——Inside Zhaoyang City——
The Lord stood on the city wall, overlooking the entire city.
The water on the ground was already above the surface of his shoes. Most importantly, many houses were crumbling in the wind and rain, which made him worried.
While wealthy families can afford to build houses with large tiles and blue bricks, many ordinary people still live in mud-brick houses. These houses have weathered heavy rain, heavy snow, and scorching sun over the past year, and now they are flooded again, he is worried that they will not be able to withstand it.
He turned around, his face filled with worry and a hint of plea, "Madam, now that there has been enough rain, can we start praying for clear skies?"
When there is no rain, we naturally pray for rain. When there is too much rain, we naturally pray for clear weather.
This is a sacrificial ritual that has been passed down for a long time. It is not only common in years of disaster, but also in years of good weather and harvest.
Sometimes, in order to ensure that construction of bridges, city gates and other projects would not be interrupted, the government would hold a ceremony to pray for clear weather.
Most of the time, it is held during the spring plowing and autumn harvest seasons. During heavy rains, a prayer ceremony is held to pray for the rain to stop and the sky to clear, thus protecting the farming industry.
Nowadays, when we encounter heavy rain, it is considered a flood disaster, so it is justified to hold a ceremony to pray for clear weather.
Madam Lotus had a faint smile on her lips, looking as gentle as a white lotus slowly blooming in the lake.
The adult saw this and couldn't help but feel itchy in his heart, but he still remembered not to offend the master.
"Sir, of course it is possible. However, when we prayed for rain, we used human blood. Now, if we want to pray for clear weather, we also need human blood. The two are connected, and it can be regarded as fulfilling a wish to God."
"Yes, yes, yes." The master nodded, "What the madam said is very reasonable. I must fulfill my vow."
People who go to temples to ask for Buddha's blessings still need to fulfill their vows.
"However," Madam Lotus changed the subject, her gentle voice uttering chilling words, "the number of people involved in this sacrifice must be increased."
"This?" The master hesitated. A few days ago, only half of the people who had prayed for rain were still alive. Now, if they were to pray again, would they need more people? There were only a few people left in this city.
But seeing that these houses are about to be soaked and rotted away, it is impossible to replace all the people living in mud brick houses with good houses. Moreover, it is better to solve the problem fundamentally than to provide temporary relief.
He gritted his teeth and nodded, "In your opinion, madam, how much is appropriate?"
Lady Lotus fiddled with the red round beads in her hand, the other end tied with a string, swinging them back and forth. She lowered her eyelids, hiding the expression in her eyes, and calmly uttered three words, "Double each."
The prefect was stunned. This meant that the three combined forces would require nearly 400 people. But there were only 900 civilians left in the city. Should they offer half of them?
Do we have to brave the heavy rain to capture all the refugees outside the city?
"We can capture all the refugees, but this baby..."
"Now is the time to pray for clear skies, so the more yang energy there is, the better. No infants are needed; a man over 15 years old will do."
The prefect took a deep breath, but when he looked into Madam Lotus's dark eyes, he couldn't disobey and said subconsciously, "Yes."
On the third day of the rainstorm, the people gathered in front of the altar again, but this time, the number of people in the audience was nearly half of what it was.
The missing half of the people changed from spectators to players in the game, and became the ones being sacrificed on the stage.
The person who prayed for rain a few days ago was still lying in bed resting.
Their faces were pale, they had no medicine, no meat, not even a bowl of dry rice, how could they be considered recuperating? They lay in bed for days and couldn't even get up.
This time, the gap was too big, so the master directly ordered the officials to arrest all the refugees outside the city and forcibly take away the people in the city who met the requirements to serve as sacrifices.
The people's trust in the Sixteen Altars has reached its peak, and even if they are afraid, they dare not disobey.
The water in the well has overflowed again, the corners of the wall have cracked and are crumbling. Now they only hope that the rain will be lighter, and they are willing to pay a little blood.
Everyone knelt down, facing the Azure Dragon, and shouted loudly, "May the rain stop and the sky clear up, and may the weather be good in the coming year..."
The heavy rain hit Mrs. Lotus's face, and the stinging sensation made her more awake.
She closed her eyes and silently said, "I hope I will not be a human being in my next life."
The people knelt in the rain and prayed, when suddenly, they heard a deafening roar.
The guard standing on the high building looked in the direction of the rumbling sound, his face changed drastically, and he waved and shouted, "The flood is coming! Run!"
But the sound of the heavy rain and the rumble drowned out his voice, and no one heard his cries. They only saw him dancing and thought he was dancing to a sacrificial ceremony.
“Boom—”
The sound was getting closer, and everyone realized something was wrong and ran away. But it was too late.
The flood destroyed the city in an instant.
“Ahhhh—”
"Help, help—"
Some people were washed away in an instant, some grabbed driftwood and floated on the water, and some ran desperately to the city wall.
But the tower had also endured hundreds of years of destruction, and when the flood hit it, it collapsed with a loud bang, and no one escaped, including the guards on the tower.
Someone hurriedly remembered that he wanted to ask the masters of the sixteen altars to hold a ceremony to ask God for mercy again.
"Master! Where is the Master?"
They could not see any trace of the masters and their faces turned pale.
The altar collapsed, and the masters of the sixteen altars were the first to be washed away...
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