The two young Taoist attendants moved with practiced skill, and soon Mi Guo was bound tightly by knots, unable to move.
"Excellent, very good!"
Old Master Gu stroked his beard with satisfaction.
Next, the two attendants went to bind Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Qingcheng, however, sat down cross-legged with unexpected boldness and said, "Don't bother with me, I'll sit properly myself."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, completely surprised by the little girl's courage.
Seeing Old Master Gu's hesitant expression, Taoist Priest Zhang quickly said with joy, "Congratulations, Old Master Gu, congratulations! This child was born in accordance with the will of heaven, and will surely have boundless supernatural power! She will bless the Gu family with peace and prosperity!"
"Hmm, very good."
Old Master Gu smiled happily upon hearing this.
In truth, the Seven Star Town Evil Pagoda to suppress the drought demon was merely a public facade. The Seven Star Town Evil Pagoda had other meanings.
He only pretended to use the Seven Star Town Evil Pagoda to deal with the drought demon to avoid public outrage.
This way, the people suffering from the drought wholeheartedly supported him, and everyone enthusiastically backed his plan.
Otherwise, the matter of child sacrifices would, under normal circumstances, be considered a cruel act by the masses.
But with his glib tongue, the matter was met with high acclaim in Pukou Village, and no dissenting voices were heard from outside.
Who wouldn't want to drive away the drought demon?
If the sacrifice of two children could bring about favorable weather...
Then let them be sacrificed!
With both bound, two attendants then brought out a pair of lotus thrones, and the two were placed upon them.
Now, they truly resembled Nezha...
Taoist Priest Zhang ordered four attendants to carry Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo outside.
Gu Qingcheng found it all quite comical. At this moment, she still felt a sense of detachment and unreality, as everything was too absurd.
Both were carried to the village entrance.
The village entrance was a cacophony of noise. Hundreds, even thousands, of villagers, along with people from surrounding villages who had come to watch the spectacle, had already secured advantageous positions near the Seven Star Town Evil Pagoda, eagerly awaiting the show of live sacrifice.
Seeing them carried out, a servant at the front shouted, "Make way, the boy and girl are coming out."
"Mom, it's real! The boy and girl are alive, I saw their eyes move."
A young boy watching the spectacle, frightened, retreated into his mother's embrace.
Everyone had heard rumors of live sacrifice but was unsure, not believing that live people would actually be used. Now, it was confirmed.
However, the boy returned home with a fever; he had been terrified!
Young men watching the spectacle discussed amongst themselves, "The girl is quite pretty. She must truly be the one chosen by Taoist Priest Zhang!"
Gu Qingcheng listened to these murmurs, a sense of absurdity washing over her. Was she really going to meet her end here today?
Just then, Gu Qingcheng spotted a familiar figure through the crowd. Oh, it was Gu Xiaohua!
Gu Xiaohua was looking at her with resentful eyes, even showing a hint of envy and jealousy.
Gu Qingcheng guessed that Gu Xiaohua might be envious and jealous that she was the center of attention, wearing new clothes, and looking so beautiful after being made up?
Haha!
Gu Qingcheng was just guessing.
But if she didn't guess this way, Gu Xiaohua's envious and jealous eyes wouldn't make sense!
What Gu Qingcheng didn't expect was: she was right!
But when Gu Xiaohua's gaze met Gu Qingcheng's, her eyes suddenly shifted from envy and jealousy to mockery. Then, she even silently said something to Gu Qingcheng!
Reading her lips, Gu Qingcheng could make out her silent words: "Go to hell!"
Damn it! Was this Gu Xiaohua so sinister and terrifying?
Did she have any feud with Gu Xiaohua?
They had both been equally pitiful in the Gu family, toiling from dawn till dusk and eating leftovers.
Why did Gu Xiaohua harbor such great malice towards her?
One truly didn't know human nature until reaching extremes!
Gu Qingcheng still had the strength to muse.
Glancing around, she saw Old Man Gu's family, who had dared to come out and watch the spectacle.
The entire family wore happy expressions, as if they were watching strangers, showing no guilt or heartache. Their faces were calm, as if Gu Qingcheng were not their relative, but a stranger.
Gu Qingcheng scanned them one by one, memorizing their faces and the expressions on them.
She knew that from this moment on, these people would not even have the pretense of familial affection. If she ever had the chance, she would find an opportunity to eliminate them one by one, without any mercy, because it was these so-called blood relatives who had sent her to the altar.
The matter of the live sacrifice of the boy and girl sent shockwaves through the surrounding ten miles and eight villages. The crowds grew, eventually numbering at least four to five thousand people. A lively market even formed nearby.
Someone set up a stall selling fried dough sticks, the oil sizzling loudly as it fried them.
Gu Qingcheng could faintly smell the aroma of fried dough sticks. She sniffed and said honestly, this was too much. She hadn't eaten hot pancakes and fried dough sticks, so this morning hadn't been very pleasant!
The scene seemed to be spiraling out of control. As more people gathered to watch, everyone tried to push forward, wanting to witness the splendor of the boy and girl firsthand, to have more gossip to share back home.
The crowd was disorderly, even leading to minor stampedes. Some families even lost their children in the ensuing chaos.
Taoist Priest Zhang signaled the attendants to lift Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo onto a high platform. The platform was even equipped with a rotating mechanism, and someone below was slowly pushing it, making the two children turn east, then west, then south, then north, so that everyone could get a clear view of their faces.
Gu Qingcheng, being bound by knots, could not move at all and could only look around expressionlessly, contemplating if there was still a chance to escape later.
She had brainstormed over a dozen plans last night.
But she had been careless; she hadn't expected the knots to be so tight. Now, her fingers couldn't even move.
The storage cabinet had one advantage: things could appear directly in her hands...
Gu Qingcheng's mind continued to race.
She hadn't panicked because, firstly, she believed her parents would surely activate their modern-day wisdom and do their utmost to save her.
Secondly, she had discovered oxygen tanks for divers in the Mountain Cat Supermarket last night. Weren't they planning to bury her alive?
Let them bury her!
She could get an oxygen tank from the supermarket then, and wouldn't have to worry about suffocation.
However, facing the actual situation now, she realized it was a big problem.
Because her body was tied up, she might not even be able to grasp the oxygen tank if it were placed in her hand.
What should she do?
And there was Mi Guo, this adorable child. Through this shared ordeal, Gu Qingcheng had inexplicably developed a sense of responsibility for him.
Looking at the child being led to his death, she truly couldn't bear it.
Would she and Mi Guo be buried in the same pit, or separately?
Would she have a chance to give him the oxygen tank?
Gu Qingcheng pondered these thoughts, her facial expressions shifting from deep thought to worry, looking incredibly varied.
Taoist Priest Zhang, dressed in ceremonial robes, ascended the platform and began to perform the ritual.