For the past three years, the smell of blood has made me want to throw up. That rusty, scorched smell left by the war between immortals and demons feels as if it has seeped into my very bones. I hid away in this remote corner of the mortal realm for the peace and quiet. My current occupation is simple: growing vegetables. I cleared half a mu of land behind the house. A small patch to the east is planted with garlic chives, a few rows of bok choy to the west, and tender, dewy radish seedlings in the middle. When I plunge my fingers into the soil, its moist smell, mixed with a little rotting leaf and the scent of new life, seeps into my nose. Only then can my heart slowly settle back into place. The family next door also moved here recently, just a little later than I did...