At the site of the dream synesthesia ritual.
Outside the ritual grounds, the centaurs dared not enter and could only mill around the edges.
They looked anxious as they peered through gaps between the trees. White smoke shrouded the site, hiding both the stinking corpse and Da Zhang.
"Chief, something was wrong with Da Zhang's expression just now. We should have stopped him."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Speaking of which, Chief, since when did you have a daughter? You only have a son. Has Da Zhang become delusional?"
The onlookers voiced their worries one after another. They had not dared speak earlier and only began discussing it once Da Zhang entered the dream synesthesia state. By now, smoke had engulfed the entire ritual site, and they could no longer see his face.
"I'm afraid so." The chief's face was grim.
When Da Zhang first said he wanted to propose to his daughter, the chief's heart had lurched. Something felt wrong.
Since when did he have a daughter?
He only had a son!
The chief had repeatedly tried to persuade Da Zhang to halt his efforts and calm down.
But Da Zhang had convinced him with a different line of reasoning.
With the true culprit potentially hiding in the forest, unless they found it, this forest would no longer be fit for the centaur tribe to inhabit. That meant he had to take this risk.
For the safety of the entire tribe, the chief could only agree and watch him begin a second dream synesthesia ritual.
The second synesthesia ritual differed from the first. This round of dream synesthesia involved deeper contact and was bound to be more dangerous, but if he returned alive, he would most likely be able to identify the true culprit.
After a dozen