The villagers took turns coming forward, holding peach wood high and kneeling in prayer, while the witch stood in front of them, stroking each of their heads.
“God will protect you,” she said softly to everyone.
As the last villager finished worshiping, the golden light emanating from the statue gradually subsided. The witch wiped away the blood and tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around, and looked at Xiao Cheng and the others with encouraging eyes.
"You can come over and freely express your wishes. God will bless everyone equally."
"No, no, it's already too presumptuous of us to just look at it." Xiao Cheng quickly waved his hand to refuse. "As for making wishes or anything, the true god is very busy, so let's not make him work overtime."
The priestess did not insist. She turned her face away and gazed devoutly at the statue until the last glimmer of golden light disappeared completely.
At the village chief's signal, the two women stepped forward and numbly picked up the two corpses on the ground.
They laid the bodies neatly side by side, then removed the heads from the waist and placed them back on the severed neck.
The two peach wood plaques were placed shakily on the corpse's forehead, seemingly very unstable, but they never fell off.
"What's going on?" Xiao Cheng was completely bewildered. "Preventing zombies from resurrecting?"
"Shouldn't we put up yellow talismans? What's the point of putting up a wooden sign that might fall off at any time?" Number 4 said, not quite agreeing.
Seeing the scene of the cult, Xu Chu's professional instincts were kicking in. Hearing them discussing supernatural and bizarre things, he finally couldn't take it anymore and said, "Can't it just be a simple form of mourning?"
Xiao Cheng was shocked: "Mourning the dead? Mourning what dead? You actually think they need to express their grief?"
The two women quickly rearranged the body, then left expressionlessly, covered in blood.
Then the village chief walked over, gently placed the half-piece of peach wood between the two corpses, and said in a solemn tone, "May you receive the kindness of the true God."
His actions seemed to have flipped a mysterious switch, and the villagers suddenly burst into tears, walking over one after another to put down the peach wood they were holding.
Forty-eight pieces of wood surrounded the two corpses in the center, and heart-wrenching cries echoed for a long time. Then the village chief took out a tinderbox and threw it out with a swift motion.
The moment the tinder touched the peach wood, flames burst forth and quickly engulfed the corpse.
The flames danced merrily, crackling and popping, and the air was filled with the aroma of charred meat.
All the villagers spontaneously joined hands and formed a circle around the flames and altar, jumping and crying as they went.
"Waaah, may you be treated kindly by the true God."
"Hahaha, you have received the blessing of the true God."
Each word was pronounced in a rather strange way, sounding like some kind of ancient and mysterious incantation.
Xiao Cheng stared in disbelief: "Is this the legendary 'dancing on a grave'?"
"There's no grave, it's more like a bonfire party," Fang He corrected very carefully.
The priestess didn't join the villagers' revelry. Instead, she turned and walked towards the players, saying gently, "Why are you standing here instead of going over? This is the most lively time of the year."
"Are they celebrating?" Xiao Cheng asked.
The priestess didn't answer immediately. With a faint smile, her pupils reflected the crowd and the flames. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "No."
And then nothing more was said.
Xiao Cheng: "..." This is quite a question and answer.
The villagers' unknown activity did not last long. The forty-eight pieces of peach wood were quickly burned out, the flames gradually died down, and the wood ash mixed with ashes piled up on the scorched ground.
The two wooden plaques remained firmly in place, their color unchanged.
The shrine maiden hurriedly ran over, picked up the wooden plaque, held it in her hand as if it were a precious treasure, rubbed it for a while, and then carefully put it away.
“This is a miracle!” she proclaimed to everyone. “The true God has heard our prayers!”
"Praise be to God!" the villagers shouted excitedly.
The ritual to summon the gods was now complete. Urged on by the village chief, the players were led back by the villagers they had stayed with, leaving only Xiao Cheng and Fang He behind the witch.
The priestess's emotions have not calmed down yet.
“It’s a miracle!” she emphasized again. “It’s a miracle that has never happened before!”
"These two signs look very similar to the ones hanging at your door. Do they serve the same purpose?" Fang He asked, seemingly casually.
“Of course not,” the witch explained to him very seriously. “It deserves to be buried deep in the ground and treasured.” Then she began to plan ahead, telling herself where to dig what kind of pit.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the shrine maiden's house. Looking at the tightly closed gate, Xiao Cheng felt inexplicably guilty thinking about the almost completely destroyed courtyard inside.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you coming over?" The shrine maiden stood in front of the door, turning to look at them with a puzzled expression. "Hurry up and come inside. According to the rules, you shouldn't go out today."
"Ah, mainly..." Xiao Cheng originally wanted to remind the priestess in a more tactful way.
But the door had already been pushed open.
All the words she hadn't had a chance to say were stuck in her throat. Xiao Cheng stared blankly at the spotless, brand-new courtyard, a question mark slowly forming in her mind.
The courtyard is so clean; there are no uprooted locust trees, no collapsed walls, and no coffins.
The priestess seemed oblivious to anything amiss: "Come in, what are you daydreaming about?" she beckoned to the two of them, urging them on.
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