Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 333 Pine Dove
"Hula..."

The air was thick with the acrid smoke of burning herbs, and clear water flowed from the smooth surface of skin into the basin, splashing up tiny, sparkling droplets.

Two elderly women, the oldest in the village and no longer able to work, used their withered hands to wipe the girl's body.

Her movements were gentle yet mechanically swift, like the cold water used to wet a towel, chilling to the bone, causing Lillie to tremble slightly.

Her eyes remained as calm as they had been that night, but now they seemed somewhat empty.

She was like a puppet, her body manipulated by the two old women beside her.

After drying herself off, a plain white dress was put on her.

The skirt was made of rough material, clearly not expensive fabric, but its surface was exceptionally clean and spotless, symbolizing the purity of the offering and the villagers' reverence for the spirit of the canyon.

Lillie's hair was neatly combed and draped over her shoulders; she was barefoot.

After others had checked and confirmed that there was nothing wrong, an even older, hunched old woman, exuding an aura of death, tremblingly stretched out her wrinkled, withered arm and heavily dotted an ancient symbol of sacrifice on the girl's forehead with an ochre-red liquid mixed with animal blood and special herbs.

Outside the tent, a crowd gathered silently, their eyes fixed on the banners fluttering in front of the tent, the air thick with a chilling stillness.

The curtain was lifted.

Lillie walked out slowly, under the gaze of everyone.

It was early morning, and the weak, dim sunlight shone softly on her face, highlighting her white dress and making her complexion appear even paler, like a wildflower trembling in the cold wind.

The old village chief stepped forward silently, his face etched with the marks of time, his eyes solemn and dignified.

He held a worn wooden bowl with mottled textures in his hands, filled with an unknown murky liquid, and flicked it three times on the path in front of Lillie, meaning "purify the path ahead".

Without a word, the village chief turned and led the girl. The crowd parted automatically, and four of the strongest men in the village followed from behind, wearing crude wooden masks with ferocious patterns on their faces and carrying an empty, simple palanquin decorated with thorns and vines.

Lillie didn't ride in it; she simply followed quietly behind the group.

Her bare, white feet sank into the muddy ground, and the filth gradually stained her toes and the hem of her skirt. Even when she occasionally stepped on hard pebbles, the girl only frowned slightly.

Her parents and the villagers followed silently at the back, the procession moving very slowly, with only the deep, resonant beat of the leather drums striking at a fixed, suffocatingly slow rhythm.

The suffocating atmosphere, as if even the thin mist in the air had solidified, made the slow, deep drumbeats seem to stir one's heart.

It throbs slowly, one beat at a time.

Xia Nan stood alone in the distance.

With his arms crossed, his dark, tousled hair still damp, his cold, calm eyes reflected the crowd in front of him.

He stayed in the fog lamp village for two days, but didn't encounter many people or things.

But we already know a lot about the village, the rituals, and the villagers.

Young girls are offered as sacrifices to appease the spirit of the canyon, praying for the village's protection from outsiders and a bountiful harvest.

What's even more intriguing is the villagers' attitude.

Unlike Fuyuki's rejection and resistance, the village chief and Aspen almost unconditionally supported and pushed forward the ceremony, while the rest of the ordinary villagers...

Xia Nan could sense their anxiety, fear, and restlessness.

But they were not averse to the ceremony itself.

They even subtly expressed their support.

During his two days in the village, whenever Xia Nan approached the wooden house located at the innermost part of the village, which was suspected to be where the girl Lillie lived, even if it was just an unintentional approach, he could feel the increasingly wary and tense gazes from the surrounding villagers.

They desperately longed for the completion of the sacrificial ritual in order to change their impoverished and miserable lives.

Xia Nan didn't understand.

If this so-called "sacrifice ritual" passed down through generations is truly effective, then the young "sacrifices" who gave their lives for it have truly pleased the great beings in the canyon.

Why is Wudeng Village still in such a poor and destitute state after all these years?

It can't even compare to Green Creek Village, which is near River Valley Town and relies on passing adventurers for a living.

Is the protection of the gods really less valuable than that of those greedy and extravagant adventurers?

Standing still, he coldly observed the crowd in the distance.

He took a step and followed.

……

The team stopped at the entrance to the canyon.

The environment here is completely different from that inside the village.

