Sacrifice

Zhao Xiaojun had forgotten all about his sprained ankle.

After he was taken home, he still wore the same foolish, vacant grin.

At first, Zhao Xiaojun's parents thought their son had hit his head in the fall and knocked himself stupid.

His mother opened her phone and glanced at the family group chat. At once, rage shot through the roof. She marched over and slapped him. "You good-for-nothing!"

"Why did you hit me?!"

Baffled, Zhao Xiaojun retreated to his room, eager to tell his roommates about his "romantic encounter" that day.

To his surprise, his college dorm group chat was already blowing up.

Zhao Xiaojun scrolled through the chat history and was struck dumb.

It turned out that while he had only been thinking about the beauty, the whole incident, from his fall into the water to his injury, had been filmed and posted online.

He opened a short video, and his vision nearly went dark.

Footage shot from every angle, straight from the camera without a filter in sight, made Zhao Xiaojun, who considered himself fairly handsome, look like some lovestruck passerby.

Of course, the fairy sister's looks still held up more than well enough.

After scrolling for a long while, Zhao Xiaojun felt he had truly died of social embarrassment.

Some commenters questioned whether it was a staged stunt or a scripted publicity ploy, while others criticized modern men for flaunting their repression.

Still, with so many bystander videos as proof, very few people questioned the fairy sister's looks. Quite a few recognized her as the goddess doctor in historical dress who had gone to the countryside to treat the old miners, and they all praised her for being beautiful and kind.

Of course, the haters from a year ago also joined in, and the comment sections descended into earth-shaking arguments.

The more Zhao Xiaojun scrolled, the more irritated he became. Finally, he steeled himself, changed his username to "Young Master Zhao (fell into the water after watching a fairy instead of the road version)," and came out swinging, posting videos in staunch support of the goddess!

Duanmu Ren was startled to hear that someone had slipped into the water.

Once the matter had been dealt with, he ordered an ambulance and two doctors to be stationed there, just in case.

Sure enough, after Zhao Xiaojun, more people sprained themselves or were hurt in falls.

It was anyone's guess whether they had really been careless or were looking for an excuse to get up close and personal with the beauty in historical dress.

Unfortunately for them, Duanmu Ren had already arranged for doctors.

That trick no longer worked.

Things were even livelier online.

Duanmu Ren no longer needed the publicity plan and budget he had prepared.

Hua Chunning paid no attention to the commotion in the mundane world and continued to appear at various spots around the sub-courtyard at set times each day.

In the mornings, she faced the rising sun, letting the east wind blow over her as she meditated.

That was also when the best pictures could be taken.

Many online photographers scrambled for a spot to snap pictures of her. A single divine shot might earn hundreds of thousands of likes, making it a mighty tool for gaining followers.

Many influencers from the historical-fashion community also traveled long distances to arrange photo shoots.

The pictures turned out well.

Unfortunately, their looks, bearing, and even the texture of their clothes fell far short of Hua Chunning's.

At noon, Hua Chunning loosened the soil and planted flowers in the flower beds.

The sight of her digging with such earnest concentration made people like her even more than the aloof fairy did.

Whenever she dug up a little bug just waking from hibernation, Hua Chunning would carefully bury it back in the soil. The comment sections were filled with "She's beautiful and kind!" and "My heart is melting!"

Toward evening, Hua Chunning went to the lakeside to watch the fish.

Sometimes little fish accidentally jumped onto the ice, and Hua Chunning would rescue them if she saw them.

Once, Hua Chunning went to the water's edge to wash her hands.

The setting sun shone on her from the side as her slender hands played in the ripples. Just then, a few little fish swam over and pecked at her fingertips, drawing a smile from Hua Chunning.

The photographer who captured the scene posted the picture online. Its impact went without saying. He even declared, "Having taken this picture, my photography career is complete. I have no regrets in this life."

Three days later.

Duanmu Ren solemnly announced that the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard would no longer offer free admission. Visitors would have to buy tickets and make reservations, and opening hours would be limited!

The spring wind turned to rain, and plants stirred to life.

A faint touch of green had appeared in the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard.

In particular, the apricot blossoms, plum blossoms, and early-blooming magnolias had begun to flower, adding quite a bit of color.

Rainwater was [Clear Water].

