The Grand Sacrifice to the God, Lady Baijia

The tradition of using living people as sacrifices has continued for over a hundred years in Baijia Town.

Originally, it was used to depict either a virgin boy or a virgin girl.

But the River God didn't seem to like it.

Those years were marked by both severe floods and droughts, causing famine and widespread suffering in the entire Baijia Town.

Later, he chose a beautiful young woman who was still unmarried.

Baijia Town has never suffered from floods or famine again.

It turns out that the River God in the Canglan River was simply lustful.

So from then on,

In Baijia Town, a sacrificial ceremony is held, where beautiful young girls are selected, dressed up as brides, and sent into the wide and deep Canglan River.

The chosen River God’s Bride is also known as the Lady Baijia.

Today marks the annual God-Sacrificing Ceremony.

The entire population of Baijia Town came.

Thousands of people filled the entire sacrificial plaza to capacity, making it densely packed.

As the Shaman Priest's chanting of the River Sacrifice Ballad grew more intense, the River Nuo Dance became increasingly frenzied.

A bright red bridal sedan chair was carried out by four burly men who were shirtless.

The woman sitting in the bridal sedan chair is this year's Lady Baijia.

A large Oxhide War Drum stands by the river.

A beautifully decorated flower boat was Jingjing moored at the dock.

The pleasure boat was laden with sacrificial offerings to the River God, including three kinds of sacrificial animals and five kinds of tripods, jade artifacts, silks, delicacies, and fine wines.

The Lady Baijia needs to ride this flower boat into the center of the river, and then sink into the river along with the offerings to marry the River God.

Only then was the sacrificial ceremony truly over.

A faint, muffled sob could be heard from the surrounding crowd, low and subtle, yet clearly audible in the silent audience.

"Don't cry. Our daughter is incredibly lucky to marry the River God. She'll definitely be rich and powerful in her next life, with no worries about food or clothing."

"Waaaaah..."

"Stop crying! You've disturbed the God-Sacrificing Ceremony and offended the River God. We'll be punished by the town magistrate."

"Waaaaah..."

"I told you not to cry, waaaaah..."

"..."

The sacrificial ceremony has reached its climax.

"Beat the drums, offer a prayer."

Thump--

The Oxhide War Drum vibrated, producing a deep, resonant sound that echoed throughout the entire sacrificial square as it was struck by a naked, burly man.

In the summer of the thirty-second year of the Shun'an era of the Great Liang Dynasty, in Baijia Town, Tai'an Prefecture, we respectfully offer sacrificial animals, wine, silk, incense, candles, and other necessities before the throne of the River God.

"Our town is situated by the water, and generations have relied on the river for their livelihood. We owe our prosperity to the River God's protection, which ensures favorable weather, abundant harvests, and a peaceful and happy life."

"However, the gods are merciful, yet lonely and helpless. Therefore, they have chosen a pure and innocent young woman of marriageable age from this town, whose body is unblemished and whose heart is pure, to be offered up as a human sacrifice in the great river, to be the god's bride, to serve the River God, to be the river's bride, to accompany the god year after year, never to be separated."

"This woman worships the gods, seeking neither wealth nor fame, but only that the venerable gods gladly accept her. May the gods accept this woman, and from this day forward, may the river flow gently, neither flooding towns nor destroying fertile fields, may the weather be favorable, and may the harvests be plentiful. May the gods protect the people of my town, ensuring they are free from illness and disaster, living in peace year after year, with enough food and clothing, and may their homes be filled with the smoke of cooking fires."

"The Baijia Town have worshipped the gods for generations, offering sacrifices year after year with a constant stream of livestock and incense. If the gods bless us, we will continue to offer sacrifices according to custom every year, without daring to disobey or slacken our efforts. We humbly beseech the River God to have mercy on us, to see our foolish sincerity, to accept our offerings, and to bestow upon us your grace to protect this land!"

As the Shaman Priest wearing a bronze mask finished reciting the sacrificial prayer,

Thousands of Baijia Town residents knelt down in the square and shouted in unison.

"I humbly beseech the River God to have mercy on me, to see my foolish sincerity, to accept my life sacrifice, and to bestow upon me abundant blessings to protect this land!"

In an instant,

The shouts were deafening, echoing across the land.

"Send the bride away."

Thump--

The drums thundered, deafeningly loud.

The bright red flower bridge was once again lifted by four strong men, and they walked steadily toward the riverside dock.

"The bride has been escorted away."

"My daughter, my darling... Waaaaah..."

"The bride has been escorted away."

"..."

Amidst the jubilant shouts of thousands of people, that faint sob was like a handful of mud being swept into a surging river, instantly drowned out by the clamor and cheers.

No one heard, no one cared.

The bride stepped out of the bridal sedan chair.

She wore a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, a bright red jacket and skirt, a red veil over her head, and embroidered red shoes.

You can't tell what his face looks like, or what his emotions are.

But that graceful and slender figure,

That's enough to tell you that this bride is absolutely stunning.

Worship gods,

Baijia Town is serious.

Them,

They did not merely appease the River God.

Lady Baijia walked gracefully onto the flower boat, as if she had already accepted her fate.

There was no fuss, no struggle, and no attempt to escape.

It was very quiet.

It was as quiet as a soulless puppet.

The Canglan River is flowing very rapidly today.

The pleasure boats had neither sails nor oars, but were laden with sacrificial offerings, jade and silk, and fine food and wine.

The bride was the only living person there.

After the strong man untied the rope,

The flower-decorated boat carrying the bride began to move slowly, drifting with the current towards the center of the river.

"Beat the drums to welcome the bride."

With the Shaman Priest's command,

The Oxhide War Drum sounded again with a deep, muffled tone, as if telling the river River God that the bride had set off and it was time to come and fetch her.

Thousands of Baijia Town residents stood on the shore, craning their necks and looking into the distance, filled with anticipation.

Over the years,

The bridal boat is bound to capsize as soon as it reaches the middle of the river.

Over a hundred years,

Without exception.

This signifies that the River God accepted their offerings and married the bride from Baijia Town.

This also means that,

This year,

Baijia Town will surely enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests.

They waited with anticipation and excitement.

Just as they had hoped,

Beneath the deep river surface,

Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared.

Like an ancient behemoth that has lived at the bottom of the river for countless years, even if it doesn't reveal its full form, just showing a glimpse of the iceberg is enough to make people tremble with fear and their souls tremble.

It is the River God of the Canglan River.

This is the very deity that Baijia Town has been worshipping for hundreds of years.

The flower-adorned boat carrying the bride gradually approached the center of the river.

The huge shadow in the water followed them relentlessly.

It's like a century-old pact between Baijia Town and the River God.

Once the flower boat reached the middle of the river...

It capsized the bride and the boat, plunging them into the dark, deep riverbed.

It will enjoy this once-a-year feast.

It's actually quite strange and puzzling.

Why do the people living on the riverbank periodically send these delicious foods into the river to feed it?

It clearly didn't do anything.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

It can simply focus on enjoying its food.

As for what those foolish and wasteful humans are thinking,

It doesn't care at all.

It only needs to remember to hear roughly the same noise at roughly the same time, and then go to roughly the same location.

It capsized the ship that had already left a deep impression on it.

Then,

Just enjoy a delicious and satisfying meal.