Early the next morning, everyone in the Teng tribe stayed in the tribe, nervously preparing for the sacrifice.
Even the weeds, shrubs, and bamboos around the altar were all cleared away.
In the bamboo house, Chi Shao followed the old witch to practice the sacrificial language and sacrificial etiquette for the last time.
"When chanting a mantra, be pious and straighten your arms, like this..."
The old witch gave Chi Shao a demonstration, chanting a boring and difficult-to-understand incantation. This incantation has a special charm that makes people involuntarily get excited after listening to it.
After teaching this for several times, the old witch said with satisfaction: "You are very talented and can learn very quickly. It is difficult for people without talent to learn these spells to pray for gods and blessings."
"Okay, get ready and go to the sacrifice. Remember, when you get to the altar, don't be nervous and be pious."
Chi Shao nodded solemnly. She knew very well the importance of this sacrifice and did not want to make any mistakes.
This was not only the first time the Teng tribe offered sacrifices, but also the day when Gan Song and others officially became members of the Teng tribe. There were also more than a hundred new tourists watching the ceremony.
As the main priest, Chi Shao's every move will affect the effect of this sacrifice, so she is under great pressure.
But Chi Shao did not flinch or be afraid, but resolutely took on this important task. This is due to her tenacious character.
Chi Shao left the bamboo house, and the old witch sat in the bamboo house, solemnly painting the totem pattern of the Eagle Tribe on his old face.
He painted meticulously. He had done this kind of thing countless times, but he was very serious every time.
During this sacrifice, he was also invited by Jiang Xuan to watch the ceremony and draw the totem pattern, which was the most basic respect for the Teng tribe.
After drawing the totem pattern, the old witch arranged the animal skin clothes, hung up the bone ornaments, put on the feather crown, and walked towards the altar of the Vine Tribe.
Not far away, tourists who had spent the night outside the Vine Tribe gathered together and looked at the busy figure of the Vine Tribe with uneasiness.
After a morning of observation, they found that the Teng tribe was smaller than they thought. There were only a dozen members, which was not even as good as a small tribe.
"Do we really want to stay here?"
"There are so few people in this tribe. Do they really have so much food for the winter?"
"But that big bird is so scary."
……
The tourists were talking a lot and worried about their future fate.
Nepeta was holding a weapon similar to a mace and sitting on a stone, with a solemn expression on his face and some melancholy in his eyes.
This "mace" is actually made from a tree covered with spikes.
This tree is very hard and has a certain degree of toughness. Tribal people are used to grinding off all the sharp thorns on it and using it to make weapons such as spears.
But Nepeta suddenly had a whim and kept the sharp spike at one end, turning it into a mace. It was very easy to use and very lethal.
Jingjie has been thinking about the two choices Jiang Xuan gave him, but in fact, neither of them are good choices.
The first option is for Nepeta to join the Vine tribe with twenty-nine people, then there is a high probability that the others will freeze to death or starve to death in this winter.
The second option is for everyone to stay in the Vine tribe, using the rations of thirty people, plus the method of obtaining food in winter mentioned by Jiang Xuan, to survive until the ice and snow melt.
If Jie Jie is a very ruthless and selfish person, he actually doesn’t have to hesitate and choose the first one directly.
It's a pity that he is not. On the contrary, he is a more responsible person, and he hopes to survive with all the tourists.
Because I am not ruthless, I am in pain, so it is difficult to make a choice.
"Oh, let's take a look again."
Nepeta looked at the mysterious ancient vines behind the vine tribe, hoping for a miracle.
……
At noon, when the sun reaches its highest point, the Vine Tribe’s sacrificial ceremony finally begins.
On the altar, three large cauldrons have been filled with various wild fruits and grains, which look quite spectacular.
Sacrifices such as earth-shelled beasts, giant turtles, big-horned sheep, colorful pheasants, colorful ducks, and large bamboo rats were all wiped on the necks with stone knives, and then placed neatly on the altar, allowing the blood to flow and soak into the totem pattern.<
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The eight totem poles surrounding the altar were also smeared with animal blood, adding a touch of mystery.
Even the old witch was surprised when he saw so many sacrifices, which already exceeded the scale of sacrifices of many small tribes.
The three large pottery tripods filled with food shocked the old witch even more. This was a sacrificial method he had never seen in other tribes, or even in the records of the Eagle Tribe.
The old witch sighed: "Just looking at their sacrificial rituals, who dares to say that this is a small tribe?"
All the people of the Vine tribe had taken a bath, put on their best animal skin clothes, and put on their best animal teeth, horns and other accessories. They stood in front of the altar with solemn expressions and excited moods.
As a person invited to watch the ceremony, the old witch stood relatively forward on the left, while the more than a hundred tourists stood at the back, nervously waiting for the Vine tribe's sacrifice.
Jiang Xuan glanced at the position of the sun, and then shouted loudly: "The autumn festival ceremony begins now!"
Everyone's mood became tense, and even the tourists did not dare to talk to each other anymore, and they all stared at the altar.
Chi Shao took a deep breath, then took off her animal skin boots, walked barefoot along the steps, and walked up to the three-meter-high altar step by step.
Facing the ancient vines on the stone mountain, she slowly opened her arms and began to chant according to the incantation taught by the old witch.
"ㄉㄊㄎㄌㄉ,ㄞㄓㄘㄢㄖ..."
The mysterious incantation for praying to the gods has a boring meaning and is difficult to understand, but it is very rhythmic, just like an ancient ballad. The ups and downs of the tones can make people unconsciously arouse their emotions.
As Chi Shao sang, a scene appeared that shocked all the tourists and the old witch.
On top of the tall stone mountain, the divine vines entrenched like giant dragons emitted bright green light.
It is obviously late autumn, but the branches and leaves of the divine vine are as green as jade, showing full of vitality.
The giant dragonflies lying on the ancient vines, which had become dying due to the cold weather, seemed to have been injected with new life force and flew lightly around the stone mountain.
Countless roots broke out from the ground and wrapped around the altar. Finally, they wrapped the three cauldrons on the altar and all the sacrifices. The blood on the altar was quickly absorbed by the roots. Even the eight totem poles were completely wrapped by the roots of the divine vine, and not a single bit of the animal blood smeared on them was wasted.
After Chi Shao recited the incantation to invite the gods, she bowed down and waited for the divine vines to enjoy the sacrifice. The roots were twining around her, but none of them touched her. It was very magical.
"Heaven..."
Among the tourists, someone was about to scream, but his mouth was immediately covered by the people next to him, lest he collided with the guardian spirit of the Vine tribe and brought disaster to them.
Even Nepeta was shocked to the core, because in their original tribe, the totem god had long been a legend. Except for some things that were said to be divine bones, no one had ever seen a living totem god.<
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But now, he saw the living totem god in the Vine tribe with his own eyes. This shock was indescribable.
Almost in an instant, he decided to take everyone to stay in the Vine Tribe, and the two choices that had troubled him for a long time were gone.
What does it mean to have a small tribe? What does it mean to have a small number of people? Being protected by a living totem god is more important than anything else!
***The author has something to say***
Thanks to the book friend "I'm so high" for the reward.