Chapter 35: The Sculpture

"Note: The sculpture must be significantly larger than the child's actual height. The taller the sculpture, the smoother the child's next life will be.

"The hollow interior of the sculpture must remain empty; it cannot be sealed or damaged. A small switch must be installed on the outside, allowing the child's soul to enter and exit at will.

"Place the finished sculpture in the village temple and leave it there for forty-nine days; only then can a child who died unjustly be reincarnated."

Shen Si shivered. "No wonder those sculptures looked so creepy! They were children who died unjustly!"

Yang Liuqing said, "That explains why, as soon as we sealed those sculptures, those children would tear them open—and they would even use mud to patch the damaged parts."

Liang Dan sighed, "Rather than horrifying, there is a warmth to this method. When she made these statues, she truly hoped those children would have a better life in their next incarnation."

Shen Si was puzzled. "I thought this village was all about sacrificial rituals. Why would there be such a benevolent method for liberating souls?"

Seeing that Liang Dan and Yang Liuqing remained silent, Shen Si quickly added, "Don't misunderstand; I don't mean this method is 'good' because it works, but rather, why is it so positive?"

Yang Liuqing sneered. "Look closely at the pictures here. Do you see anything special?"

Shen Si stared intently, then looked up. "The craftsmanship isn't as good as that middle-aged woman's."

"I'm not asking about the craftsmanship," Yang Liuqing laughed. "I'm asking about the difference between the children in these drawings and the children depicted on the sculptures in the village."

Shen Si looked again, then shook her head helplessly. "I still don't get it. Sister Liang, do you see the difference?"

Liang Dan said, "Every child drawn on the sculptures in this book is a boy. In other words, this so-called 'good method' for liberating children was never intended for girls."

Liang Dan sighed, "Looking at these statues and this superstitious ritual, we might only see its absurdity. But when that woman implemented this method, she must have overcome immense obstacles. I don't know how she managed to convince the villagers to let her keep the statues of several unjustly deceased girls in the temple."

Yang Liuqing looked at the visibly shaken Shen Si and shrugged. "You're still young; there are many things you haven't encountered yet. When you reach our age, you'll realize that things like this happen every day. You'll get used to it."

"No," Shen Si said. "I refuse to get used to these things!"

"God dammit," Shen Si cursed. "I'm going to tear this wretched book to pieces!"

As she spoke, she tightened her grip, preparing to rip the pages. Liang Dan did not stop her; she also felt that a book like this had no reason to exist.

"Wait," Shen Si suddenly stopped, flattening the book with both hands. "Look at the page before this one. Doesn't it look like it was torn out?"

Liang Dan looked and saw that, indeed, there was a page before this ritual that had been ripped out. Someone had tried to claw away the edges, but traces remained, confirming it had been torn.

"I won't tear it," Shen Si said. "My intuition tells me that the missing page holds a great secret, and the person who tore it out has secrets of their own!"

Yang Liuqing had a sudden realization. "I finally understand why those offerings were kept at that middle-aged woman's house."

"Why?"

Yang Liuqing explained, "With so many women starting to revolt, in order to appease the only woman left in the village (those old hags don't count), they naturally granted her a tiny bit of power. But this power could not be too great—not enough to threaten their true authority. So, they placed the village's offerings in her home but stationed a group of flesh-and-blood dummies to watch her at all times. They tasked her with managing the village's ancient books, even though they knew full well she couldn't read!"

"True," Shen Si said. "An illiterate person poses no threat to ancient texts, but they never expected she would secretly learn to read and tear out a sacrificial method she could understand."

Yang Liuqing asked, "Why did she tear that page out? Was the method recorded there a threat to her?"

"We can't be sure," Liang Dan said. "We still need to go back to the forest. I suspect they are the only ones who can answer our questions."

The three of them walked to the entrance of the forest, observing their surroundings carefully. As dusk fell, a cold wind began to blow through the trees.

The large pit where Liang Dan had fallen was now filled with corn. The husks had been stripped clean, and the white kernels looked quite appealing.

Shen Si said with satisfaction, "Exactly. This is what the pit should be used for—storing food!"

Liang Dan held up the bound textbook and raised her voice. "Hello? Sorry to bother you again, but we mean no harm. We just have a few questions we'd like to ask."

Shen Si shouted, "Those damned villagers are all dead! We are just innocent outsiders; you don't need to be so wary of us. We won't hurt you!"

"Hiss."

"Thwack." Shen Si suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. She turned around. "Aaaah!"

Liang Dan’s scalp tingled; a massive snake had lowered its tail from a tree branch above, draping it over Shen Si’s shoulder.

Yang Liuqing jumped up and grabbed the head of the snake coiled in the tree. The snake struggled violently in her grip, terrifying Liang Dan and Shen Si into backing away.

Yang Liuqing laughed, "It’s not venomous. You don't need to be afraid."

Liang Dan trembled. "It's so huge! Even if it's not venomous, it could still bite someone to death!"

Shen Si, still shaken, pulled a pair of scissors she had hidden in her pocket and said angrily, "You little brats! I've been so friendly to you, and you use a giant snake to scare me? I'm going to send this snake to the afterlife right now!"

As she spoke, Shen Si gripped the scissors and thrust them toward the snake's head.

"Wait!"

A young girl leaped down from the dense trees, landing gracefully. Her expression was anxious. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have hurt you. It's our fault. Please don't hurt Xiao Xiao."

Liang Dan observed the girl. She was wearing an oversized lounge set that made her look even more skeletal. Her skin was slightly dark, and her bright eyes were sharp, carrying a trace of wariness.

Shen Si retracted the scissors, and Yang Liuqing let go of the snake’s head. It slithered back onto the girl's shoulder.

Shen Si shivered. "Why on earth do you keep a giant snake as a pet?"

The girl said, "It’s not our pet. It’s a resident of the forest. We were the ones who appeared here suddenly and disrupted its life."

Liang Dan asked, "You must have known this snake for a long time, haven't you?"