Chapter three hundred and twentieth inquiring about the news
The village chief has promised not to mention the sacrifice to outsiders.
Fortunately, he only mentioned the sacrifice and did not reveal too many details.
Looking at Ada's hastily leaving, Xu Chunniang looked thoughtful.
It seems that this so-called sacrifice may be the key to leaving this extraordinary place.
In the next few days, new "outsiders" continued to enter the village.
Without exception, these people are all monks who entered Tiandao Palace like Xu Chunniang.
But not long after they entered the village, they disappeared mysteriously, and no one knew where they went.
"I heard that two more foreigners came this morning. There have been so many foreigners coming to the village recently."
"It's strange to say that so many outsiders came to the village and then left. Only the three people who came in the first place are still there."
"What's so strange? They must have seen our village in ruins and sneaked away again."
A few children chatted for a while, and soon noticed the bone blade being polished in Xu Chunniang's hands, and their eyes lit up.
"What a beautiful knife, made of tiger bones!"
"It looks much more majestic than my father's bow and arrow!"
A group of children stared at the bone blade with great eagerness. Finally, someone plucked up the courage to step forward and said, "Hello, foreigner, can you lend us this to play with?"
Xu Chunniang glanced at several people but said nothing.
She had been wandering around the village for several days, inquiring about the sacrifice.
However, whenever she mentions these two words, these simple and enthusiastic villagers will become nervous and deliberately avoid the topic.
So after asking for several days, I couldn't get any more information.
All I know is that this so-called sacrifice must be held in the ancestral land, and more than one village is participating in the sacrifice.
Xu Chunniang had no choice but to try to get the answer from these children.
"Where is the farthest place you have ever been?"
However, the answers from these children disappointed her.
"We never left the village."
"You are not allowed to leave the village until you are twelve years old. My father said I was too young."
They answered absentmindedly, their eyes still staring at the bone blade in Xu Chunniang's hand, obviously not giving up.
Xu Chunniang caressed the bone blade with her fingers, "You just said that many outsiders have disappeared. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true. There were originally a few foreigners living in the house next to my house, but I checked and there was no one in the house."
"They must have thought our village was poor, so they sneaked away."
Xu Chunniang heard what she wanted to hear and handed the bone blade to them, "I'll let you play with it for a while, be careful not to get hurt."
Several children got their wish, burst into cheers, and carefully raised the bone blades to play with.
Xu Chunniang picked up another tiger bone on the ground and began to polish it. She remembered the two strange monks who came to visit her not long after she entered the village.
Those "outsiders who came and left" were probably killed by those two monks.
They came to her that day, most likely with the intention of taking action against her, but for some unknown reason, they gave up.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Xu Chunniang took back the bone blade and walked towards the village chief's house.
In this kind of ancient closed village, the village chief is the person with the most power and the most knowledge. Instead of asking other people to inquire slowly, it is better to ask the village chief directly.
The village chief learned that Xu Chunniang was visiting and received her warmly.
"Dear guest, are you still in the habit of staying here these days?"
"It's good. I heard that there are many other villages far away. I don't know if it's true."
The village chief was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course it's true. But those villages are too far away. I'm afraid it will take a whole month to get there."
"Then have you been to other villages?"
The village chief smiled bitterly, "That's not true. I can't leave the village for too long. Moreover, the attitude of other villages towards us cannot be called friendly."
Xu Chunniang's eyes moved slightly. These villages would go to the same ancestral site every year to worship. It is very likely that they have a common ancestor.
But the village chief said that the relationship between the villages was not friendly, which is intriguing.
Could it be that the objects of worship in each village are different? Or are these villages competing with each other?
"Then where is the farthest place you have ever been?"
"Haha, I can't walk very far with my old bones."
The village chief subconsciously avoided looking and picked up the tea bowl, "It's getting dark..."
Xu Chunniang sighed inwardly. It seemed that if she didn't make her words clear, the village chief would keep pretending to be stupid.
She interrupted him and pointedly said, "I heard that you have to go to your ancestral land once a year to participate in sacrifices."
The village chief's hand holding the teacup shook, and the tea in the teacup almost spilled. He finally realized something and his face didn't look good.
"Although I am grateful that you saved my clan, this is our clan's matter and I have no obligation to tell you."
"Since it is a sacrifice, then we must prepare sacrifices, right?"
The village chief's face turned pale, "It's just an ancestor worship, no expensive sacrifices are needed."
After saying this, no matter how Xu Chunniang asked, he still refused to speak.
In desperation, she had no choice but to leave the village chief's house.
On the way back, it was already dark.
The woman's soft sobs came from nowhere, and she was very sad.
Xu Chunniang has been in the village for a few days and is no stranger to this kind of sound.
The young adults in the village have rich hunting experience, but they fight with ferocious beasts every day and are often injured. If they are unlucky, they may even lose their lives.
Maybe someone's family encountered misfortune again.
She was about to avoid it when she heard a sad whisper.
"Shuang'er has been chosen, and the ceremony will be held next month..."
"This is fate. Shuang'er is the person chosen by the Witch God, and we should accept it. She will serve the Witch God for us."
"I know, but why is it my Shuang'er? She is only ten years old, wuwuwu..."
"The witch god is above, Shuang'er will protect us."
Under the man's comfort, the sobs gradually diminished, and eventually fell into silence, dissolving into the deep night.
Xu Chunniang took a deep breath and made a bold guess in her heart.
Shuang'er, who is nearly ten years old, was chosen as a sacrifice and will be given to the witch god at the sacrifice next month.
And this kind of sacrifice to the Witch God is held once a year and has lasted for endless years.
And not only this village, but all nearby villages go to the ancestral land every year to participate in sacrifices...
It seems that the "Witch God" has a really big appetite.
There was a coldness in Xu Chunniang's eyes. No wonder the village chief remained silent when she asked about the sacrifice. There was such a secret hidden in it.
Perhaps, this witch god is the key to leaving this extraordinary place.
Xu Chunniang closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, there was no more trouble.
Since the sacrifice will be held next month, she only needs to follow these people and then go to their so-called ancestral land to find out.