Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 277 Sacrifice Ceremony
"Madam, I think you still have your charm." Recalling the contrast between the female ghost before and after, Sun Hang couldn't help but teased, "You are such a beautiful woman, but you become a ghost, what a pity."

The female ghost was stunned for a moment, and then her whole body began to tremble. It was unclear whether it was because of shyness or fear.

However, Sun Hang's ridicule was not completely false - the Zhou family compound could be said to be the most lavish building on this street, and one could imagine the financial resources of the Zhou family at that time.

Even in the quarantine zone, the rich live a much more comfortable life than the poor - although money cannot buy freedom, it can buy many privileges that are out of reach for ordinary people.

For example, various conveniences, a superior status, and the right of offspring to have priority in choosing a spouse.

The eldest son of the Zhou family, who came from a wealthy family, would definitely not marry an ugly woman. The female ghost in front of him, who looked like Sadako, was probably one of the most beautiful women in this town when she was alive.

This is unfair to ordinary people, but it is the reality.

Reality is never fair.

It’s a pity that in the face of the wave of strange creatures’ invasion, whether it’s the Zhou family with their luxurious clothes and delicious food, or the ordinary people with simple meals, the final outcome is the same... This is also the reality.

Money makes the world go round, but when a wheel that is countless times bigger than the millstone comes rolling over, no amount of money will help.

"Can you tell me what happened before and after this town was abandoned?" Sun Hang asked, "Also, how did the mayor come here?"

"I... don't... remember..." the female ghost said tremblingly.

"You don't remember, or you don't dare to say it?"

"……Can not remember."

Sun Hang always felt that the other party was not telling the truth, but since he had made a promise beforehand, it was naturally not a good idea for him to resort to torture to extract a confession - at least not now.

"Then tell me about your children."

It would have been better if Sun Hang hadn't said this. As soon as he said it, the other party started crying again. The sad crying sound echoed in the yard, and it sounded very creepy.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you just lost them." Sun Hang scratched his head, "But don't be too sad. For you, true death should be a relief, right?"

"Woooooooo..."

Compared to the two little girls, this female ghost is obviously much more difficult to communicate with.

Not only was its emotion unstable, but its mind also seemed to be unclear. Even when it was willing to answer questions, its answers were fragmented, like a riddler.

Sun Hang could only speculate the "context" based on these fragmented contents, but with extremely limited information, if the speculation direction was slightly off, the final conclusion might be very different...

After speculating for so long, it’s better not to speculate.

"Oh." Sun Hang sighed. At this time, a clear clapper sound was heard from the street outside.

"Bang!"

"It's dry and dry, be careful with the candles!"

"Bang!"

Although the profession of night watchman has long been eliminated by the times, Sun Hang still knows this familiar line.

Hearing this sentence means it is now the Xu hour, also known as "the first watch", which means one strike of the gong.

Sun Hang took out his cell phone and glanced at it. The time displayed on the phone was 2:03 pm.

The time represented by the Xu hour, if converted into modern time standards, should be 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sun Hang didn't know whether there was a problem with the timing function of the mobile phone, or the flow of time in this place was abnormal... But according to his own perception, the flow of time displayed on the mobile phone was correct. After counting with his fingers, he realized that less than two hours had passed since he entered Maoyun Town.

Just when Sun Hang was struggling to figure out what he should find as a reference for time, two bang sounds suddenly rang out on the street.

"Bang! Bang!"

"At midnight, close doors and windows to prevent theft!"

"Bang! Bang!"

"Ah?" Sun Hang was speechless. It was the Xu hour (19:21-21:23) a few seconds ago. How come it suddenly became the Hai hour (:-:) now?

Isn’t this night watchman too unprofessional?
Or is it that this guy is not actually a professional night watchman at all, but just a psychopath who fantasizes himself into being a night watchman and has nothing better to do than go out on the streets and bang the clapper?

Then wouldn't it be embarrassing that I was frightened by it just now?

