King of Assassins-Chapter 986 - 679: Obstruction

Bai Cang River, Biyue Bay.

The reason it's called Biyue Bay is because Bai Cang River makes a big turn, and at the bend, the river scours out a patch of fertile land.

This piece of land resembles a crescent moon, originally covered with green mugwort grass, which is why from afar it looks lush and green, hence the name Biyue Bay.

As more and more silt accumulates, Biyue Bay continues to grow. The fertile land attracts a large number of people.

In less than two hundred years, Biyue Bay has gathered over one hundred thousand people, forming Biyue Village.

This elegant-sounding name actually houses farmers who cultivate grains.

However, those living by the Bai Cang River must worship King Jinlin.

Every year on the third day of the third month, on King Jinlin's birthday, five pairs of boys and girls must be offered.

Initially, the farmers of Biyue Bay were unwilling. That year they suffered a flood, not only was the harvest lost, but hundreds of people drowned. Due to the harvest failure, over a thousand people starved to death that year.

After this lesson, the farmers of Biyue Bay wised up. They offered sacrifices regularly on the first and fifteenth of each month, and prepared the five pairs of boys and girls well in advance for the birthday.

Not only Biyue Bay, but all large villages and towns along the Bai Cang River must offer tributes to King Jinlin.

Every village and town has a witch who can communicate with King Jinlin and convey his decrees.

Such a witch holds a very high position among the people, and no one dares to provoke her casually.

King Jinlin wields great influence along the Bai Cang River, even surpassing the government.

No one dares to speak ill of King Jinlin here, nor dare anyone to defy his orders.

After hundreds of years, the worship of King Jinlin has become a tradition. On the third of March, a lively sacrificial ceremony is even held.

There's drumming and gong banging, theater troupes are invited to perform, and stalls selling various trinkets and snacks are set up, making it even more lively than the New Year celebration.

As for the sacrifice of ten boys and girls, besides their relatives, no one cares much.

This year's March third, Biyue Bay held King Jinlin's birthday celebration as in previous years.

A large tent was erected near the riverbank, inside it was a paper effigy of King Jinlin.

The effigy's frame was made of bamboo, covered with colored paper and gold foil, gleaming with golden light, quite majestic.

A long wooden offering table was placed in front of the effigy, blackened by the years of incense ash and charcoal fire.

Various joss sticks were haphazardly inserted in the ceramic incense burner, along with offerings like pig heads, cow heads, goat heads, various pastries, and candied fruits.

Tens of thousands of people knelt densely packed in front of the effigy, kowtowing and chanting prayers under the witch's guidance.

It's impossible for so many people to be perfectly orderly, the scene appeared chaotic, with only a small front group barely able to keep up with the witch's directions.

To one side of the offering table, ten boys and girls were kept in closed bamboo cages.

These children were only about five or six, mostly still naive. Seeing so many people, with drums banging and gongs clanging around them, without their familiar relatives by their side, their faces were pale with fear, and many were crying loudly.

Apart from the relatives of the children silently shedding tears to the side, no one cared about the fate of these little children at this moment.

"Ceremony concluded."

The witch screeched sharply, and the gentry in front also stood up, faces showing relief.

Kneeling, kowtowing, and chanting, everyone dared not be slack, trying their best to be serious. For the well-off gentry elders, kneeling under the hot sun for half a day made them start sweating.

The people in the back stood up as well, eagerly looking ahead. Most could see only the effigy, while others could only see the backs of those in front.

The witch in her multicolored clothes was very excited; this was her most prominent day of the year.

Everyone had to kneel at her feet, listening to her commands. Her emaciated, gaunt face displayed a smug smile, her drooping eyelids could barely cover her gleaming old eyes.

The witch chanted a bunch of unintelligible spells, which she had actually invented herself.

Only when King Jinlin was particularly unhappy or pleased would he contact her. The witch had no way to reach King Jinlin. But that didn't stop her from putting on a show.

The gentry and elders were not fools, they saw the witch's trickery. The problem was that this old woman could indeed contact King Jinlin, so they let her be.

The witch jumped and danced before the offering table for a while, satisfying her intense desire to perform.

She glanced up at the sun, which was almost at noon, and then commanded: "The time has come, offer the sacrifices to King Jinlin."

Several strong men came over, dumping the pig heads, cow heads, and other offerings into the river.

Then, the strong men approached the children, grabbing the bamboo cages, ready to throw them into the river. The crowd below watched this scene, exclaiming in surprise.

Actually, they've seen this scene every year; their cries were more excitement than shock.

In their simple minds, sacrificing a few children to ensure a year of favorable weather was a worthwhile deal.

So, most regarded it as a good thing, an entertaining and interesting event.

Just as the strong men were about to throw the children, a clear light descended from the sky, and Gao Xuan emerged from the light.

He told the strong men, "Stop."

The strong men looked at Gao Xuan, a bit of awe in their eyes. Descending from the sky, could he be an Immortal?

