"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"

"Bowing to the parents twice!"

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

"Homage to the Moon Goddess!"

Qin Nan listened to the lyrics being sung inside the house. Although he was puzzled as to where the elders came from, he did not want to go in and find out. It was better not to know such things!

After the ceremony, the onlookers celebrated and made a ruckus. If it weren't for the wedding procession outside the courtyard gate, which remained strangely frozen and blocked the entrance, Qin Nan would have really thought it was a real wedding.

After the wedding ceremony, the bride was not taken to the bridal chamber as expected. Instead, Luo Lin led her back into the bridal sedan chair with a red silk ribbon.

The wedding procession led the way, followed by the villagers. The group marched through the village and up the stone steps to the Moon Goddess Temple.

Qin Nan followed closely at the back of the crowd, raising his fist and rubbing his chest. The higher he went up the mountain, the more suffocated he felt, along with a sense of greed, as if he had found something long lost within him.

The stone steps are neither long nor short, and they even cross a low hill and are hidden halfway up another mountain.

Looking into the distance at the rather large Moon Goddess Temple, some unfamiliar images flashed through Qin Nan's mind, but they disappeared in an instant, and he couldn't remember anything.

However, this made him even more certain that the strangeness in the village was inextricably linked to the Moon Goddess Temple.

The large crowd arrived at the temple. The tall main hall was connected to the back courtyard, and a large incense burner was placed in the spacious open space in the front courtyard, surrounded by trees and walls.

Based on the scattered discussions among the villagers, Qin Nan roughly understood why they had come here.

The newlyweds must thank the Moon Goddess for her blessing. Guided by the temple keeper, they must bow and kowtow before the statue. Afterward, they must go to the backyard to bathe and burn incense. With the Moon Goddess as their witness, they will perform the marriage ceremony. Only then is the wedding considered complete.

Qin Nan understood the previous worship of the gods, but what did it mean to enter the bridal chamber in the temple?

He glanced at the so-called statue through the side door of the main hall and didn't find anything unusual. It was just a stone statue of a woman, but she wore a silk veil on her head and her face was not carved in detail, only a blurry outline.

"Clang—Clang—"

Suddenly, a bell rang out from somewhere, melodious and long, deafening, but it only rang twice before stopping.

When the bell stopped ringing, all the villagers fell silent, stood up straight, and bowed their heads.

Qin Nan subconsciously took a few steps back and saw the villagers lined up in an orderly fashion in the front yard, kneeling and worshipping the statue in the main hall.

Before Qin Nan could follow, he heard footsteps coming from the main hall, and he immediately hid in the corner of the main hall.

A short while later, a person walked out of the main hall. Unlike the villagers' incongruous attire, he seemed to be a local. He was much shorter than Qin Nan, slightly overweight, and dressed in gorgeous clothes. He had a smile on his face as he left the hall, and he was in no hurry.

Once he confirmed that all the villagers were kneeling without reacting, he immediately collapsed, his smile vanished, and he even kicked one of them to the ground. Seeing that the person who was kicked didn't resist and just obediently got up and continued kneeling, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After laughing, he spat at the villagers with disdain in his eyes, then turned and went back to the main hall.

Luo Lin also seemed to have lost his mind, kneeling motionless in front of the statue, as did the bride beside him.

Looking at the man, Qin Nan guessed that he must be the temple keeper who presided over the ceremony. Moreover, he seemed to be sober, at least more sober than the villagers. Judging from his actions, perhaps this temple keeper was the one controlling the villagers.

Qin Nan wasn't sure how he managed to control others, but he knew he couldn't confront this person head-on. If the villagers were used by him to capture Qin Nan, things would get complicated.

Qin Nan secretly peeked through the crack in the door to see what the temple keeper was up to.

Then the temple keeper returned to the main hall, shoved Luo Lin aside, and began to grope the bride. Qin Nan almost couldn't resist the urge to punch him.

But then he thought, this bride shouldn't be human, so why isn't she reacting? Could she be no match for the temple keeper?

Qin Nan's perspective was from behind the bride, so he couldn't see her expression, but he did feel like vomiting at the sight of the temple keeper's ugly, lewd grin.

The temple keeper seemed unsatisfied. He lifted the red veil, tore off the bride's clothes, grabbed her hair, dragged her out of the main hall, and made her kneel on the ground in front of the bewildered crowd to relieve himself.

Qin Nan had her back turned and didn't dare to look, but just hearing the temple keeper's disgustingly pleasurable sounds made her feel her blood surging in her chest. Even a ghost shouldn't be treated like this!

After relieving himself, Qin Nan listened to the unpleasant sounds and closed his eyes, trying to calm the anger in his heart.

After calming down a bit, he suddenly remembered something. Luo Lin had said that the girls in the village were sent to the Moon Goddess Temple at the age of twelve and could only be released at eighteen. Since the temple keeper was like this, did that mean...?

Are all the girls in the village victims?!

I really want to go out and beat this pervert to death!

Qin Nan gritted his teeth and tried to calm himself down. The place was eerie, and he could barely protect himself. If he acted rashly, he might get himself into trouble.

After being humiliated, the temple keeper dragged Wan Niang to the backyard of the temple. Qin Nan heard that there was no movement in the front yard, so he immediately went into the main hall to check on Luo Lin. He patted him and pinched his arm hard, but Luo Lin did not react at all.

Qin Nan then went to the front yard to check on the villagers in the front row. Their eyes were black, and their bodies were stiff and listless.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, recalling the sound of the bell earlier. Such a loud bell must have been a large bell. He got up and looked around, but the temple was completely open, and there was no bell tower at all.

Qin Nan was looking around in a state of confusion when she suddenly glanced at the crowd out of the corner of her eye and paused in surprise.

Are there fewer villagers kneeling in the front yard?

Was it just his imagination?

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