suppressed sobs, "Seven-Kou boy, I'm sorry, but you alone could save the whole city."

The child's hand slowly fell down, and the piece of dried meat dropped to the ground and rolled to the side of his shoe.

He didn't pick it up.

Chen Guan watched this scene without saying a word.

Guan Jinyue's eyes turned cold, the sword reflecting the white of the bone well.

What she hates most is when someone who wants to live is dragged down to death by another group of people who also want to live.

No one is born to be someone else's savior.

The old man stood up from the stone platform.

"Sir, you taught him to read, fed him, and blocked the bone-collecting team for a year. You talked about humanitarianism back then, but you can't let the whole city die with him."

"The caravan is right outside the gate, and the whole city can't wait any longer. Please forgive me, sir."

A dark red light climbed up from the bottom of the well, illuminating the shadow of a vertical door deep inside.

The old man lifted the bone bowl and sprinkled the bone powder inside onto the well.

"Qi Kou is a life-saving bone. After his bone is put into the well, he dies once and can open a path."

The child took a step back in fear.

The tall, thin man raised his head, his eyes filled with fervor.

"Please open the gate, City Lord!"

Many people knelt down by the well.

"Please open the gate, City Lord!"

Before long, the sounds increased and almost merged into one.

"Please open the gate, City Lord!"

The child stood amidst the noise of the crowd, his helpless figure seemingly about to be swept away by the wind at any moment.

Was I... born to die?

Guan Jinyue stood in front of him, his face growing increasingly pale.

Her last shred of reason made her look at Chen Guan: "What do you plan to do?"

Chen Guan put down the coffin behind him.

In an instant, the world fell silent.

The old man's expression changed: "Sir, have you forgotten the city regulations?"

Chen Guan raised his hand and placed it on the coffin lid.

"Your city rules have no place over my coffin."

The old man said sternly, "That coffin must not be opened! You yourself said back then that if the coffin is opened, chaos will ensue, and if chaos ensue, the city will perish!"

Chen Guan paused for a moment, and sure enough, that was the case.

The man in the long robe also came with a coffin. His coffin contained his true form. What would be in the coffin of the other man in the long robe?

Judging from these people's reactions, it seems to be something terrifying.

Seeing that something was wrong, the thin man suddenly pounced on the ground and grabbed the child.

Guan Jinyue swept his sword horizontally, the back of the sword striking his chest.

The lanky man flew backward and crashed into the edge of the bone well. The dominoes at his waist shattered with a crash, but the fragments did not fall to the ground. Instead, they hung in the air, with the red symbols on their backs lighting up one after another.

The old man's face darkened: "You forced me to do this."

He lifted the bone bowl and pressed it against his forehead.

The bone bowl shattered, and a ring of bone powder slid down his face and into his collar.

The door patterns beneath the stone platform lit up, connecting to the entire old city.

Deep in the street, all the doors rattled.

Chen Guan turned around to look.

Behind those sealed doors, children were crying, old people were coughing, and men were cursing in hushed tones.