Blame the Villain – Chapter 211

Villainous Emperor (11)

Song Xuyi clearly felt Jiang Ruoyu’s joy.

Throughout the day, Jiang Ruoyu would occasionally lift her head and call out “Sister Xuyi” with bright, sparkling eyes.

Song Xuyi didn’t understand why Jiang Ruoyu was excited, but thinking this could help Jiang Ruoyu quickly adapt to their pretend relationship as cousin-sisters, Song Xuyi decided to let her be.

When the two arrived in Guozhou, the entire city was still enveloped in an atmosphere of frenzy.

People were still discussing with great excitement the Holy Maiden’s farewell parade from a few days ago: in front of everyone, the Holy Maiden transformed into an extraordinarily beautiful and strange flower, bloomed for an instant, then vanished into the night sky. The entire horizon was filled with a massive light screen, turning night as bright as day, and within the light appeared a woman’s profile – this was the rough appearance of the new Holy Maiden.

Only the High Priest Fu Sheng could clearly see this Holy Maiden’s face.

Although becoming the new Holy Maiden meant only five years of life remaining, the Holy Maiden was highly revered during her tenure, and after death, her family would be extremely well provided for. Moreover, the Yinyue Sect proclaimed to the public that when the Holy Maiden transformed into a flower and disappeared, it didn’t mean death, but rather she became the Yin Shen’s most faithful servant and went to serve in the divine realm. Therefore, many people believed that the benefits of becoming a Holy Maiden far outweighed the value of one’s life.

In this distorted world, beliefs in gods and spirits flourished. People had unwavering faith in the Yinyue Sect’s words, and countless people rushed to become the Holy Maiden. During the annual Holy Maiden selection period, not only did girls from Guozhou participate, but people from other provinces and counties would specifically choose this time to come to Guozhou.

The Holy Maiden selection had already begun at the city gates of Guozhou.

The Yinyue Sect specifically sent dozens of sharp-eyed followers to wait at the city gates, and when they discovered someone matching the Holy Maiden’s appearance characteristics, they would send them to designated inns within the city to await the second test brought by High Priest Fu Sheng.

“Hey! That young lady in your carriage…”

Jiang Ruoyu’s appearance had always stood out remarkably in crowds. Almost as soon as she entered the city, she caught the attention of various sect members. Before Jiang Ruoyu could even express her intention to participate in the Holy Maiden selection, several sect members came forward, enthusiastically handing her an identity tablet and inviting her to join the selection. They called for an elaborately decorated horse carriage to transport her and Song Xuyi to an inn within the city.

As for Song Xuyi, although she was also beautiful, those people showed no interest in her. Only after Jiang Ruoyu declared “Sister Xuyi is my cousin-sister, I won’t go anywhere without her,” did the sect members reluctantly allow Song Xuyi to board the carriage.

“They fail to recognize true talent!” Jiang Ruoyu sat in the carriage and took a deep breath, but clearly unable to suppress her anger, she continued huffily: “Sister Xuyi is so beautiful and has such a good nature, yet they’re blind to not see your worth…”

“There, there,” Song Xuyi was secretly amused. Throughout the journey, Jiang Ruoyu had been unusually composed, so seeing her display such childish behavior was unexpected. She couldn’t help but tease: “Could it be that you want them to choose me as the Holy Maiden, only to live for five more years?”

“That’s not what I meant at all—” Jiang Ruoyu gave Song Xuyi a wronged look, and after noticing the teasing in Song Xuyi’s eyes, she paused for a moment, pressed her lips together, and lowered her head, turning to gaze out the window in a huff.

Song Xuyi watched Jiang Ruoyu’s expression and withdrew her smile.

She hadn’t noticed it before, but when Jiang Ruoyu turned her face to the side, her profile clearly overlapped with a certain face in her memory—

“I think I now know the main reason why they selected you.”

Song Xuyi and Jiang Ruoyu arrived at the inn housing the Holy Maiden candidates.

After seeing the Holy Maiden candidates who had already settled in the inn, Song Xuyi further confirmed her suspicions: regardless of their height, build, or beauty, all these candidates bore some resemblance to the previous Holy Maiden whom Song Xuyi had met.

When Song Xuyi had previously seen the now-vanished Holy Maiden, she felt a sense of familiarity but hadn’t given it much thought at the time. It was only when she saw Jiang Ruoyu’s profile in the carriage that Song Xuyi realized the Holy Maiden and Jiang Ruoyu looked somewhat alike.

Looking at the diverse candidates before her, some plump and others slender, Song Xuyi couldn’t help but grow suspicious: everyone knew that the Yinyue Sect’s Holy Maiden selection was in High Priest Fu Sheng’s hands, but what were his selection criteria? Could it really be based solely on a similar appearance…

Song Xuyi vaguely felt this had something to do with the original story’s plot outline.

