Ma Xiaoyu and Yin Xiu continued to move forward. After leaving Wangnan, they had received enough supplies.
"By the way, did you really defeat the Zombie King single-handedly before?" Ma Xiaoyu asked him.
"Last night, three at a time." Yin Xiu pointed out three fingers.
"I mean before." Ma Xiaoyu emphasized.
"Before..."
Yin Xiu was a little speechless and could only nod: "It's more or less a single-handed operation."
When Ma Xiaoyu heard this, she already knew that he was bragging, but she didn't expose him. She just pursed her lips and smiled and said: "You have the final say, then forget it."
Yin Xiu scratched her head and asked her again: "Then how did you deal with the two zombie kings alone in Malaysia before?"
Ma Xiaoyu blushed and turned her head to the side, "I didn't say alone."
She spoke so quietly that Yin Xiu didn't hear her at all and could only nod casually, pretending to know her answer.
According to the map they got from Wangnan and the location of Thousand Buddha Temple, they were still about two hundred miles away from Thousand Buddha Temple at this time.
Two hundred miles is not that far from the map, but Wangshan is a dead horse and it is impossible to reach it in a day or two.
So they stopped temporarily in a village called Linbo.
This was originally a fishing village. Just follow the river flowing through the village and you can get into the big lake.
Later, when there were fewer fish, rice was planted here like other places, and the fishermen became farmers.
But no matter how this village was originally, like most villages in Jiaozhi, it was now abandoned in the zombie catastrophe.
In addition to the yellow and dry crops, there were also a few mutilated corpses lying in the rice fields.
Smelling the stench emanating from afar, Yin Xiu had changed her mind.
This place has become a scorched earth, just like other places, it just makes people feel terrible and desolate.
"Let's go."
Before Yin Xiu could say anything, Ma Xiaoyu had already made a judgment - if you stay here, you won't get anything and it's just a waste of time.
As they drove the horses to turn around, a sound suddenly came from deep in the village.
It was the sound of a group of people beating something, jumping up and down, and falling to the ground.
Yin Xiu immediately thought of zombies, but even the zombie king would not be able to walk in such sunlight.
So the two of them controlled the camel's agitation and just waited by the roadside.
After a while, the source of the noise appeared.
This time there was not only the sound of percussion, but also the sound of musical instruments playing.
The people at the front were divided into two lines, one group had their heads tied with red cloth, and the other group had their heads wrapped in white gauze, jumping around, playing and playing.
Ma Xiaoyu immediately pulled the reins and turned the horse's head.
"Let's go!"
Yin Xiu's hands were not idle, and she followed Ma Xiaoyu's actions, but she still asked: "What's wrong?"
"The snake god is getting married." Ma Xiaoyu said darkly and solemnly.
However, they had just turned their horses' heads, and on their way back, another group of people came over, wearing the same makeup as these people, and also playing wind and percussion instruments.
Neither happy nor sad, their behavior was strange and their faces numb.
Snakes are a strange and terrifying existence in any region or country's culture.
They seem to be everywhere, in woodsheds, wells, jungles, ancient roads, and even on the beams and pillows.
Snakes often represent death and disaster. Just because of their gentle kiss, when a woman feels pain in her heel, death often comes.
Precisely because they are so terrifying and mysterious, the ancients gradually regarded snakes as gods after discovering that they could not exterminate them.
It is an ancient deity that brings death, punishment, elusiveness and cannot be looked directly at.
In Malaysia, local natives sometimes perform this kind of sacrifice. This kind of sacrifice is usually held after encountering a disaster, in order to appease the gods' grievances and pray for forgiveness and blessing.
Because Ma Xiaoyu knew about this, she immediately thought of staying away from it.
However, by this time they were surrounded by teams from both sides.
Among the banging team, there were several people carrying a red sedan chair. As the bearer jolted, the people inside seemed to sway a few times.
That is the bride who is going to marry the snake god.
At the very beginning, Ma Xiaoyu thought of stopping their sacrifice.
After all, this is barbaric, bloody and ignorant, and any civilized person who sees it will want to stop it.
But later, Ma Xiaoyu gradually understood that the so-called civilization and barbarism are just different ways of living.
