Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The target of Ling Tian Platform was not Zhuang Youli.

In the snow, he who had fallen scrambled to his feet, failing several times before finally mustering all his strength to mount his horse.

At this moment, his whole body was trembling, and he hardly had the strength to grip the reins.

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid..." he muttered to himself unsteadily, while tightly holding the reins, heading towards his home in the opposite direction of the official road.

Cold and fear combined, Zhuang Youli’s teeth chattered uncontrollably as he spoke, looking utterly disheveled.

The frightened horse neighed and left a trail of uneven footprints in the snow, heading towards Zhao Du.

……

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

"Mother, it's here!" Zhuang Youli struggled to catch his breath, his breath visible in the cold air, "The group that took Ah Xun dragged him into this forest!" As he spoke, he trembled and wiped away his tears.

Zhuang Youli had sought help from his parents as soon as he got home.

At this time, Zhuang Yue hadn't finished his official duties and was not home yet; only his mother, along with several family clerks, hurried over.

On another red horse, Zhuang Youli's mother, Bi Kejun, frowned at him, "Enough, stop crying!"

Zhuang Youli immediately stopped sobbing and closed his mouth, "Yes, mother."

Bi Kejun was petite but showed no sign of weakness.

She was decisive in her actions and speech. Seeing the scene before her, she immediately turned and instructed, "I'll lead some people to follow the horse tracks into the woods. If we delay any longer, the tracks will disappear. You stay here and inform anyone who comes where I've gone!"

In the past hundred years, amidst the constant wars in the Great Zhou lands, a special group known as "women accompanying the army" emerged.

They mainly handled sewing military uniforms and logistics support, and sometimes even participated in battles temporarily.

The first half of Bi Kejun's life was spent in this manner.

The family clerks with her immediately responded, "Yes, madam!"

They followed closely behind Bi Kejun, quickly tracing the horse tracks deeper into the forest.

-

Unbeknownst to them, the snowfall was getting heavier.

The cold pierced through the skin and into the blood, as if freezing the heart itself.

The thick stench of blood mixed with rot created an overwhelmingly nauseating smell.

Stimulated by this odor, Jiang Yuxun, suppressing the pain in his abdomen, slowly opened his eyes.

"…Cough, cough, cough."

His vision was murky, only a clay lamp about two meters away provided some light.

Besides the dark-colored platform in front of him, nothing else was illuminated.

Jiang Yuxun tried to move his hand, and instantly, a faint clinking sound of chains came from his left side.

It seemed he was chained to the platform.

He took a deep breath and painfully covered the wounded area with his right hand.

At this moment, lying prone on the ground, Jiang Yuxun's ear was pressed against the platform.

The distant and noisy clamor faintly traveled through the ground to his ears.

"...If he gets into trouble now, everyone will know we did it," Shang You's voice was particularly cold.

As the voice faded, someone couldn't help but laugh, "So what? When has Ling Tian Platform ever needed to care about such matters?"

"The man is already on the sacrificial altar; there's no reason to let him go now."

The fur coat that Jiang Yuxun had been wearing had slipped off his shoulders in the chaos.

Perhaps because of the cold, he felt dizzy and groggy.

...Sacrificial altar?

Hearing this, Jiang Yuxun suddenly became alert.

He instinctively touched the platform beneath his hand, feeling its cold and sticky texture, which immediately sent shivers up his fingers.

Damn it, seriously?!

Ling Tian Platform left no historical records behind.

As a modern-day person, Jiang Yuxun initially knew very little about it.

Only after being transported to this era did he hastily learn more about it.

Ling Tian Platform had no doctrines, resembling more a primitive, utilitarian shamanistic group than a “religion” of later times.

And the “sacrificial altar” was the most important site for rituals within Ling Tian Platform.

...The sticky sensation under my hand must be the dried blood on the sacrificial altar.

Jiang Yuxun: !!!

Just moments ago, barely hanging on, he now sat up straight with a jolt.

I think I can still hold on for a while!

The next second, another voice came from afar: "...Besides, we still need him for the Grand Diviner's sacrificial burial!" The speaker was extremely agitated.

So, that's it.

Jiang Yuxun instantly understood.

No wonder the people of Ling Tian Platform, despite hating me to the bone, did not kill me on the official road right away!

In this era, human sacrifices for burial rituals were first subjected to torture and maltreatment, going through a relatively fixed set of ritual processes.

They absolutely couldn’t be killed off hastily.

Jiang Yuxun should have been afraid, but after hearing their conversation, he instead felt a sigh of relief.

Silently in his heart...