The view was wider, the wind was stronger, and it was colder.

The mournful howling of the wind, like a sob, echoed through the air.

As a forbidden area, a towering fence made of dark brown oak tightly surrounds the entrance to the canyon, with mottled chains hanging down to the ground. At this moment, the central gate is open, revealing the deep and dark canyon passage behind it.

Aspen stood to the side.

He stood solemnly like a statue, with his wooden bow behind him.

The sunlight shining from the side and behind cast a deep shadow on his face, obscuring his expression.

He was just waiting, just like before.

Lillie stepped forward alone, her bare feet already covered in damp mud.

Before them lay a bottomless canyon shrouded in mist year-round; behind them, the entire Fog Lantern Village watched.

The village chief took down an old, rusty short sickle that was hanging from his waist.

He held it in his hand and walked towards the girl in front of him.

As his lips moved, ancient hymns echoed in everyone's ears along with his hoarse voice.

"A pure body, buried forever with filth."

"By blood oath, we will protect our village."

"With full granaries, people and livestock are healthy and well."

scoff-

The dull, rough sickle struggled to cut through flesh, smearing rust with it. Crimson blood flowed down from the pale skin, dripping onto the plain white dress and spreading out in a glaring crimson hue.

Lillie had a cut on her right forearm.

You could see her body trembling from the intense pain, but she didn't make a sound.

They didn't bandage or treat it, letting the blood flow freely.

The moment the scythe fell, her connection with the village was severed.

At this moment, the girl no longer belonged to the village.

She belongs to the canyon.

The drumming beside the procession stopped abruptly, and the world seemed to fall into a deathly silence.

Lillie lowered her head, her chest heaving, as if she were breathing slightly from the pain of her wound, or as if she was trying to muster her courage.

After a brief pause, she took a step barefoot, trudging through the mud, and entered the thick, impenetrable fog.

The wooden door behind me slowly closed with the scraping sound of metal chains.

Unable to resist in the end, the girl turned around, her gaze sweeping back and forth through the closing door, as if searching for a familiar figure.

But the next second, with a loud "bang," the tightly closed door completely blocked her view.

The ceremony is over.

……

The villagers gathered at the canyon entrance turned away numbly. But the tense atmosphere, which had been oppressive, quietly eased with the creaking of the metal chains winding around the door.

Conversations began to gradually rise from the crowd.

It was exhaustion, but also an indescribable... ease.

It was as if once the ritual was completed, all misfortune and bad luck would be eliminated with the sacrifice of the girl, allowing the village to recover.

"Mr. Xia Nan, a celebratory banquet will be held in the village tonight, featuring the most delicious food and the sweetest drinks. May I ask your opinion...?"

The village chief, with his white hair and beard and a face full of wrinkles, smiled and stepped forward, respectfully inviting Xia Nan to the banquet.

You could see the ease on his face.

Clearly, the successful completion of the sacrificial ceremony was a relief for him as well.

Xia Nan did not answer immediately, but stared into the old man's eyes with his dark eyes, as if trying to find something in them.

After a long while, seeing that the smile on the village chief's face had become somewhat stiff, he looked away and gently waved his hand.

"You guys eat by yourselves, I won't join in."

The old village chief visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps they felt that Xia Nan had been waiting for too long these past two days, thus angering the other party.

He quickly forced a smile, bending his already hunched back even lower, and added:
"Rest assured, we can arrange for you to enter the canyon to collect fog lamp grass as early as tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh? Is that all the time you've had to complete the ceremony?" Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, glancing at the tightly closed canyon gate behind him, his tone slightly amused.

"Enough, enough!"

The village chief nodded repeatedly, his voice and demeanor becoming even more obsequious due to the change in the adventurer's attitude.

After exchanging pleasantries, they seemed to want to talk to Xia Nan about commissions such as escorting goods and exterminating monsters.

Seeing his dejected appearance, he realized he had been somewhat presumptuous, so he stopped bothering him, agreed to meet again the next afternoon, and took his leave.

In the distance, the crowd gradually disappeared.

People began to speak loudly, discussing the weather and the crops, and children were allowed to run and play.

But no one mentions the name "Lillie," and no one looks back at the canyon.

They numb themselves with noise and unrealistic expectations for the future, and together maintain a lie that is easily exposed in order to survive.

