Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Trigger Warning; human sacrifice references
Jiang Lan walked along the fork in the road into the depths of the forest. At first, there were sounds of insects and birds chirping all around, but gradually, only pitch-black darkness remained.
The chirping of insects and the calls of birds seemed to have vanished. He deliberately softened his steps and breathing, and all that remained was silence.
However, a faint light appeared at the edge of the line of sight.
First a single point, then many more, scattered like stars throughout the forest. Jiang Lan approached silently, only to discover that these faint lights were torches stuck in the ground. They stretched from the entrance into the depths of the forest…
At the entrance to the forest stood a huge stone tablet with strange characters carved on it, and next to it was a large cow skull.
Although Jiang Lan couldn’t recognize the characters, he guessed from the ox skull next to the stone tablet that this must be the village’s sacred sacrificial site.
But what were they doing lighting torches at this time of year?
Jiang Lan frowned, inevitably thinking of the ancient Wa people, but after carefully observing his surroundings, he did not notice anything unusual.
He could only suppress his doubts for the time being and continue walking forward.
After passing through the small grove of trees at the entrance, he arrived at the sacrificial site. Even before entering, Jiang Lan was hit by a strong, pungent stench. It was a difficult smell to describe and coupled with the faint outlines of wooden stakes behind the trees and the dark, spherical objects on them, anyone with a weak heart would probably faint at the sight.
Jiang Lan frowned, took a deep breath, and went inside.
Without the cover of the trees, the wooden stakes of the sacrificial site were fully exposed before him. Even though Jiang Lan had been mentally prepared before entering, he was still taken aback and shocked when he saw this scene.
—The sacrificial site was dotted with countless wooden stakes of varying heights, each with a round head hanging from it. These heads were in different states; some had long since rotted away, leaving only grayish-white bones, while others still had flesh and blood attached, with vines climbing and twining around them.
The torches around them flickered in the wind, casting an eerie and sinister light on the heads of these people.
When Jiang Lan saw the bull skull next to the stone tablet, he originally thought that there was also a bull skull inside, but he did not expect that what was taking place in the forest was a real human head sacrifice.
Just as he was looking around, the cold sound of clashing weapons and a loud shout suddenly came from afar, followed by the booming sound of wooden drums. Jiang Lan’s brow twitched, and he quickly hid in the woods, holding his breath and staring at the entrance.
In the ancient Wa people’s headhunting ceremony, headhunting was a collective activity.
First, an auspicious day was chosen. On the evening of that day, all the able-bodied men in the village went out and split into several small teams to hunt for heads. Dusk was the time when birds returned to their nests and villagers returned home. The strong men would sharpen their long knives and lie in ambush where people were sure to pass by. When someone passed by, they would rush up and quickly behead them. Then they would sound the retreat and return to the village with the head in their hands.
As they approached the village, the men would clink their long knives together to signal to the villagers that they had hunted a human head and could prepare for a head sacrifice.
The villagers who remained would beat wooden drums, firstly to warn others not to go up the mountain or down the river, and secondly to notify those who had not yet returned to hurry back to the village. The village chief and respected elders would bring red envelopes, a bowl of rice, and an egg to the sacred site to prepare to receive the head. When the men returned with the head they had hunted, they would place the red envelopes on the head, feed it rice and an egg, and then offer it a devout prayer and wine. Finally, several women would wash and clean the head while weeping.
After the head sacrifice was completed, the able-bodied men of the family who officiated at the ceremony would carry the head to the sacred site amidst the shouts of the villagers and the thumping of wooden drums.
Afterwards, the family that officiated the ceremony would prepare a yellow ox to wash the knife. They would use the long knife used to cut off people’s heads to cut off the ox and wash the knife “clean”. The yellow ox would then be used to entertain the villagers.
—These were all materials that Jiang Lan found on his way to Yunnan Province.
Right now, the sounds of clashing weapons and the beating of wooden drums were ringing out one after another, clearly indicating that the human head sacrifice was about to begin.
Jiang Lan silently hid in the dense canopy of trees, peering through the branches towards the exit. After waiting for about ten minutes, he saw a winding fire dragon stop at the entrance to the holy land.
Then came the long and tedious human sacrifice.
The roars of the men and the sobs of the women mingled in the mountain wind, sounding at first glance like the howls of wild beasts.
After the sacrificial ceremony was completed, the group carried the human head into the sacred site in a grand procession.
Jiang Lan looked closely and indeed saw several familiar faces in the crowd— there was the older woman who had spoken to them before, and the old man who had been sitting at the door smoking a water pipe.
The once kind and harmless faces now appeared eerily strange under the interplay of firelight and darkness.
Jiang Lan still couldn’t find anything unusual about them or even tell whether the current situation was because the village was too remote and backward and still secretly preserved the old custom of headhunting sacrifices, or whether they were the ancient Wa people in the video.
All the guesses made before coming here were overturned at this moment.
Before Jiang Lan were clearly a group of living villagers, so real that they were indistinguishable from real people.
Jiang Lan’s heart sank slightly. Seeing that the sacrificial ceremony was coming to an end and the villagers were preparing to return, he quietly moved among the tree branches, preparing to return to the village ahead of them.
