Sacrifice

The sky was dark and heavy,

Dark Clouds churned,

A torrential downpour came crashing down, the roaring curtain of rain blotting out sky and earth.

In the riverside grass,

A man and a woman, wearing bamboo hats and straw rain capes with longswords on their backs, swiftly skimmed across the lush reeds.

By their appearance,

They were clearly two wandering heroes traveling the Jianghu.

"Senior Brother, the rain is too heavy. How about we find somewhere to take shelter? If the Immortals from the Four Immortal Sect in River Pond Town have already slain the Yao Monkey King, there's no use hurrying any further!"

The woman's breathing was slightly ragged.

They had raced all the way here, only to run into this storm overhead. It had severely hindered their journey, and after such intense travel, the woman was already somewhat exhausted.

The man looked at his Junior Sister, who was nearly soaked through behind him, then raised his head to look at the sky.

As far as the eye could see, there were only layers of black clouds,

And the drifting rain pouring down all around.

He let out a sigh.

"Forget it. Let's find somewhere to rest first. With rain this heavy, there's no point in rushing."

More than ten days earlier,

The two martial siblings had learned from friends in the Jianghu that a Yao Monkey King had appeared near River Pond Town. It had led numerous monkey demons in attacking the Spirit Fruit Grove guarded by the Four Immortal Sect, and the Immortal Sect was gathering people to head there and surround it.

Once the Yao Monkey King was successfully killed, the monkey demon corpses could be distributed according to merit.

The Four Immortal Sect in River Pond Town had a fairly good reputation,

And there had been no rumors of them withholding rewards or the like.

Thus, upon hearing the news,

The martial siblings had rushed toward River Pond Town overnight.

In this Jianghu,

What Martial Artist did not dream of obtaining a Spirit Item one day, succeeding in Qi Sensing, and crossing in a single stride into the realm of the Immortal Sect?

The so-called Jianghu and Martial Arts World,

To a great extent, existed because many ordinary people wished to seek the Dao through the Immortal Sect. In order to gain more opportunities to acquire Spirit Items and strengthen themselves, they formed this transitional class before stepping onto the Immortal Path.

Martial arts entered the Immortal Path.

That itself was the reason the Jianghu and Martial Arts World existed.

Though Martial Artists faced extreme danger when confronting Low-level Demonic Beasts, and the monkey demon Spirit Items from the Four Immortal Sect of River Pond Town were hardly easy to obtain, with dangers lurking at every turn,

At least the opportunity existed. They had to seize it!

That was why the martial siblings had hurried here overnight.

Unfortunately, along the way,

They had encountered certain matters that delayed them for some time. Then the drifting downpour had begun, causing them great trouble on their journey.

"Senior Brother, there seem to be some people ahead. We should be able to find a village to shelter from the rain!"

Looking up,

They saw a group of farmers gathered by the riverbank ahead, though it was unclear what they were doing.

Faintly,

The crying of children seemed to drift over.

Though they were somewhat puzzled, the martial siblings were skilled and bold. They did not worry much and directly skimmed forward.

When they came within several dozen zhang,

And saw everything before them clearly,

Their eyes widened in shock.

Both startled and enraged,

They immediately shouted furiously,

"Bastards, what are you doing?!!!!"

By the riverbank,

A group of village men and women knelt by the water, continuously kowtowing toward the surging river.

Before them,

Inside a wooden cage were two children of six or seven, dressed in ragged clothes. Four bare-chested Burly Men were carrying the cage to the riverbank, pushing it into the muddy floodwaters.

The yellow, turbid River Water surged and overflowed, pouring into the wooden cage.

The older girl inside clutched her terrified, crying younger brother tightly. She gripped the wooden cage and tried to pull herself upward, but the rushing muddy water had already submerged more than half of their lower bodies.

The little girl's face was pale. Her frightened eyes stared at the four Burly Men pushing the cage into the raging, surging river.

Her lips trembled, but she could not speak.

"Stop right there!!!"

The man roared in fury. He immediately used his Lightness Skill to spring out from above, flying several zhang like a great bird. His feet kicked out repeatedly in midair, and in an instant, he sent the four Burly Men around the wooden cage flying backward.

At the same time,

The equally shocked and furious woman drifted lightly forward and yanked the wooden cage up before it could sink into the muddy, churning River Water.

Sword Light flashed with a swish.

The cage split apart.

The woman pulled both the crying boy and the terrified girl behind her.

This sudden turn of events,

Made the Villagers stop their worship.

They Stood Up.

Then the crowd parted,

And an old man leaning on a Walking Stick, his face like the bark of an Old Scholar Tree, walked out in fury.

He savagely struck the riverside grass several times with his Walking Stick,

Then questioned the martial siblings who had suddenly barged in.

"Who are you? Why are you interrupting our sacrifice to the River God?"

"What kind of bullshit sacrifice is this? Are you planning to use two children as offerings?!"

Facing the aggressive stares of the Villagers, the Jianghu Woman showed no fear. She wrapped an arm protectively around the two trembling little ones, who had only just reached her waist, and loudly cursed at the Old Guy leading them.

"What do you outsiders know?!"

"This river has a genuine River God! Those two little bastards have dead parents and no one to raise them. Sending them to Lord River God so they can eat well and drink well—what's wrong with that?"

The old man pointed at the martial siblings' noses and cursed furiously.

"Hand them over right now, or don't blame us rough folk for getting nasty!"

"That's right! Get lost and hand them over!"

"If you anger the River God, you'll suffer for it!"

"Outsiders, you aren't welcome here. Get the hell out!"

Behind him,

The Villagers all shouted in agreement, their aura surging like a tide.

"Ha!"

The man drew in a large breath,

Nearly laughing from sheer rage.

He had once heard that in certain remote places, foolish men and women worshiped Demonic Creatures as mountain gods and used living people as sacrifices.

He had thought they were merely countryside tales, not worth believing.

Yet today he had truly encountered it. These foolish village men and women, these old villagers, were taking lives—and the lives of two children at that—yet they regarded it all as perfectly natural!

"Since you make it sound so wonderful, why don't you go serve the River God yourselves?"

"What business is it of yours!"

"Outsider, get lost!"

The Villagers held clubs and sticks, constantly jeering.

The Jianghu Man's face turned livid.

He decided to waste no more words.

Like a phantom, he flew into the crowd. True Qi swept outward and lashed through the air, and the first few young Burly Men were kicked flying at once.

The Jianghu Man was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, charging left and right.

How could these Ordinary People, who did not even know a few punches or kicks, possibly be his match? One Move for each of them, and he knocked down Villagers who rushed up to attack him one after another.

Very soon, the Villagers had been beaten into a scattered mess and fled backward in disarray.

"You... you just wait! Lord River God will definitely punish you!"

The old man was dragged along by a group of people,

Stumbling backward again and again.

Seemingly frightened by the Jianghu Man's fierce Baleful Intent, his hands and feet trembled.

"Hmph. Then Laozi will stand right here and wait to see how it punishes me!"

Before his words had even faded,

The wind and rain grew fiercer.

The muddy, surging River Water by the bank began to churn rapidly, and an enormous shadow slowly swam closer.