Chapter 202: Aren’t You Going to Attend the Ceremony?
Clack clack clack
The footsteps grew louder as they stopped outside the door, and the knocking began.
Knock knock
Perhaps it was because nobody came to answer the door, but the knocking grew faster and harder, which made Yibei incredibly tense.
A sacrifice? You mean those things in the tanks?
She whipped out her kitchen knife, pressed it against the old mans neck, and said, Wait, I thought you said all sacrifices came from the outside, so why are they coming here?
She found that she became skilled at threatening others with her knife. She pressed her knife just enough to cause the old man pain but not enough to draw blood.
Committing arson, becoming a spy, learning spells in secret Im nothing but a criminal now.
The old man held panic in his face and weakly said, There havent been enough sacrifices recently, so we can only use people from the village, and since nobody wants to die
He didnt continue, but she clearly knew what he meant.
Those deformed babies will die in place of the villagers.
Hurry up and deal with the Old Ladies, or I might just kill you.
She had no idea what the Old Ladies were capable of or how strong they were in terms of psychic powers.
If it wasnt necessary, she didnt want to have a conflict with them.
But
By the light of the scarlet lantern within him, she could notice that his posture whilst moving was strange. His body was limp as he tried crawling on the ground like a snake.
Oh my god. Cant you move?
My bones are broken, he croaked out. This is my punishment for telling you the secrets of the village.
Then what should we do? she panicked. You cant let her continue knocking like this! Shes going to kick the door down!
Youre right so The old man hesitated. You. You go out and greet her.
Me? Hah, she dryly laughed as she pressed the knife further into his neck. Do you think Im fucking dumb? Do you want me to tie a ribbon around myself as they burn me at the stake?
No, no, I didnt mean that, never, the old man shook. Let me explain: as long as you can speak the language of the serpent, there shouldnt be a problem The Old Ladies think everybody is equal in the village, as servants to our god.
Really?
How could I lie to you? If I neglect my duties, I will suffer too. I dont have the privilege of lying.
She slid the kitchen knife back into her pocket and stood up.
Jacket? Can you turn into a set of clothes fit for a village girl? She whispered to her jacket.
You have to play the full part.
She bowed and made a respectful gesture, Please. Follow me.
She randomly picked a water tank and walked towards it, standing in front of it.
Crap. I forgot to ask him how to get this thing out of the tank.
Staring at the water tank, she felt a chill behind her, and she could see that the Old Ladies were waiting quietly for her.
Although their eyes were veiled, she could feel their gaze on her studying her.
She gritted her teeth and bit the bullet, plunging her hand into the tank.
The water immediately overflowed and splashed out onto the ground with a soft splash.
And goosebumps immediately broke out all over her body.
The water seemed clean, but it was more slippery than the water she knew. It felt viscous and sticky on her face.
She suppressed her nausea and leaned forward, putting her entire arm into the tank.
Her arms stirred around for a while, and her fingers met with something. She grasped it with great joy and lifted it up, fishing it out of the tank.
True enough. A deformed baby with blue skin and a bulging abdomen.
Its deformed head curled up, and it wrapped its legs around Yibeis arm like a baby would to its mother, only to open up its mouth full of sharp, jagged teeth to bite on her arm.
However, before it could do so, its body twitched, and it burst into wails.
Wah! Wah!
Its piercing cry was like a monsters roar to her ears, and she could only cover one ear as she handed the strange baby to the Old Ladies.
The Old Ladies tilted their heads curiously as if wondering why the baby was not biting this petite girl before them.
They continued to stare as the baby continued to wail, and before she could break the silence, the Old Ladies nodded and took the baby from her arms.
She breathed a sigh of relief and went to the next water tank.
After her first experience, she felt that it wasnt as bad as she thought. In the blink of an eye, she had already gone through half the tanks in the yard.
However, it was because the Old Ladies didnt find the babies satisfactory. It was not until they reached the eighteenth tank that the final Old Lady took the baby into her arms.
We are done, they said in unison.
Phew, take your time! she said, shaking the viscous water from her arms. I wont walk you to the door.
They turned to leave, only to turn back towards her and stare at her, revealing waves of malice beyond their veils.
What the hell? Did I say anything wrong? What the fuck is wrong with all of you?
Arent you going to attend the ceremony? They said it in unison.