The queen is crazy and spoiled, and the tyrant bows to her

Jiang Wantang patted her back and soothed her, "Don't be afraid, Xiao Lian. He and I are together. He's not a bad person."

Xiao Lian raised her head when she heard this, and the panic on her face faded a little.

"What did you just say about the mountain god getting married?" Jiang Wantang asked softly.

Xiao Lian glanced around and said softly, "It's a long story. It's a long-standing custom in the villages around here. When I was young, young men would often disappear for no apparent reason. Later, the Taoist priest we invited said there was a mountain god in that mountain, and we had offended him."

"The villagers were terrified and turned to the Taoist priest for a solution. He set up an altar in the mountains and performed rituals for several days. Finally, he claimed to have received a command from the mountain god. He said that to appease the god's wrath, twelve young and beautiful women must be offered to the mountain god as wives every year. This command must not be disclosed to anyone else, as a sign of respect for the god."

"From then on, on every designated day, each village would draw lots to choose which daughter would be sacrificed. Those chosen girls would be taken to the outer reaches of the mountains in the dead of night. Once midnight had passed, they would be sent back into the mountains, and no one would ever see them again."

At this point, Xiao Lian's body trembled slightly, her eyes filled with fear, "Sister, I don't want to die. I don't want to be taken away by the mountain god!"

Jiang Wantang frowned, a hint of doubt and anger flashed in his eyes: "This is nothing but superstition, nonsense, is there really anyone who believes it?

"No, sister, this is true! Some people who didn't believe in it wanted to stop it, but they all died the next day. Their deaths were extremely horrific. Some had their eyes wide open, as if they had seen something terrible, and some had their bodies twisted beyond recognition..."

"Since then, no one has dared to resist."

Xiao Lian's voice was choked, tears welled up in her eyes. She grabbed Jiang Wan's arm, her fingers turning white from the force.

"And every time they choose a bride, all sorts of strange phenomena appear around these deep mountains, just like now, the fog is getting thicker and thicker, and there are strange noises."

"Ever since the bride was sent to the mountain god, there has indeed been peace in some villages over the years. Over time, everyone has become very respectful of the mountain god."

"Especially during this time when floods hit all of Jiangnan, we were not affected at all. This made the villagers even more convinced that it was the mountain god's protection."

Jiang Wantang's frown deepened.

She didn't believe in superstitions about ghosts and gods, especially something so absurd...

Most likely someone is playing tricks behind the scenes.

There must be something wrong in this foggy mountain.

Thinking of Qi Ming and others, Jiang Wantang raised her eyes to look at Xie Zhiyan who was not far away from her. The latter also looked at her with complicated and dark eyes.

Xiao Lian continued to talk to herself, "A group of brides have already been sent up the mountain this year, so it's definitely not my turn. My family has already found a husband for me. We'll get married this month when I reach the age of marriage."

"But a few days ago, the mountain god issued another instruction, saying that another batch of brides needs to be sent up..."

Xiao Lian couldn't help crying again, "But I don't want to die..."

"To put it nicely, she's the bride. If she's sent up, she's the sacrifice."

Jiang Wantang's face looked extremely ugly. When she thought of so many innocent young girls being buried in this conspiracy in the mountains, a raging anger burned in her heart.

She held Xiao Lian's shoulders and said sternly, "Don't be afraid. You won't die. I'll go for you."

Xiao Lian's eyes turned red and red. She looked at Jiang Wantang in disbelief, her lips trembling: "But... I..."

Jiang Wantang patted her shoulder and soothed her, "It's okay, sister, don't be afraid. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Xiao Lian couldn't help crying again, choking up and saying, "Thank you, sister."

Later, Jiang Wantang learned from Xiao Lian that the bride went up the mountain at a specific intersection given by the "Mountain God". After midnight, she was led by the men in the family into the deep mountains. When they reached the place designated by the "Mountain God", the men had to go down the mountain and were not allowed to stay for even a moment.

Xiao Lian used the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom and took the opportunity to escape here.

After hearing this, Jiang Wantang and Xie Zhiyan looked at each other, their eyes flashed, and they realized that something was unusual.

It seems that it is not that you cannot go up the mountain, but that you have to go up the mountain from a specific intersection.

Xiao Lian's appearance undoubtedly gave them a huge breakthrough.

Jiang Wantang found a secluded place, quickly exchanged clothes with Xiao Lian, and then handed Xiao Lian over to Xie Zhiyan, asking him to arrange a safe place for Xiao Lian to stay temporarily.

Xie Zhiyan looked at Jiang Wantang deeply, said nothing, and left with Xiao Lian.

Jiang Wantang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him leave, as she had finally sent him away.

Immediately, she used her Qinggong skills and quickly rushed to the place where Xiao Lian escaped according to the route she told her.

Sure enough, after walking for a while, they found villagers holding torches and anxiously looking for Xiao Lian.

Jiang Wantang put on a red veil and walked towards them.

The villagers who first saw her held up torches and shouted, "Found her! Found her!"

The next person who hurriedly ran towards Jiang Wantang was Xiao Lian's elder brother, who was responsible for sending Xiao Lian up the mountain.

He pulled Jiang Wantang over and cursed, "You little bitch, where did you go to relieve yourself? Why did you take so long?"

"If you dare to run around again, I'll break your legs."

Jiang Wantang's eyes turned cold when he heard this, and he pulled the man's hand back.

Seeing this, the man angrily said, "Hey, you little bitch, you still have a temper. Are you looking for a fight?"

As he spoke, the man raised his hand and pretended to hit.

Seeing this, the villagers on the side hurried forward to stop them: "It's okay if she comes back. Why are you hitting her? This is the mountain god's territory. If something bad happens, you won't anger the mountain god later."

The man was so frightened when he heard this that he quickly clasped his hands together and muttered to himself, "Mountain God, please calm down! Mountain God, please calm down..."

Then he took Jiang Wantang to where the other brides were waiting.

Gradually, the night grew darker and darker, and the night was like an extremely heavy black curtain, covering the entire mountain forest tightly.

The fog in the mountains became thicker and thicker, like a surging white tide, rolling and surging through the mountains and forests.

When midnight arrived, the twelve brides, covered with red veils, were led by their brothers and walked towards the distant Wuming Mountain.

When the man next to him stretched out his arm and placed it under Jiang Wantang's hand, Jiang Wantang was stunned.

This is not the man from before...