Chapter 6 Night Sacrifice 5 Nameless Village
The players finally learned the truth about the village from Dalin the Second, but from Wu Wangwang's perspective, there was actually a little more information.
Once upon a time, the village was just an ordinary village. The villagers were very simple and honest. Everyone worked from sunrise to sunset, and everyone worked hard to farm and support their families. Those who didn't farm went to the mountains to find things to feed themselves.
It can be said that at that time, everyone in the village lived in peace and contentment.
Hunger broke everything.
One year, the village was struck by natural disasters. The continuous natural disasters made it impossible to grow food in the village's fields, but no one could find the reason, and many people starved to death.
Back then, the mountain roads weren't as easy to travel as they are now. Once you left the village, no one knew what the outside world was like, let alone whether they would die in the mountains.
Soon, the villagers realized they were dying and began to pray to the gods and spirits.
In this instance's setting, the Ghost Mother Goddess Temple is one of the temples built during that period. Besides her, many other ghost and deity temples were unearthed by the villagers, who built temples and offered sacrifices, as if they could stop natural disasters and prevent people from dying in this way.
Empty prayers and promises won't attract the attention of the spirits, so the villagers still won't get any food.
Later, the villagers had almost nothing left to offer as sacrifices; it seemed that the only thing left to offer was people.
Whenever the idea of offering sacrifices to people was taken, the first ones to be sent out were always children. Girls were given to the various gods in the mountains first. When children were sent up the mountain, they were not searched for for three days. The villagers believed that time should be given for the gods to make a decision.
If the child comes down the mountain on its own after three days, it means the gods don't want the child and will send another one; if the child doesn't come down after three days and nothing changes, it means the gods are not satisfied and will send another one.
But how can a small child survive for three days on his own in the mountains?
That's impossible. Even if the child knew he was looking for something, he would still encounter wild animals and end up being eaten by them.
Therefore, since the villagers could never get their children back, they had no choice but to continue sending them up the mountain.
With few children left and food supplies dwindling, they simply started sending away young boys and girls.
After the boys and girls were all offered, the age of the offerings increased. Gradually, the villagers offered a young couple who had just gotten married. The groom was fifteen years old and the bride was fourteen. They were very young. Their parents married them so quickly in the hope that the villagers would not send their two children up the mountain.
After all, once they get married, they will no longer be virgins, and perhaps their lives can be saved.
Unfortunately, after they had no children, the other villagers voted to let the youngest couple go up the mountain, and in the end, they still couldn't escape it.
At that time, the spirits in the temple gradually became attracted to the villagers' sincerity. They wanted to see how far the villagers would go to survive.
The young couple who were brought up finally stopped at the mountain god's temple. The mountain god said, "I can help you drive away the natural disasters, but you must pass my test."
The test consisted of three stages. The first stage was set by the Ghost Mother Goddess, the second by the Mountain God, and the third was not revealed to the couple because the Mountain God believed they might not be able to pass the first two stages.
That day, the Demon Mother Goddess happened to have one Japanese soldier left. She thought for a moment and said, "I still have one Japanese soldier left. How about this, I'll throw the Japanese soldier out. If you can find it before dark, you'll pass the test."
The couple, terrified of death, dared not stop for a moment. The Japanese soldier was alive and, having heard the ghost mother's words, naturally wanted to escape. To ensure fairness, the Japanese soldier could not escape the mountain, so there was still a certain probability of catching him.
As darkness fell, the Japanese soldier suddenly became agitated. He wanted to eat people and forgot that he was trying to escape. He turned around and charged at the girl. So the couple quickly ran back, and the situation changed instantly. They were the ones being chased, and now they were the ones chasing.
The couple held hands, exhausted, but determined to survive. Even with their throats filled with the taste of blood, they dared not stop and ran all the way back to the Ghost Mother Temple. The moment the Japanese soldier rushed back into the temple, it was already dark.
The Demon Mother Goddess seized the irrational Japanese soldier and swallowed him whole. She then said to the couple, "Alright, you have passed my test. I didn't expect you could pass it in this way. As a reward, you can rest here for the night and go find the Mountain God tomorrow."
The couple, deeply grateful for the protection of the Ghost Mother Goddess, kowtowed many times to the ghost statue.
After a night's rest, the couple were unharmed except for the soreness from running for so long. In the morning, they bid farewell to the Ghost Mother Goddess and headed to the Mountain God Temple.
