I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 378 - 342: Sacrifice
While Wu Cheng was observing Xia Chan, Xia Chan was also observing Wu Cheng. She was curious why Wu Cheng’s clothes had no sleeves and why, even though she was a girl, her hair was so short?
Is it because she doesn’t eat well, so her hair can’t grow? Poor thing!
Sang Que had previously urged Xia Chan to speak less and ask fewer questions, so Xia Chan kept her curiosity and questions to herself.
"Can you find Sang Que’s location?" Wu Cheng asked.
Sang Que was her sister, as her sister had mentioned, and Xia Chan nodded.
"Then please lead the way, let’s go find her."
Xia Chan got up, stuck her head out cautiously, and walked out carefully.
As soon as she reached the courtyard, the various scents of hotpot, barbecue, and fried dishes in the air made Xia Chan feel dizzy and she couldn’t help but swallow, making a loud noise.
By the edge of the yard, a grill was set up with a cook roasting meat for the guests. Xia Chan couldn’t help but walk over, only to retreat again and slap her face.
"No, no, I must first find my sister. Little Chan must control herself, control!"
Gulp!
Xia Chan swallowed again, stiffened her body, and walked out quickly, not looking sideways, with her long sleeves flapping.
She hadn’t walked out a single street before Xia Chan was almost in tears. The entire area was filled with the fragrance of all sorts of delicious food, and the sizzling, fragrant street snacks all tempted her.
Xia Chan felt that this must be the ’Immortal Country’ of legend, and now she understood that her sister had always lived in such a good place.
Wretched sister!
With grievance, Xia Chan wiped her tears and continued walking.
Wu Cheng caught up and asked, "Why are you crying? Is something wrong with Sang Que?"
Xia Chan shook her head and wiped her tears, "No, my sister is probably sleeping now."
Xia Chan quickened her pace. She had attached her hair to Sang Que’s hair, and previously, she and Sang Que had tested it. Even with the Hidden Realm in between, she could sense the approximate location.
After leaving the village and reaching the mountain path, Xia Chan stopped. Her hair ends began to curl uncontrollably, feeling terror from something in the mountain.
At this moment, Wu Cheng heard something from the bushes beside her and immediately pulled out a tactical dagger from her waist.
"Who?"
"It’s me."
Zheng Xuan emerged from the bushes, wearing black tactical gear, and silhouettes of many others lurked in the surrounding woods.
As Zheng Xuan walked, he said, "Eight out of the twelve teams from the institute’s mobile unit have arrived, and your village will soon be taken over."
Wu Cheng was stunned and immediately turned to look at the village.
This location was relatively high, allowing a clear view of the entire village. As she turned to look, the once brightly lit village suddenly lost power, plunging into darkness.
Next, an alarm sounded. It was the warning alarm for flood and landslide evacuation during flood season that the villagers practiced every year. They knew to evacuate the village quickly to designated shelters when the alarm sounded.
From below the mountain came the sounds of chaos as people began to evacuate. In the darkness, many previously hidden individuals started surrounding them from all sides.
Zheng Xuan handed over a pair of handcuffs to Wu Cheng, eyes apologetic, "Sorry, it’s not that we doubt your loyalty to the country, but you know your village’s situation the best. The institute has researched your communal mental disorder, but the report has not been disclosed to you."
Wu Cheng looked incredulously at the handcuffs. Only now did she realize that if she had shown even a shred of hesitation or refusal when she received the call from above earlier, she would probably be facing a bullet now instead of handcuffs.
She had no idea what exactly the Wu Family Village had done wrong, but such a large-scale siege operation was something she had never encountered since joining the institute.
This indicated that the situation had escalated to a level threatening the entire country.
All because of Sang Que? What exactly is her origin? What lies behind the Wu Family Village?
Wu Cheng took a deep breath and obediently extended her hands, "About my parents..."
As Zheng Xuan cuffed Wu Cheng, he reassured her, "Rest assured, as long as the situation can be controlled and the villagers don’t riot or injure anyone, we will absolutely not harm a single person."
Wu Cheng nodded, looking at the uneasy Xia Chan, "Don’t be afraid. They are all good people who will accompany you to find Sang Que."
Xia Chan nodded. Her sister had explained this to her and shown her Zheng Xuan’s picture.
Zheng Xuan assigned Wu Cheng to a team member for temporary supervision, gestured tactically to the forest, and several teams in the woods scattered.
"Little girl, please lead the way."
Xia Chan curiously looked around for a while, saying nothing, and entered the mountain based on the direction sensed through her hair, with Zheng Xuan always by her side.
The mountain path was difficult to traverse, with twists and turns and crossing valleys. After walking for over an hour, Xia Chan stopped at the edge of a Deserted Forest. It retained the appearance of a primeval forest, desolate and uninhabited, with jagged rocks.
"It’s here!" Xia Chan declared confidently.
Zheng Xuan squinted, scanning the surroundings, finding no abnormalities and no secret entrance to any underground area or anything of the sort.
He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a deep inhale and exhaling swirling smoke. The smoke drifted evenly in all directions, without any specific direction.
"It might be within some sort of special Ghost Realm, and we cannot find any traces. We need some time to set up equipment."
"It’s okay, Little Chan has a way!"
Xia Chan removed the backpack she carried, taking out the embroidered shoes Sang Que had specifically left for her.
Back on the night Sang Que agreed to return with Wu Cheng, after getting home, Sang Que and Sang Wan had planned everything in her Ghost Realm, taking all possible scenarios into account.
Since the Witch of every generation couldn’t break away from the Wushi family’s control on their own, Sang Que wondered if the combined power of the entire country could crush the Wushi family.
Sang Que had made up her mind to officially reach out to the institute on this side; the time was now.
Without hesitation, Xia Chan put on the embroidered shoes, "Little Chan will go in to find her sister first. You try to follow, but if you can’t, it’s okay. Once Little Chan finds her sister, her sister will surely have a way to let you in."
Zheng Xuan, puzzled, looked at Xia Chan and then at her shoes. He just heard her mutter ’find sister’ and took a step forward, disappearing right in front of Zheng Xuan.
Zheng Xuan reached out and grasped the spot where Xia Chan had just stood, finding nothing.
In his shock, Zheng Xuan quickly contacted the surrounding teammates via his chest radio. Soon, four people carried two large black boxes, taking out complex equipment, and began setting it up where Xia Chan had just disappeared.
...
Meanwhile, Sang Que, who initially intended to remain in her room for the whole night, unexpectedly fell asleep despite usually being unable to sleep when she didn’t feel like it. This time, she didn’t know when she drifted off.
When Sang Que became conscious again, she found herself paralysed, unable to move. Above her, the sky loomed darkly overcast, with the moon faintly visible. She lay on a platform resembling an altar, her vision blurred, alternating between clarity and obscurity.
Several figures wearing ghostly masks approached. Clad in colorful attire with feathered crowns, dressed like Witch of Chu State, the masks covered half their faces, exposing their grinning mouths.
Someone raised a dagger and without hesitation stabbed into Sang Que’s abdomen.
Sang Que’s eyes widened in shock, clearly feeling the inadequately sharp blade gradually cutting into her body, scalding blood surging from within.
The eyes beneath the masks gleamed with greedy, bloodthirsty light. Those individuals reached out, tearing at her body, ripping her flesh into pieces.
No matter how much Sang Que struggled, she couldn’t move her body, yet her consciousness remained acutely aware.
With clarity, she saw those individuals with blood-soaked mouths chew and swallow.
Beyond the clouds, the full moon weeping blood slowly turned crimson, and the gruesome ritual continued unceasingly...
