The process was extremely complicated, including not only Kagura dance but also sacrificial and prayer dances, which left Su Deng completely bewildered.
Especially when I heard that we were going to go down the mountain to make a procession and offer prayers, I had a fleeting thought that I wanted to blow up the shrine.
Even in the game world, climbing a mountain for several hours at a time, going up and down three or four times a day, can kill a person!
She wanted to run away too.
Quan Gongsi asked, "Have you remembered everything I said?"
Su Deng: "...I've remembered."
Next, before the official start of the Witch God Festival, Su Deng practiced her dance, and Quan Gongsi explained to her all the props needed, such as the Kagura bell and the Gohei.
After all that trouble, Su Deng realized that the original witch god ritual was not so complicated. It only required the witch to dance and pray, and to communicate her will to the god.
However, this situation was special. First, a priestess escaped, angering the gods and causing disaster. In order to appease the gods' anger, the priestess thought it over and directly added several procedures, making this priestess festival even bigger.
It incorporates all the other small rituals that are usually held at the shrine.
As a shrine maiden, one must dance the entire ritual along with the priest.
Just listening, Su Deng came to this conclusion—
This job of a shrine maiden is not something a normal person can do.
Finally, it was time for the Witch God Festival.
Su Deng took a deep breath, looked at her gorgeous reflection in the bronze mirror, put on the mask, picked up the Kagura Bell, and went out.
Many people were already standing in the courtyard, each wearing a mask, looking eerie and terrifying, and holding all sorts of strange props in their hands.
There are also musical instruments.
There were also two children, a boy and a girl, dressed in exquisite clothes, one in red and one in white, with celestial fox masks on their faces.
"The sacrificial ceremony begins!"
The palace attendant shouted, music began, and the people in the courtyard stepped aside. Two children walked up to Su Deng and started dancing.
The Kagura dance, which could be described as eerie, was made somewhat adorable by the two children.
Their dancing was like a guide, with Su Deng following behind.
Su Deng practiced for a few days, but her Kagura dance was still not satisfactory. However, at this time, no one else could fill the position of shrine maiden, and there was no time for her to practice. As long as no major mistakes were made, the priests and others turned a blind eye.
The distorted and eerie Kagura dance was also distorted by her dancing.
Su Deng didn't dare to even utter a sound, fearing she might make a mistake. To the same eerie music, she shook the Kagura bell in her hand.
The priest presided over all the rituals of the shaman god, starting with the sacrifice for the birth of a child.
That is, a living, vibrant child.
Two masked children were carried onto the sacrificial altar, and Su Deng, as a shaman, was required to pray for them.
After that, we went down the mountain.
When the group arrived at the back of the shrine, a very user-friendly wooden elevator appeared on the edge of the cliff—
Su Deng: "??????"
She climbed for hours, only to be told there was an elevator?
I... really want to kill someone!
The elevator is not large and can only accommodate a limited number of people at a time. Because the mountain is too high and the technology is not very advanced, the elevator is operated in sections, with each section being replaced as it descends.
The priestess said that since the disaster had already occurred, in order to appease the wrath of the gods, the chosen priestess, who is the messenger of the gods' will, must travel among the people and receive their sincere prayers for redemption.
The priestess accepts the sins of humankind, atoning for the sins of the gods on behalf of the people, in exchange for peace on earth.
Whether she was the bride of the gods or the messenger of the gods' will, Su Deng only understood at this moment that no matter what the witches and priestesses were like in the past, the priestess in this witch-god ritual was a sacrifice.
Offerings made by the people to the gods as atonement for their sins.
If Riki Tsunomiya hadn't escaped, things might not have gotten this bad.
They walked and jumped all the way, even waving their imperial coins on the ship crossing the sea.
...I am a servant of God, calling upon His spirit...day after day I yearn for God...living beings pray...sin upon myself, I wish to atone...I am filled with trepidation...
The shrine maiden is already the spokesperson for the gods, representing their will. Her current procession also represents the gods' inspection.
A spokesperson for the divine path must be pure, have no further relationship with anyone, and even be unable to show their true face to anyone.
Especially men.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Su Deng was helped into a sedan chair separated only by a thin veil and carried in a procession. The sound of drums and divine music filled the air, and the masked people were like a hundred ghosts walking at night. Wherever they passed, people knelt down and offered their most precious possessions to the procession.
Including the soul.
It was all to appease the gods.
Boom——
They had only gone a short distance when the ground began to shake, and the sedan chair bearers swayed and fell to the ground.
"Ah! A monster! A monster is going to eat people!"
"Help!"
In the village ahead, a group of people ran out in panic, ignoring the sacrificial procession and rushing forward uncontrollably.
Su Deng frowned, steadied herself, and tried to lift the veil on the sedan chair to look, but was stopped by the little witch beside her.
"You can't show yourself to anyone!" the little witch said nervously. "Otherwise, the ritual will fail, and the gods will be even angrier!"
The screams outside grew louder, and the ground shook violently again, splitting open. In the nearby village, houses collapsed, and people died inside...
"Quickly! Don't stop!" Quan Gongsi said urgently, his expression grave and grim. "Continue the procession and sacrificial ceremony!"
"ah!"
But as soon as she finished speaking, a monster flew over, grabbed the person blocking the way, tore them in half, and flew directly towards the priestess in the palanquin.
Su Deng, of course, couldn't just wait to die. She tightened her grip on the gohei and Kagura bell, about to throw away the props and exchange them for a sword, but a figure appeared even faster. With long, dark green hair flying, she held a long spear in her hand, stabbing the ship monster. She stood in the air outside the palanquin, her clothes fluttering, like a god descending to earth.
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