The mountain god was already waiting for them in the temple. When the two arrived, he said, "Actually, you were able to pass the test not because your method was good, but because the ghost mother wanted to see if you would abandon each other in a dangerous situation. In the end, you did not abandon each other, so you naturally passed the test."
Upon hearing this explanation, the couple was stunned. They looked down at their hands, which were still clasped together, feeling lingering fear but also relieved that they had never considered letting go of each other.
The second trial is much more difficult. The mountain god wants to separate the couple. The bride is imprisoned in one place and must find a way to escape, while the groom remains in the mountain to find the bride. However, during his search, the bride he encounters may be an imposter.
If he finds the real bride, he can proceed to the third test; if he doesn't, he doesn't need to continue the test.
The groom, fearing this real-life test, hurriedly asked, "Even if I don't find her, what if she manages to escape on her own?"
The mountain god chuckled: "Husband and wife are one. The village sacrificed you both, so you must pass the test together. If either of you fails, the test is considered a failure. Do you understand?"
The rules are simple: the bride is delicate, so she will be tested on how to escape; the groom is strong, so he will have to rely on himself to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
The tests themselves are designed to exploit their weaknesses, including the initial challenges posed by the Ghost Mother, which are all attempts to test the fragility of the human heart and body.
The couple was separated. A puff of smoke drifted by, and the groom returned to the foot of the mountain. He could either go up the mountain to find his bride again, or he could turn around and leave, returning to the village to tell the villagers why he failed, and that next time a more capable couple would be sent up to take the test.
The bride found herself in a pitch-black maze, where she had to find even a candle by herself.
That's their puzzle: taking a step back means failure.
Fortunately, the bride and groom were brave, resourceful, young, and intelligent, and they actually managed to get through the second challenge.
The mountain god kept his promise and allowed them to continue to the third trial. The content of the third trial was determined by heaven. They had to draw lots, and if heaven wanted them to live, they would live.
That's why the mountain god said that if you haven't passed the first two trials, there's no need to know what the third trial is. If you know in advance that the third trial is a lottery, and leave everything to fate, it will be very difficult to pass the first two trials by willpower alone.
"Fate is determined by heaven. You have already done a great job of securing a sliver of opportunity through human effort. According to the original fate, this village should have perished. Now you can ask heaven what kind of future you can have," the mountain god said.
The village, where even the children had all died, was enough to show that they would be abandoned tomorrow. The couple found it hard to reach out and draw lots, but if they didn't, they would have truly come for nothing.
The opportunity was fleeting, and in the end, the two decided to draw a fortune stick together.
The answer from the divination slip was: Heaven will only give them three years. After three years, they must undergo another test in order to receive new food.
It's only for three years, not forever, but the bride and groom are very happy. They feel that as long as there is a chance, it is a victory. If all else fails, they can try again in three years. Even if they fail, there is another three years. They don't have to be afraid of encountering this kind of desperate life of hunger again someday.
Moreover, with three years of accumulation, a considerable amount of grain can be saved up, and all that's needed is to try to clear the levels in the future.
The bride and groom returned home excitedly to tell the villagers the result. The villagers were overjoyed, and the next day, rain fell from the sky, and the fields were able to grow crops again. The village enjoyed good weather and abundant harvests for three years.
When the day came to go back up the mountain, the bride and groom had grown up and become taller, and they had a child. The village had high hopes for them as they went back up the mountain.
This test was still difficult, but having lived together for three years, their understanding and abilities had grown, and they were ultimately granted the opportunity to extend their stay for another three years.
Three years passed, and the couple grew old. Their children grew up. When the groom was forty-five, he asked the villagers if they should raise a new couple. He and his wife were both old, and he wasn't sure if he would come back alive from this trip up the mountain.
Whether he and his wife don't make it back alive or the newlyweds fail, it's like the blessing of heaven will be cut off. It's better to start a new marriage as soon as possible.
The village chief at that time thought what he said made sense, so he selected a young man and woman who were about the same age as them back then, married them on the spot, gave them some simple education, and sent them up the mountain.
Unsurprisingly, the young couple failed. They had no feelings for each other; they were just thirty years apart in age from the older couple, and even their birthdays were close.
This failure made the villagers realize that age is not the key factor; feelings are.
After the failure, all the crops in the fields withered and the rain stopped. The villagers understood that a second, intelligent, and affectionate young couple must appear to continue to bless them for another thirty years.
