Villainous Emperor (11)
Song Xu Yi could clearly feel Jiang Ruoyu’s joy.
Throughout the day, Jiang Ruoyu would occasionally lift her head and brightly call out, “Sister Xu Yi.”
Song Xu Yi didn’t understand the reason behind Jiang Ruoyu’s excitement, but she thought it could help Jiang Ruoyu adapt quickly to the pretense of being their fake sisterhood. So, after giving it some thought, Song Xu Yi went along with her.
When the two arrived in Guozhou, the entire city was still enveloped in a frenzy of excitement.
People were still abuzz, discussing the farewell procession of the Saintess a few days ago: In front of everyone’s eyes, the Saintess transformed into an incredibly unique and beautiful flower. It bloomed for an instant and disappeared into the night sky. Then, a massive screen of light appeared in the sky, illuminating the darkness as bright as day. Within the screen of light, the profile of a woman emerged—a new countenance of the Saintess.
Except for the High Priest Fu Sheng, no one could see the face of this Saintess clearly.
Even though becoming the new Saintess meant having only five years left to live, during her tenure, the Saintess was highly revered. After her passing, her family would receive proper arrangements. Moreover, the Hidden Moon Sect publicly proclaimed that the transformation of the Saintess into a flower did not signify death but rather her ascension as the most faithful servant of the Divine, going to the Divine Realm to serve the God. Therefore, in the eyes of many, the benefits of becoming the Saintess far outweighed an individual’s lifespan.
In this distorted world, where tales of gods and spirits prevailed, people wholeheartedly believed the teachings of the Hidden Moon Sect. Countless individuals eagerly sought to become the Saintess. During the annual selection period, not only local girls from Guozhou participated, but people from other provinces and counties specifically chose this time to come to Guozhou.
From the city gate of Guozhou, the selection of the Saintess had already begun.
The Hidden Moon Sect dispatched dozens of sharp-eyed disciples to the city gate, awaiting the discovery of anyone who possessed the physical characteristics of the Saintess. Once found, they would be escorted into the city and unified in a guesthouse, waiting for the second trial brought by the High Priest Fu Sheng.
“Hey, hey! It’s the girl on your carriage…”
Jiang Ruoyu’s appearance always stood out in the crowd, and as soon as she entered the city, she caught the attention of various sect disciples. Jiang Ruoyu hadn’t even expressed her intention to participate in the selection of the Saintess, but several disciples approached her, enthusiastically handing her a badge, inviting her to join the selection. They even called for a beautifully decorated carriage, which carried her and Song Xu Yi into the guesthouse within the city.
As for Song Xu Yi, even though she was also beautiful, those people showed no interest in her. It was only after Jiang Ruoyu declared, “Xu Yi is my cousin. If she doesn’t go, I won’t go anywhere,” that the disciples reluctantly allowed Song Xu Yi to board the carriage as well.
“They are blind to not recognize true beauty!” Jiang Ruoyu sat in the carriage, took a deep breath, but evidently couldn’t suppress her anger. She huffed and said, “Xu Yi is so beautiful and has a good personality. They actually can’t see her worth…”
“Alright, alright,” Song Xu Yi chuckled inwardly. Jiang Ruoyu had been unusually calm throughout the journey, but she hadn’t expected her to reveal such a childish demeanor. Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but tease, “Do you want them to choose me as the Saintess, so I can only live for five more years?”
“I certainly didn’t mean it that way—” Jiang Ruoyu cast a glance of grievance at Song Xu Yi, but as she caught sight of the playful twinkle in Song Xu Yi’s eyes, she froze for a moment. She pursed her lips, lowered her head, and stared out of the window, feeling irritated.
Observing Jiang Ruoyu’s expression, Song Xu Yi restrained the smile on her face.
Unbeknownst to her, when Jiang Ruoyu turned her face away, her profile coincidentally overlapped with a certain face in Song Xu Yi’s mind—
“I think I might have figured out the main reason why they chose you.”
Song Xu Yi and Jiang Ruoyu arrived at the inn where the prospective Saintesses resided.
And upon seeing the prospective Saintesses who had already checked into the inn, Song Xu Yi further confirmed her suspicions: regardless of their height, weight, or physical appearance, these Saintesses bore a resemblance to the previous Saintess Song Xu Yi had encountered.
When Song Xu Yi saw the vanished Saintess before, she felt a sense of familiarity. However, she didn’t dwell on it at the time. It was only upon seeing Jiang Ruoyu’s profile from the carriage that Song Xu Yi realized the similarity between the Saintess and Jiang Ruoyu’s features.
As Song Xu Yi observed the diverse array of plump and slender prospective Saintesses before her, doubts crept into her mind. Everyone knew that the selection of the Saintess in the Hidden Moon Sect rested in the hands of the High Priest Fu Sheng. What criteria did Fu Sheng use to choose the Saintess? Could it be solely based on a similar appearance?
Song Xu Yi vaguely felt that this had something to do with the original plot summary.
Initially, Song Xu Yi believed that she might be chosen, speculating that the Hidden Moon Sect possessed some special means of sensing the divine body. However, upon learning about the significant emphasis placed on the physical appearance of the chosen Saintess, Song Xu Yi realized her chances were extremely slim. It wasn’t that Song Xu Yi was unattractive, but rather, compared to the radiant and assertive Jiang Ruoyu, Song Xu Yi’s appearance leaned towards a gentle and delicate beauty, bearing no resemblance to Jiang Ruoyu’s striking and aggressive features.