Perhaps, I should run out now and have a good talk with this mentally ill person?
"Bang! Bang bang!"

"At midnight, there will be no illness or disaster, and everything will be safe and sound!"

"Bang! Bang bang!"

"Is it ever going to end?" Sun Hang stood up.

As if in response to Sun Hang, the echo of the previous bangzi sound had not yet completely dissipated when the next one sounded again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"It's four o'clock in the morning. It's freezing cold. Be careful on the slippery roads!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Sun Hang couldn't help but laugh out loud. He suddenly turned his head and looked at the female ghost floating not far away, and asked, "How do you call the fifth watch?"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"It's five o'clock in the morning. Go to bed early and get up early. Take care of yourself!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After the last gong sounded, the street outside suddenly became lively - voices, footsteps, the sound of wooden wheels rolling over bluestone slabs... This noisy scene switched almost seamlessly with the previous silence.

Sun Hang walked quickly to the gate of the courtyard and pushed it open with force.

He saw many townspeople coming and going on the street, which was even more lively than when he first arrived in Maoyun Town. "It will be dawn soon..." The female ghost slowly floated over and said faintly.

"It's almost dawn? Are you kidding?" Sun Hang said this, but he subconsciously turned his head to the east.

A flash of white appeared on the distant horizon, as if the sun had quietly peeked out when Yongye wasn't paying attention, but was quickly pushed down by Yongye.

"What a beautiful dawn, but it's so lonely." Sun Hang complained.

"Today... is... an important day..." the female ghost continued, "It happens... once every month..."

"It's a monthly sacrificial ceremony, right?" Sun Hang interrupted him. "Let me finish your story for you. It's really hard to listen to you."

"……Correct."

"Will the sacrificial ceremony begin at dawn?"

"Correct."

"Where will it be held?"

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

"Where is the stage?" Sun Hang asked, then suddenly slapped his head and pointed outside. "You, lead the way."

The female ghost looked at Sun Hang with its non-existent eyes, then floated past Sun Hang carefully.

"So you can leave this yard. I thought you were some kind of earthbound ghost." Sun Hang muttered.

"...you can leave...the yard, but...no one...can leave Maoyun Town..."

"What will happen if you leave? Will you die?" Sun Hang asked curiously.

"...can't...leave." The female ghost repeated what she had just said.

"Forget it, I won't ask you anymore." Sun Hang was a little discouraged, "Just take me to the stage quickly."

The female ghost led Sun Hang along the street. The townspeople they met along the way gathered together and headed in the same direction. They walked quickly and looked nervous - Sun Hang guessed that these people were probably also going to participate in the so-called "sacrificial ceremony."

According to the little girl, the mayor will bless the "meat" at the sacrificial ceremony, turning it into food that the townspeople can "enjoy" - and the food that was blessed at the last sacrificial ceremony will soon exceed its "shelf life".

For the townspeople, whether or not they can get food today will determine their "quality of life" for the next month - even though everything they eat will leak out of the big hole, it is better to have something to chew in their mouths than to be able to only swallow saliva.

What's more, Sun Hang speculated that this feeling of hunger was most likely not a physiological reaction, but a spiritual and cognitive concept. For them, even if the food did not actually enter their stomachs, as long as there was the process of eating, the feeling of hunger might really be relieved.

The female ghost led Sun Hang over a stone bridge. The street ahead suddenly became narrower, and the number of townspeople gathered from all directions only increased. The flow of people suddenly became crowded. When many townspeople passed by Sun Hang, Sun Hang could even smell a foul odor coming from them.

Not all townspeople were dressed like normal humans - some, like the shop owner, were a group of barely recognizable walking black shadows; some were covered in yellow talismans, just like the thousand-year-old zombies in old movies; others were naked and covered with festering scabies, but they covered their heads with a wooden barrel so that others could not see their appearance.

To sum it up in eight words, it would be "demons dancing wildly, hundreds of ghosts roaming at night."