So, during the three years of food shortage, they selected a second young couple who were very much in love and sent them up the mountain.
The new couple returned alive, and the village received rain again, allowing them to continue living.
A person's peak period is only thirty years. After thirty years, the couple grows old, and the village has to find new young men and women and cultivate their feelings and abilities. If any one of these is lacking, they will not pass the test.
After experiencing several periods of food shortages over three years, the villagers couldn't help but have an idea—if only those successful couples could live a long and healthy life.
If they live and never grow old or die, wouldn't the village always have food to eat?
Besides, it's just two people. There are so many people in the village, and only two of them go up the mountain every three years to pray for food and rain. Isn't it something everyone should do to put the greater good before personal interests?
When this idea comes up, it proves that people's hearts have begun to change. Everyone hopes that the village will always be prosperous and that the weather will always be favorable, but no one wants to be the one sent up the mountain and not allowed to grow old or die.
Another year, during the mountain sacrifice, the newlywed couple returned alive, and the villagers turned them into puppets.
The boys and girls trained at that time had been trained from a young age, and the idea of "dedicating themselves to the village" was ingrained in their minds. So when the villagers turned them into puppets so that they could go up the mountain every three years, they did not resist.
Did the villagers then live a prosperous and stable life?
No.
Even puppets can break down. After a century of peace, the puppet broke down, and for three years, food supplies were suddenly cut off.
The village had no choice but to select young boys and girls to train again. However, so many years had passed that they had forgotten the methods of training them. They thought that as long as the puppets were there, they could solve the problem once and for all. Now, the puppets suddenly could not return, catching the entire village off guard.
Raising children again is too slow, so the village plans to select a newlywed couple to go up the mountain every three years. Those who come back alive will participate in the next round. After all, as long as they are a couple, or nominally a newlywed couple, they meet the requirements, right?
Does the death of one's spouse preclude them from remarrying?
This is the wedding that ultimately takes place in the village. Every older villager knows what to expect. They no longer tell the newlyweds what to do, but simply let them get married and go up the mountain at the appropriate age. Everyone has to make way for this wedding.
Many rules were added gradually, including bizarre and extravagant weddings, restrictions on the bride, and prohibitions against unlucky events before the wedding. These rules were gradually created by people's selfishness.
The increasingly grand weddings were because the villagers believed that the grander the wedding, the deeper the couple's love, making it easier to pass the test. The constraints placed on the bride were because, with the development of the times, women's status had declined repeatedly. Even after roads were built to the outside of the village, they no longer needed to guard this land and still did not want to leave.
As for the prohibition of any unlucky events before the wedding, this is the villagers' wish. They hope everything goes smoothly, and if everything goes well before the wedding and the bride and groom are in a good mood, then everything will probably go smoothly after they go up the mountain.
Going up the mountain has a 50% chance of being killed, not to mention that some people who successfully passed the test stayed in the village.
So gradually, phenomena began to appear where the chosen person was told everything by their parents and ran away, or the parents took the chosen person with them and left the village.
The man who should have married Zhenzhen that year was Dalin, her childhood sweetheart. Dalin was the only son in his family, and his parents couldn't accept it. They knew that no matter if he succeeded or not, Dalin would become a puppet, locked up by the village, and like a puppet, he would have to go up the mountain again and again to undergo trials.
The Da Lin family thought that as long as the person was injured, they could perhaps replace them.
Unexpectedly, the village chief disagreed. He believed that based on the experience of so many predecessors, other issues were irrelevant. As long as one could run, all that mattered was the ability to move. The trials of the ghosts and gods were more like a game. If one could run, how could one not win?
So Dalin, who originally had a chance to escape, was forced to stay until half a month before the wedding because of his fall and injury. He kept pretending that he was not well, which eventually gave his parents an excuse to go to the provincial capital for treatment.
Actually, the village chief disagreed because Dalin's parents said that if they didn't go soon, Dalin would die. There were so many boys in the village, why should they take someone who was about to die?
Does Dalin have to go first to pass the test?
Since Dalin might fail the test anyway due to his injury, why not choose a healthy person to go with Zhenzhen?
The village chief was eventually persuaded and agreed to let them go to the provincial capital for the examination. If there were no major problems, they would still have to come back for the wedding, because Zhenzhen wasn't particularly brave and only felt at ease taking the test with Dalin by her side.
