Even hybrid monsters have their day

Several burly men carried a large drum in front of them, and on the drum stood a graceful young woman with a veil covering her face. Her face was as beautiful as a lotus, her eyes were full of spring, and a red dot on her forehead made her look like a fairy descended to earth.

Behind the large drum, two rows of women in white followed in neat rows. Each of them was a beautiful young woman, dressed exactly like the ones she had seen in Shangxing Town. As they walked, they chanted, "Believe in my heavens, and the weather will be favorable; believe in my heavens, and you will attain immortality. May the world be at peace, people be kind, the harvests be plentiful, and the nation be tranquil."

Behind them followed a carriage. This carriage was much larger than ordinary carriages, likely specially made, with no roof or canopy, and decorated with flowers all around—it could truly be called a flower-decorated carriage. Standing on the carriage were a dozen or so young and beautiful girls. Although not as strikingly beautiful as the one on the drum in front, they possessed a fresh, natural, and unpretentious charm.

Although they were being adored and praised by the crowd, some of them looked worried and seemed unhappy.

Ai Shao Chen got up early to arrange various matters. Today was a big day for the county, and as the county head, he naturally couldn't be absent. Seeing Geng Miao Wan come out, he quickly went to her side and whispered, "Young man, why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

"What are they doing?" Although Geng Miaowan hadn't slept all night, she was still full of energy.

"These are all candidates for the Rain Festival Fairy. In another hour, Ninth Sister will select the Rain Festival Fairy from among these people to participate in the ceremony."

"Ninth Miss?" Geng Miaowan asked in confusion.

Ai Shaochen pointed to the woman on the big drum in front and said to her, "Look, that person is Ninth Sister. She is Zhang Tianshi's junior sister. She came to the town with Zhang Tianshi a few years ago and has been in charge of selecting the rain sacrifice goddess and handling all the big and small matters of the rain sacrifice ceremony. Her reputation in the town is second only to Zhang Tianshi."

He himself had only recently arrived in Yonghe Town, and he had heard all these things from others. Geng Miaowan nodded; it seemed that this Ninth Miss was no simple woman either.

Geng Miaowan asked curiously, "Does Lord Ai know how the Rain Sacrifice Fairy was chosen?"

"Well... I know very little about it either. Ninth Sister only asked us to be in charge of the safety of the venue. I heard from the old people in the county government that no one has ever seen how they select the rain sacrifice goddess."

At this moment, a constable came over and said that everything was ready at the venue and asked him to go and supervise it. He replied, "Understood." Seeing this, Geng Miaowan quickly said, "Since Lord Ai has things to do, you don't need to worry about me. I'll find a place to relax on my own."

After repeatedly saying "Excuse me" to Ai Shaochen, he left.

As Geng Miaowan watched Ai Shaochen's departing figure, she thought to herself, "The Rain Festival Fairy is still so mysterious..."

The annual Rain Festival is a grand event, and the selection of the Rain Festival Fairy, a key figure in the festival, is of utmost importance.

In the Tianshi Temple in Yonghe Town, passing through the main hall and entering the back courtyard, there is a hall on the left side of the back courtyard, no less imposing than the main hall in size. Usually, few people enter the back courtyard, let alone this side hall. But today, however, this usually quiet hall is surrounded by yamen runners, and Ai Shaochen is instructing the yamen runners guarding the entrance.

Holding Xiaobai, Geng Miaowan carefully lay on the roof of the palace, looking down through the gaps in the tiles.

Although the side hall's doors and windows were tightly closed, the interior was brightly lit by candlelight. Above the main hall stood a statue of a young man, who appeared to be the legendary Zhang Tianshi. In front of the statue was an offering table laden with offerings.

Fifteen young women stood neatly in front of the statue, some with their heads bowed, others looking around. Besides the fifteen candidates, there were dozens of other young women from Yuntian Pavilion inside the hall.

The Ninth Sister stood in front of the Celestial Master's statue, her arms crossed over her chest, head bowed, muttering incantations. After a moment, she raised her head and nodded to a girl from the Cloud Pavilion standing beside her. The girl raised her hand, and the Cloud Pavilion girls standing nearby took out pre-prepared silk ribbons and blindfolded the fifteen candidate girls.

Although the young women who were being considered for the position were puzzled by this situation, none of them asked any questions. Before entering the hall, they had been instructed not to utter a sound no matter what happened.

After being blindfolded, the girl next to Ninth Sister turned and walked behind the statue. A moment later, she returned carrying a tray. Geng Miaowan looked closely and saw that inside the tray was a gleaming golden knife.

"What are they doing with knives?" she asked Xiaobai, puzzled. Xiaobai looked at her with the same question in her eyes.

Geng Miaowan continued watching, and saw that the Ninth Sister picked up a small knife, went to the girl standing at the front, gently took her hand, and lightly made a cut on the fingertip with the knife.

The knife was very sharp, and it cut through the skin with just one stroke. However, the girl seemed not to feel any pain and stood there expressionless, letting the blood from her wrist drip to the ground.

The Ninth Sister slashed the wrists of the candidates one by one, and not a single girl even flinched during the process. The scene seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.

After all the girls' fingers had been cut, the Ninth Girl returned to the statue of the Celestial Master, repeated the same action, and then stepped aside. A moment later, a breeze seemed to blow through the hall, but no clothing could be seen fluttering. A faint black mist gradually emerged, automatically splitting into fifteen small streams, each as thin as a thread, which drifted towards the fifteen candidate girls and wrapped around their cut fingers.

As soon as the black mist wrapped around his finger, the bleeding from the wound stopped and turned into a very thin thread of blood that was absorbed into the black mist.

"Ah..." Geng Miaowan's eyes widened suddenly, and she couldn't help but gasp, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Ever since the black aura appeared, she felt something was amiss and stared intently at it, never expecting to witness such a scene. Although it was a very faint gasp, it still came from something inside the hall.

The black mist paused for a moment, then Ninth Sister's eyes turned to the top of the palace. "Who?"

She flicked her fingers, and a beam of white light shot out from her fingertips, heading straight for where Geng Miaowan was. In the next instant, her figure appeared where Geng Miaowan had just been lying.

However, the roof of the palace was completely empty.