In the sky, it was rain and mist; on the earth, it was springs and pools.

Rainwater also had three pentads.

The first was [Otters sacrifice fish].

Spring rain was as precious as oil, silently nourishing all things and helping them sprout.

This was also the time for spring sacrifices.

The second pentad was [Wild geese return].

Migrating wild geese began flying back north from the south, an important image of spring's arrival.

The third pentad was [Plants sprout].

Nourished by the rainwater, the seeds of plants in the soil began to germinate and break through the earth.

This was the image of [Yi Wood] that Hua Chunning knew best.

The season had changed.

Naturally, Hua Chunning also had to change how she accumulated Manifestation. She no longer let the wind blow over her, dug in the soil, or stirred the water and watched the fish.

Every morning, Hua Chunning faced east, set out an incense table, lit three sticks of spiritual incense, and performed the sacrificial rites with reverence.

First, she sought the Supreme Mystery Grandmaster's protection.

Second, she sought the favor of the Yi Wood Fruition.

Third, she sought the radiance of Shaoyang's heavenly splendor.

Spring was close to the virtue of wood, which protected life and forbade killing.

Thus, Hua Chunning used no living creatures as offerings, but wooden fish, stone geese, and paper flowers instead.

After the spring sacrifice, she began waiting for the wild geese to return north.

Hua Chunning tilted her head back and carefully counted each wild goose.

With each one she counted, the Manifestation around her grew by a barely perceptible trace.

If the spring sacrifice was complete and no wild geese came, Hua Chunning went to check on the flower seeds and grass shoots sprouting in the flower beds.

Every day, visitors to the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard witnessed a curious sight.

A beautiful woman in historical dress behaved just like an NPC at a tourist attraction: first, she meticulously lit incense and performed a sacrifice, then tilted her head back to quietly count the wild geese, and finally walked around inspecting the nursery beds.

Sometimes a light spring rain fell, but even that could not stop her.

Hua Chunning did not even use an umbrella. She completed her daily tasks in the fine, misty rain.

If anyone spoke to her, she ignored them.

If anyone offered her an umbrella, she politely declined.

Had she not spoken while treating the sprained ankle of that flauntingly repressed college student who had fallen into the water, many people would have suspected that Hua Chunning had a disability and had been born deaf and mute.

Stranger still, in this age of widespread doxxing, when everyone went naked online, no one had uncovered anything about Hua Chunning's background since she had shot to fame.

Never mind her family, friends, education, work history, or social media accounts-no one even knew something as simple as her name. All they had was the codename "Flower Fairy," disclosed by a few sub-courtyard staff members.

This inevitably sparked even more curiosity and discussion, and the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard grew more popular than ever.

Duanmu Ren stood in the distance, quietly watching Hua Chunning perform her sacrifice facing east.

A simple incense table, three thin sticks of incense, and wooden fish, stone geese, and paper flowers.

It looked like child's play.

It was enough to set the internet ablaze with arguments, too.

Some said she was being deliberately absurd.

Others cited the classics and said it was quite profound.

There were even idle people who reported Hua Chunning for performing cult sacrifices.

But Duanmu Ren could clearly sense the earnestness and reverence in Hua Chunning's every movement.

After each sacrifice, she even seemed to gain something, however faintly.

Hua Chunning looked up at the sky. Seeing no sign of wild geese, she nodded in greeting to Duanmu Ren.

Duanmu Ren was rather pleased.

What had begun as a project to fraudulently obtain subsidies, which he had been forced into like a duck driven onto a perch, had now plainly become a shining political achievement. Even several political opponents who had opposed him had furled their banners and silenced their drums, retreating for the time being.

Of course, it might also have been because rumors that Duanmu Ren had connected with powerful higher-ups had already spread far and wide.

No one was foolish enough to be a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"Fairy Hua."

Duanmu Ren naturally had a reason for coming today. "There's something I still need you to decide."

"Several of the miners with pneumoconiosis whom you treated last year have fully recovered, and the others' suffering has been greatly relieved."

"Now that you're so popular online, those matters have been brought up again."

"I can still keep the local ones under control."

"But some patients from elsewhere heard the news and are all asking you to treat them."

"Some have even taken the matter to the provincial authorities. I can't hold them off anymore."