If the selection truly relied on physical appearance, Song Xu Yi believed that Jiang Ruoyu had a high probability of being chosen. As Song Xu Yi carefully recollected, the Saintess she had seen that evening was like a rough version of Jiang Ruoyu at first glance. Although the Saintess was also attractive, she couldn’t compare to Jiang Ruoyu’s exquisite flawlessness.
By the time Song Xu Yi and Jiang Ruoyu arrived, the selection process was nearing its end, and two days later, the preliminary selection of the Saintess concluded in Guozhou.
During these two days, Song Xu Yi, feigning boredom, strolled around the city with Jiang Ruoyu. The people of Guozhou did not impede them, and at first, Song Xu Yi didn’t notice anything unusual. However, the more they wandered, the more Song Xu Yi grew alarmed because almost everyone in Guozhou, from infants in swaddling clothes to aged elders with white hair, had a crescent-shaped pendant of the locust tree hanging from their chests.
The locust tree symbolized Yin, and such pendants naturally attracted malevolent forces when worn by individuals. Yet, the Hidden Moon Sect turned these pendants into their emblem, requiring their followers to carry them at all times.
This eye was everywhere.
The people’s fervent worship of the divine had reached a fanatical level, and Song Xu Yi had witnessed it firsthand. On the street, two women got into an argument, unable to determine who had accidentally knocked over the tray of eggs. Suddenly, one of the women, overcome with emotion, tightly grasped her pendant and eerily swore, her tone filled with ambiguity: “By the grace of the Divine, if I have caused the eggs to fall, may the Divine sever the hand that touched them. But if I am innocent, I beseech the Divine to sever the hand of the true culprit…”
However, what followed was a sudden piercing scream. The woman who had sworn oaths widened her eyes in horror as she watched her own hands snap off from the wrists, severed completely!
“No! Divine, I truly didn’t know if it was me who touched the eggs. Divine, I beg for your mercy…”
The woman collapsed to the ground, clutching her severed arms, weeping and pleading for forgiveness from the divine spirit. Meanwhile, the rest of the people went into a frenzied state, kneeling on the ground with a maniacal expression, shouting, “The Divine has shown their power once again! Praise the Divine for maintaining justice!”
As Song Xu Yi observed the woman, weeping in pain while holding her severed arms, an inexplicable chill ran down her spine. She believed that the woman genuinely had no knowledge of touching the eggs; otherwise, given their obsession with the divine, the woman would never have dared to make such a reckless oath. And in that moment when the woman’s arms were severed, Song Xu Yi distinctly felt a sinister force at play.
Is this the kind of world that the divine spirits of Guozhou wish to see?
Song Xu Yi still couldn’t be certain if the divine spirits of Guozhou were indeed the Divine Attractor mentioned in the original plot summary. After all, the Divine Attractor in the plot was portrayed as a mindless, chaotic black mist, while the divine spirits of Guozhou clearly possessed subjective judgment capabilities.
Through this incident, Song Xu Yi came to understand that the malevolent deity worshipped by the Hidden Moon Sect was nearly omnipresent in this city.
“Ruoyu, what are your thoughts on this matter?”
Song Xu Yi dared not act rashly anymore and asked Jiang Ruoyu for her opinion on the matter. Jiang Ruoyu’s views aligned with hers as she softly responded, “The Divine Attractor’s actions are excessively cruel and heartless. Although the woman made a mistake, her punishment should not have been so severe.”
“I think the same way,” Song Xu Yi smiled with relief. She had been worried that Jiang Ruoyu’s immersion into the Hidden Moon Sect might lead to her being assimilated. Now she realized she was fretting over nothing and continued, “Everyone makes mistakes, especially in moments of impulsiveness. Sometimes people need to face the consequences of their impulsive actions. However, there are rules and laws in place to judge such matters and administer punishments, rather than relying on the subjective judgment of a so-called divine entity…”
“You’re right, sister.” Jiang Ruoyu smiled gently, but her eyes revealed a hint of sadness.
She had deceived Sister, and yet she hadn’t.
In truth, at first, she didn’t see anything wrong with the actions of the divine spirits of Guozhou. After all, it was the woman’s own request, and the divine spirits merely fulfilled her wish, making her pay the corresponding price.
But she knew Sister didn’t like hearing such responses, so she said what Sister wanted to hear.
But after answering, Jiang Ruoyu reconsidered. If she were the divine spirit of Guozhou, she might not handle the situation in the same manner as the divine spirits of Guozhou did. She had encountered truly benevolent divine spirits and received their blessings. Even now, she still basked in the warmth bestowed upon her by the divine.
Jiang Ruoyu lifted her head and quickly glanced at Song Xu Yi, then lowered it once again. Despite the vast divide between them now, despite going against her own intentions, and despite the potential complications it may bring, she still wanted to do everything in her power to get a little closer to Sister, to be more like her…
And the two days quickly passed by.
The selection of the Saintess consisted of three stages: those who passed the first stage resided in the inn, the second stage was overseen by High Priest Fu Sheng, and those who passed the second stage entered a cave for the third stage. No one knew what the girls would encounter inside the cave, as the accounts varied greatly once they emerged. Some claimed to have seen treasures, some claimed to have become empresses, and others said they had reincarnated into wealthy families. However, it was often during the third stage that a Saintess with divine powers would emerge from this group of girls.
During the second stage, Song Xu Yi caught sight of Fu Sheng. She had initially imagined Fu Sheng as a portly middle-aged man. However, to Song Xu Yi’s surprise, Fu Sheng exuded an elegant demeanor, resembling more of a refined scholar…
Fu Sheng fanned himself, his gaze casually sweeping over the girls in the room. When his eyes landed on Jiang Ruoyu, they widened in an instant—
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