Dalin's parents took him to the provincial capital and never came back. Having seen the outside world, how could they possibly return to the village to live like savages?
As for why Zhenzhen was chosen, it was simply because the widow didn't want to be tied down anymore; she wanted to leave.
In this village, women are bound with many, many ropes, and widows have even more than others. She already has a hard life without a man, but she dares not leave with Zhenzhen—any young girl is considered the village's property, and these girls must go up the mountain before they can become wives.
The widow went up there with her deceased husband. They came back alive, giving the village a three-year extension. However, the husband's leg was broken, so he could no longer go up the mountain or become a puppet.
Because of this incident, the couple suffered countless rumors and gossip. In the end, the husband couldn't withstand the rumors and died in depression. The widow took care of her husband and raised her daughter alone.
She even felt a little smug when her daughter was chosen.
Once her daughter went into the mountains, whether she came back alive or not, she would no longer be able to exist as a human being. Compared to her daughter, the widow felt that she was really lucky back then. Her husband's broken leg gave them the opportunity not to be turned into puppets.
As long as Zhenzhen is not around, the widow has countless opportunities to escape, whether from the main road at the village entrance or from that endless mountain range. No one knows that mountain better than her.
The Dalin family disappeared in the provincial capital. Those who went out to search for them were stopped on the road. The village chief chose a second person to replace Dalin, which was for Zhenzhen's sake.
Zhenzhen is actually a very timid girl, but she becomes very brave and even quite formidable when Dalin is around. During the village selection process, she only passed the selection because she was with Dalin. Without Dalin, she would never have been able to come down from the mountain.
It's too late to find another girl now, so the village chief has to find someone to impersonate Dalin.
Unexpectedly, the second Dalin also went into hiding, fleeing to a mass grave. Left with no other choice, the village chief selected one of the failed puppets that resembled Dalin to attend the wedding.
In the village chief's view, Dalin was already injured and wrapped in bandages, so no one could recognize him. Zhenzhen was no different. As long as Zhenzhen was told that it was Dalin, she would have enough courage to pass his test.
As for whether the puppet can pass the test... we can only leave it to fate. Even if it fails, it's better than not trying at all.
——
Wu Wangwang looked at Sangniang, who was still recounting the village's rules and secrets. After she finished speaking, she asked, "So, in this instance, besides me surviving the test, what about you?"
Sang Niang was taken aback: "Um...it seems a bit strange. It feels like the focus of the entire dungeon is on you alone. You went into the mountains and cleared it, so what were we doing? Now that we've found the truth, why didn't we clear it?"
Before the game started, the referee said that as long as they found the truth, they could pass the level. But now, quite some time has passed since Sang Niang learned the truth, and she even came to inform Wu Wangwang, who was alone. According to the rules, the referee should have already announced that the level was passed.
There was no sign of the referee anywhere. Sang Niang nervously grabbed Wu Wangwang's arm: "What happened? Did Da Lin lie to me? Was the information we received false?"
Wu Wangwang patted her arm: "Don't be nervous. I think it might be because... the referee didn't say what the truth is about."
Throughout the entire process, the referee only said "find the truth," without specifying what truth was found, whose truth it concerned, or the truth about what event it was about.
Players have only discovered the truth about the wedding so far, and the game hasn't been completed yet, which means there are other truths they haven't uncovered.
This time, Sang Niang couldn't even break down anymore. She looked up helplessly at the starless and moonless night sky: "How could this be... What truths haven't we found yet? The wedding, Da Lin, that's all we've been involved in!"
Anyone would be devastated to find that they only have half of the puzzle pieces when they finish a jigsaw puzzle, and would immediately suspect that the seller had kept some pieces for themselves, which is why they couldn't finish it.
"Are you sure... we've investigated every single person who appeared?" Wu Wangwang asked hesitantly.
Sang Niang was also taken aback: "Um... if you put it that way, there's just not enough time to investigate the life stories of all the people in the village."
Wu Wangwang shook her head: "I'm not talking about the whole village, but the people specifically mentioned in our identity information. Currently, there are only the village chief, the widow, the lame old man and his wife left. We already know the truth about Dalin, but we don't really know about the rest."
Who is the village chief, what role does he play in the village, and why did Brother Bao die suddenly after investigating him?
How exactly did the lame old man's wife die? Has he really been avoiding the village all these years because of the wedding?
The widow has only one daughter; what ulterior motives could she possibly have? What schemes did she have planned after this wedding?
