93: Chapter 93: The Festival of Sacrifice (Thirty-Eight)

"Bang! Bang!" Two gunshots rang out.

The source of the sound was none other than Trench Coat Boss.

He fired two shots in quick succession directly in Qianye's direction.

"People without value shouldn't be alive."

His sudden move shocked the short man standing nearby, and hearing those final words made his heart turn cold.

Upon hearing the gunshots, a protective barrier with a faint red glow appeared around Qianye.

Trench Coat Boss's expression visibly changed; he hadn't expected her to be hiding such a secret.

Qianye curled her lips into a smile at him. "The temptation of this treasure really is huge!"

The next second, she inserted the key, and the lock clicked open.

Qianye rested her hand on the edge of the treasure chest, staring at them with a cryptic smile.

"Want to know what treasure is inside?"

"Hee hee, I'll satisfy that curiosity for you~"

"What are you doing!"

With an angry shout, the treasure chest was suddenly thrown open before they could react.

A pale red light spilled from the small treasure chest, instantly engulfing the entire cave.

Even though it was just a faint light, it was so piercing that every creature in the cave was unable to keep their eyes open.

They reflexively shut their eyes.

——

When Qianye opened her eyes again, she was met with a clear, moonlit night. Looking down at her feet, she saw puddles of varying sizes nearby, appearing dim under the moonlight.

Where is this?

Suddenly, amidst the moonlight, she heard the sound of a suona, growing closer and closer.

Qianye looked down; her hands were empty, and the treasure chest was gone. Only the slight weight of her sleeve let her know that Xiaohua was still there.

She tried to summon the hong ling umbrella, but there was no response.

Qianye raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

Listening to the increasingly loud suona music and the dense sound of footsteps, she estimated that a large group of people was heading this way.

Qianye looked at her surroundings; it was a forest. The woods looked familiar, seeming very much like the path she had taken when she first arrived at Changsheng Village.

Could she still be in Changsheng Village?

The surroundings were silent, with only a crescent moon in the night sky, making it feel exceptionally lonely. Hearing the suona music getting closer, Qianye hid herself in the darkness.

The footsteps approached. The next moment, Qianye, hidden in the darkness, used the moonlight to see the people who appeared.

Their clothing hadn't changed; it was identical to what the villagers of Changsheng Village wore.

In the moonlight, she could see that the villagers' expressions were normal. One had to remember that back in Changsheng Village, those villagers would enter a frenzied state as soon as night fell.

The scene before her made Qianye even more curious. What exactly had happened? Where was this place?

Recalling the function of that item, a flash of realization crossed Qianye's eyes as she watched the villagers.

She felt she could make a guess about where this was.

The ceramic jars held by the villagers were very similar to the porcelain she had seen in the hands of those other villagers.

After the villagers passed, Qianye quietly followed behind them.

This display clearly looked like the Sacrificial Festival, but why was it happening at night here?

The previous Sacrificial Festival had clearly taken place during the day.

Xiaohua in her sleeve emitted a faint red light, escorting and protecting Qianye along the way.

Qianye followed them all the way, passing the mountain peaks she had seen before, and then the procession continued forward.

Finally, they stopped at a cliff face. The bright moonlight shone on the cliff, allowing Qianye to clearly see what was on it.

It was a giant stone statue, looking like a normal person with arms, legs, and a slender figure. However, what was surprising was that the statue's face was blurred, and Qianye could not make out its appearance.

Qianye hid behind a rock, listening to them chanting rhythmically.

They were using their unique dialect, which Qianye could not understand.

"Are we... really going to do this?"

An aged voice suddenly appeared, filled with uncertainty and doubt.

"It must be done. The Mountain God hasn't manifested in a long time."

"But..."

"But does this count as deceiving Lord Mountain Spirit?"

"Do you have any other solution?"

"Our place is failing more and more, and the young people are all leaving."

"Are you still going to stop me now?"

The person stopped speaking.

The murmuring between the two ended. A person appeared at the very front, wearing a black robe and holding a ceramic vessel that was much larger than the ones the villagers behind were holding.

"Now, begin the ritual!"

As the voice fell, Qianye saw the villagers holding the ceramic vessels with both hands, kneeling on the ground with their heads touching the floor.

She saw the black-robed person doing something under the stone statue; when he stood up, the ceramic vessel in his hand was gone, and he turned to look at the villagers.

"Alright, that's enough."

Then the villagers stood up and walked one after another to the base of the stone statue.

Because she was far away and the moonlight was limited, Qianye couldn't clearly see their actions.

There was no help for it; in order not to alert the enemy, Qianye remained quietly in the back, watching them continue their movements.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but it finally ended, and she saw them perform another round of kneeling.

Qianye noticed that the large ceramic vessel in the black-robed person's hands was gone, while the villagers were still holding theirs.

After the kneeling ended, there was the dance that Qianye was familiar with. These dancers looked like real humans, not puppets controlled by Song Hao.

Qianye watched the scene with interest. Watching real people dance, she couldn't help but nod; sure enough, it had to be real people.

Watching their repetitive movements, Qianye finally realized something was wrong.

She didn't want to wait around for fear of alerting them anymore and simply revealed herself.

Qianye didn't soften her footsteps. It was time for kneeling, and there was no music; at this moment, her footsteps sounded exceptionally clear in the silent night.

However, Qianye watched as the villagers continued their own actions one by one, without any change.

Qianye walked right up to them, but those people continued their behavior as if they didn't see her.

Realizing that they seemed unable to see her, Qianye stood right at the front, waiting for them to continue their sacrificial actions.

She just wanted to know what was actually inside those ceramic vessels.

She hadn't forgotten that the porcelain the previous villagers had held was the same as what they were holding now.

What on earth were they using them for?

With this question in mind, Qianye watched as they slowly poured the contents of the small ceramic vessels into the large one.

Qianye leaned forward to look inside the large ceramic vessel, and a smile curled on her lips.

So that's what it was.

Inside were dense swarms of tiny insects.

They were wriggling around inside, looking plump and tender.

Qianye watched this scene with interest, not noticing at all that the villagers' gazes were becoming increasingly strange.

Their eyes were fixed intently on the direction where Qianye was.

Qianye seemed to sense something and looked toward them. "Damn, when did they come over?"

She saw that the villagers were silently approaching her.

Didn't they say they couldn't see her?

What is going on!

Good grief, were they just pretending not to see her earlier to lure her in?