Chapter 34 The grand ceremony: The divine rituals ended, and the people's celebration began...
What could her father promise her?
When did they first come into contact?
Xiao Jiang felt even more confused and looked at Qin Yuqi suspiciously, "What did you two agree on?"
Qin Yuqi simply looked at her for a long time before saying, "Your father promised to let you come with me from now on, so naturally I will take good care of you. The Qin family is strong and powerful, and they can ensure your safety no matter what happens. Liyue Village will be part of Dayong territory from now on, so if you want to come back to visit occasionally, that's not a problem, but..."
"Nonsense! My father would never hand me over to anyone else." Xiao Jiang jumped back abruptly, scoffing, "You really do have ill intentions. From the very beginning, you weren't just after the ore, were you?"
Qin Yuqi didn't argue. "I'll explain it to you later. But Jiang Yuhuo, just listen to me this once, don't go over there, okay?"
"Let go!"
Qin Yuqi kept his eyes fixed on her, his grip on her hand never loosening.
This time, Xiao Jiang didn't hold back and kicked his injured leg, intending to take advantage of his pain to escape.
Qin Yuqi indeed grimaced in pain, but she hadn't taken more than a few steps when four burly men surrounded her. She instinctively stepped back, but suddenly felt something prick her neck. She reached back and touched nothing, but her consciousness began to fade.
She forced herself to turn around, only to see Qin Yuqi had already stood up straight, the silver needles in his hand gleaming with a ghostly blue light...
Qin Yuqi supported Xiao Jiang's limp body with one hand and whispered in her ear, "You only stop when you're like this. When will you learn to be obedient?"
*
As the deep night began to envelop the mountains and fields, the villages nestled among the mountains were brightly lit, and the blazing flames on the ground and the bright moon hanging high in the night sky obscured the already dim starlight.
Amidst chanting and the sound of bronze drums, Jiang Liuyun threw the last ten spirit wood embers into the fire inlet at the bottom of the altar. The flames licked upwards and finally burst out from the top of the towering altar, carrying a surging momentum that seemed to burn through the night, reaching straight into the night sky.
The ten shamans, dressed in feathered robes, danced a dance to entertain the gods around the bonfire, while the sound of bronze drums grew increasingly urgent, urging the gods to descend to earth.
Amidst the towering flames, Jiang Liuyun took out an object from his robes—a reddish-gold bronze mirror.
The bronze mirror was stained with blood, and apart from the bloodstains, there were no other marks on its reddish-gold surface, making it look like the most ordinary bronze mirror in the world.
Jiang Liuyun's hand stroked the mirror. The smooth and clear mirror reflected his handsome face, which had been weathered by time. He could still vaguely see the image of the young wizard in the mirror, with a small mole at the end of his eyebrow, which she liked.
But he was no longer a boy; wrinkles had appeared on his face, and she would never come back.
The high priest gave a silent, bitter smile, slowly closed his eyes, and the lines at the corners of his eyes trembled slightly.
The bloodstains on the mirror were haphazard and seemed to be mocking him silently: a mere mortal ant, yet he dared to try to gain the mercy of the gods once more.
Jiang Liuyun recalled the promise he made many years ago.
If you encounter any danger, drip your blood onto this mirror, and the gods in heaven will hear your prayers and protect you.
—Flowing Clouds, this is a magical artifact that connects to the heavens. I hope you will never need to use it.
Of course, if I were here, it wouldn't be those guys in the sky protecting you; I would naturally protect our home.
The bronze mirror did not respond at all; even with his heart's blood, he could not summon the gods.
All the promises vanished without a trace along with that woman.
His black priestly robes concealed the bloodstains on his body, and no one saw how he dripped his heart's blood onto the bronze mirror. They only saw him gently caress the mirror, looking very fond of it. But the next moment, he threw it into the fire, and the bronze mirror was instantly engulfed in flames.