The players were completely unaware of these things because they deliberately avoided people and events that could trigger the death rule. Only the most difficult truth to guess—the wedding—was gradually revealed by Wu Wangwang.
Cases involving a wide range of issues are easy to solve, and there are many clues that Wu Wangwang can pick out and tell you. As for those who remain silent, only they themselves know what they are thinking, and if necessary, they will never speak for the rest of their lives.
Players naturally have no way of knowing the so-called "truth".
At this moment, the groom climbed over again. He had to stay close to the bride, otherwise he would keep chasing her. This might be his instinct before he became a puppet. In the test, he had to love and support each other to pass the test. Even after becoming a puppet, he did not forget.
Sang Niang impatiently pulled Wu Wangwang around to the other side of the courtyard, her brows furrowed: "What you said makes sense, but there are only two days left. You have to go into the mountains on the third day. Whether you come back alive or not, we have to find the people mentioned in the identity information. But what if they don't say a word? That lame old man alone is difficult enough to deal with."
The widow and the lame old man seemed to be mute, never saying a word, and the village chief was a man who would kill at the drop of a hat. How could the players dare to gamble with their lives?
This is clearly a dead end. No wonder the game starts by having the player make a wish to the Ghost Mother. Without the Ghost Mother's protection, it's impossible for the player to find out the whole truth in fifteen days in a village with strict rules.
Seeing that Sang Niang seemed ready to give up, Wu Wangwang had no choice but to say, "Sang Niang, don't worry. There are still two days left. We're not the only ones who are anxious. People with secrets, if they value the wedding just as much, then there must be something else they want from this wedding as well."
"What do you mean?" Sang Niang didn't quite understand.
“What I mean is, too many people are leaving. Those who don’t want to leave are anxious, while those who want to leave haven’t left. Why is that?” Wu Wangwang patiently explained.
Sang Niang thought for a moment: "I'm waiting for an opportunity."
Wu Wangwang nodded slightly: "That's right. Once the first person leaves, the others can't resist. The temptation of the unknown is great. If Da Lin runs away, the second Da Lin will think, 'Why me? Why should I suffer this?' So the second Da Lin will run away. Some people have gone out and never come back. What will the villagers think?"
To get the villagers to talk, you need to take advantage of this information gap.
Those who enjoy benefits and power don't want to leave their little world, while the oppressed, even the most timid, will try to see other worlds if given the opportunity and someone to lead the way.
Just like the human girl named Wu Wangwang, who stumbled out of the mountains with others and was led to see the outside world, she would never want to return to that cramped, oppressive, and feudal mountain.
The same thing is happening in this village now. With a death every three years, sooner or later, it will scatter the hearts of the villagers.
The village used to have no roads, and people relied on the mountains for their livelihood. They couldn't leave, so they were reluctant to give up the crops in the fields, as they were their chance to survive. But now the roads are open, and there is a wonderful world outside. As long as they work hard, they won't starve.
Who wants to suffer in the village?
Especially those whose families were destroyed and whose lives were ruined by the village.
After a long silence, Sang Niang said, "I need to think about it."
They considered whether to take the risk and whether to confront the village chief head-on.
This village is clearly ruled by the village chief, who is the last person who wants the villagers to leave. He acts like an emperor here, and no one can disobey his orders. He can decide who lives and who dies at will, so he tries his best to preserve the village's existence.
The only way to save the village was to repeatedly go up the mountain so that the land could support the villagers.
Judging from the villagers' current attitude, many of them probably just don't want to offend the village chief. If the village chief goes too far, they will choose to leave. If the players want to know the truth, they will definitely have to cooperate with the villagers who want to leave. Only with more people can they fight against the village chief and his supporters.
Sang Niang was hesitating about this. She didn't know if she should go to this extent, and she didn't dare to trust the NPCs. Based on her past experience in clearing levels, NPCs were not really trustworthy. They had their own rules to follow, and players who would betray them when necessary were no different from NPCs who would betray them.
That's why players don't trust each other at the beginning of the game. They don't dare to entrust their backs to unfamiliar people. Similarly, they can't trust NPCs they haven't had much contact with, or those who only speak the rules.
Now Wu Wangwang is suggesting that they cooperate with the NPCs, which seems like a pipe dream.
Sang Niang looked at Wu Wangwang hesitantly: "Wu Wangwang, this is not appropriate. This is a game. Players shouldn't actually cooperate. It was the Ghost Mother who gave us the opportunity to cooperate. Players don't need to fight to the death to make us cooperate. But what about those villagers? Why should they cooperate with us?"
