The next day, Kangxi and Youqing got up very early.
Today is the day of the ancestral worship ceremony. Preparations began before dawn. This is a major event held in the village every three years, and the villagers attach great importance to it, even more so than the Lunar New Year.
Every household carried offerings and hurried to the riverbank. Youqing entrusted Le'an to her wet nurse's care, as Le'an was still sleeping. She followed Kangxi in the direction the villagers were heading.
As dawn broke, the villagers had already gathered at the riverbank, with each household placing their offerings on tables set up along the river.
After everything was arranged, an old man with a full head of white hair came out and mumbled a lot of unintelligible words until the sun was halfway up the sky. At this time, Yang Chunhua, dressed in red, came out accompanied by the village head's wife.
At this time, the girls in the village usually dress simply. Generally, the darker the color of the clothes, the more expensive they are. Ordinary farm families rarely wear particularly bright clothes.
Yang Chunhua only remembers wearing a bright red cotton-padded jacket when she was a child. She hasn't worn red clothes since she grew up. The dress she's wearing is the one her mother saved up for her to wear when she gets married.
Yang Chunhua then lay down on the wooden board, secured with iron chains, and a large stone was tied to the back of the board.
The scene made Youqing and Kangxi frown. Even though they knew it wouldn't be pleasant, they never expected it to be so suffocating.
Yang Chunhua was carried into the water by several burly men from the village who were used to doing farm work. When they reached the shallows, Youqing felt it was about time and said to the system, "Let's begin!"
As soon as she finished speaking in her mind, she saw a large expanse of colorful light suddenly surge out of the river. It was so dazzling that many people couldn't open their eyes. When they were able to open their eyes, the villagers saw a dragon, seemingly real yet ethereal, circling on the river. It looked exceptionally majestic.
The dragon occupied most of the river surface and was about eight zhang tall. The villagers knelt down in unison and kowtowed to the dragon with great piety.
This dragon was created by the system, and of course, it cost gold coins. It's an illusion created using the phenomenon of light refraction, but this dragon looks quite realistic and can even move.
The villagers had never even heard of mirages, let alone seen such a sight, and they all immediately knelt down on the ground.
At this moment, the villagers all believed that the dragon was the incarnation of the river god. Their faces were not only devout but also flushed with excitement. It was clear that the villagers deeply believed in the river god, and now that the dragon had appeared, they immediately associated it with the river god.
The village head was still kowtowing, saying, "Greetings, Lord River God."
Upon hearing this, the dragon exhaled and said, "I am not a river god, you should get up first!"
The villagers were stunned. Not the river god? If not the river god, then what is it?
"I am the Dragon King, in charge of all the rain in the world. Besides, there is no river god in this river, only a long snake."
The villagers felt their brains weren't working properly at that moment.
At this moment, the dragon in mid-air continued, "Although I control the rain of the world, when it rains and for how long is predetermined. I only took away the dragon that brings rain. The world is vast, and I govern many places. Only now do I realize that you used living people to sacrifice a giant worm. That's why I came here to expose the worm's conspiracy. More than ten years ago, your area suffered a severe drought, which was within the normal course of fate. The reason it rained after the human sacrifice was because it was the time for rain. Even without the sacrifice, it would have rained as usual."
The Dragon King's words left the villagers somewhat bewildered. For over ten years, they had firmly believed in the River God, but now they were being told that it was all a lie, and that the so-called River God was just a stinking worm. This was hard for them to accept.
The village head was also a little stunned. He had many questions in his mind, but he didn't know where to start.
At this moment, a woman in the crowd suddenly cried out, "Your Majesty the Dragon King, I wonder if my daughter can ever return?"
This village woman is the mother of the goddess who was sacrificed three years ago. Although she was reluctant to be separated from her daughter, she didn't think it was a bad thing, as long as her daughter was alive. But now, after listening to the Dragon King's words, there is no river god, and only a stinking worm at the bottom of the river. So what about her daughter? Is she alive or dead?
The Dragon King said in a flat voice, "Of course they can't come back. Once they enter the water, there is no chance of survival."
As soon as the Dragon King finished speaking, the village woman couldn't help but let out another mournful wail, which made Youqing, who was standing at the back, feel a pang of sadness.
Besides this woman, there were many others in the crowd weeping. For over ten years, a sacrifice was held every three years. Now, there have been three or four women who have entered the water. Three or four means three or four families.
They are all blood relatives, and now that they know the truth, tears are streaming down their faces.
The Dragon King then said, "I will speak with Yama, the King of Hell, to ensure that they are reborn into wealthy families in their next life, where they will live a life free from want, with peace and joy."
With the Dragon King's words, these people at least found some comfort.
Then the Dragon King suddenly stood up, and everyone saw a black worm about three feet long suddenly appear in the river. It looked extremely ugly and dark.
The villagers watched with resentment in their eyes.
The Dragon King swept his tail across the snake, and the snake fell into the water and disappeared.
"I have already dealt with the long worm. There is no need to perform any more sacrifices in the future. The more lives are lost in the water, the more likely it is to attract evil spirits."
“The Dragon King is right. We were wrong before.”
"Well, I have some other matters to attend to. You all should take care of yourselves. Remember to cultivate good thoughts and do good deeds, for this is the way to longevity."
After saying this, the Dragon King left.
Leaving everyone by the river, the village head's wife quickly called for people to untie her daughter. Yang Chunhua was terrified at this point and almost lost her life.
"Mom, I'm scared." After saying that, Yang Chunhua threw herself into her mother's arms, clearly terrified.
The village head's wife quickly hugged her daughter, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's all over now. Let's go home, let's go home with your mother."
Yang Chunhua cried in the arms of the village head's wife for a long time until she had vented her emotions. Then she came out, her legs still a little weak, and helped her mother stagger back home.
At this moment, the entire village was in a daze. Did they really see the Dragon King?
The Dragon King appears to be very tall and majestic.
A myriad of emotions welled up inside them, making them feel as if they had been drinking fake alcohol.
That noon, the village head's family ate lunch unusually late, but Youqing and the others didn't seem to mind.
After lunch, the village head's family couldn't care less about the outsiders. The appearance of the Dragon King was a huge event, and their daughter had just returned from the brink of death, so they were all very nervous.
I felt a mix of frustration and relief.
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