The people in the sacrificial site only considered it part of the ceremony, but Qingdai frowned as she looked at the bronze mirror.
As the sounds of bells and drums gradually subsided, the guests took their seats, and food and wine were served to them one after another.
The divine rituals ended, and human celebration began.
Jiang Liuyun and the old clan chief sat at the head of the table. Qin Yuqi and Liu Dan had both declined to attend the banquet. Sitting opposite them were Jia Qianyang and other people of some standing in the Qin clan.
"Sir and young master have traveled a long way and we have not been able to treat you properly. It is our fault. We would like to offer you a toast."
Jiang Liuyun raised his glass and nodded slightly to Jia Qianyang. His face was pale, but he still calmly drank the glass of wine.
Seeing that his cup was empty, Jia Qianyang smiled slightly, narrowed his dark, dull eyes, and drank the wine in front of him in one gulp.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Chieftain and High Priest."
After a few pleasantries, the atmosphere between the two groups became lively, with new wine jars being brought out one after another.
The Liyue Village was rich in grain, and the wine it brewed was also a rare delicacy. The Qin family came from Dayong and rarely saw such fine wine. Everyone present drank one cup after another, and when they were in high spirits, some even played drinking games with the people of Liyue Village. Some people even got drunk and fell to the ground.
The sacrificial site was filled with a lively and harmonious atmosphere.
The clan leader stood up and said a few words to his daughter Qingdai. Qingdai hesitated for a moment, then turned and left the sacrificial site.
Watching his daughter's figure gradually disappear into the distance, the clan chief also took a few steps outside.
"Chief, is there anything else you want to say?" Jia Qianyang asked with a smile, holding a wine cup.
These words startled the clan chief, who turned to look at Jiang Liuyun.
Jiang Liuyun, with a faint smile on his pale face, said calmly, "The banquet is in full swing, Mr. Jia, why are you in such a hurry? The time has not yet come."
Jia Qianyang didn't urge him, but just looked at the wine in the glass with amusement.
Many of the Qin family members had collapsed on the tables and the ground... as if they had drunk too much and passed out.
"Oh no! The wine is poisoned!"
Suddenly, a member of the Qin family shouted from the crowd. He had thought his companion had passed out drunk and was about to mock his drinking capacity, but when he turned his companion over, he found that the man's face was purplish-blue and he was bleeding from all seven orifices and had died.
Those who had not yet been poisoned immediately checked their "drunk" companions and found that the people on the ground had all died, while the villagers were all full of energy, clearly indicating that the poisoning was intentional.
The Qin family members drew their swords and slashed at the heads of the villagers, while the villagers revealed weapons they had previously hidden somewhere, and the two sides fought fiercely.
The long-standing peace and environmental protection have made the people of Liyue Village not warlike, and their weapons are far inferior to those of their opponents. However, the Qin people were poisoned after all. No matter how brave and skilled the warriors were before, they were powerless to fight back when the poison took effect.
Soon, many of Qin's people fell, and the smell of blood gradually filled the air.
Jia Qianyang remained seated, calm and composed. He sighed, “Didn’t the High Priest and the Clan Chief reach an agreement with our young master? How could they be so heartless? What did the Qin family do to offend the High Priest that they would resort to such a vicious act?”
Jia Qianyang shook his head, but his eyes never once glanced at the Qin family member lying on the ground.
Jiang Liuyun leaned against the backboard, his face pale and weak. The wound in his heart was bleeding profusely, making him unable to maintain any more feigned politeness. He said in a low voice, "Why ask when you already know the answer?"
Jia Qianyang continued, "I used to think the High Priest was a clever man. After all, he accurately figured out the purpose of the Qin family's trip with just some trivial divination skills. Even the trickery he used in the divination did not escape the High Priest's discerning eyes. However, it seems that even after being locked in the mine illusion for many days, the High Priest still hasn't figured it out."
