"We're safe now..."
Although the witch doctor was blind, her senses were sharp. She smelled the lingering odor of burning corpses in the air and breathed a sigh of relief.
The tribespeople, still reeling from the shock, finally came to their senses.
They actually survived the divine punishment.
And all of this was because of this strange tourist who suddenly barged in!
Tourists can actually help them?
The tribespeople were whispering amongst themselves.
Suddenly, the high priest knelt down before Jiang Nuo with a thud, his arms on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"Benefactor!"
The high priest shouted in the tribal language, very excited.
With him leading the way, the other tribesmen, whether willing or not, had no choice but to kneel down.
Jiang Nuo chuckled dryly, feeling very uncomfortable being thanked like this, and immediately burrowed behind Si Yan.
" Si Yan, quickly get them up."
Jiang Nuo whispered a prayer in his ear.
What makes someone with social anxiety turn shy in an instant?! Hahahaha!
So even God Nuo isn't comfortable with compliments! He's practically acting against me!
--
Finally able to communicate properly with her people, Jiang Nuo obtained many clues from the High Priest.
Although the high priest remained silent about the matters concerning the guide and the gods, he provided other clues.
The four guests were regarded by the high priest as heroes who could save them, and Jiang Nuo inquired about the tribe in order to "better protect the people".
The high priest hesitated for a moment before answering, his Mandarin extremely broken and laborious.
"Our Bone Witch Tribe has been passed down through generations, but the number of people in the tribe is dwindling. Although we worship the Deer God, in recent years... other divine powers have emerged in the secret forest."
"The emergence of this force has caused the already small number of people in our tribe to repeatedly exhibit symptoms of soul loss. The only way to change this is through periodic sacrifices of living beings..."
Initially, they used domesticated animals as sacrifices, which maintained peace for a period of time.
But gradually, the gods seemed to become increasingly dissatisfied, and even began to slaughter the people of the tribe.
Therefore, the people understood His meaning.
The gods would only be satisfied if the offerings were changed from animals to humans.
It was at this time that the clan chief died tragically. These tour guides from out of town, who claimed to be from the Culture and Tourism Bureau, wanted to turn their area into a tourist destination, offering food and medicine as payment.
The priests had considered having tourists sacrifice themselves, but each time they didn't have a chance to carry it out, the tourists they chose would suffer misfortune one after another, as if their plans had come true.
As the story spread, they themselves began to believe that they possessed some kind of magical ability.
"Why do you still want to use tourists for today's ceremony?"
Zhou Ling asked in a cold voice.
High Priest: "No, I didn't mean to kill her."
"She's been poisoned by evil energy. We're trying to save her, but we only want to use a wisp of her soul to activate the formation."
The person performing the sacrifice truly didn't think they had done anything wrong.
In their long-held belief, losing even a trace of one's soul would not affect a person; the most important thing was to offer sacrifices to the gods and allow the people to return to normalcy.
Jiang Nuo then asked, "What about those tourist attractions that might kill people?"
" The Bones on Trees are the remains of our people; this is our unique funeral practice..."
The high priest, his expression filled with sorrow and melancholy, said, "It's a pity that after those gods appeared in the dense forest, the Bones on Trees became deadly weapons."
Si Yan suddenly asked, "Who taught you to use the Big Dipper Spirit-Suppressing Flag, and how did you learn that using the Soul-Swapping Formation can allow the souls of your clansmen to return?"
Si Yan had never been interested in the mysteries presented in variety shows before.
But it seems that Si Yan is paying special attention to matters concerning the Soul-Swapping Formation.
Jiang Nuo pondered for a moment, then took Si Yan's fingers and played with them, a hint of amusement in her lowered eyes.
The high priest paused, then said in the tribal dialect, "He forbids us to reveal it... The soul exchange is a gift from Him."
He knew some tourists wouldn't understand, so he deliberately kept it from them.
Those suddenly appearing gods are so powerful; if they were to become enraged, it would certainly be more than just a simple punishment.
Jiang Nuo, who heard it clearly, touched the tip of her nose, hugged Si Yan, and whispered in his ear, "I heard it. He said it was a gift from the gods in the dense forest."
[ Bone Witch Tribe Mystery Side Quest Progress: 50%]
Rapid progress!
" Jiang Nuo!"
Chu Xiu rushed into the room, very anxious, "The tourist we rescued... she's dying!"
It's not that it's about to fail, but rather that its physical characteristics and appearance have deteriorated significantly from those of a human.
When Jiang Nuo saw her, he repeatedly exclaimed that he never knew a dead person could look like this.
Her exposed skin, already showing signs of rigor mortis, still had breathing and a heartbeat, and she could perform simple movements, such as raising her arms.
His black pupils were getting smaller and smaller, his eyeballs were twitching nervously, and the stench of death on his body was becoming more and more obvious.
The tribespeople had all gone to clean up the sacrificial square on their own and did not witness this horrifying scene; otherwise, the high priest would have surely thrown her out.
I think... it's hopeless.
Jiang Nuo glanced at it, immediately sighed, and silently mourned for her.
Chu Xiu: "..."
"How about... we try again?"
At least squat down and take a proper look!
"Having lost one of the three souls and six of the seven spirits, and further possessed by evil energy, it is indeed very difficult to save him."
After explaining, Jiang Nuo muttered awkwardly, "She's even more lost than I was back then."
Chu Xiu didn't speak, but she clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.
She managed to save this person; she couldn't just leave him to die.
Jiang Nuo exclaimed, "I'll give it a try!"
Si Yan put gloves on him without hesitation.
Five minutes later.
Jiang Nuo took off her gloves. "There's no hope. Unless we can find her lost soul in this tribe full of ghosts and spirits within seven days."
"But that's impossible! Souls are the hardest things to find!"
Jiang Nuo kept chattering away.
Seeing that there was truly no way to save her, Chu Xiu gave up on the idea of saving her and could only hope that she would die in her final moments without suffering too much pain.
"Although, why does it seem like Jiang Nuo is somewhat empathetic?"
I also think... it's terrifying to think about!
" Qian Sen and the others are back."
Zhou Ling and Qian Sen used their Soul Power to create a brief link, facilitating communication between the two teams.
"Go back, go back."
Jiang Nuo smiled and bid farewell to the High Priest, "We'll see each other again soon."
At this moment, off-camera.
Wang Ping, carrying a laptop, barged into the office where the live stream was playing.
"I've finally found it! Ma Ye is dead!"
Colleagues in the office. "..."
"Great, the news's already out of the question, but you've found something."
"Damn it! You scared me half to death, turns out you just found some useless information."
"Oh no," Wang Ping squeezed into their midst, "I watched the live stream too. Ma Ye's death wasn't just a simple case of outdoor adventure."
Wang Ping's notebook lay open on the coffee table, his finger pointing to the extremely small characters.
"Look, Ma Ye is on our Death Pursuit List."