vrcanaries Chapter 128 The Sacrifice Begins
Chapter 128 The Sacrifice Begins
Every now and then, members of the tribe would bring food from their own homes to feed the children in Yuerdong.
Of course, the children from ordinary families who were mixed in with the children in Yuerdong were not left behind either.
As more and more children gathered, Jiang Luoluo approached You and her group of friends once again.
Upon seeing the numerous children from Fish Cave surrounding Jiang Luoluo, You's face revealed a betrayed expression. She couldn't believe that Luoluo had gathered so many followers elsewhere besides them!
Unwilling to have his position as the younger brother taken away, You rushed straight towards Jiang Luoluo, trying to push aside the children from Fish Cave and take the place next to Jiang Luoluo.
Although the children from Yuerdong were being targeted for no apparent reason, they were not willing to back down and refused to give an inch of the space next to Jiang Luoluo.
Yuzu had a physical advantage, but there were too many children in the Fish Cave. Even when her companions came to help, she couldn't regain the advantage.
The tension between the two sides grew increasingly palpable, and Jiang Luoluo wanted to intervene but couldn't find the words to do so.
"Luo! You're here too... Ah?" Nan's figure suddenly appeared, accompanied by his group of young followers of the same age.
The sound interrupted the confrontation between You and the others and the children from Yuerdong. The children from Yuerdong looked at Nan curiously, wondering who he was.
When Yu saw Nan, she remembered the scene where Luo pushed Nan off the rock last time. Needless to say, Nan must be Luo's "enemy"!
"What do you want to do to Luo?!" You asked alertly.
The children in Fish Cave reacted for a moment and suddenly realized that Nan might not be a good person!
In an instant, the confrontation with Youyou turned into a wary look at Nan together with Youyou. The group of children were like small animals guarding their food, tense and defensive.
Because he realized that his opponent Luo was mute, he felt guilty and ran away. After returning home, Nan thought about it and felt that he was too "cowardly".
A true orc warrior should not be afraid of powerful enemies. How could he back down and run away because of something like this? Nan was determined to correct his mistake.
So after hearing about Luo, he bravely set out with his underlings, ready to face Luo head-on, to greet him normally and in a friendly manner, and to erase his previous black history of running away. Nan: Huh?
Why is everyone staring at him like that?
Nan's underlings, unaware of the situation, exchanged glances upon seeing the other side taking a stance, and immediately followed suit, bolstering their boss Nan's morale.
"War" seemed imminent.
Fortunately, an adult member of the tribe noticed the situation and came over with a smile, reminding them, "Fighting is not allowed here."
"What if you get the food dirty?" The tribesman pointed to the open space on the other side. "If you want to fight, go play over there."
Jiang Luoluo's expression changed from surprise at seeing her savior to speechless disbelief, as if to say, "I knew it."
"We're not going to fight!" Nan said bluntly, though he didn't quite understand the situation.
"I'm here to say hello to Luo!"
Facing everyone's confused gazes, Nan snorted twice, put his hands on his hips, walked in front of Jiang Luoluo, and easily pushed aside the several children blocking Jiang Luoluo's side—of course, it wasn't that the other children gave him their place, but simply because he was very strong.
"Here you go." Nan took a handful of fruit from his pocket and placed it in Jiang Luoluo's palm.
He had taken the fruit Luo gave him last time and had been thinking of returning it for a long time; now he finally had the chance.
He spent half a day picking out these fruits at home; not a single one was bad, and he guaranteed that every single one would be sweet, even sweeter than the fruits Luo gave him last time!
"Alright, that's all. Goodbye." Nan Zhi left with a haughty air.
Behind him followed a group of bewildered but arrogant underlings. The group came and went in a hurry.
Jiang Luoluo stared blankly at a pile of fruit: Wait, what exactly is he here for?
However, she seems to have found a solution.
Jiang Luoluo smiled and distributed the handful of small fruits in her hand to the children around her one by one. The sweet fruits soothed the children whose hostility had dissipated.
They looked at each other, and quickly shook hands and made peace amidst Jiang Luoluo's expectant smile. Then they quickly huddled together, arms around each other's shoulders, to eat other food.
Looking at the small fruit that was still half left in her palm, Jiang Luoluo tasted two of them, and the sweet taste made her like them immediately.
