When three large animals suddenly pounced on Xun out of thin air, Xun was secretly surprised, but because he hunted in the wild all year round, his judgment of quickly retreating to avoid the attacks saved his life. Even so, the black panther's claw still made a short mark on Xun's left chin. Xun glared at the three beasts angrily and felt blood flowing from his left chin.
As soon as the three animals landed, they quickly slowed down and stood in front of Hajime, roaring at the Taka who were still shocked by the sudden attack of the three animals.
Xun wiped the blood from his chin with his left fingers. He smiled at Hajime and said, "No one has ever touched my face, not even a scratch. You are so brave, white-haired boy." He wiped the blood on his fingers on his pants. "Just because you're the bravest of all these chickens, it doesn't mean you'll survive tonight."
Hajime looked at Xun and said, "You haven't seen bravery yet. If you keep me for any longer, the bravest of the brave will come to save me, and if that happens, everything you have built will be destroyed by them."
Xun laughed, "Hahahaha..." He smiled happily at Hajime. "Let's see whether you die first, or they find you first." He chuckled. "But if I had to guess, I'm afraid you will die before they find you."
Hajime said, "If you have the guts, give it a try." Hajime kept looking at Xun, trying to calm himself down and not break down in front of Xun.
Hajime knew that the current war of words with Xun was just strong words, and the fact was that he alone could not defeat the entire Taka clan. His chances of winning were slim. The reason why he continued to have this difficult conversation with Xun was just to stall for time and give his friends a chance to save him.
Seeing Hajime's unwillingness to give in, Xun knew that if he faced off against the three predators, he would lose his manpower. Recalling that Hajime threatened that someone would come to rescue, but not knowing how many people would come, he decided to force Hajime to surrender to avoid wasting more time.
Xun smiled and said, "Bring me the newborn."
Hajime face suddenly turn pale, and he asked, "What do you want to do with a newborn?"
Xun smiled at Hajime and said, "Attack my subordinates and you will know." He smiled while staring at Hajime, testing Hajime's will to fight.
After a while, a Taka came towards Xun with a basket, and he threw the basket on the ground. Xun reached into the basket, grabbed the newborn's feet, and pulled the baby girl out of the basket.
The baby girl's cry shook Hajime's heart and made Hajime feel cold all over. Hajime looked at Xun and asked in horror, "What are you going to do to the baby?"
Xun smiled and said, "I heard from the elders that fresh brains taste the best." He swung the baby towards the cave wall.
"Stop!" Hajime yelled.
Xun's hand stopped in time before the baby hit the tunnel wall.
Hajime asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Xun smiled and said, "It's simple...put your animals away. The way they look scares little kids."
Hajime knew that if he took back his crafts, he would not be able to save himself and his unborn child at the critical moment. He patted the black panther lightly on the head.
"Follow closely," Hajime whispered into the black Panther's ear. He turned to the three wolves. "Find the others."
The three wolves and the black panther slowly retreated towards the villagers and disappeared into the dark tunnel.
Xun was still holding the newborn's feet, and the newborn was still crying. Hajime turned his gaze to Xun and said, "The four animals have left. Let the newborn go."
Xun smiled and said, "It seems that I have caught an extraordinary person, but since you are not on my side, there is no reason for me to keep you alive." He looked at a Taka standing next to him. "Tie his hands, because his hands can send signals to those animals to attack us. Block his mouth, because he can summon those animals at will." Xun put the newborn back into the basket.
Two Takas came over, tied Hajime's hands together tightly, and blocked Hajime's mouth with two pieces of cloths.
Xun glanced up at the open roof tunnel, then approached Hajime. "You should be proud of yourself because you are participating in a very important annual ritual. Dedicating your life to the moon god will bring you eternal happiness," he said with a smile. He turned to the Taka that surrounded him. "It's almost time. Let's take them to Dongxue Village."
Hajime was a little confused. They hadn't arrived at Dongxue Village yet, so why did Xun want to take them to Dongxue Village. He wanted to ask the people walking around him, but he couldn't speak. His mouth was tightly blocked by the piece of cloth in his mouth, and then another piece of cloth covered his mouth.
A pale face woman looked at Hajime and said, "Thank you..."
Hajime turned to the woman.
"I don't want to see my child die in front of my eyes," the young woman said.