Most importantly, the identities the players impersonate are all very young. Young people have a very low status in the village, and no one will listen to their thoughts, no matter what they have to say.
Wu Wangwang hadn't thought of this problem. She thought that as long as the interests were the same, they could always cooperate. She forgot that as a human being, she would have her own selfish desires. Sure enough, she still had a long way to go in playing the role of a human.
“In that case, you’ll have no choice but to spread rumors,” Wu Wangwang calmly suggested another solution.
"What rumors are you spreading?" Sang Niang asked suspiciously.
In response, Wu Wangwang leaned close to Sang Niang's ear and said in the lowest voice, "You can try to tell the villagers that the village was actually free of the curse a long time ago. The reason why it still needs to send newlywed couples up the mountain is because the ghosts and gods in the mountain think that the villagers' method of passing the test is too cruel."
Sang Niang was shocked. The same thing, with the cause and effect reversed, instantly changed its meaning. It was as if the village chief's behavior was too cruel, which caused the villagers so much pain and the loss of so many children!
After hearing this, Sang Niang was speechless for a moment, stammering several times: "But, but the mother of the second Da Lin family said that since this rule came into being, the whole village has had to go up the mountain to undergo a test every three years in order to keep the village from having food to eat."
Wu Wangwang smiled silently: "But, during the more than one hundred years when there was food to eat, the two puppets who went up the mountain were the ones who did it. Haven't you already seen what the puppets looked like? They can't speak."
Sang Niang suddenly looked at the groom who had moved closer to them. He moved slowly, desperately trying to get closer to the bride, because in his subconscious, only by being with the bride forever could he survive and pass the test.
Watching the struggling groom, a terrifying thought rose in Sangniang's mind: "Could it be... that during those hundred years, the puppets were actually sent down by the mountain god after they went up the mountain? They had a hundred years to tell the villagers that the punishment was over and they could return to their original lives, but because the puppets couldn't speak..."
After she finished speaking, there was a long silence. Sang Niang didn't know how to evaluate the matter, nor did she know whether Wu Wangwang had come up with such a solution or had learned something from the widow.
It's obvious that anyone who knows this possibility would find it impossible to suppress their grief. Even an outsider like Sang Niang finds it pitiful, let alone those who have actually lost their children.
How crazy would they go?
Would you ever want to kill yourself for having once firmly believed in the village's rules?
If Sangniang's hesitation just now was due to her concern that the players would be unable to control the situation, now it's because she feels reluctant to let them go.
Wu Wangwang reached out and shook Sang Niang's shoulder: "Sang Niang, you should actually use this method. It's not just because we need to survive, but also because the rules of this village are inherently unreasonable. I'm going up the mountain the day after tomorrow to undergo a test. I don't know if I'll be able to come back alive, but if the village ceases to exist, there won't be another family suffering, right?"
That's what they say...
"Besides, this is just a game, Sangniang. It's just a game called 'The Return of the Soul.' After we finish the game and leave, everything will be reset. We just gave the NPCs a possible, less common ending. When playing a game, there are always many endings. When you can't choose the ending you like, choosing one that's good for everyone is actually more relaxing," Wu Wangwang said calmly.
Sang Niang finally agreed. She chose to accept Wu Wangwang's suggestion, and with the half-truth in mind, she climbed over the wall and left before dawn to inform the other players.
They have one day to spread rumors. On the last day of the game, Wu Wangwang will go into the mountain to pass his own level. They need to find all the truth at the foot of the mountain.
Dawn broke quickly, and Wu Wangwang watched as the groom beside her suddenly stood up. After dark, the broken bones in her body instantly returned to their original state.
The groom silently walked to Wu Wangwang's side, took her shawl, and led her to the bridal chamber from the previous night. After Wu Wangwang sat down on the bed, he picked up the veil and covered her with it again.
I stood by the bed, waiting for the next step.
Yesterday, the groom's wedding attire was still very new, but after rolling around in it all night, it was filthy beyond recognition, with many stitches torn and the groom looking quite disheveled.
Around 7 a.m., a group of people suddenly pushed open the courtyard gate and barged into Da Lin's house. Men and women entered, and the groom was made to lift his veil. Then, a group of people pushed the groom out to change his clothes, saying that the wedding banquet was going to be held today, and the groom was to go toast the guests after changing his clothes.
