Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 66 Doll
"If you scream again, I'll sacrifice you to the mountain god." Taoist Xuanji stared at the villagers coldly, without a trace of warmth, as if he was looking at a pile of dead bodies. When the villagers quieted down, he turned and said to Changfeng and the others, "I haven't finished what I was saying just now. If you don't surrender in a quarter of an hour, I will kill one person every quarter of an hour. How do you think? Is this game fun? Hahahaha!"

Changfeng held a torch in one hand and a long sword in the other, his palms drenched in sweat. He prayed silently in his heart, "Miss Rong, please come back soon. We can't hold on any longer here! Sir, please wake up! Aren't you the one who has the most solutions?"
Changfeng was unsure, but he couldn't show his fear. The lives of the adults and his brothers were in his hands! No matter how difficult it was, he had to persevere!
"The time has come. Who should we kill first?" Taoist Xuanji glanced at the villagers, and the villagers knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Master, I have fifty taels of silver at home. I'll give it all to you. Please don't kill me!" The village chief spoke first.

"Oh?" Taoist Xuanji looked uninterested.

The village chief gritted his teeth and made a bold move. "I can help you run my fifty acres of fertile land and this inn. All you need is food. Oh, and I'll have all the unmarried girls in the village serve you! I promise to serve you comfortably."

The families with daughters all glared at him, but dared not say anything. The village chief himself has no daughters, yet he comes here to bring trouble to other families! This is too shameless!

The village chief's son's eyes widened, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. Was his father crazy? How could he push the village girl into the fire pit? He tugged at the village chief's sleeve and whispered, "Dad!"

Taoist Xuanji's face lit up with joy, and he stroked his beard. "Village Chief, I remember your daughter-in-law is also very pretty..."

The village chief acted like he was ready to accept the offer, flatteringly saying, "I'll let her serve you right away... It's all yours, all yours... It's her good fortune that you're interested in her!"

"Dad! Feng'er she..." The village chief's son looked incredulous and angry. In order to save his own life, his father actually pushed his daughter-in-law out to block the knife!

"Shut up! It's her blessing to be able to serve Taoist Master Xuanji! The Taoist Master doesn't even dislike her!" The village chief scolded his son, fearing that his son would anger the Taoist Master.

"You have quite a good eye." Taoist Xuanji nodded, stroked his beard, and looked satisfied.

With the village chief taking the lead, the wealthy and prominent families in the village also pledged their willingness to donate money to ward off disaster. The poor families without money and land also knelt and expressed their willingness to help with the farming work and not to be lazy.

Only some poor and old farmers were left, who had no skills and could only kneel down and beg for mercy.

Taoist Xuanji sat on a stone bench and nodded to the village chief: "Village chief, come here."

The village chief hunched over, nodded and bowed, then stood up and trotted to the side of Taoist Xuanji with a humble look on his face.

Taoist Priest Xuanji pointed at the villagers kneeling on the ground and asked, "Who do you think should start with?"

The village chief's forehead was covered in sweat. He hardened his heart and glanced at the villagers. His eyes fell on Old Sun who was kneeling in the corner. He trembled and said, "Master, this Old Sun is old and poor, childless, and he broke his leg before. How about we start with him?"

The old man Sun, whose name was called, knelt there, trembling like a sieve, and begged for mercy. "Okay, I'll listen to you! From now on, you will help me take care of this village. If you do a good job, you will naturally get some benefits!" Taoist Xuanji touched the whisk in his hand from time to time.

The village chief's face lit up with joy, and he secretly thought, now that he has the Taoist priest as his backer, he will be able to get whatever he wants in the village. Thinking of this, he became even more attentive. He straightened his back, pointed at two people with a domineering air, and said to them, "Wang Wu, Xu Shan, tie up Old Sun and keep him away. Don't offend our Taoist priest!"

The two men knelt there, not moving, with a look of dissatisfaction on their faces, but they couldn't get angry.

"What? Do you two want to be buried with him? If you don't obey, you two will be the next ones!" The village chief looked arrogant.

Wang Wu and Xu Shan then pulled up the old man Sun and took him aside.

The village chief's son was utterly disappointed with his father, who had assisted the evildoer. He couldn't bear to watch any longer. He raised his head and shouted, "Dad! Please consider our friendship and ask the Taoist priest to spare us! If you do this, aren't you afraid that it will be your turn in the end?"

The village chief was furious. He quickly stepped forward and slapped his son to the ground. "You idiot, what do you know? Who am I doing this for? Wang Wu, Xu Shan, why don't you two do it?"

The village chief's son knew that he was outnumbered and no matter how hard he struggled, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. He could only kneel there dejectedly and stop watching.

Old Sun was tied up tightly and made to kneel outside the inn door. The others immediately moved away from him for fear of being implicated.

"Our Lord Chief Justice who loves the people like his own children, I will count to three. If you don't show up, don't blame me for being cruel! They all died for you! One! Two!..." Taoist Xuanji was calm and composed, but every word he said was heartbreaking.

The villagers kneeling on the ground stared at the small inn, hoping for a miracle to happen.

"three!"

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It took Rong Wanyin nearly an hour to dismember all the puppets that kept coming, and she collapsed to the ground exhausted. She hadn't had a drop of water for most of the day and was now hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. If more puppets appeared, she would be overwhelmed. At this moment, the door to the inner courtyard creaked open! The inner courtyard was completely different from the outer courtyard. It was fully equipped with pavilions and towers, and it was very spacious.

A young woman in a long, flowing gauze dress slowly "floated" toward them, like a fairy. Why "floated"? Because she had no feet at all. She wasn't walking, she was moving! Like those puppets, she had a few wooden wheels underneath, hidden by her long dress. If it weren't for the creaking sound of the wheels as she moved, it would have truly looked like she was floating.

The woman had a peaceful expression and delicate features, but her face was slightly blue, her eyes were hollow, and her expression was expressionless. She then turned around and walked forward, as if leading Rong Wanyin.

Rong Wanyin recalled the child in Sister Ruoping's arms, and two words popped up in her mind: "Doll! This is a doll!"
The puppets just now were all made of wood, but this one is made of real people! The person who made it must be crazy!
Rong Wanyin was puzzled, but she followed the woman forward. The woman stopped at the arch bridge. After all, the wheel could not cross the arch bridge, so Rong Wanyin crossed the bridge by herself. The arch bridge was not long, but there was a bottomless abyss below it. If she fell into it, she would be shattered to pieces.