“You were introduced by my third uncle. He should have told you about it, so you know the whole story.”
I nodded; Dr. Sun had indeed told us.
"You all know how it was resolved before, but now that thing has come back with a vengeance. The new village chief is acting like he's possessed; he insists on using the methods of the previous village chief, and he won't listen to any advice!"
He stammered, his voice trembling.
"Moreover, that guy also said that the reason the problem wasn't completely resolved last time was because we offered too little. This time we need to offer more tribute in order to appease the mountain god and have him bless our village!"
"Mountain God?" I frowned.
“That’s right, he called that evil thing a mountain god, he must be crazy!” Sun Wang said incoherently.
Suddenly, he knelt down before me with a thud:
"Master, you must save us! No matter how crazy he is, he won't sacrifice his own children like the previous village chief! We children, who are powerless and helpless in the village, are his easiest targets!"
My heart sank. Dr. Sun's guess had come true. These people were indeed insane and even wanted to use human sacrifice!
To call that evil thing a mountain god is simply insane.
Luo Tianhe revealed a ruthless look:
"How about we kill that so-called village chief first?"
Upon hearing this, I fell into deep thought.
This method may be simple and crude, but it might not be unworkable.
However, Sun Wang's next sentence poured cold water on our enthusiasm:
"Killing him won't make a difference. Most people in the village still support it. After all, it only requires sacrificing a small number of people!"
Sun Wang was already sobbing uncontrollably, his voice hoarse and filled with fear and anger.
"Now they patrol at night, not to guard against ghosts in the mountains, but to guard against us!"
To prevent us from running away with the children!
The night before last, Old Wang's family in Dongtou wanted to take their children to stay with relatives outside the mountains overnight, but they were stopped and turned back before they even left the village. They were told that it was a village rule that no one was allowed to leave without permission during this special period!
So as not to anger the mountain god!
"Nonsense! They're just afraid that once everyone runs away and there's no one else to offer sacrifices, they'll only be able to take their own children!"
The air in the room seemed to freeze. By the stove, Sun Wang's wife held her child tightly in her arms, tears welling in her eyes.
The child neither cried nor made a fuss, but simply stared at his father kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, with a chilling numbness on his little face.
I yanked Sun Wang up, using force in my hand:
"Stand up! What's the use of kneeling? What's the name of that village chief? Where is he now? And out of all the people in your village, aren't there many of you who will unite to oppose this?"
Sun Wang stumbled as I pulled him, wiped the tears from his face, and said:
"The village elder is named Wu Yan. He is over fifty years old and used to be a hunter. He is skilled and has a tough personality, so he has a lot of prestige in the village. He lives at the far east end of the village, in the tallest house, where there is a pair of stone beasts at the entrance."
At this point, Sun Wang paused, a hint of hatred flashing across his face:
“We objected, how could we not object?! But we were outnumbered and outmatched. We argued with him and almost came to blows, but he said it was for the survival of the village and for the greater good!”
“Those people know that the village elder will only target us and won’t implicate them, so they wholeheartedly support him, saying that we are parasites of the village and are unwilling to make even the smallest sacrifice for the village!”
"What utter bullshit!" Luo Tianhe was furious, utterly shocked by the shameless village elder.
"He also brought a tattered booklet, saying that he had found it from the village elder. It supposedly contained something that said the sacrifice required the essence of young boys and girls to revive the spiritual root and thus obtain long-term protection."
Before Sun Wang could finish his story, he burst into a tirade: "That guy can't even read! He's just lying to us! He wants us to hand over our children! I'll fucking kill him!"
"Don't rush." I suppressed my anger and chill, walked to the window, and looked out through the crack. The village was deathly silent; not even a dog could be heard barking.
"Try to find a way to check out that so-called forbidden area tonight, Brother Sun Wang. Does your house have a back door or a side room?"
Upon hearing this, a look of horror immediately appeared on Sun Wang's face.
He never expected me to be so audacious as to dare to venture into the legendary forbidden area.
"You absolutely mustn't go there! The village elder went there and that's why he went mad!"
He hurriedly tried to stop me, but I waved my hand:
"If you want to cure it completely, you have to go there and try. Even if you escape now, it won't help. Can you bear to watch everyone else here die a violent death?"
"Heh, those heartless bastards, besides being the instigators, are just accomplices. It doesn't matter if they all die." Luo Tianhe smirked and snorted coldly from the side.
Sun Wang seemed to think there was some truth to what he said, so I glared at Luo Tianhe and continued:
"Even if those people are indeed heartless, those who were dragged into it, and those children, are at least innocent. Besides, it won't be so easy for them to escape. If they can deal with what's inside the forbidden area, then everything will be fine."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wangcai nodded and pointed to an inconspicuous small wooden door on the south wall, which was the back door.
We made some simple preparations. Luo Tianhe checked the doors and windows, and Li Huai helped Sun Wang's wife prepare some simple food.
There was only brown rice porridge and pickled vegetables. The child quietly drank half a bowl, then nestled in his mother's arms and stopped moving.
"Brother Sun Wang, didn't you say you were still doing some business? How come you're struggling so much?"
I couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Medicinal herbs from the mountains are quite valuable, and many people are willing to spend a lot of money to buy them.
Moreover, his house doesn't look so shabby from the outside, so how come it's so pitiful inside?
"Heh, ever since I opposed the village elder, he's taken all the money from my house, claiming it was to contribute to the village. In reality, he's pocketed it all. Don't think I don't know where his little house and the stone lion at the entrance came from!"
Sun Wang sneered, his eyes filled with hatred.
Luo Tianhe and I exchanged a glance. In this village, people's hearts are as wicked as ghosts and monsters.
During the meal, Sun Wang lowered his voice and told us more details.
Wu Yan has been going to the back mountain a lot lately, sometimes not returning until late at night.
Several elderly people in the village who had initially hesitated gradually fell silent after Wu Yan took out the booklet and described the terrifying scene of the mountain god's wrath and the entire village suffering.
Even more strangely, some people say that Wu Yan seems to be able to communicate with the mountain god and hear the mountain god's will.
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