The bride also needs to change into a toast dress and remove the flowers from her hair.
The widow was already standing at the door, silently watching Wu Wangwang, holding the platinum dress in her hand.
The next step was similar to yesterday's routine. Wu Wangwang obediently let the widow change her clothes, and then the proprietress who did her makeup yesterday did her hair and makeup. Today, the flower in her hair was a camellia, which was yellow and matched her dress very well.
After changing their clothes, the crowd slowly withdrew, and the courtyard outside became lively as people set up tables and chairs and cooked meals; it was another busy day.
Soon only the widow and Wu Wangwang remained in the bridal chamber. The widow looked at Wu Wangwang in the mirror for a long time, then asked, "Zhenzhen, were you scared last night?"
Wu Wangwang didn't know what she meant by fear, and shook her head as usual: "I'm not afraid. With Brother Dalin here, I'm not afraid."
The widow's hand instantly gripped Wu Wangwang's shoulder. She opened her mouth, but only said, "Hmm, okay, it's good that you're not afraid. It will be over soon... Zhenzhen. Everything will be alright after the wedding."
Yes, everyone will be alright after the wedding.
Wu Wangwang smiled at herself in the mirror as a response.
The second day of the wedding is more of a farewell feast than a welcoming feast. After this meal, the bride and groom will be sent up the mountain in the early hours of the next day, where the people at the foot of the mountain will continue to eat and hold a sacrificial ceremony.
Since those who stay behind can't be of much help anyway, they might as well pray that everything goes well.
The bride and groom need to go together during the toasting ceremony. In addition to the toasting ceremony being part of the wedding itself, the village makes the bride and groom drink so that they can get a good night's sleep and won't be so scared when it's time to leave.
Alcohol emboldens cowards; drink more so your legs won't tremble when you try to escape.
Wu Wangwang doesn't get drunk, so she drinks as much as is served.
Yesterday's quiet streets are now filled with tables, and the whole village is drinking at the roadside tables, making the entire street packed.
The players moved among them, and based on the circles they had been in for the past two weeks, they first vaguely told the villagers who were thinking of leaving about the puppets, and then pointed out that the puppets could not speak, and that the hundred years that had been peaceful should no longer be cursed.
As for how I came up with it, when asked, I said I heard it from someone.
Oh, the Demon Mother Goddess.
Whether in legends or in the hearts of the villagers today, the Ghost Mother always gives them many opportunities, and those opportunities are the key to the newlyweds' survival.
Therefore, the blessing of the Demon Mother Goddess has become a routine for players before starting the game.
Bringing up the Ghost Mother Goddess, even if it's just a rumor, will make the villagers believe it to some extent. Besides, Wu Wangwang's suggestion might be quite reasonable.
They lived in true peace for a hundred years until the puppet broke down, at which point they chose a new married couple to go up the mountain.
Is it possible that the punishment disappeared a few years after the puppets were used, which is why those puppets remained intact for a hundred years?
However, because this act was too cruel, and the same two puppets were kept going up the mountain, the mountain god was furious and restarted the test. As a result, the puppets, which were originally intact, suddenly broke.
For decades in between, because the puppets couldn't speak, the villagers missed the most important information. The village chief who made the puppets deserved to die, and the other village chiefs who caused the villagers to lose so many children also deserved to die!
Such rumors simply cannot be stopped. Every villager who has lost their parents, brothers, sisters, and children cannot help but think, if it weren't for this damned puppet plan, if they had left the village earlier, would they have avoided such a price?
In particular, what if they dared to question the mountain god, or not so much trust each village chief?
In the latter half of the wedding, the people at the table had different thoughts, and no one was really focused on the wedding banquet anymore.
They didn't care about the bride and groom standing there, because they were just a puppet and a widow. They only cared about their dead children and... they wanted to live, and they wanted their children to live too.
Wu Wangwang looked at everything at the banquet with great satisfaction. At this moment, there was still one day before she would truly become a human who could not be discovered. She had even thought about what kind of happy life she would live after becoming human.
The greatest joy in life is eating, drinking, and having fun. Wu Wangwang seemed to already see a happy life beckoning to her!
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: Goodbye, Mom! Tomorrow I'm setting sail! O(∩_∩)O
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P.S.: The most important thing in life is timing and tact – Hannibal Lecter.
Just playing with the meme, hahaha
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