In the main hall, rows and rows of various kinds of meat were neatly hung in the air.
His first thought was that it was cured meat, but the shape didn't look right. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a human corpse!
These people had their internal organs removed, were cut in half, and hung from hooks hanging from the ceiling, just like pigs and sheep hanging on slaughterhouse assembly lines today.
Pei Mianman couldn't help but exclaim, "How could there be such cruel punishments in the world?"
Zuan also felt physically and mentally uncomfortable. Although he had seen many sacrificial pits before, those had all turned into skeletons, so the visual impact was not as great.
The corpses in front of us were just dried out, not skeletalized, and their shape was no different from the livestock we had seen before.
Although I've always known about human sacrifice, I thought it was just a metaphor. I never imagined it meant people were actually treated like livestock.
"This is not a punishment, but a sacrificial ritual called the Mao Sacrifice," General Ya Chang replied, seemingly asking Pei Mianman to be more patient.
"Mao sacrifice?" Zu An thought for a moment and realized that the way these corpses were split in half looked just like the character "Mao".
General Ya Chang continued, "When we offer sacrifices to Heaven, the most solemn offering is a human sacrifice. We offer the human entrails, blood, and head to Heaven. The remaining parts of the human sacrifice are prepared by roasting, boiling in soup until tender, or drying into cured meat..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Zu'an exclaimed in alarm. "It sounds like they're cooking!"
“It’s just cooking,” General Ya Chang said with a puzzled look. “Because it’s food offered to the gods. According to custom, the gods also bestow blessings when they enjoy the offerings. So after the ceremony, the offerers will share the offerings and receive the gods’ blessings. Usually, only people of noble status are qualified to share the offerings.”
Zuan: "..."
He felt his stomach churning; all of this was utterly shocking.
Pei Mianman was even more distressed and ran to the side to vomit.
The two dared not linger there and hurried forward, soon arriving at a tribute table filled with various bronze artifacts. Mi Li had told him the names of these before, but the characters were too obscure for him to remember.
He was somewhat surprised to notice that there was some paste-like substance in the bowls and basins. Logically speaking, this place has existed for tens of thousands of years. Even if it were placed in a refrigerator, the food should have rotted away long ago. Why does it still retain the appearance it had during the sacrificial ceremony? It seems that there is indeed a mysterious force maintaining all of this.
Seeing him staring at the paste-like substance inside, General Ya Chang explained, "This is called 'hai ji,' which involves chopping a person into mincemeat. Only people of high status and position can become such sacrifices; it's often a leader of a region. This is an extremely precious offering. Would you like to try some?"
As he spoke, he scooped some meat sauce from inside and handed it to the two of them.
"No, no!" Zu An and Pei Mianman stepped back in unison, waving their hands simultaneously.
That's so damn disgusting! I don't know what those people in the Shang Dynasty were thinking.
Zu An suddenly realized why King Zhou in "Investiture of the Gods" would chop people into mincemeat so often. For example, Ji Boyi Kao, the eldest son of Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, and the Marquis of Dongbo, the father of Queen Jiang, were both chopped into mincemeat and made to be eaten.
At the time, I thought it was to highlight his perverted cruelty, but now I know that this was actually a common sacrificial method used by the Shang Dynasty people.
"What a pity." Seeing that the two didn't eat, the Deputy General had an expression of not appreciating good food, and then put his finger in his mouth to taste it. "It's been many years since I've enjoyed such a delicacy. Thank you for waking me up earlier."
Zuan: "..."
Pei Mianman: "..."
Both of them were on the verge of a breakdown. Walking with this guy who was used to eating human flesh made them feel extremely uncomfortable.
He hurriedly pulled Pei Mianman to continue walking forward, really not wanting to stay in this pile of human flesh any longer.
Right in the middle of the road, we came across another large bronze cauldron. Unlike the empty cauldrons outside, this one was filled with something that looked like meat jelly, with all sorts of oils and fats solidified together.
Zuan looked helpless: "Needless to say, there's human flesh in here too, right?"
The chief general who had followed nodded: "This cauldron can cook more than forty people. Only the king's cauldron is qualified to be this big."
His tone was full of envy and reverence as he spoke. He placed his withered hand on the edge of the cauldron, and wisps of black energy spread out. The jelly that had formed inside the cauldron began to melt gradually, and various human remains could be vaguely seen moving inside.
Pei Mianman didn't dare to look anymore and shrank behind Zu An, trying to avoid seeing him and getting annoyed.
Zuan's heart was pounding. Seeing the excited look on General Ya Chang's face, he hurriedly said, "Don't blame me for not warning you. If you dare to pick it up and eat it again, I don't care about any trials anymore. I'll really be exorcising demons!"
General Ya Chang looked puzzled: "Offering sacrifices to the gods is the most sacred and solemn thing in the world. These offerings are blessed by the gods, so what does that have to do with demons?"
Zu'an knew he was telling the truth, because this was the custom of the Yin Shang people, which was why he didn't get angry at first: "Human sacrifice has long been abolished in later generations, so don't do these things in front of us."
"Alright then." General Ya Chang sensed the primordial energy swirling around his sword. The situation was beyond his control, so he didn't insist. He removed his hand from the cauldron, and the meat jelly that had started to boil inside gradually calmed down.
Zu An's heart skipped a beat, remembering the request of the Dongyi princess. He hurriedly said to General Ya Chang, "Use your long spear to scoop it out for me and see if there are any heads inside."
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