But as soon as he moved, a dark shadow flashed across the branches not far away, disappearing before he could see it clearly.
Jiang Lan hesitated between chasing after them to check and returning to the village first, but ultimately chose to go back first— Song Yu was still in the village.
Even he hadn’t noticed the unusual situation in the village and among its inhabitants, so Song Yu must have been kept in the dark as well. He was a little worried that something might happen to the other man if he were left alone in the village.
Jiang Lan returned to the village before the villagers and saw that every household still had its lights on.
A bonfire was lit in the square in the middle of the village, and an old yellow ox was tied under a big tree at the entrance of the village. A few people sat around the bonfire, including Song Yu.
Jiang Lan disheveled his clothes, turned on his flashlight, and pretended to be lost and just finding his way back. He then walked forward and said with feigned surprise, “It really is you guys! I thought I had wandered into another village.”
He plopped down next to Song Yu, his gaze sweeping over several villagers without making a sound, panting heavily, and then asked Song Yu for water.
Song Yu was puzzled, but still handed him a cup of tea: “Didn’t you say you were just going to wander around the village? I was just thinking that if you didn’t come back soon, I would ask the people in the village to help me look for you.”
Jiang Lan took a sip of tea and smiled, “I originally planned to just wander around and come back, but I took the wrong path and it got dark. If I hadn’t brought a compass and a flashlight, I almost wouldn’t have been able to get back.”
“Luckily, while I was wandering around in the woods, I saw a light in this direction, so I followed it.” He asked casually, “Why aren’t you all asleep yet?”
“The village is going to slaughter a cow and have a feast tonight,” an old man sitting opposite Jiang Lan said cheerfully in his thick dialect.
Jiang Lan understood immediately, but Song Yu’s expression was rather strange.
After the two made an excuse to return to the house, he said to Jiang Lan with some hesitation, “I feel something is wrong in the village. Their formation… it looks like a human head sacrifice?”
Song Yu was not highly skilled, but he was cautious. While strolling and chatting in the village at dusk, he noticed the villagers were in high spirits, as if something important had happened. After dark, he returned to his house and quietly observed the people he was staying with and the village’s activity. He noticed that every household had lights on, and no one was asleep.
Around eight o’clock, the clanging of metal and the sound of drums suddenly rang out outside, and the villagers became excited. Song Yu felt more and more uneasy, so he pretended to just be woken up and went to sit by the campfire.
Until Jiang Lan returned, he tried to get information out of the villagers, but no matter how he asked, they only gave vague answers and did not mention anything related to the sacrificial ceremony.
“It’s a human head sacrifice; there’s something wrong with the village.” Jiang Lan confirmed his guess and briefly explained the human head sacrifice in the sacred place to him.
It was one thing to speculate, and it was quite another for that speculation to be confirmed.
Song Yu opened his mouth, muttering in disbelief, “This is the ‘Ancient Wa People’ we’re looking for? But they look like ordinary people.”
“I thought those ‘ancient Wa people’ were some kind of projected illusion, or perhaps they weren’t even human…”
These villagers are just ordinary people, how could they be the ancient Wa people?
“Is it possible that it was just a coincidence, that this village is remote and backward and still retains the old custom of human head sacrifice?” Song Yu asked.
“It’s not impossible.”
Jiang Lan had also considered the possibility mentioned by Song Yu, but he did not take any chances: “But I think it is more likely that these villagers are the ‘ancient Wa people’.”
It was even quite possible that they entered the overlapping space without realizing it after entering the mountains.
Jiang Lan took out his phone and glanced at it; there was still no signal.
Seeing this, Song Yu also glanced at his phone, then turned the screen towards him, which was also blank: “I checked the time not long after we entered the mountains. Although the signal was poor at that time, it was still there.”
Both of them were focused on the sunset and paid close attention to the time. Neither of them could pinpoint exactly when the cell phone signal went out.
Song Yu clutched his phone, which had no signal, looking somewhat anxious.
“Since you’re here, make the best of it.” Jiang Lan reassured him, “Let’s get through tonight first. Tomorrow morning I’ll send you out of the village. Once you’re out, immediately notify the branch office when you get to a place with a signal, and then try to get back in. If you can’t, just go back. I’ll wait for you here for an hour. If you don’t come back after an hour, then you’ve left and can’t come back in. I’ll stay in the village for five days. Whether I find anyone or not, I’ll come out after five days.”
“Aren’t you coming out with me?” Song Yu asked in surprise.
“No, once I go out, I might not be able to come back in.”
Jiang Lan shook his head and methodically arranged, “If you can’t return to the village tomorrow, have your bureau chief contact Ying Qiao and tell them not to worry.”
Song Yu felt uneasy upon learning that he would be returning alone. However, the bureau chief had instructed him beforehand that Jiang Lan had private business to attend to and that he should not interfere.
Considering that the other party was indeed the Taotie, he could only suppress his worries and rationally obey the arrangements.
….
The next morning, Song Yu made an excuse that something had happened at home and hurriedly said he had to go back. Jiang Lan said that his field research was not yet over and he wanted to stay a little longer, so he sent Song Yu down the mountain.
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