The main thing is that Gao Xuan was unparalleled in handsomeness, with extraordinary bearing. His long robe of light yellow fine hemp was flowing and ethereal, no matter how you looked at it, he had the transcendent demeanor of an Immortal.

The Witch was also startled, not knowing where this meddler had come from. And he seemed not easy to mess with.

The Witch gathered her courage and shouted, "Who are you?"

"Gao Xuan, Celestial Master of Wuyuan Country." Gao Xuan's voice was deep and clear, yet it spread everywhere.

There were tens of thousands of people in disorder, yet everyone could hear Gao Xuan's words clearly.

The crowd was initially engrossed in the lively discussion of Gao Xuan's identity, but now no one made a sound.

Although the people were all poor farmers, illiterate and not well-schooled, they were not lacking in survival wisdom. Just from seeing this one move by Gao Xuan, they knew he was formidable, and didn't dare to act recklessly.

As for what a Celestial Master does, they really didn't understand.

Tens of thousands fell silent, and the place was suddenly quiet. Even those beating drums and gongs dared not move.

The Witch, in fact, didn't know what a Celestial Master did either. But the birthday celebration of King Jinlin couldn't be ruined.

She said, looking displeased, "No matter who you are, you cannot ruin the celebration. It concerns the life and death of over a hundred thousand people in Biyue Bay."

She then addressed the many local gentry and clan elders in front, "Why are you all just watching, quickly say something. If King Jinlin gets angry, we're all dead."

The local gentry and clan elders were all troubled. Among them were a few who were literate and had some insight. They at least knew what a Celestial Master does.

Yet at this moment, they couldn't avoid stepping forward.

Exchanging glances among themselves, the head, Cai Changshui, had to step forward. He was the Cai Family Patriarch, also the head of the local gentry in Biyue Village.

Because the Cai family was the largest, with more than ten thousand people, and the strongest, he became the head of the local gentry.

Cai Changshui came forward and bowed deeply to Gao Xuan, "Celestial Master, the celebration is our tradition. Please don't interfere." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

With someone taking the lead, the others hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, Celestial Master, we have no other choice."

"It's all for the people of Biyue Bay..."

"Without this, we cannot survive."

The more they spoke, the louder they raised their voices, and the more powerful they became.

Gao Xuan wanted to sigh, when sacrifices become a tradition, everything becomes taken for granted.

He pointed to the bamboo cages with children crying out loud, "Use the lives of these children in exchange for your safety?"

Cai Changshui felt a bit embarrassed, although he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Yet being pointed out by the Celestial Master, he felt a bit embarrassed.

He thought for a moment and explained, "Celestial Master, we too are forced by circumstances."

Gao Xuan asked, "Forced? Why don't you offer your own children as sacrifices?"

Cai Changshui's face suddenly turned ugly, he almost cursed, but he suppressed his anger and said, "Which child is offered is determined by drawing lots. There's no favoritism."

Gao Xuan sneered, such little tricks only fooled the ignorant villagers. Moreover, there was no need to argue about it.

He said, "No matter what traditions you have, from today on, you cannot use any means to sacrifice to King Jinlin."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned pale. Cai Changshui was the first to kneel, he wanted to cry but couldn't, he could only sob dryly, "Celestial Master, you absolutely cannot, you absolutely cannot..."

Seeing this, everyone knelt down, surrounding Gao Xuan, crying and wailing.

The Witch pointed at Gao Xuan and shouted, "Dare to oppose King Jinlin, your death is imminent..."

The Witch made a harsh remark, but she didn't have the guts to fight Gao Xuan. Her old eyes shifted and she came up with an idea seeing the crowd below.

She shouted loudly, "This person is trying to stop us from sacrificing to King Jinlin, everyone go ahead..."

That sentence was a game-changer, the villagers couldn't stand hearing it. After all the hard work to organize the celebration, there was actually someone who dared to stop it.

If they angered King Jinlin, how could they survive?

A single sentence from the Witch roused everyone, and a group of people rushed towards Gao Xuan. The scene was on the verge of getting out of control.

"Stop."

Gao Xuan casually uttered a spell, and everyone was frozen in place.

Tens of thousands of people became frozen statues; many lost their balance and fell on the spot.

Among the crowd, only the Witch was not stopped.

The Witch stood dumbfounded, staring at the tens of thousands immobilized, scared out of her wits. What kind of Divine Technique was this?

Just as the Witch was at a loss, a radiant light descended from the sky, and an elder in a black and white Daoist Robe appeared out of nowhere. This elder was none other than National Preceptor Tao Jun.

Tao Jun bowed deeply to Gao Xuan in salute, "Celestial Master, why must you do this?"

Gao Xuan said indifferently, "Since I am a Celestial Master, slaying demons and exorcising evils is my responsibility."

Tao Jun smiled bitterly, "King Jinlin is from the North Sea Dragon Palace, he should not be provoked..."