Sacrifice

Did the ritual actually work?

It probably did—otherwise, the progress bar wouldn't have shown the words "Ritual Enhancement."

If he stayed, could he really share in the ritual's effects?

He didn't know. Li Qi had no idea at all. He was just gambling on it pure and simple.

To drift through life in a daze, pulling boats as a coolie, selling his sweat until the end.

He didn't want that.

At that very moment, elsewhere.

At the River-Watching Tower on the Lishui River.

To monitor the water levels at all times and also keep an eye on the city, a River-Watching Tower stood by the riverbank.

The tower rose a hundred zhang into the sky, a height rarely matched even by modern skyscrapers.

The lower floors housed taverns and theaters, but above thirty zhang, commoners were forbidden entry. As for the top floor, it was normally managed by the river officials, who oversaw waterway administration, inspected passing vessels, and handled dredging and levee maintenance.

Lizhou City's prosperity relied entirely on the Lishui River.

The river's safety was a matter of life and death for the entire prefecture—its importance went without saying. So ordinarily, no outsiders ever appeared on the upper floors of the River-Watching Tower except for the officials on duty.

But today, on the River-Watching Tower, layers of altars had been set up, surrounded by nine shamans wearing masks and bizarre attire.

These shamans were dressed in lotus leaves and water plants, crowned with lotus headdresses, their faces painted in seven dazzling colors. They twisted their bodies and muttered incantations under their breath.

In the center of the altars and shamans stood a man with disheveled hair, clutching a wooden oar, dressed in a simple, loose robe.

Surrounded by the many altars, he chanted aloud: "Heaven and Earth have their bounds, each yields its own bounty—Tang's craftsmen, the east's horns, the west's metals, the south's horns, the north's ores—if they remain in their place, they cannot be made excellent; they must be moved elsewhere. This is called the benefit of circulation!"

"Alas! Spirit of the Lishui River, you connect the rare treasures of the four directions to supply us, building boats to travel the waters, commanding ninety million souls, journeying ten thousand miles—your merit is boundless, the people look up to you!"

He cried out the sacrificial verses, waving the oar as he danced.

The shamans beside him picked up drumsticks and pounded fiercely on alligator-skin drums.

Alligators, called tuo in ancient times, had hides that could make drums, and drumming could please the water spirits.

With all this commotion, then... it could be seen that a strange energy was rising faintly over the entire city of Lizhou.

Accompanying it, streams of water suddenly surged from the altars.

These streams flowed toward the man in the center holding the oar.

The man continued to shout: "At the onset of spring, the season brings life! Harmonize cold and warmth, let nature follow its course, open the spirit and delight the body, wash away the heart's defilements, clear and pure as if formless, precious sands shining through, no depth left unlit! Pour and infuse in turn, remove my calamity!"

He was engulfed by the water.

The shamans around him stopped, drenched in sweat, collapsing to the ground to rest.

Their dance hadn't looked particularly exhausting, but judging by their current state, it was as if they hadn't rested for ten straight days—their muscles twitched uncontrollably, sweat poured like a spring, and they lay limp on the ground, unable to move.

At that moment, a Young Scholar stepped forward.

If Li Qi were here, he would absolutely recognize him—this was the Young Scholar who had been with the "Mighty Gang"!

"The great affairs of state are only sacrifice and war. Prefect, you put such wholehearted effort into hosting the ritual every year—the king will surely be delighted to know," the Young Scholar said, watching the man wrapped in water.

"Why say that, Mr. Zhu? Sacrifice is the foundation of the Shaman Path. The Great Deer Kingdom was founded on the Shaman Path, revering the ways of ghosts and spirits—how could we not take sacrifice seriously?" The Prefect floated in the water, yet he could still speak normally.

If you looked closely, his chest was even rising and falling—he was clearly breathing.

Breathing, while inside the water.

"Founded on the Shaman Path? But you don't appoint Shamanic Priests, no Grand Diviners, no Shi Jin in the palace, no Dream Diviners, no Diviners by Stalks—instead, you establish prefectures and counties, appoint Prefects and County Magistrates, honor the sovereign, set up bureaucrats. Is this the Shaman Path, or the Human Path?" The Young Scholar, called Mr. Zhu, said with a smile.

But hearing this, the Prefect couldn't smile. His expression immediately turned subtle.

"Mr. Zhu, those are heavy words. The Great Deer Kingdom is of course rooted in the Shaman Path—it's just that the Human Path's methods are good at gathering the power of the masses. If the kingdom wants to expand and grow strong, it must borrow the skin of the Human Path," the Prefect quickly defended himself.

"That's best, then." Mr. Zhu nodded, looking like he wanted to say more.

But the Prefect didn't want him to continue, so he quickly interjected: "Mr. Zhu, I hear you've been getting close to the common folk lately, often going in and out of the poor districts. Why is that?"

"A few years ago, during the Grand Sacrifice, I divined a result: an Outer Path Artifact would appear in Lizhou City. So I had them search for it," Mr. Zhu said, waving his hand dismissively, not wanting to elaborate on such a trivial matter.

"Outer Path Artifacts are somewhat peculiar, but most are useless scraps. Using a Grand Sacrifice to search for one seems a bit... extravagant," the Prefect reminded him.

"It's nothing. The sacrifice was raised to divine fortune and misfortune, not specifically to seek it out—just an incidental gain," Mr. Zhu replied, as if offhandedly.

Then, before the Prefect could speak again, his expression suddenly turned puzzled: "Prefect, looking at your ritual, it seems the power has weakened somewhat?"

"We're at the tail end of the ritual—weakening is normal. There are usually fluctuations," the Prefect said, seemingly unconcerned. He fell silent, immersing himself in the water currents, beginning to absorb their power.

It had indeed weakened, but by less than one ten-thousandth—well within the range of normal fluctuation.

Still, Mr. Zhu cast a thoughtful glance down toward the base of the tower.

And at the base of the tower, in a corner.

Li Qi was holding a strange posture, reciting the sacrificial text.

Where had the text come from? Naturally, from what the Prefect had chanted!

That was the passage: "Within Qinghua Palace resides the Spirit of the Lishui River, commanding forty-two offices with ninety million followers, governing all matters of the myriad beings along ten thousand li of the Lishui. You boat trackers are one such office, pulling boats and ships, above resolving heavenly calamities, below aiding the nether realms. Now, at the River Opening Ceremony, you shall release the calamitous waters, eliminate transgressions and absolve sins—this is your reward."

In this world, for some reason, they used characters similar to Chinese, and he had a bit of education, so he could understand.

So, he made a slight revision, changing it to: "We boat trackers are one such office, pulling boats with all our hearts," and then changed the latter part to: "Now, at the River Opening Ceremony, our office releases the calamitous waters, eliminates transgressions and absolves sins—we request our reward!"

Would it work?

Of course it worked!

Because the progress bar moved!

He had tried many times before, modifying word by word, including his body movements, changing them over and over. Originally, he just stood there waiting, and found it completely useless.

Even when the River Opening Ceremony's progress bar reached 99.6%, he hadn't received a single share of the benefit.

Then, Li Qi immediately began trying other things.

He changed his posture, revised the sacrificial verses, and attempted many times, but nothing worked.

Because he had already realized one of the functions of the progress bar—it determined whether something was effective!

If it worked, then a progress bar describing the progress would definitely appear!

He tried for a full three quarters of an hour, and finally, when he prostrated himself fully on the ground, facing the Lishui River, and recited the sacrificial prayer aloud, the progress bar: "Ritual Enhancement, one percent." finally popped up!

Just as he finally found the method, the progress bar for the River Opening Ceremony had already reached 99.8%.

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