Chapter 140 Sacrifice

Chapter 140: Sacrifice

The Chen family did not have many servants. Not to mention comparing with the big families in the capital, even the local gentry in Song Tingzhou's hometown of Quanshui Town had three times as many servants as the Chens.

Outside the courtyard, you could hear people passing by, searching for someone, but they did not enter each house to look. Of course, it might also be due to some special reason that made them confident Meng Wan could not leave the town.

After resting for one night, although Meng Wan still appeared a bit worn out, he had at least recovered some energy. Qing Xing took his pulse again. "Husband, it would be best to rest another day today. You shouldn't be traveling."

Meng Wan withdrew his cool wrist back into his sleeve. "I understand. Let's rest here for another day and think of a way to leave the town tomorrow morning."

Seeing that Wang Mama was going to the kitchen to light the fire and cook, Qing Xing went to help as well.

After a while, the aroma of rice wafted over, and everyone in the room felt hungry. Qing Xing brought over two bowls of thick rice porridge and handed one to Meng Wan.

Even though he was hungry, Meng Wan still ate his porridge slowly and elegantly, his refined behavior catching the attention of the youngest and most impatient Min Geer, who kept sneaking glances at him.

Last night it was dark, and no one dared to light a lamp. Only this morning did they get a clear look at each other. Meng Wan was exceptionally good-looking, a stark contrast to the vicious, hostage-taking person he was the night before. Even Chu Yujing couldn't help but glance at him a few times, then gently touched the unhealed wound on his neck.

Qing Xing returned after clearing away the bowls and chopsticks and noticed this. She took out a small bundle from her bosom, containing packets of medicinal powder wrapped in paper. She opened one and handed it to Chu Yujing. "Apply this."

Chu Yujing, sitting on the straw pile on the ground, looked up at her and softly said, "Thank you." Although he was over ten years older than Meng Wan and Qing Xing, his features were attractive, gentle and refined, making him easy to like.

Wang Mama also brought over two bowls of porridge, offering them to Chu Yujing and Min Geer. "Young master, please have something to eat."

But Chu Yujing did not take them; instead, he got up with Min Geer. "We'll go eat in the kitchen ourselves. It's too much trouble to carry them back and forth."

Wang Mama stood there awkwardly holding the two bowls of porridge, sighed, and sat down at the table to drink her own.

In between sips of his porridge, Meng Wan watched Chu Yujing's retreating figure, raising an eyebrow slightly.

This master and servant lived in the same town but were unaware of each other's existence—at least, not publicly. Now, by a twist of fate, they had reunited, but the atmosphere was unusual, as if there were some other barrier driving the former master and servant further apart.

"Wang Mama, you said yesterday that the other townspeople would also trick people into the town. Why is that?" They had no carriage, and the road back to the estate was not short. With Meng Wan's current health, he couldn't travel far, so they had to find another way. Since they couldn't leave today anyway, Meng Wan decided to pump Wang Mama for information.

Wang Mama put down her bowl, the furrows on her brow deepening. "There has always been a legend about the mountain god in Pingshi Town. In the past, people would only offer livestock at the foot of the mountain during festivals. But I don't remember which year it started—suddenly, someone died every month in the town, whole families dying one after another. Everyone was terrified."

After finishing his meal, Meng Wan lay contentedly on the bed, pulling the blanket up higher and placing his hands under it on his stomach. He asked, "Then why didn't they move away?"

Although in ancient times people were reluctant to leave their homeland, if entire families were dying, wouldn't it be better to leave rather than stay to be fed to the mountain god?

Wang Mama's loose, sagging skin drooped, twisting into a bitter shape. "Move? Why wouldn't they? But every time a family moved out, their bodies would be thrown back into town the next day, with terrible deaths. After one or two times, everyone was too afraid to run and just stayed meekly in the town."

Qing Xing returned from the kitchen and listened with Meng Wan as Wang Mama recounted the town's past.

People kept dying in the town, and no one knew if their own family would be next. Master Chen had the highest prestige in the town. He brought in a Taoist priest from somewhere, who said that someone had been killed in the town before, and vengeful spirits were taking revenge. He would summon the mountain demon to protect the town, but the mountain demon would demand tributes from the townspeople.

At first, the townspeople were skeptical, but after the Taoist performed the ritual, no one died in the town anymore. Everyone was overjoyed and became even more convinced of the Taoist's powers.

But the mountain demon's appetite grew. At first, it was grain and livestock; later, it was gold and silver. Gold and silver were never enough, so people started dying again.

To ensure their own safety, the townspeople began deceiving outsiders, especially those with money, whom they absolutely would not let go.

The wealth at home was enough to offer the mountain demon, and each household received plenty of gold and silver jewelry. Apart from exchanging some for grain with nearby villagers, they wore it all themselves.

Human greed knows no bounds. Money came so easily that it quickly fueled the townspeople's desires.

It seemed wasteful to offer gold and silver jewelry to a deity without desires, so the living people who stumbled into the town became the best sacrifices.

