"Human sacrifice?!"
Han Zhan recoiled at what he heard, as if reacting to a tactical maneuver.
Goodness, this is quite the uncanny coincidence, isn’t it?
An event where humans are used for offerings is what’s called a human sacrifice. Does this mean that the meal they just ate was what people refer to as a "last meal"?!
"Is it still possible to leave now?" Han Zhan couldn’t help but ask.
Tong Yi cast a deep, mysterious glance at him.
"Unless you want to be hunted down by the Star Officials."
Han Zhan looked up again at the Star Officials, who resembled the aliens of Sanxingdui in appearance, assessing in his mind the likelihood of successfully escaping.
Given his current abilities, the chances were not entirely nonexistent, but they were exceedingly small.
At this moment, Tong Er spoke up to reassure him, "Don’t worry, it’ll be fine."
"It’s just a human sacrifice, nothing too serious."
His tone was light, as if saying it was just a life, something as ordinary as eating or drinking water, nothing significant.
Hearing this, Han Zhan again recoiled as if reacting to a tactical maneuver.
Han Zhan observed the others nearby who were talking and laughing, clearly showing no concern over the so-called human sacrifice.
Could it be that his understanding was flawed, and here, the human sacrifice was different from what he imagined?
While Han Zhan was still conversing with the two young boys, the Star Officials began selecting among the crowd again.
A towering figure, a full three meters tall, appeared slender like a gigantic chopstick, seemingly blown over by the wind.
The Star Official’s eyes emitted beams of light that resembled searchlights, casting over the crowd.
As these beams illuminated the people, those who met the criteria for the human sacrifice would uncontrollably fly out from the crowd and be sent to the altar.
The scene looked much like dumplings being thrown into a pot.
"It is the special Ability of the Star Officials, called ’Qi Watching’. Only those who meet the criteria can participate in this human sacrifice event."
Tong Yi continued to explain to Han Zhan, as the beams of light shot directly toward the area where they were.
The next second, the two boys next to Han Zhan suddenly soared into the sky!
Han Zhan instinctively reached out to grab them, but unexpectedly, Tong Yi and Tong Er only smiled with delight and shook their heads at Han Zhan.
Tong Yi and Tong Er were selected by the Star Officials, descending towards the altar.
The starlight searchlight lingered over them for a while longer, then finally moved on.
Han Zhan wasn’t selected, and he could only wait quietly with the other observers for the human sacrifice to commence.
The selection process was not lengthy,
About an hour later, the selection by the Star Officials was thoroughly completed.
On the high altar, blazing fires were lit, illuminating those people chosen on the altar.
The ten Star Officials moved to their designated positions one by one, arranging their hands in peculiar gestures in front of their chests.
The human sacrifice ceremony officially began.
As the ten Star Officials continued their actions, the once dark sky appeared to distort and pulsate with a dark mass that evoked a sense of unease.
Their ceremony resembled more of a summoning act.
Soon, the writhing darkness above the altar intensified, with something emerging, eventually taking form.
It was a gigantic mouth!
It grinned widely, revealing its grim teeth.
Then, under Han Zhan’s horrified gaze, it slowly descended toward the altar.
The ten Star Officials faced the altar, kneeled on one knee, raising their hands to the sky in a gesture of embrace and welcome.
In this moment, the crowd of observers erupted in cheers and shouts.
Then.
It took a bite.
Everyone on the altar, including Tong Yi and Tong Er, was consumed by this summoned mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of bones breaking and flesh being chewed echoed from the sky, sending chills down Han Zhan’s spine.
Copious amounts of blood splattered down, staining the entire altar bright red.
Simultaneously, the ten Star Officials radiated even more intense starlight than before, surrounding the altar and casting it into brilliance.
Unlike the other spectators, Han Zhan stood stunned by the scene.
He hadn’t guessed wrong or misunderstood.
A human sacrifice is a human sacrifice, just in a different form.
Around a thousand people on the altar were swallowed whole by the sky’s mouth-shaped creature.
This human sacrifice was even more brutal and bloody than he had imagined!
How long this process lasted was uncertain.
Until the light on the Star Officials faded, and the mouth in the sky opened again, dropping masses of bloody and mangled remains onto the altar, rolling down the altar steps.
Han Zhan even spotted Tong Yi’s head.
Half of his face had been chewed off, yet seemed to still hold a smile.
But now, that smile looked truly terrifying.
All were dead.
This was a human sacrifice.
As if predicting such an outcome, the other spectators did not show any surprise.
They began turning silently, holding candles in their hands, walking away.
Meanwhile, several donkey carts emerged from the surrounding alleys, picking up the remains from the ground.
Han Zhan finally looked away and sighed deeply.
He was powerless to stop the human sacrifice or save the two young boys, leaving them to die helplessly.
Rest in peace... Han Zhan thought silently, as he walked back to where he had come from with the crowd.
Back at the residence.
With Tong Yi and Tong Er’s death, the task of feeding the chickens fell naturally to Han Zhan.
No time to mourn their deaths, Han Zhan plunged into work promptly.
The daytime passed by in a flash.
At night, Han Zhan, not opting for those burning coals, went straight to his room to lie down.
After the day’s events and exertion, exhausted, he soon fell asleep.
This time there were no dreams nor visions of conquering lords, only the faces of Tong Yi and Tong Er, still vividly clear in his mind.
"Ji Fa!"
"Ji Fa!"
"Get up quickly, it’s time to work, Ji Fa!"
Indeed... Han Zhan groggily shook his head and got up from the straw bed.
"Got it, got it—"
He hadn’t even finished speaking when he was suddenly taken aback, breaking out in a cold sweat.
No!
Hadn’t Tong Yi and Tong Er already died?!
They died yesterday in that giant mouth in the sky, which I saw with my own eyes.
Why did they appear before me again?!
Why are they still alive?!
Realizing this, Han Zhan became fully awake, almost instinctively about to punch these "people" in their faces.
But Tong Yi’s next words halted his impulse.
"Ji Fa, see, I wasn’t lying to you, right?"
"It’s just a human sacrifice, no need to be so anxious. Look at me and Tong Er, we’ve even received the Star Officials’ blessing, heh heh!"
Seeing Tong Yi’s smug face, a look of shock flashed across Han Zhan’s face.
"You... you both... are not dead?!"
How... is this possible!
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