Even if you save the girl who is the bride of the snake god today, there will still be a girl sent to the sedan chair tomorrow as a substitute for someone else.
Many families even regard this kind of sacrifice as an honor and offer it voluntarily.
To stop this kind of sacrifice, only by using blood and force to make the entire tribe and village surrender and establish new rules can this situation be changed.
But in order to save one person, we have to kill more people, and we don’t know whether it will be effective or how long it will last. Is this another self-righteous examination?
Ma Xiaoyu never thought that she should be smarter or nobler than those in the tribe. She would not have such a self-righteous sense of superiority.
Of course, she can also use magic to make herself the new "snake god" of this tribe, but this is just part of the cycle and will not be beneficial to the future.
Therefore, when Ma Xiaoyu encounters this situation now, she just wants to avoid it and not get involved in it.
Yin Xiu naturally knew how to listen to others' advice and eat enough. He didn't hesitate. He just followed Ma Xiaoyu, a knowledgeable person, and did everything as he was told.
However, at this time, they had indeed been involved in this weird sacrifice.
"Lower your head." Yin Xiu suddenly greeted.
Ma Xiaoyu was still hesitant at first, but when Yin Xiu held her hand, the warmth from her palm reassured her.
So the two of them lowered their heads and allowed the sacrificial team to pass by on both sides.
They do not intend to have any interaction with these people.
Gradually, the sound of beating gradually became denser and louder, as if someone was holding a drum and playing in front of their feet.
Yin Xiu still lowered his head, pretending that nothing happened.
I don't know how long it took, but a cold, smooth touch slowly slid over Yin Xiu's neck, making people feel chilled to the core.
There was also laughter, a silver bell-like laughter that seemed to slide on a saw, going off the rails every time, appearing disorderly and absurd.
Yin Xiu realized something was wrong, sneered and gently put her hand on the bag.
Stupid!
Yin Xiu pushed with his thumb, revealing an inch of Izumi's words, and a cold light flashed.
The noise that originally surrounded them suddenly stopped, and when Yin Xiu looked up again, the procession of sending off the bride had already gone far and disappeared behind the woods.
But Ma Xiaoyu still looked there, a little lost.
[Could it be that she was under an illusion just now? 】
Yin Xiu stretched out his hand to her chest.
"What are you doing?"
Ma Xiaoyu grabbed his wrist.
"Why not? I thought you needed me to help you with acupuncture or something."
“Do you think I’ve been tapped on my acupuncture points?”
Ma Xiaoyu let go of his hand and said angrily: "Even you didn't fall into the illusion, how could I?"
Touching her earrings, she said: "I just saw a white peacock in that team."
"White Peacock?" Ma Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him, "It's the sister of White Phoenix who wears short skirts and you keep staring at."
"Oh, it's her."
Yin Xiu reacted, "She also does odd jobs in that team?"
"What odd job? I mean, she is the one sitting on the sedan chair."
Ma Xiaoyu sighed, "Maybe she volunteered to sacrifice to the snake god and become a bride."
"So that's it."
Yin Xiu nodded and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
"That's not right. She is a Miao. Why did she come to Cochin to be the bride of the snake god of Cochin? Isn't this very wrong?"
"Of course something is wrong. I just saw her eyes were dull and her saliva was almost drooling. She seemed to be possessed by something evil."
"Then it must be something evil!"
Yin Xiu slapped her thigh, "The two sisters said they were Taoist priests and they said they were Gu masters. In fact, their levels are very different. They might have fallen into the trap."
"Why are you so nervous?"
Ma Xiaoyu glanced at him and said, "You seem to be very concerned about other people's safety?"
"Not that much."
Yin Xiu waved her hands repeatedly, "It's just that I wonder if the snake god they worship has any connection or chance with these two Miao people."
When he said this, Ma Xiaoyu immediately felt curious, or strange.
Although the two Miao people had different goals and even different paths.
But now in Cochin, they seem to be in trouble.
Although they looked completely different, they had to wonder whether the two Miao people were actually in the same trouble as themselves. The source is that Drought Demon?
……
As the team marched, no one noticed that a shadow on the ground blended into the queue.