Jiang Liuyun sneered, "It's a pity we didn't discover it sooner. It was you who forcibly changed the divination with your spiritual power. If we had recognized it from the beginning, you wouldn't have had the chance to enter Liyue Village."
That day, as usual, he was tidying up the tortoise shells after divination. The tortoise shells used to inquire about the fortune of outsiders showed a very auspicious sign. He didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after a few more glances, he could see that the direction of several cracks did not match the drill holes. Under normal circumstances, burning tortoise shells should not produce such patterns.
For an ordinary shaman, this subtle change would not arouse suspicion, but he is Jiang Liuyun. Countless divination texts have been deciphered from his hands, and he is very familiar with what kind of patterns are normal.
Jia Qianyang shook his head. "There's no regret. Even if the High Priest saw it early on, so what? Would Liyue Village refuse such a good deal just because of a single pattern? The High Priest knows that the people here yearn for news from the outside world and crave new things. One or two generations have been isolated from the world, but what about the third generation? Will they be willing to stay in this poor and backward village? Even without the Qin family, there would be the Wang family or the Zhang family. Liyue Village cannot resist the temptations of the outside world."
The clan chief, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, agitated, "We do not welcome the Qin clan! I never imagined you harbored such malicious intentions. We gave you the ore, and the people of the village helped you, wasn't that enough? Why do you have to destroy our last line of defense? You are the one who is forcing us into a dead end!"
The clan chief's eyes widened, his face flushed with excitement. "We treat our friends who have come from afar to good wine, and we are not afraid of enemies either. If the Qin family doesn't want us to have an easy time, then none of us will leave alive. Liyue Village is not a place where you can scheme against us!"
"Liu Yun, why waste words with him? Let me kill this vicious old man first."
The clan chief drew his knife from under the table, the scabbard clattering to the ground. He swung the knife at Jia Qianyang, and the villagers below also drew their weapons, ready to strike.
Jiang Liuyun suddenly reached out and stopped the clan leader from moving forward.
He is waiting.
Jia Qianyang smirked, a strange smile spreading across his sallow face. "Let me guess, what is the High Priest waiting for? Is he waiting for my poison to take effect?"
"It's a pity that the high priest's wish cannot be fulfilled."
Jiang Liuyun wasn't surprised. He roughly knew that the poison wouldn't have any effect on Jia Qianyang, but he still wanted to try, for the sake of Liyue Village, and for Xiao Jiang and Qingdai, to give them a chance to live. He didn't know if Qingdai had reunited with Xiao Jiang yet. He had used the Bewitching Grass on Xiao Jiang for so many days so that she wouldn't get involved in tonight's events and could leave safely with Qingdai.
Jiang Liuyun stood between the clan chief and Jia Qianyang, and said to Jia Qianyang, "I just don't understand. As a cultivator, you have a lot of skills, so why do you insist on pressuring Liyue Village like this?"
Jia Qianyang: "Priest, haven't you heard the saying, 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime'?"
“Liyue Village was originally insignificant, but it was blessed by the gods and enjoyed a peaceful life, unaffected by external strife. This is unfair to other people in the world. I am just feeling indignant on their behalf.”
Jia Qianyang stood up from behind the desk, his gaze passing over Jiang Liuyun and the clan chief.
A series of rhythmic vibrations could be heard around the sacrificial site, growing closer and closer, each one a resounding thud on people's hearts.
Beyond the firelight, the darkness was exceptionally thick, making it impossible to see what was hidden within.
The sacrificial site at the center of the fire was the only target in the darkness.
The rumbling sound drew near, and figures gradually appeared in the night. People clad in full black armor broke through the darkness, marching forward in perfect unison. Some carried swords and knives, while others had bows and arrows slung across their backs, fully prepared for battle.
It was the army of Dayong, the Xuanjia Cavalry.
The general at the head rode a black horse with a glossy coat, and next to him was a fat man dressed in civil official's attire, none other than Liu Dan, whom he hadn't seen for several days.
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