Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 349 - 18: Sacrificial Ceremony (Part 2)

On the street, many town residents were bustling about, even livelier than when he had just arrived in Maoyun Town.

"The sky... is about to brighten..." the ghostly woman floated over slowly, speaking eerily.

"About to brighten? Are you joking?" Sun Hang said, but instinctively turned his head to the east.

A faint light on the horizon flickered and vanished, like the sun sneakily poking out its head when Eternal Night wasn’t watching, only to be quickly pushed back down.

"What a dawn, such empty dawn." Sun Hang quipped.

"Today... is... an important day..." the ghostly woman continued, "once a month..."

"The monthly sacrificial ceremony, right." Sun Hang interrupted, "Let me finish for you, it’s really taxing listening to you talk."

"...Yes."

"Does the sacrificial ceremony start at dawn?"

"Yes."

"Where is it held?"

"At... at the... stage in town..."

"Where’s the stage?" Sun Hang asked, then slapped his forehead and pointed outside, "You there, lead the way and get to it."

The ghost gave Sun Hang a glance with its nonexistent eyes, then cautiously floated past his side.

"So you can leave this courtyard, huh? I thought you were the earth-bound spirit type." Sun Hang muttered.

"...Can leave... the courtyard, but... everyone... cannot... leave Maoyun Town..."

"What happens if you leave? Do you die?" Sun Hang asked curiously.

"...Cannot... leave." The ghostly woman repeated the phrase again.

"Forget it, I won’t ask anymore." Sun Hang said, a bit frustrated, "Let’s just hurry to the stage."

The ghostly woman led Sun Hang down the street, where they encountered townsfolk converging, all heading in the same direction, their steps hurried, expressions tense—Sun Hang presumed they were off to participate in the so-called "sacrificial ceremony."

According to the little girl’s claim, the mayor would bless the "meat" during the sacrificial ceremony, making it food that the townsfolk could "enjoy"—and the food blessed at the previous sacrificial ceremony was soon to exceed its "shelf life."

For the residents, whether they could get food today would determine their "quality of life" for the next month—although the things they ate would leak out from the big hole, having something to chew was still better than swallowing saliva.

Furthermore, Sun Hang speculated that this hunger was likely not a physical response but a psychological and cognitive concept. For them, even if the food didn’t truly fill their stomachs, as long as there was the process of eating, the feeling of hunger might be relieved somewhat.

The ghost led Sun Hang over a stone bridge, the street ahead becoming narrower, and the number of townsfolk gathering from all directions only increased—the crowd suddenly became congested. As quite a few townspeople brushed past Sun Hang, he could even smell the rotten stench emanating from their bodies.

Not all townsfolk were dressed like normal humans—some, like the shopkeeper, were a mass of shadow barely distinguishable as humanoid; others were covered in yellow talismans like thousand-year-old zombies from old movies; others still were naked, covered with festering scabs, yet curiously used a wooden bucket to cover their head, obscuring their appearance.

To summarize with an eight-word saying, it was "a dance of demons, a parade of ghosts at night."

Oh no, it shouldn’t be a parade of ghosts at night; it should be a parade of spirits by day.

Sun Hang glanced up at the pitch-black night sky, and the round moon still hanging high—saying it was night wasn’t entirely wrong.

"How much farther?" Sun Hang asked the ghostly woman.

"Just... ahead..."

The Maoyun Town stage was erected in a small square at the town center, now filled with townsfolk coming for the ceremonial sacrifice. Sun Hang and the ghost of the Zhou Family could only find an inconspicuous spot to stand in the corner of the square—thankfully, Sun Hang’s eyesight was decent, and though he was nearly a hundred meters away, he could still clearly see what was on the stage.

A "host" was performing a strange dance on stage... he was called a "host" because his attire was such a bizarre mix that Sun Hang couldn’t quite determine his origins.

This "host" wore a washed-out Taoist robe, yet on his bald head were six round burn marks; not only that, but on his face, he wore a Nuo Opera Mask bearing a fierce countenance.

The host’s right hand held a feather fan often seen in historical dramas about Zhuge Kongming, while his left hand held a scalpel between his fingers.

On his feet were wooden clogs that clacked in time with his strange dance, creating a rhythm that seemed to accompany his performance.

"What is this, the best of many worlds?" Sun Hang commented on the host’s outfit, struggling to critique it, "Seems like this guy’s understanding of trends is centuries ahead of Earth people."

The dance continued, while the townsfolk below watched intently—Sun Hang wasn’t sure whether they were engrossed in the dance or the prospect of the blessed food to come.

But he did notice some people drooling long strings of saliva, eagerly eyeing the host.

Surely they didn’t want to eat the host?

"Who’s the one dancing on stage? The mayor?" Although in Sun Hang’s mind, the old woman who gave him the bait and paper money was probably the most likely candidate, it didn’t stop him from asking anyway.

"No... not..." the ghostly woman murmured, "the mayor... won’t appear... in the sacrificial ceremony, the one on stage... is responsible... for the ceremony..."

"If the mayor won’t appear, how does he bestow blessings then?" Sun Hang impatiently interrupted the stammering ghost, "Are the blessings those that descend from the heavens?"

What kind of sub-spatial blessing is that? Sun Hang thought, if so, this town is far too disloyal.

"Just... just wait... and you’ll see..."

The ghostly woman hadn’t finished her sentence when a slick voice suddenly chimed in from the side.

"Hey, isn’t this the widow of the Zhou Family? Who’s the guy next to you? Your new lover? Doesn’t seem to have much meat on him either, did I not tell you, if you can’t stand the loneliness, come find your brother!"

Sun Hang followed the voice and saw someone "standing" upside down nearby—using his hands to support himself on the ground, legs held skyward, and the head hanging beneath twisted at an uncomfortable angle, eyes roving over the ghostly woman and Sun Hang.

"No, buddy..." Sun Hang squatted, leveling his gaze with the other’s, "You must be really hungry, huh? Even a tangle of hair won’t escape you?"

"You don’t know, the young widow of the Zhou Family, back in the day, she was something special!" The upside-down person smacked his lips, "Oh no, you must know her, or you wouldn’t become this widow’s lover... wait, who are you? Why have I never seen you in town? You’re an outsider? The Zhou Family widow found an outsider as a lover?! How hilarious is that!"

"Buddy, let me ask, why are you always upside down, isn’t it tiring?" Sun Hang asked.

"You idiot, by being upside down, the food I eat won’t leak out from the hole!" He opened his mouth, releasing an unbearable stench.

Sun Hang saw inside his throat a lump of maggot-ridden rot... the piece of meat incessantly wriggling.