The High Priest was holding a torch and tossing it towards a pile of dry grass.
The moment the fire touched the dry grass, flames erupted, and the grass burned fiercely.
The High Priest turned back with a solemn expression, looking at the kneeling crowd: "The ritual begins, everyone rise."
The villagers slowly got to their feet one by one.
They cowered to the side, trembling with fear.
The young girls lowered their heads, afraid of being noticed by the High Priest.
"Why are you all hanging your heads? Do you wish to offend the gods?"
The High Priest grumbled with displeasure: "Whoever dares to hang their head, I will choose them to be the god's new bride!"
At these words, the girls who had been hanging their heads frantically looked up, terrified of being chosen.
The High Priest's gaze meticulously scanned the crowd. He raised his hand slightly, and a small ball of light shot from his fingertips.
The light continued to move towards the young girls.
The girl chosen by the ball of light was invited to the altar.
"No!"
"Don't choose me! I've been sickly since birth, I can't serve the god!"
The chosen girl collapsed on the ground, pleading desperately, tears streaming down her face.
The girl's family immediately wailed, but they could do nothing to stop it. They could only weep in anguish.
The other girls felt relieved yet remained on edge.
Because next month, the High Priest would again select a bride.
They could only hope to survive this month safely.
Facing the girl's tearful cries, the High Priest remained unmoved. He spread his arms and roared at the sky: "God, if you are pleased with the maiden before you, then send rain to extinguish the fire on the altar!"
Rumble!
Lightning flashed across the sky, emitting a dull sound.
In just a moment, rain began to fall from the sky, extinguishing the fire.
After the dry grass stopped burning, the rain ceased.
The girl on the altar wept uncontrollably, begging, "High Priest, please plead with the god for me! I am frail and sickly, crude and ill-tempered, I am truly unsuitable!"
The priest looked down from above, his icy gaze slowly falling upon the girl: "The god is pleased with you. Return and prepare yourself. Someone will come to escort you in seven days."
"No! I don't want to!"
"I would rather die than marry the god!"
With those words, the girl, driven by desperation, lunged towards a nearby pillar.
The priest stood still, looking at the girl with a hint of disdain. With a slight movement, a surge of spiritual energy swiftly struck the girl.
Bang!
The girl's entire body slammed onto the ground.
Her suicide attempt failed, and she sobbed in pain, shaking her head desperately as if lamenting her inability even to die.
The priest clicked his tongue and eyed her: "Little girl, your life is not your own to control. You should wait for your wedding with peace of mind. If you refuse to marry, then the entire village will be buried with you!"
With that threat, the priest swaggered away.
Only after the priest's figure completely disappeared from sight did the villagers erupt. The girl's parents rushed onto the altar!
"Chen Yi, what are we to do! We specifically had you wear your ugliest clothes today, how could you still be chosen?" Madam Chen sobbed, wiping away tears.
Father Chen gritted his teeth and rolled up his sleeves: "Chen Yi, you cannot marry! Your father will risk his life to protect you! Even if it means defying the heavens!"
"That won't do!"
The village chief walked out from the crowd and quickly intervened: "Our Chenjia Village has already lost nearly a hundred girls, and only then has Chenjia Village remained peaceful. If Chen Yi dies, our Chenjia Village will be annihilated because of it! You should let her marry. I married off my own daughter."
"Yes, for the sake of peace, there's no other way. Which of the chosen girls wanted to marry? But in the end, didn't they all marry willingly?"
"Many of us have already lost daughters to protect the peace of the entire village! We will all remember your daughter's sacrifice!"
The villagers chattered amongst themselves.
The village chief helped Chen Yi, who was kneeling on the ground: "My child, I know you are unwilling, but how many of the girls lost from Chenjia Village were willing?
Chen Yi's face was downcast, and she remained silent, tears streaming down her face.
The village chief patted her hand kindly, persuading her: "Child, our Chenjia Village is under a curse. Even if you are unwilling, you must marry. Otherwise, your parents won't survive...
Your brother has been bedridden with illness for years. I will immediately send someone to find the best doctor for your brother, and send a few old hens. Your family can have a good meal..."
Chen Yi bit her lip tightly, as if enduring something.
Thump!
As if she had made up her mind, she knelt before the village chief: "Village Chief, I will marry! I hope you can take good care of my parents and find a good doctor for my brother!"
Her family was poor; they couldn't even afford an old hen for the entire year.
The chickens and ducks they raised were all for sale.
The village chief had always treated the girls chosen to marry the god well.
Seeing that she had come to terms with it, the village chief showed a look of relief and gently patted her back: "Don't worry, I will treat your family well!"
Madam Chen rushed forward and hugged Chen Yi tightly, muttering, "Xiao Yi, it's my fault, I couldn't protect you... If only I had given birth to a son back then, none of this would have happened..."
Father Chen was furious but had nowhere to vent his anger, so he kept pounding his chest.
The village chief quickly stopped Father Chen: "Chen Zhengde, don't hurt yourself! This whole family depends on you for support..."
In a quiet, long alleyway.
"Outrageous!"
Bai Niannian could not suppress her anger, her face flushed with fury: "Master, that bitch of a High Priest hasn't gone far, I'll go after her now!"
Before she could take a step, Feng Ninghe stopped her: "Niannian, that priest is just putting on a show. He hasn't revealed his cultivation, so it's not wise to act rashly. There's still some time before the wedding, we have a chance to save her."
Bai Niannian reluctantly curbed her anger, still muttering: "Marriage has always been about mutual consent, but now they're forcibly abducting women. I wish I could tear this charlatan priest to pieces!"
The woman sighed and leaned against the wall helplessly: "Even they have fallen into trouble this time."
Everyone was consumed by their anger, and no one noticed that A Xi had disappeared...
"Master, what should we do now?"
Feng Xing looked up at Feng Ninghe, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
Feng Ninghe slightly lowered her gaze and looked at the woman: "Could you take us to that girl's home?"
The woman nodded without hesitation: "Chen Zhengde's house is close to mine, it's no problem to take you there. It's just that it might be awkward for so many of us to show up unannounced..."
Understanding the woman's concern, Feng Ninghe smiled it away, her clear eyes showing a hint of fearlessness: "It's not right to show up unannounced without reason, but I'm going there to solve their problems, so they won't refuse."