Holy Maiden

Though he had mastered this divine ability without a teacher, wielding it proficiently was no simple feat. The sword light Qin Sang had split off was not only riddled with flaws, but could also only be sustained for a very brief moment, rendering it useless in combat. Pondering it as he traveled, he found the Dao of the Sword to be increasingly profound. The immortal path was long and distant; not one of the Great Daos was simple! Before long, he arrived at the upper reaches of the river where he had once drifted. Flying low, Qin Sang spread out his spiritual sense, delving deep into the earth to see if any hidden entity lurked within the underground river. He found nothing. Entering the Qingyi River, Qin Sang concealed his figure and traveled downstream. Landing on the rear mountain of Qianhu Stockade, he furrowed his brows slightly. There was no one in the room. From the time he had left Qianhu Stockade to heal his injuries up to his breakthrough, less than twenty days had passed in total, yet a thin layer of dust had gathered on the desk in Yagu's room, and she herself was nowhere to be seen. Yagu was exceedingly diligent; had she still been living here, she would certainly have wiped it down every day. "With her birthmark and muteness cured, has Yagu finally been accepted by her clansmen?" Thinking this, Qin Sang leaped and swept toward the front of the stockade, but he still could not find Yagu. Ever since her grandmother died, Yagu had lived alone, shunned by her clansmen. She did not dare travel far on her own and had never left the mountain of Qianhu Stockade since childhood. Even during the Witch God Festival, when the surrounding stockades held gatherings with singing and dancing, Yagu could only stand alone on the mountaintop, gazing in their direction. *The Witch God Festival is just around the corner. Could Yagu have made friends and gone to the gathering with them?* Qin Sang knew Yagu had looked forward to the Witch God Festival, and he tried to think the best of things, yet an uneasy premonition lingered. Sweeping his spiritual sense across the settlement, he finally located a familiar person: Yagu's witch doctor grandpa. The old man was the sole witch doctor of Qianhu Stockade, held in high esteem. His stilt house was among the finest in the stockade, facing straight toward the Qingyi River with an expansive view. At this moment, the elder was inside pounding herbs. Gone was his usual kindly demeanor; his face was livid, and he pounded with immense force, as if holding a grudge against the mortar. "Who's there?" Catching a flutter of the door curtain and what seemed to be a silhouette out of the corner of his eye, the old man was instantly on guard. Then the light in the room dimmed, revealing a young man who had appeared beside the window like a ghost. He did not belong to the stockade, though his face looked somewhat familiar. The old man shifted his gaze to the man's left shoulder, only to see an arm resting intact upon it. "Who are you?" The old man grasped the walking stick beside him, deeply vigilant. "Old sir, do you not remember me?" Having taken a few doses of the old man's medicine, though they had been of little use, Qin Sang remained courteous and said gently, "Some days ago, I was gravely wounded with a severed arm and drifted along the river. Fortunately, you and Yagu saved me. Having finally recovered from my injuries, I came specifically to offer my thanks. Yet Yagu is nowhere to be found. Do you know where she has gone?" "It's you!" Recognizing Qin Sang, the old man's eyes suddenly reddened, his expression contorting with resentment. He ground his teeth and barked, "Yagu saved your life, yet you brought such misery upon her! How dare you even mention her name?!" "What?" Qin Sang frowned and said in a grave voice, "Yagu saved my life—how could I possibly harm her? Before departing, in gratitude for her kindness, I gifted her medicine to cure her muteness and remove her birthmark so she could return to a normal life... What on earth happened?" Qin Sang had already realized that something must have occurred during this period. He had known that once Yagu was cured, her life would undergo a dramatic upheaval, and her clansmen would certainly investigate how she had recovered. Curing a single ailment could still be explained away. Curing two intractable afflictions in such a miraculous fashion would inevitably create a massive uproar. Lacking strength of her own, Yagu might instead invite disaster