At dawn, when the people of the Xuanyuan tribe woke up, they discovered that the red-eyed pheasant demon hanging on the tall tree had been dead for a long time.
Confucian rites and laws had not yet emerged in this era, so customs and atmosphere inevitably became tainted with the bloodshed and barbarity of the demon and witch races.
For example, their sacrificial rites were incredibly brutal, beyond what later generations could imagine: human sacrifice, live burial, blood sacrifice, and so on.
Tong Su and the others were awakened by the loud sounds of the sacrificial ceremony. After washing themselves with a magic spell, they went outside and saw that a simple altar had been set up in the open space.
The clay idols shaped like "bear totem" were enshrined in the highest place, and the red-eyed pheasant demon was neatly arranged as food and gifts to the gods.
The entire ceremony was presided over by the tribe's priests who offered prayers, while the tribespeople sang and danced in front of the totem clay sculptures.
The ceremony was complex, yet no one showed impatience; although the tribe was large, no one made a sound; the sacrifice was simple and primitive, yet it clearly showed people's worship and respect for the gods.
The Yellow Emperor was the son of Shaodian. His surname was Ji, his given name was Xuanyuan, and he ruled the world, calling himself "Youxiong".
After the red-eyed pheasant demon is offered to the gods, its body will be cut up and cooked by the tribe members and distributed to everyone for consumption.
The tribal elders were willing to give the most precious parts to Tongsu and the others who had saved them, but how could Tongsu and the others possibly be interested in the pheasant demon's corpse?
Seeing their firm refusal, the old man had no choice but to stop insisting. He then selected several strong young men from the tribe and sent them into the forest to collect the remains of all the victims.
Bored, the three fox demons volunteered to help and followed the young men into the forest.
Tong Su then took the little bird ball and went with the old man to see the burial site chosen for the victims.
"Both the Witch Clan and the Demon Clan treat us humans as food—please don't misunderstand, Fairy, I'm referring to those demons who have cultivated evil paths," the old man said with a wry smile. "Demons, like humans, can be good or bad, and we are certainly aware of that."
Tong Su said, "I understand. The human race has always had a good relationship with the demon race, so of course we can understand these things."
Birdball chirped softly and nuzzled Tongsu's cheek affectionately. Tongsu pinched some small berries and fed them to him, which he ate happily, one after another.
Tongsu noticed that since last night, its temper had become exceptionally good. Not only did it stop acting up, but it also became more affectionate and adorable.
The old man laughed and said, "Indeed, our human race's sage, Nuwa, was granted the title of Primordial Saint for her merit of 'creating humans from clay,' but she was also the leader of the demon sect. In fact, the demon race and the human race are very close."
Nuwa and Fuxi were both ancient demon gods, but Nuwa was enfeoffed as the Primordial Saint for her merit in creating humans, thus partially separating herself from the demon race.
She now lives with Fuxi in the Nuwa Palace. She is both a saint of the human race and a demon god of the demon race, serving as a medium to maintain friendly relations between the two races.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Look, they've brought the bodies of our sons. Nuwa created humans from clay, and after they die, they return to the earth. We're going to bury them all here."
As the men carried in the bodies one by one, the old man's face showed sorrow: "I have already sent word to the Yellow Emperor. The leader should arrive in a while."
Tongsu watched silently.
Some corpses were drained of their blood and vital energy, leaving only an empty shell that appeared intact, but was completely hollow inside; others were torn into pieces, with gruesome bite marks visible on the bloody wounds, and the bones were chewed up.
—Wait, chew it up?
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