After looking around, Jiang Luoluo ran towards Ge, holding up the fruit in her palm with expectant eyes.
Unable to resist the cub's gaze, Ge had no choice but to eat one and then sincerely praise her a few times. Ge had been watching Jiang Luoluo the whole time, but it was not convenient for an orc warrior like him, who had awakened his orc bloodline, to get involved in matters between the cubs, so he could only watch from the sidelines.
The fact that a fight didn't break out made Ge breathe a huge sigh of relief. Although it was clear that the cub wouldn't suffer any losses, and was even unlikely to lose, the thought that the cub might get hurt still made Ge feel unbearable.
This is wrong. Go knew he shouldn't have such "weak" thoughts. The cubs should be strong and powerful, standing in the center of the children with scars and strength to prove their status, and then grow up healthy and happy.
But whenever he thought of that night, with the cub covered in blood lying in his arms, Ge couldn't help but feel a sense of "fear"—he was afraid that the cub would really die.
I was afraid that on that night, I searched all the burning houses but couldn't save a single person.
But then the cub stood before him, a bright, sunny smile on its face, offering him sweet fruit, and Ge's heart calmed down.
……
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
For the past three days, Jiang Luoluo would take the children from Yuerdong up the mountain every afternoon to freeload. Although they could go all day, Jiang Luoluo was very sensible and only went for one meal a day.
On the mountaintop, the tribespeople would prepare various foods in advance to feed the children of Yuerdong.
As for Little Fish King Biao, Jiang Luoluo hadn't seen him for several days. After running out of fishing line, Little Fish King Biao had been catching fish on the other side of the river every day and hadn't appeared on the open space where the fishing line was made.
The fish in the Fish Cave are supplied regularly every day, which makes people marvel at the value of the Little Fish King, even though not every fish was caught by the Little Fish King.
But Little Fish King can catch fish every day; that's real skill.
Once the tribal ritual officially begins, the children of Yuerdong are no longer allowed to go up the mountain. It's not that there are any additional requirements for them or that they are prohibited from participating.
Rather, the sacrificial ceremony is the most important activity in the tribe, and the day is always very busy and chaotic, making it difficult to take care of so many children. Even the adults are at risk of getting injured, let alone these children from Yuerdong who have no parents to protect them.
……
Early in the morning, Jiang Luoluo was helped by Ge to change into a new set of animal skin clothes. Ge personally went to exchange for a giant wild animal pelt and then made the clothes by hand.
Then Jiang Luoluo tied her half-length hair into two cute little pigtails with pretty dyed hair ties. The hair ties were a super complicated and beautiful new style that Xing had personally woven.
Although the clansmen participating in the sacrificial ceremony would try their best to dress up beautifully on this day, there was really no need for Jiang Luoluo to be so solemn.
Jiang Luoluo dressed so beautifully because she would also be "on stage" during today's sacrificial ceremony.
The shaman planned to use the power of the ancestors in the ritual to remove the fire poison from Jiang Luoluo's body.
However, Wu couldn't be sure of the effect, since Jiang Luoluo was the only one still alive after being exposed to the fire poison.
As soon as Jiang Luoluo stepped out of the cave, she saw Mao and Ke's family waiting by the roadside.
They had deliberately stopped here to go to the mountaintop with Jiang Luoluo to participate in the sacrificial ceremony. Mao had not yet changed into his new clothes, which he would wear after awakening as an orc warrior during the ceremony.
Jiang Luoluo smiled and waved vigorously.
"Luo looks very beautiful today." Mao's gaze fell on the two little tufts on Jiang Luoluo's head.
This hairstyle wasn't popular in the tribe before, but it might not be in vogue now.
But it has to be said that this hairstyle looks really cute on the cub Luo's head. Mao resisted the urge to go up and ruffle his hair... cough, Ge is watching.
Jiang Luoluo shook her head with satisfaction, showing off her new hairstyle and headdress from various angles.
The group chatted and laughed as they walked up the mountain.
When they were halfway there, they ran into Pear and Pomelo's family, who had just set off.
Upon seeing Jiang Luoluo, You excitedly broke free from her parents' arms and ran towards Jiang Luoluo, greeting her in a clear and distinct voice.
Pear also walked up to Mao very naturally, and the two greeted each other and started talking.
Rihimo is a year younger, so he cannot participate in the awakening ceremony this year and will have to wait until next year.