upon herself. Before leaving, Qin Sang had instructed Yagu to keep pretending to be mute for now, and to tell the clansmen that her witch doctor grandpa had used a rare and miraculous medicine to remove her birthmark. Qianhu Stockade regarded Yagu as a jinx. Beyond mere coincidences, a major reason was that they judged her by her appearance, believing the birthmark on her face to be a curse from the Witch God. With the birthmark removed, Yagu could attempt to integrate with her clan and lead a normal life for a while. Qin Sang had intended to return and teach Yagu immortal methods or martial arts; once she possessed the power of self-preservation, she could begin speaking without fear. Never had he anticipated an unforeseen turn of events would strike in so short a time. He had even left behind a Qingfu coin just in case, but evidently that too had failed to help. "Who harmed Yagu?" Qin Sang's face turned icy cold, a deep killing intent surfacing in his eyes. The old man sensed Qin Sang's aura abruptly shift, as if a fiend of slaughter had descended upon the world. Yet the anguish he felt for Yagu rendered the old man fearless. Pointing at Qin Sang, he spat with venom, "Because you cured Yagu's birthmark, she was chosen as the Holy Maiden by Yihui Stockade! Yihui Stockade only ever selects beautiful young maidens! If not for you, if Yagu's birthmark had still been there, how could they have ever chosen her?!" "Holy Maiden?" Hearing that she was not in mortal peril, Qin Sang felt a momentary sense of relief. He had seen Yihui Stockade on the Five Insects Sect's topographical map. It was the overlord of Qianhu Stockade and the surrounding territories; the priests within the stockade were immortal cultivators, including a Foundation Establishment expert, boasting strength several degrees greater than Tianyue Stockade. Qin Sang knew little about the Witch Clan of the Western Frontier and did not know what a "Holy Maiden" signified. On the surface, Yagu being selected as the Holy Maiden by Yihui Stockade sounded like a good thing. Yet it was surely not so simple! The Witch Clan refined corpses, controlled bugs, and offered sacrifices to their gods; some of their customs were profoundly sinister. "What does Yihui Stockade have these Holy Maidens do once they are chosen?" Qin Sang asked in a solemn, heavy voice. The old man shook his head weakly, tears shimmering in his eyes. "All I know is that the maidens selected to be Holy Maidens of Yihui Stockade have never appeared again! That poor child Yagu... her life is too bitter..." The old man collapsed to the floor. Only after listening to his full recounting did Qin Sang understand what had happened. As it turned out, Yihui Stockade had a rule: every year before the Witch God Festival, they would select pure maidens who had just come of age from the various stockades under their control to serve as Yihui Stockade's Holy Maidens. Yihui Stockade claimed that being a Holy Maiden was an honor that would bring the Witch God's blessing. But none of the stockades were fools; after the Witch God Festival, those Holy Maidens vanished without a trace and were never seen again, which clearly pointed to some dark secret. However, firstly, the priests of Yihui Stockade were Shamanic God envoys while they were mere mortals who dared not resist. Secondly, Yihui Stockade did not demand one from the same stockade every year; with each stockade only having to offer up a Holy Maiden once every other year, it remained within tolerable limits, so they quietly acquiesced to this cruel rule. This year, it happened to be Qianhu Stockade's turn to offer up a Holy Maiden, and Yagu was just about to come of age. Yihui Stockade also had standards for appearance when selecting Holy Maidens. Had Qin Sang not cured the birthmark on her face, Yagu truly would have escaped this ordeal. "In Qianhu Stockade, how was the Holy Maiden chosen?" Qin Sang asked, his voice chillingly cold. The old man gave a wretched laugh. "Everyone couldn't wait to send away a 'jinx' like Yagu. There were those who wanted to drive her to death long ago—was there any need for a selection?" "They all deserve to die!" Qin Sang let out a cold snort and turned to gaze out the window at Qianhu Stockade. A chill light flashed in his eyes, yet he did not make a move. To do so would be overstepping his bounds. Yagu had lost her parents at a young age, and to have survived, she truly had received help from her clansmen. He would let her make the choice herself!