Oh, that’s not right. It shouldn’t be “A Hundred Demons Parade at Night”, it should be “A Hundred Ghosts Parade during the Day”.

Sun Hang looked up at the dark night and the full moon still hanging high in the sky - it was actually nothing wrong with traveling at night.

"How far is it?" Sun Hang asked the female ghost.

"Just... in front..."

The stage of Maoyun Town was set up in a small square in the center of the town. At this time, the square was already full of townspeople who came to participate in the sacrificial ceremony. Sun Hang and the female ghost of the Zhou family could only find an inconspicuous place in the corner of the square to stand still. Fortunately, Sun Hang's eyesight was still good. Although he was nearly a hundred meters away, he could still see everything on the stage clearly.

A "host" was performing a strange dance on the stage... The reason why he was called a "host" and not anything else was because his outfit was so mixed up that Sun Hang had no idea where he came from.

The "host" was wearing a Taoist robe that had been washed so much that it looked bleached. However, on his bald head, there were six round burn marks from being burned into his body. Not only that, he also had a green-faced, fang-covered Nuo opera mask on his face.

The host held a feather fan in his right hand, which was often seen in the hands of Zhuge Kongming in film and television dramas about the Three Kingdoms. His left hand was curled up with his index finger and a gleaming scalpel between his thumb and index finger.

It was wearing a pair of wooden clogs, and along with its strange dance moves, the clogs kept making "pa! pa!" sounds, as if they were accompaniment to its dance.

"What is this? A combination of the best of many schools?" Sun Hang was a little reluctant to comment on the host's outfit. "It feels like this guy's understanding of fashion is centuries ahead of the people on Earth."

The dance continued, and the townspeople in the audience watched with great interest - Sun Hang was not sure whether they were enjoying the dance or the food that would be blessed next.

But he did see some people with long saliva hanging from the corners of their mouths, looking at the host eagerly.

Could this guy be trying to eat the host?
"Who is the one dancing on the stage? The mayor?" Although in Sun Hang's mind, the old woman who gave him bait and banknotes was the most likely one, it did not stop him from asking now.

"No... no..." the female ghost whispered, "The mayor... will not show up... at the sacrificial ceremony. The person on the stage... is... in charge of... the sacrificial ceremony..."

"Since the mayor won't show up, how did he bestow the blessing?" Sun Hang interrupted the stuttering female ghost impatiently, "Could it be that the blessing fell from the sky?"

What is the blessing of the warp? Sun Hang complained in his heart, if that is true, then this town is too disloyal.

"Wait... wait a moment... it will..."

Before the female ghost finished speaking, a slick voice suddenly came from the side.

"Hey, isn't this the young widow of the Zhou family? Who is the man next to you? Is he your new lover? He doesn't look like he has much flesh. Didn't I tell you that if you can't stand the loneliness, you can come to me, your brother?"

Sun Hang looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a person "standing" upside down beside him at some point - he was supporting himself on the ground with both hands, his legs raised to the sky, and the head hanging under his shoulders was twisted in a very uncomfortable posture, looking at the female ghost and Sun Hang with a frivolous look.

"No, buddy..." Sun Hang squatted down and leveled his eyes with the other person. "I think you are really hungry, right? You don't even let go of a rotten hair?"

"You don't know, when the Zhou family's young wife was young, she was so beautiful!" The upside-down man smacked his lips, "Oh no, you must know. If you didn't know, you wouldn't have found this young widow... Wait, who are you? Why have I never seen you in town? You, you are an outsider? The Zhou family's young widow actually found an outsider as her lover?! It's really funny!"

"Brother, let me ask you something. Why do you keep standing upside down? Aren't you tired?" Sun Hang asked.

"You are stupid. Standing upside down, the food you eat won't leak out of the hole, right?" As it said this, it opened its mouth and an unbearable stench wafted out of its mouth.

Sun Hang saw that in his throat, there was a large piece of rotten meat crawling with maggots... This piece of rotten meat was even wriggling continuously.

(End of this chapter)