Someone in the crowd whispered something, causing the originally heated quarrel to come to an abrupt end.
"This is absolutely impossible!"
One Taoist slapped the table, his face full of anger.
"As humans, how can we sacrifice our own species to monsters?"
"What's the difference between acting like this and a demon!"
Soon, the previous voices echoed again and echoed in the room.
"If you don't do this, do you have any other ways to eliminate the monster within ten days?"
"If we can't do it, let alone our lives, even the soldiers who came back from Goguryeo will be killed or injured."
"So what?"
When the Taoist heard this, he just shook his head stubbornly and said, "Even so, human sacrifice should not be used."
The whole scene was extremely strange. Except for the two people who spoke, the other Taoist priests, including Cheng Xuanying, seemed to have turned into wood carvings and clay sculptures, and they were all silent.
Jiang Qi's eyes widened, trying to see clearly the person who spoke before, but he only saw a blurry side face.
Can't help but be a little disappointed!
He really wanted to see which shameless old guy actually proposed to be sacrificed alive.
When the time comes, painting his face will make him infamy for thousands of years. If his identity can't be found based on the portrait, it would be good to give his descendants a good beating.
"Okay, I've already taken care of this!"
After the two argued again, Cheng Xuanying, who had been closing his eyes to rest his mind, finally opened his eyes and spoke slowly.
"Just follow Xuan Jin's words and prepare a living sacrifice."
"Ma'am, this is absolutely impossible!"
The Taoist's face was full of anger and sadness.
"I know this is not feasible, but now there is no other way. I can only wait for the army to survive safely, and then find a way to kill the monster."
"As for me, all the sins are on me and have nothing to do with you."
Cheng Xuanying sighed heavily and closed his eyes again.
As the sound gradually faded, the picture in front of Jiang Qi also jumped. Along with the sound of the waves, Jiang Qi saw Cheng Xuanying again.
The ceremony spread out like a mural, but when he caught the boy and girl in the ceremony, Jiang Qi's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of a needle's eye.
The boy and girl had pale faces and dull eyes. They were living beings that were as unique as little treasures.
"Does the so-called sacrifice actually refer to a living person?"
Jiang Qi knew for the first time that the so-called sacrifice of boys and girls was not a living person, but a human being.
Cheng Xuanying held a talisman token and recited the mantra.
"On your orders to patrol, all the spirits will point their fingers!"
As Cheng Xuanying's words spread, the originally choppy water suddenly became calm.
A ferocious figure appeared under the water, and with a roar, the entire scene suddenly shattered.
Jiang Qi's eyes were once again obscured by white light, and soon everything returned to normal.
Jiang Qi rubbed his sore forehead, and he felt dizzy, making him afraid to move.
After a long while, he finally regained his composure and let out a long breath.
"Is that a dragon?"
Jiang Qi's face was solemn, and his mind was filled with the image of the monster he last saw. Unfortunately, everything happened so fast that he couldn't see it clearly.
But no matter what, the harvest this time is definitely greater than before.
Standing up, Jiang Qi raised his hand and tore the wall apart, digging out the protruding part of the mural.
It turned out to be a bluestone slab about a foot wide, with a mottled surface. When you rub the surface with your hands, particles will fall off.
It was obviously an ancient relic, otherwise it wouldn't have led him to dream and see an ancient scene.
"But what's the connection?"
Jiang Qi is now certain that the Jiangyin River Divine Event is related to Cheng Xuanying, but what is the relationship between the two, he is still a little confused.
"Could it be the river god in Qianlong River..."
Thinking of the huge thing he saw in the previous picture, Jiang Qi also felt uneasy in his heart.
That's an extremely vicious thing.
Even Cheng Xuanying, who was the commander of the Taoist sect, couldn't do it back then, and I'm afraid he can't do it now.
At this moment, Xiao Mei hurried in from outside.
"Jiang Qi, no, Xiaobao is lost!"
Xiao Mei said anxiously.
When Jiang Qi heard this, his heart suddenly thumped, and he had bad thoughts.
"What's going on? Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on Xiaobao?"
Xiao Mei suddenly became hesitant, and after a while, she told what happened.
Jiang Qi was a little speechless when he heard this.
"Did you hear anything during this period? Or anything unusual?"
"No!"
Xiao Mei shook her head firmly.
"I have thought about this before and found nothing unusual. I checked inside the house every half hour and found that Xiaobao was missing around nine o'clock."
"A little after nine o'clock?"
Jiang Qi glanced around, and only by the brightness of the lights did he realize that it was already dark.
And he remembered that it was just after five o'clock when he came in, and three hours had passed unknowingly after he had just fallen asleep and observed it?
Wasn't this the case before?
Jiang Qi was slightly shocked.
But now was obviously not the time to think about these things, so he suppressed his thoughts forcefully and only focused on the matter in front of him.
If he had only sympathized with Xiaobao before, after watching the original scene of Xuanying's sacrifice, Jiang Qi already understood that Xiaobao was the real sacrifice.
I don’t know if the person who refined the living cave knew this.
"I have now mobilized the people in the village to search, but there is no news yet."
Xiao Mei continued to report the progress of the matter.
"The same goes for the old village chief. He went to the city at this time and hasn't come back yet. Otherwise, things wouldn't be so troublesome."
Thinking of all the mess she encountered today, Xiao Mei felt inexplicably irritated.
Jiang Qi paused, then suddenly turned his head and stared at Xiao Mei, "You just said that the old village chief is not here, right?"
"yes!"
Xiao Mei was startled by Jiang Qi's eyes and did not dare to tell the story without any concealment.
"When Xiaobao was lost earlier, I went to the old village chief first, but the villagers said he had gone to the city."
"As for what to do, I don't know!"
"So that's it."
Jiang Qi patted his forehead with some annoyance.
"Follow me. If my guess is correct, Xiaobao should be there."
Jiang Qi only said something hastily and walked out.
Xiao Mei was confused after hearing this, and stepped forward to ask questions several times. Jiang Qi remained silent, but his steps became faster and faster.
…
On the Qianlong River embankment, the place is brightly lit in the dark.
Many people shuttled through the dark night, carrying things like ants, and soon a high platform was erected on the seaside, with thirty-six long flags waving in the air, just like the scene in the mural.
In the corner, a man was kneeling on the ground holding the missing Xiaobao, kowtowing desperately.
In the dark night, men's cries sounded one after another, but they were ruthlessly blown away by the wind, leaving only a small space.
"Uncle Fu, I beg you, please let Xiaobao go!"
"He's still a kid!"
(End of chapter)
