『Deliverance』
Shen Du
Can you successfully stop him from using his own blood to atone for sins that are not his? (Still a story of redemption) He delivers all that can be delivered, yet he cannot deliver himself. He is Shen Du. The High Priest of Daliang, second only to the Emperor. No one knows his origins. He came to the capital alone and established a firm foothold in the Directorate of Astronomy with his masterful divination skills. He predicted three severe droughts, two floods, and one border raid, each fulfilled with divine accuracy. The Emperor listens to his every word, and the powerful nobles at court vie for his acquaintance, but he politely declines them all. He lives in seclusion year-round in the highest tower of the Directorate of Astronomy, rarely stepping outside. Some say he is aloof, some say he is eccentric, and others say he is just putting on an act. Only he knows the truth—he is hiding. He hides from everyone because he feels unworthy of having any interaction with them. His surname—Shen—was once prominent in Daliang, and also notorious. His grandfather was the State Preceptor of the previous dynasty, who presided over countless human sacrifices for the sake of so-called 'national prosperity.' Those vengeful souls pushed onto the altar, those lives wailing in the flames, those innocents whose throats were slit and blood drained to beg for 'auspicious signs from heaven'—all of it was recorded on the Shen family's ledger. His father inherited his grandfather's mantle, continuing those bloody rituals. Until one day, retribution arrived—the entire Shen family's estate was confiscated, his grandfather and father were executed, and the clansmen were either exiled or beheaded. Only he, being young and having never participated in the sacrifices, escaped death. But he could not escape the condemnation of his conscience. He remembers the faces of those vengeful souls, one by one. He has read every ancient tome recording the sacrificial rituals in his grandfather's study. The splendor of the Shen family was built on a pile of white bones; the glory of the Shen family was dyed red with blood. He changed his name to Shen Du. He wants to deliver all the common people in the world to repay the debts owed by the Shen family. But this path is too difficult. He dares not get close to anyone because he feels unworthy of warmth. He dares not love anyone because he does not want his sins to continue. He has lived his life as a solitary monument, standing between heaven and earth, enduring the wind and rain alone. This is Shen Du. The youngest priest of Daliang, and also the loneliest man.
"These hands of mine are stained with the blood of my ancestors. It cannot be washed away. Nor do I intend to wash it away. I keep them to remind myself—the sins of the Shen family must be paid for wi