The Bones on Trees were even stranger than the giant rocks from before.
The towering, thick, black trees, from leaves to roots, are entirely black, with dense vines entwining them.
With the shade of the trees providing shelter, the surrounding environment was quiet and dim, as if the Buddha were in another primordial world.
"These bones..."
Chu Xiu exclaimed in surprise, wanting to reach out and touch it but not daring to.
The tree trunk has many protruding bones, as if they grew directly from inside.
The skulls are shaped like human skulls, and there are also many animal skulls. On the tallest tree are rows of deer heads.
The deer head was probably used for worship; the area under the tree trunk was piled with incense ash and broken candles, creating an eerie sense of solemnity.
Jiang Nuo looked up and around, slightly surprised.
These bones contain a certain power, which is purer than human bones.
"Like a monster."
Si Yan complained, "They're all ugly."
He yawned, feeling a little bored.
The person who coveted these bones the most was Su Hen.
I've always felt that the Soul-Attaching Bone I use for my dolls are too ordinary, but I'm afraid to use human bones, so these tree bones are just the right choice.
He asked the question almost instinctively.
"Since you're a tourist attraction, are these bones allowed to be sold?"
The words that slipped out were immediately followed by a realization.
Su Hen froze, only then remembering the contents of the rules.
The guests also quieted down, turning their gazes to Da Qiang expression had subtly changed.
Jiang Nuo tilted her head to observe Da Qiang's reaction, finding it quite peculiar.
This guy's like a dungeon NPC, huh?
"Are you sure?" Da Qiang asked, not with the expected fury, but with a strange smile and his eyes fixed on Su Hen.
"Are you sure."
They seemed to be really hoping he would give a positive answer.
This reaction doesn't quite align with the guidelines.
Su Hen quickly waved his hand, feeling that this person was extremely strange, and also thought that the rules were too impersonal.
"No, no, I just said it offhand."
He lost face, and his face flushed red.
"Hmph, what a pity."
Da Qiang chuckled coldly twice and then led the group down to the bottom of the deer head.
"This is the place in our tribe that symbolizes the most peace and good fortune."
He had barely finished speaking when, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned his head to look.
His cloudy eyes stared straight ahead.
What did he see?
[Damn, that scared me! Wasn't this supposed to be about a deer head?!]
Are all these Bone Witch Tribe crazy? Why are they so easily startled?!
A few seconds later, Da Qiang forced a strange smile onto his face, as if he couldn't control his muscles.
"I have some things to attend to. You can find the information about this place on the notice boards yourselves. Just remember not to get separated from each other; I'll come to pick you up at noon."
After he finished speaking, as if he had received some order, he hurriedly left.
The way he ran even seemed impatient.
"They're finally gone."
Su Hen breathed a sigh of relief as the eerie feeling that had been clinging to her like a leech gradually disappeared.
The burgeoning desire within me did not disappear.
He coveted those powerful bones so much; if his doll could use them too... its power would surely be a hundred times, or even a thousand times, greater than it is now!
The other guests were admiring the structure of the bones and the explanations on the signs. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Su Hen hid in a place out of the camera's view and tried to pry and touch the bones.
Ordinary people die for violating the rules, and he thought he was much more capable than them.
With this mindset, if one bone can't be broken, try another. Su Hen even went all out to feel which stone contained the most power.
But he forgot that this was no ordinary camera; it was a 360-degree, unobstructed release machine that left no room for escape.
"I'm speechless!! Su Hen wants to die, can't he stop dragging others down with him?!"
What does he need bones for? Are they edible or something?
"Holy crap! Look at where Su Hen broke the bones!"
Jiang Nuo, who was not far away, also noticed the commotion and turned to look.
A piece of bone was broken off, and from the gap in the tree hole, sap that looked like human blood immediately flowed out, and a foul stench spread.
Su Hen hadn't expected this to happen after the bone was broken, and was clearly at a loss.
"Idiot."
Si Yan was the first to cover his nose.
He glanced at Qian Sen, the least noticeable member of the guest group, who nodded respectfully, already understanding the young master's meaning.
This expedition, ostensibly an adventure, was in reality a covert selection process to weed out talented individuals; those of questionable character or insufficient ability would be eliminated.
Su Hen was crossed off their list.
At this moment, they were completely unaware of what was happening, and were frantically trying to stop the foul-smelling liquid, but to no avail.
It seems to flow endlessly, the more it flows, the more there is.
The stench filled the air, and the guests covered their noses.
Jiang Nuo pinched her nose and spoke in a muffled voice, "Put the bone back in."
It stinks horribly.
"I..."
Su Hen was somewhat unwilling and used his Soul Power to plug the gap.
It was originally just a last resort, but it actually worked.
The breach was plugged, and the bleeding stopped.
Jiang Nuo stared at the tree trunk for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow and teased, "Hey, that's really asking for trouble."
There were no major problems here, so Si Yan and I turned around and went to look at the notice board again.
It wasn't that they were particularly attentive, but rather that finding recognizable Chinese characters among a jumble of runes and piecing together their general meaning was quite difficult.
Jiang Nuo could barely make out, " The Bones on Trees are a very important part of the history passed down by the Bone Witch Tribe."
The Bone Witch Tribe believes that this tree, which grows its own bones, can protect its people from illness and disaster, and collect bad luck. Therefore, they often come to worship it, and the lion skull and deer head represent their supreme faith and prayers.
The last line of text was enlarged significantly.
Si Yan reached out to touch it; it was still slightly sticky, as if it had just been applied recently.
He read aloud, "The third taboo of the Bone Witch Tribe: one must not arbitrarily damage the Bones on Trees; those who violate this will be punished by slow slicing."
As soon as he finished speaking, Si Yan slowly turned to look at Su Hen, his tone sly, "Then you're dead meat."
Su Hen: "..."
"Are you kidding me!"
I refuse to believe that over all these years, not a single member of the Bone Witch Tribe has ever tried to touch these bones.
"We don't even know how to read these words, so you can't just say whatever you want!"
Perhaps feeling guilty, his tone was overly agitated, "I think you're doing this on purpose!"
How come they found the taboo right after he broke the bone?
Si Yan was yelled at, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. She stared at him for half a second, then her expression changed slightly. She looked at Jiang Nuo with a wronged expression and took her hand.
He insulted me, and I was heartbroken.