Hajime could only nod to the woman. He tried to ask the woman about the situation in Dongxue Village, but what came out of his mouth were just muffling sounds that that made no sense to the listener.
The young woman said, "He is referring to the original Dongxue Village. According to historical records, the elders said that the original Dongxue Village was a large village bounded by a stream, divided into West Village and East Village. This name is more pleasant." She chuckled. "It's usually called the tall side and the short side. All the normal-sized people live on the east side, while the short people live on the west side, with the stream as the dividing line between the short and tall people. The short and the tall people generally don't talk to each other unless it's for the welfare of the village. Since the monkey tragedy, people started dying, and the tall ones blamed the short ones, and the short ones blamed the tall ones. Instead of finding a solution to resolve the problem, the conflict between West Village and East Village has turned into hatred. During those hateful years, the West Village could not defeat the East Village because there were more people in the East Village, and East villagers became prisoners of the West villagers. One day, an Immortal King descended from the sky and came with his soldiers to save the East villagers. In order to avoid further conflicts and deaths, the Immortal King and his soldiers took the people of the West Village away and established the new Dongxue Village. This village is the village where we live now."
Listening to the young woman telling Hajime about the history of Dongxue Village, Hajime didn't understand how two neighbors who barely spoke could become enemies. Hajime watched too many anime series during his lonely years, so he understood people's hearts. People often say that wherever there is need, heroes will step forward. Therefore, the Immortal King and his soldiers are most likely fairy tales, created to heal their hearts in their most desperate moments.
When the people in front stopped, Hajime and the woman also stopped. Hajime looked forward and saw a rope ladder hanging above the tunnel with an open roof. Many Taka men started climbing up the rope ladder, and soon the villagers were forced to climb up the rope ladder, one person at a time.
When it was Hajime's turn, Xun grabbed Hajime's arm and made other villagers walk in front of Hajime. Then the Taka, who had climbed the rope ladder, began to pull up the baskets containing babies and young children. Xun looked at Hajime, grabbed the rope, and tied the rope around Hajime's upper body. He shook the rope twice and Hajime was initially pulled to the open ground.
When Hajime finally reached the opening at the top of the tunnel, he discovered that the opening at the top of the tunnel was the mouth of the well. Although the half-moon didn't emit much moonlight, Hajime could still see the abandoned, stripped-down village.
Xun walked up to Hajime, raised Hajime's chin to face him, and smiled at Hajime. "Ah... if only you are a woman, I will let you be my queen, but it's a pity that you are a man," Xun said with a smile. "Tonight, the child in your belly will be sacrificed to the moon god." He chuckled and then licked his lips with his tongue. "I wonder what the baby in your belly will taste like. Will his skin be soft and juicy, or rough and dry?" He continued to giggle, and soon the Taka began to stomp their feet on the ground, looking at the crescent moon and chanting happily.
After the Taka people were satisfied with their chanting, Hajime and the villagers were forced into the center of the old village.
There is a large fire pit in the center of the old village, with three large cauldrons placed on the fire pit. There were many takas; men, women, and children, all waiting for Xun and his captives.
Xun looked at Hajime and said with a smile, "Bring all the pregnant women on to the sacrifice ground." He walked over to a group of Taka who had white fur like him.
Ten Taka stepped forward and quickly tied the hands of the other nine pregnant women. The ten Takas began to drag Hajime and the nine women towards the three boiling cauldrons. The women began to cry out for mercy, and although they resisted the tug, they were dragged closer and closer to the three boiling cauldrons.
Hajime tried his best to free his hands from the restraints as a last-ditch attempt to help the villagers, but no matter how hard he tried, the rope tied around his wrists was too tight.
The ten Takas tied Hajime and the nine pregnant women to ten wooden posts and forced them to kneel on the ground.
Despite the half-dark moonlight, Hajime knew what was about to happen when he felt the tip of the wooden spear touch the middle of his left back. He was convinced that the Taka were marking their assassination. He looked towards the ground and saw the shadow of the Taka holding their wooden spear.
When the ten Taka men raised their spears and aimed them at the left backs of the ten people kneeling on the ground, the black panther jumped out from the gap between the two cauldrons and grabbed the side of a Taka's neck who was holding the spear.
The black panther dragged the fallen Taka in front of Hajime and with his teeth penetrated deep into the Taka's neck. The black panther shook the dead Taka twice, dropped the dead Taka to the ground, and locked eyes with Xun.