From initially feeling uncomfortable, Shigeru has now been able to engage in lively conversations with Rina, which is certainly a form of progress.
Jiang Luoluo looked on with satisfaction. The taciturn Mao, who rarely spoke at the beginning, had changed so much.
Before she had gone far, Jiang Luoluo saw Zhuang and Xi appear by the roadside.
Even from a considerable distance, Jiang Luoluo heard Zhuang and Xi's voices, "I see Luoluo!"
"I saw Luo too. Keep your voice down, it's too noisy."
"Luo came so slowly today. I've been waiting for her on the mountain for ages."
“Luo lives at the foot of the mountain, which is far away, so he must be slow to get here.”
Wow, Luo looks so beautiful today... Luo!
"Yeah, wait a minute... Zhuang, wait for me!"
Two figures ran up to Jiang Luoluo one after the other, loudly praising her new clothes and hair tie, and then asked expectantly, "Luo, I want one too, can I change?"
Xi glared at Zhuang, stood next to Jiang Luoluo, and began to recount how she and Zhuang had gotten up early to go up the mountain, and how they had secretly gone down after discovering that she wasn't there. She described the story in great detail, even mentioning what was on the mountain.
"This was made by Xing." Ge grabbed the collar of the overly boisterous Zhuang and pointed to a few figures walking more slowly on the other side.
"She's over there, go find her."
Xing, who was walking slowly with the help of a cane, accompanied by her parents and younger brother Pingdu, looked up after hearing a familiar voice and immediately saw the cub in the middle at the front.
A bright, sunny smile instantly spread across his face, like ice melting away. "Luo!"
However, the one running towards her wasn't a cub, but a large, muscular child. "Xing! The hair tie you made is so pretty, I want one too!"
Ping stood guard in front of her sister with a wary expression, her eyes cautiously fixed on Zhuang.
After sending the loud and noisy Zhuang away, Jiang Luoluo and her group stopped and waited for Xing and her family to come over before heading up the mountain together.
The crowd grew larger and larger, with more and more familiar friends joining the group, until they reached the summit.
Different areas had been marked out on the mountaintop beforehand, where the group split up. Ru Mao then went to the wooden platform next to the fire to wait for the ceremony to begin.
Children who were not old enough returned to their parents and went to a location a little further away from the fire to watch the sacrificial ceremony.
Some of the orc warriors separated from their families and stood between the fire and the crowd, acting as protective guards to prevent any accidents from happening during the sacrificial ceremony.
Jiang Luoluo played with her friends for a while, then followed Ge towards the wooden platform.
Ge was in charge of guarding the area around the wooden platform, while Jiang Luoluo followed behind Mao and the others, waiting for her chance to be treated.
It felt like standing on the flagpole and giving a speech during recess when I was in school.
Of course, a sacrificial ceremony cannot begin with an awakening ritual; there are many other steps involved.
The shaman stood on the wooden platform, with the chieftain Jing standing beside him.
A circle of orc warriors guarded the wooden platform, including Chi and Ge.
A little to the side was Mao's group of teenagers, with Jiang Luoluo standing at the very back like a little tail.
Directly opposite the wooden platform was the fire seed, and around the fire seed was a large open space. Surrounding this open space were the positions of the ordinary tribesmen.
To put it more vividly:
Clan members—Clan members—Clan members
Tribe members — (fire) — | wooden platform | — the shaman's wooden hut
Clan members—Clan members—Children awaiting awakening
The shaman and Chief Jing looked around from the wooden platform. The platform, which was more than three meters high, allowed them to have a panoramic view of the entire top of Silver Peak Mountain.
Seeing that no more tribesmen were going up the mountain in the distance, and that the number of people had probably arrived and the time was almost up, the leader, Jing, roared, making a sound like a beast's roar.
The powerful voice instantly reverberated throughout the mountaintop, and everyone who had been chatting and making noise fell silent, turning their gazes toward the wooden platform.
The shaman stepped forward at the opportune moment, his light and clear voice picking up where Chief Jing's roar left off, "People of the Frostfire Tribe, we gather here today to worship our ancestors..."
Jiang Luoluo touched her head awkwardly. She had thought that standing next to the wooden platform was like having bought a front desk ticket for an inner circle concert.
As a result, because he was too short and the wooden platform was too high, his view was completely blocked by the people in front of him and the people around him.