Perhaps only when night falls, in the still of the night, will they hear in their dreams the faint sighs carried by the wind in the canyon.

Xia Nan stared intently at the villagers ahead, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned his head and looked at Aspen beside him.

This silent man, who had remained completely silent throughout the ceremony, quietly followed Lillie after she entered the canyon and the doors closed.

"Are you spying on me?" Xia Nan asked directly, without any intention of probing.

Clearly not expecting him to be so direct, Aspen paused, not answering directly, but simply avoiding his gaze:

"The ceremony is over, and no one can change it."

Xia Nan turned his head noncommittally, his gaze fixed on the villagers who were about to disappear into the bushes in the distance, his tone casual:
"Winter Tree, have you seen him today?"

“Winter Tree…” Aspen frowned slightly, his gaze instinctively drifting towards the canyon gate. Seeing the lock firmly secured by chains, he felt a little relieved and shook his head.

"He and Lillie have a good relationship, so it's normal that he didn't come today."

"Let him take his time, it will all pass."

"Tsk." Xia Nan silently curled his lip, pondered for a moment, and finally asked the question that had been bothering him.

"You... really think that as long as the sacrifice is completed, life will get better?"

"At least it can't get any worse."

"Even if the price is the innocent lives you've watched grow up?"

"...This is none of your business."

Xia Nan stared intently at the middle-aged man before her, her exceptional perception working silently, as if trying to find something within him.

As far as the eye could see, there was only a cold, empty void.

“I’ve tried to change all of this, and before me, it’s not like no one has tried.”

In the dead silence, Aspen suddenly spoke.

"But no one can escape it."

“Whenever the sacrificial ceremony is in danger of being affected, disaster will strike.”

"It could be a passing adventurer party, a small locust plague, or a ferocious and powerful monster."

"Only by completing the ritual can we survive."

Suddenly, he recalled the stories about Aspen that Fuyuki had mentioned to him a few days ago.

This man, as silent as an oak tree, also put in effort when his daughter was chosen as a sacrifice.

It almost succeeded.

But the immense pressure from the invading monster, under the watchful eyes of the villagers, eventually broke the father's shoulders, sending his daughter into the canyon.

Xia Nan's eyes flickered, but in the end, he took back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

My gaze inadvertently swept over the longbow behind Aspen and I suddenly noticed something faintly engraved on the surface of the bow near the string.

A long time has passed, and the handwriting is not very clear, and the characters themselves are crooked, as if it were done by a beginner who has just learned to read.

“Zhen…”

Xia Nan softly read out those characters.

"Is this the name you gave your bow and arrow?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Aspen froze for a moment, his eyes suddenly becoming unfocused.

He only realized what was happening after noticing Xia Nan's gaze.

He carefully untied the straps behind his back and took the wooden bow down from behind.

For the first time, a gentle emotion appeared on the face of the silent and empty man.

"Jenny."

"That's my daughter's name."

Aspen's gaze was unfocused, as if he were looking at some distant, unreachable past.

"She was nine years old that year. She secretly used the arrow I had left on the table to try to leave her name on this wooden bow. As a result, the name was carved crookedly and she even cut her hand."

“She didn’t cry. Instead, she held up the blood-stained arrowhead and said to me with utmost seriousness, ‘Dad, look, now it has my mark. When you go hunting in the future, it will be as if Jenny is by your side, protecting you forever!’”

His lips twitched upwards very slightly, barely qualifying as a smile.

“I taught her how to listen to the breath of the forest, how to distinguish coyotes from leopards in the wind. But she… she taught me how to nurse an injured deer calf, how to identify the fog lamp grass that glows in the moonlight.”

Aspen caressed the wooden bow with gentle touches, but stopped abruptly just before he could reach the crooked characters, his fingers trembling slightly as he hesitated to approach.

“On the morning of the sacrificial ceremony, she was betting with me on whether a pine dove we had rescued and then released would come back to see us next year. She said it definitely would, because ‘all things have a spirit.’”

“Sometimes, in my dreams, I can still hear the ‘thump-thump’ of her bare feet running across the wooden planks… but when I wake up, all I hear is the damned sound of the wind.”

The following year, the pine dove indeed returned.

(End of this chapter)