"Alas! Alright! Xiuxiu, watch closely, I'll definitely catch this black monkey... Ouch, I'm going to fall to my death."
Encouraged by Xiuxiu, Lin Shuainan became even more spirited. However, in his haste to vault over the courtyard wall, he leaped into a pigsty and crawled out covered in stench.
This only fueled Lin Shuainan's rage. He frantically chased after the lean, dark boy ahead, who was cackling mockingly at him.
Meanwhile, Ling Feng stared intently at Lin Shuainan, his gaze also sweeping over the villagers milling about in the two surrounding hamlets.
Seeing Ling Feng's focused demeanor, Ji Yunyue's beautiful eyes lit up.
Ling Feng must have discovered a clue.
Ji Yunyue also fixed her gaze, and Guan Ya and the other two followed suit, completely engrossed in their observation.
Only Xiuxiu looked utterly bewildered, resting her small head on her hand with a bored expression as she watched Lin Shuainan below. She huffed, "Hmph, what's so interesting about a傻子 (shǎzi - fool)!"
Despite calling Lin Shuainan a fool, seeing him being watched by so many people like a performing monkey made Xiuxiu feel a pang of sourness and unease.
In eight minutes, Lin Shuainan had run back and forth through three villages, disrupting the flow of people several times!
As Lin Shuainan returned towards the vicinity of the Mountain God Temple, Ling Feng and Ji Yunyue spoke almost simultaneously, "Found it!"
Their voices held a hint of excitement.
Guan Ya and the others looked astonished and immediately pressed for details.
"What did you find?"
"Yes, what did you find? I've been watching for quite a while, and I've only just started to discern a pattern."
"There really is a pattern."
As they all spoke, Yang Fei also noticed something amiss.
Only Xiuxiu stared at them with confusion, as if listening to a foreign language.
Ling Feng and Ji Yunyue exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. Ji Yunyue then spoke first.
"Indeed, the movements of these people below, though seemingly chaotic, are all patterned. The progression of these patterns is very slow, but with prolonged observation, clues can certainly be obtained. For example, this area..."
Ji Yunyue gestured, outlining a specific area. The others followed her gaze.
"The number of people remains constant at three hundred and sixty, and their movement trajectories are all centered around an old millstone."
An old millstone?
Everyone remembered it, as it was a landmark in the village, appearing like an antique.
"It's true! They are indeed moving centered around that old millstone!" the mysterious girl exclaimed in surprise.
Guan Ya nodded repeatedly, his excitement evident.
Ji Yunyue didn't elaborate further but turned to look at Ling Feng.
Ling Feng nodded slightly.
Then, he casually picked up a tile and, with his fingernail, quickly sketched a bird's-eye view of the three villages. Subsequently, he rapidly marked twenty-four areas on it.
After careful comparison, everyone was astonished to find that the locations marked by Ling Feng were precisely the areas where the villagers were active.
"There are twenty-four areas in total! You managed to observe twenty-four areas so quickly?"
Ji Yunyue lost her usual composure, filled with astonishment.
She had only managed to identify two or three areas.
Yet, Ling Feng had pinpointed twenty-four areas in such a short time.
Such observational prowess was truly astonishing.
Ling Feng, however, remained indifferent, calmly stating in a low voice, "There are twenty-four areas in total, and I've marked the central points. After daybreak, focus your investigation on these locations. Furthermore, one thing can now be confirmed!"
"What is it?"
Everyone asked in unison.
Ling Feng's cold face grew even more somber as he enunciated each word, "It's a form of sacrificial ritual! A sacrificial ritual within the ancient Corpse Gu techniques!"
A sacrificial ritual?
This time, even Ji Yunyue and Guan Ya looked bewildered, clearly having never heard of it before.
Upon hearing these four words, the mysterious girl's pupils contracted sharply. She avoided Ling Feng's gaze and looked at the villagers' movement patterns.
"How could this be... a sacrificial ritual, could it be that they are summoning something?"
The mysterious girl thought to herself.
Ling Feng, not noticing the mysterious girl's change in expression, continued to explain to the group.
"Sacrificial rituals are for the dead! These villagers are not controlled by Gu worms, but by this form of witchcraft."
As Ling Feng finished, everyone felt the atmosphere around them grow increasingly eerie.
Xiuxiu's hair stood on end, and she shivered uncontrollably.
"Controlled by witchcraft, that's right. I had also speculated that before, but who or what dead person are they actually sacrificing to? And what will be the outcome of these sacrifices?"
Ji Yunyue was filled with questions.
Ling Feng shook his head with a chilling expression, "It's not that they are sacrificing *to* someone, but rather, they *are* the sacrifice!"
*Hiss!*
Everyone involuntarily gasped.
Ji Yunyue's beautiful eyes widened in horror as she looked at the sleepwalking villagers.
"You mean... these people are actually the offerings!"
At this, the sense of unease surrounding them intensified, as if a chilling wind were blowing from behind.
Using living people as sacrifices, and thousands of people from three villages at that.
To whom was such a sacrificial ritual being performed?
And what kind of existence was controlling everything behind the scenes, possessing such inhuman methods?
"That's right, they are the sacrifices, and also part of the sacrificial ritual. Through their offering, their life force will be attributed to the person being sacrificed, or perhaps to a corpse, or even some artifact! These still need further investigation!"
Ling Feng took a deep breath and, with Xiuxiu, floated down in front of the Mountain God Temple.
The others followed suit.
Now that some progress had been made, the revelation of the eerie truth behind it all only sent a deeper chill through their hearts.
Their opponent was undoubtedly not to be underestimated.
*Thump!*
Suddenly, a falling sound was heard, followed by Lin Shuainan's wild laughter: "Haha, finally caught you, black monkey, for running, for running..."
The group's thoughts were jolted back to the present. Seeing Lin Shuainan triumphantly riding on the back of a lean, dark youth, everyone couldn't help but roll their eyes.
Damn it, an idiot!
Yet, it was precisely this seemingly idiotic Lin Shuainan who, whenever they were at a standstill, would point them towards a path forward.
The great Lin Shuainan!