Meng Wan understood. No wonder the town had no productive activities or shops, but the clothes and jewelry of the wives and husbands were so varied and extravagant—they had all been robbed from the rich. He too had been seen as a fat sheep?

At noon, Qing Xing went to the kitchen to cook as usual. Wang Mama's house only had rice, some winter bamboo shoots, and turnips—no meat.

Qing Xing cooked a pot of porridge and stewed a bowl of turnips for Meng Wan. Wang Mama made a cabbage stew. The others shared the remaining porridge from the pot. But after the meal, they all collapsed.

"How much medicine did you put in?" Meng Wan asked Qing Xing, looking at the three people lying on the ground.

Qing Xing answered honestly, "I used the remaining half pot of tea. It should be enough to keep them asleep for eight to ten hours."

Chu Yujing and Wang Mama had already noticed his poor health. Qing Xing alone couldn't have stopped them, so it was better to knock them out first.

Meng Wan calculated and realized that the earliest they would wake up would be midnight. That was plenty of time for him to get a good night's sleep.

"Today is the fifteenth of the first month. There are pros and cons. If we handle it well, we can leave Pingshi Town. You've been tired all day, and you stayed up watching over me last night. Come and sleep too."

According to Wang Mama and Chu Yujing, on the monthly fifteenth, the day of the mountain god sacrifice, the villagers would not dare to leave their homes easily.

Once the sacrifice was complete and the mountain demon had eaten its fill and left, that would be their opportunity to go out and find a way to escape. The most important thing now was to conserve their strength.

Qing Xing nodded. She was indeed tired and sleepy, but seeing the old, weak, and young lying all over the floor, she still moved them one by one onto the straw mats and covered them with blankets before lying down on the bed. To avoid crowding Meng Wan, she curled up at the edge.

Meng Wan placed his hands over his lower abdomen. In a strange land, among deceitful people, with no loved ones nearby and no one to confide in, it should have been hard to sleep.

But perhaps because he was pregnant, since yesterday he had inexplicably felt like he couldn't sleep enough. Just a few moments after closing his eyes, he unconsciously fell into a deep sleep.

He slept soundly, and if Qing Xing hadn't gently shaken him awake, he might not have woken up.

He struggled to open his eyes. Before his vision adjusted to the darkness, a faint, eerie sound reached his ears. The sound grew clearer, as if it were coming from the main street not far away.

"Hmm... What's that sound?" Meng Wan forced himself to sit up halfway, leaning against the headboard to steady himself.

Qing Xing said softly, "I woke up because of the sound too. How do you feel, husband?"

Meng Wan rubbed his temples, his voice low and hoarse. "I haven't slept enough. I still feel drowsy."

Qing Xing took his pulse and found that after a day of rest, his pulse was much steadier. She felt a little relieved. "Don't worry, husband. This is normal. When we get back, I'll brew some herbal medicine for you to take for a few days, and you'll be fine."

"That's good to know." Meng Wan also breathed a sigh of relief.

As they were talking, Min Geer on the straw mat stirred. Perhaps because children have smaller appetites and faster metabolisms, he was the first to wake up.

"Huh? When did I fall asleep? I don't remember." He sat up from the bedding, looking around at the pitch-black darkness, momentarily forgetting where he was.

Meng Wan and Qing Xing didn't speak. Min Geer sat there for a while, listening to the eerie sound outside. Frightened, he pushed Chu Yujing beside him.

"Little uncle, wake up."

After a few pushes, Chu Yujing woke up. "What's wrong?"

Then he realized something was off and said to the two by the bed, "It was you..." He didn't finish. The girl among them was one thing, but the young man was clearly a decisive and forceful person. It was pointless to ask. There were only a few people in the room; it must have been his order to the maid.

Wang Mama, being older, was probably more deeply affected by the medicine and hadn't woken up.

The four of them sat in the dark as the sound outside grew closer. Suddenly, Meng Wan said, "Qing Xing, let's go to the yard and have a look."

"Yes, husband." Qing Xing helped him out of bed. Without paying any attention to Chu Yujing and Min Geer, they went straight out of the room and into the yard.

Chu Yujing suddenly warned, "Don't let the mountain demon see you. It can leap over walls."

Even without his warning, Meng Wan knew that, but he still acknowledged the kindness with a "Thank you."

After stepping out of the house, the sound of drums and gongs was even louder. Qing Xing first climbed onto the top of the wall to look, but couldn't see the source of the sound, so she jumped down and said to Meng Wan, "Husband, it seems to be two streets away. The houses in front are blocking our view."

The house in front of Wang Mama's happened to be a two-story shop.

Meng Wan made a prompt decision and said, "Let's move forward and find a shop that faces the street."

The main street had few shops and many residential houses, so no one would be staying in the shops at night. They would be convenient for hiding, though it might be difficult to get in. But since no villagers dared to come out tonight, they could take their time to figure out a way.

It was almost midnight. They crept out quietly, walked along the alley toward the direction of the sound, and indeed found the road leading to the main street.