65: Chapter 65: The Festival of Sacrifice (Part 10)

The middle-aged women on the stage began to dance.

Looking closely, the position in the very front center was left empty.

Watching them dance over and over again, Qianye's gaze shifted from lazy to serious. Why did she feel familiar with this dance for the gods?

She ran through her thoughts but couldn't recall anything. Shaking her head, Qianye stopped dwelling on it.

Resting her chin in her hand, Qianye's eyes held a hint of interest. Interesting, how did they manage to make the next repetition exactly the same as the last?

This Changsheng Village really has many secrets.

After watching it a few more times and carefully listening to the percussion music, Qianye was one hundred percent certain that both the music and the dance were exact replicas of the first iteration.

For a moment, she had some guesses, but she needed a significant amount of evidence to prove them.

As she was thinking, the percussion music suddenly stopped.

Noisy sounds came from the stage.

"Where are the people from the Little He family? Why haven't we seen them?"

"Weren't they planning to let their daughter lead the dance this year? Why is there still no movement?"

"I don't know?"

"We've already practiced for several rounds; we should take a break."

"Let's go. Let's go to the Little He family's house and see what's going on."

"Yes, yes, why hasn't her daughter been sent over yet?"

"They wouldn't have gone back on their word, would they?"

"Impossible!"

A group of middle-aged women—three people make a play, and there were several such groups—the scene was bustling with activity.

Qianye darted out then, clapping her hands with bright eyes. "The elders are truly talented. The dance you performed was absolutely amazing."

"Oh, it's you, girl. Haha, we were just dancing casually."

"What do you mean 'casually'? This was truly danced perfectly!"

Qianye activated her praise mode, showering them with every complimentary word she could think of, making everyone present beam with smiles.

Once she was familiar with them, Qianye began her act. Looking at them with furrowed brows and a face full of confusion, she asked, "Aunties, why have you stopped?"

"We were dancing just fine~"

An auntie from the side stepped out to resolve her confusion.

Qianye recognized this auntie; she was the same one she had met at the village entrance earlier. What a coincidence.

"Auntie, it's you."

"Oh, what a polite girl."

The next second, the auntie's face was filled with worry. "It's that Little He family. We agreed a few days ago that his daughter would lead the dance."

"This is a great honor."

"He agreed to it just fine, but when it came time for the rehearsal, no one showed up."

"Not only did we not see his daughter, but the couple themselves didn't appear either!"

"Then why not go and take a look? Could something have gone wrong?"

Qianye suggested, her tone faint and holding a playful attitude.

"Oh my, you're right. We haven't seen them for days, we really should go check."

A group of people marched imposingly toward what they called the Little He family's house.

Qianye followed behind to watch the show. As they walked, she felt the path becoming more and more familiar.

Ah...

A bad premonition arose in her heart.

The further they went inside, the more familiar it became.

After walking for a long time, the group stood still in front of a doorway.

Qianye looked at the familiar little dilapidated door and pursed her lips.

She never expected it to be Meng Yu's house...

"Bang, bang, bang," the sound of knocking continued.

There was no movement inside.

They continued to knock...

This time with urgency.

After a long while, the door was slowly opened.

Meng Yu's tear-stained face came into Qianye's view.

Qianye's mouth twitched slightly. Did she use too much force with her little pet at home?

After the door opened, the group of villagers with twisted expressions returned to normal.

"Ah, it's Little He's daughter. So you were home."

"You..."

Seeing this, Meng Yu quickly took over her words. "I, my parents might have gone into the mountains. I, I'm not very sure, it's already been several days."

"They said to let me stay home obediently and wait for them, not to, not to run around."

Meng Yu was busy wiping her tears, speaking incoherently.

"What!"

"Gone into the mountains!"

"Who allowed them to go into the mountains!"

The surrounding villagers' expressions changed instantly. Their faces turned gray, and their bodies exuded a black mist.

Qianye looked up at the sky. The weather, which had been fairly clear, suddenly became gloomy the moment Meng Yu mentioned her parents might have gone into the mountains.

Black clouds pressed down, and the surrounding atmosphere became oppressive and heavy.

Looking at the group of nearly frenzied villagers, and then at the black mist churning in the sky.

The villagers' emotions seemed to dictate the weather changes in Changsheng Village.

Qianye and Meng Yu exchanged a subtle glance, seeing the realization in each other's eyes.

Why did they react so strongly to the matter of going into the mountains?

Meng Yu continued, "It's already, already been several days, and I don't know if they are safe. I, I am so worried."

The more she spoke, the uglier the expressions of the villagers opposite became. Whether it was due to the dim weather or something else, their faces were now tinged with a dark, greenish-black hue.

"Is she also trying to be like the village chief!"

"Ignorant!"

"A sin, what a sin!"

"What to do? What to do?"

The group of villagers had ferocious expressions, staring at Meng Yu before them.

They glared at her viciously. Not knowing what they were wary of, they only dared to threaten her with their eyes before the group left in a huff.

Qianye and Meng Yu looked at each other in silence. Suddenly, a "bang, bang" sound came from inside the house.

Qianye raised an eyebrow. "Little pet?"

Meng Yu's mouth twitched. She wiped her tears and made way.

Inside the house, a faint candlelight was burning slowly. Two figures were tied up on the floor.

Their bodies were emitting black mist, their eyes were blood-red, and their open mouths revealed long, thin fangs. A thin rope was tied around their mouths, forcibly separating their upper and lower teeth so they couldn't close them.

At this moment, they were struggling wildly, their blood-red eyes staring intently at Qianye and Meng Yu, drool flowing from their mouths.

"Heh, heh, heh..."

"These aren't your parents, yet you could bear to do this." In such a situation, Qianye still had the heart to joke.

Meng Yu looked at her faintly.

— —

Night fell, making the already oppressive village even more so.

A heavy, black mist shrouded the entire sky.

In the west,

Qianye was followed by Meng Yu and Tai You.

Qianye did not react to the person who suddenly appeared. She gripped the small flower pot in her hand and looked up at the three-story pavilion in front of her.

If Xie Hong and the others were here, they would definitely exclaim in shock.

Isn't this the former village chief's house!

They were terrified to even get near it, yet there were still those bold enough to force their way inside.

"What... are you doing?"

An old and strange voice suddenly appeared behind them.

The whole voice sounded listless, like someone suffering from a long-term, incurable illness.

The three of them were very calm. Qianye turned around slowly, and the one who appeared was that familiar little Old Woman: Old Madam Zhou.

Leaning on a cane, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, she suddenly manifested.

If anyone had a smaller heart, they would have been scared to death.

"I didn't notice, you're living here!" I don't know when, but Qianye was holding the hong ling umbrella, staring at her with a half-smile.

Old Madam Zhou's white eyes rolled around. Seemingly sensing the impending danger, she subconsciously stopped speaking and prepared to leave silently again.

However,

Coming was easy, but when it came to leaving, it wasn't up to her.

The person who was almost one with the darkness was, in the next second, grabbed by the throat by someone.

"Hee hee, where do you want to go?"

"I'd like to invite you to stay here too!" Qianye's voice was wicked and excited.

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Zhou struggled incessantly, not even wanting her cane anymore.