The white peacock was sitting in the sedan chair, her simple and elegant outfit had been replaced, her whole body was wrapped in a red wedding dress, and she was swaying along with the sedan chair.
The black shadow rose, and Yin Xiu appeared in the shadow and pressed a piece of talisman paper on the back of the white peacock's neck.
White Peacock's dull pupils suddenly shrunk, and just when she was about to scream, Yin Xiu covered her mouth.
The person carrying the sedan felt that the sedan suddenly sank, but did not feel any other movement, so he just continued to move forward.
"Hey, if you scream, I can probably run away, but you have to answer here." Yin Xiu whispered.
“%@#%……”
The white peacock struggled a few more times, and when he saw Yin Xiu from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
After taking a few deep breaths, she stopped struggling and tapped the back of Yin Xiu's hand with her finger, signaling for him to let go.
Yin Xiu then let go of the hand covering hers, only to find that Bai Peacock's face was already flushed.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you think?" White Peacock gouged him out.
Only then did Yin Xiu realize that because the sedan chair was very small, when he covered the mouth of the white peacock just now, the two of them were actually close to each other, with their faces touching and their bodies leaning against each other.
And Yin Xiu's other hand was placed where it shouldn't be, soft and broad.
"..."
Yin Xiu let go of her hand and just whispered: "You have to be in love."
"Is it necessary?"
The white peacock's face turned red and white, "Now that you are talking into my ear, do you think it's because of the situation?"
"How about we telepathically communicate or use sign language? You don't want the people outside to find you crowded on the same sedan with me, do you?"
"Bah! Who wants to telepathize with you? Besides, I can't do it either."
Although angry, Bai Peacock still had to turn his head and speak into Yin Xiu's ear.
"What is the situation now?"
"I have to ask you."
There was a faint smell of alcohol in Yin Xiu's mouth. It was not unpleasant, but had a special aroma that made the white peacock's face turn redder.
"How did you get caught? Where is Bai Phoenix, where did she go?"
"White Phoenix!"
The white peacock screamed in surprise, but Yin Xiu covered his mouth with his hand again.
It wasn't until she signaled that she would control her voice that Yin Xiu let go of her hand again.
"We encountered zombies, lots and lots of zombies."
Bai Peacock wiped the sweat on his face with his sleeves, "When I was in Miao territory, I saw some tribes making zombies, but they were only one or two, used for fighting. Like now, there are several zombies appearing at once. Ten of them are really unheard of.”
"It's normal to have dozens of them, but things have changed now."
Yin Xiu thought of that night in Wangnan and thought that if White Peacock and the others met, they would probably die a hundred times.
In this way, the white peacock's ability to survive the tide of corpses can be regarded as a kind of luck, or the great luck of the smoke in the ancestral grave.
"What about White Phoenix? Could she..."
While they were talking, it seemed that a bearer stepped on the wrong foot of the sedan chair, and the sedan jolted. The two of them were pushed together again, closer to each other.
"Don't stand up to me!" White Peacock gritted his teeth.
"I've taken my hands away."
"Not the hand..."
The sedan fell into silence.
After a while, Bai Peacock said leisurely: "White Phoenix should be fine, her skills have always been very good.
I was unlucky. I was caught by these villagers for some reason while I was running away and fell under their spell, so I came to be the bride of this snake god. ”
"She is so unloyal and doesn't come to save you?" Yin Xiu asked dissatisfied.
"What kind of loyalty do women mean?"
The white peacock glared at him, "And I said, she didn't abandon me, it was me who was lost!"
As she said this, she remembered something again and asked Yin Xiudao: "What about you? Did you get here too because you got lost?"
"Why are you asking me like this?" Yin Xiu was a little surprised.
"Because the female Taoist priest following you doesn't seem to be here either."
"Who do you think I am?"
Yin Xiu suddenly remembered that Ma Xiaoyu might still be lurking at the back of the team. She couldn't help but shuddered and quickly distanced herself from Bai Peacock.
However, the sedan jolted again, causing the two of them to stick together again.
"Aren't you a master of the synaesthesia realm, someone who can count all the numbers in the Central Plains without even using ten fingers?" Bai Peacock asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
White Peacock bit his lip, his palms sweating, "I thought great masters like that could control themselves." (End of Chapter)