Initially, Song Xuyi had thought she might be chosen, suspecting the Yinyue Sect had special means to sense divine vessels. However, after learning the general appearance requirements for Holy Maiden selection, Song Xuyi realized her chances were extremely slim. It wasn’t that Song Xuyi wasn’t beautiful, but compared to Jiang Ruoyu’s radiant and striking beauty that carried an aggressive quality, Song Xuyi’s appearance leaned towards gentle and soft beauty, bearing no resemblance to Jiang Ruoyu’s features.

If the selection was truly based on appearance, Song Xuyi felt Jiang Ruoyu’s chances were extremely high. Thinking carefully, Song Xuyi recalled that the Holy Maiden she saw that night looked almost like a rougher version of Jiang Ruoyu. Though that Holy Maiden was beautiful, she was far less refined and flawless than Jiang Ruoyu.

When Song Xuyi and Jiang Ruoyu arrived, the selection was nearing its end. Two days later, Guozhou concluded its preliminary Holy Maiden selection.

During these two days, Song Xuyi, using boredom as an excuse, wandered around the city with Jiang Ruoyu. The people of Guozhou didn’t stop them, and at first, Song Xuyi didn’t notice any surveillance. However, the more she explored, the more alarmed she became, because almost everyone in Guozhou, from infants in swaddling clothes to white-haired elders, wore a crescent-shaped locust tree pendant on their chest.

The locust tree belongs to the yin element, and such pendants naturally attract evil spirits when worn. Yet the Yinyue Sect made these pendants their religious tokens, requiring followers to carry them at all times.

This watchful eye was everywhere.

The people’s worship of the Yin Shen was deeply fanatical. Song Xuyi witnessed firsthand when two women were arguing in the street over who had knocked over eggs from a stall. One woman suddenly grabbed her pendant in excitement and swore in an eerie tone: “Yin Shen above, if I knocked over the eggs, may you cut off the hand that did it. If it wasn’t me, this faithful woman begs you to cut off the true culprit’s hands…”

Suddenly, a sharp scream followed as the swearing woman’s eyes widened in shock, watching helplessly as both her hands severed completely at the wrists!

“No! Yin Shen, I truly didn’t know I had knocked over the eggs, please, I beg you…”

The woman knelt on the ground, clutching her severed hands while weeping bitterly and begging for divine forgiveness. However, the other people frantically fell to their knees en masse, crying out in religious fervor: “The Yin Shen has shown divine power again! Thank you for upholding justice…”

Watching the woman crying while holding her arms, Song Xuyi felt an inexplicable chill down her spine: she believed the woman truly didn’t know she had knocked over the eggs – given their fanatical devotion to the deity, she would never have sworn such an oath otherwise. At the moment the woman’s arms were severed, Song Xuyi clearly sensed a malevolent force.

Was this the kind of world that Guozhou’s deity wanted to see?

Song Xuyi still couldn’t determine if Guozhou’s deity was actually the Yin Shen, since in the original story outline, the Yin Shen was merely a mass of mindless chaotic black mist, while Guozhou’s deity clearly possessed the ability to make subjective judgments.

Through this incident, Song Xuyi also realized that the evil deity worshipped by the Yinyue Sect was practically omnipresent in this city.

“Ruoyu, what do you think about this?”

Song Xuyi, now cautious about taking any action, asked Jiang Ruoyu’s opinion on the matter. Jiang Ruoyu’s view was similar to hers, and she spoke softly: “The Yin Shen’s actions are too cruel and cold. Even if this woman was at fault, the punishment far exceeds the crime.”

“I feel the same way,” Song Xuyi smiled with relief. She had worried that Jiang Ruoyu might be assimilated after entering the Yinyue Sect, but now realized she was worrying needlessly. She continued: “Everyone makes mistakes and has impulsive moments. Sometimes people need to pay for their impulsiveness, but judgment should be carried out through rules and laws, not by a so-called deity making punishments based on subjective judgment…”

“Sister speaks truly.” Jiang Ruoyu smiled gently, though her eyes remained dark.

She had both deceived and not deceived Sister Xuyi.

Initially, she hadn’t felt the deity of Guozhou had done anything wrong, since the woman had requested it herself, and the deity had merely fulfilled her wish and made her pay the corresponding price.

But knowing Sister Xuyi wouldn’t like hearing such an answer, she said what Sister Xuyi wanted to hear.

Yet after answering, Jiang Ruoyu reflected that if she were Guozhou’s deity, she might not handle things this way, because she had encountered truly benevolent deities and received their blessing. Even now, she was still enjoying the warmth bestowed by the divine—

Jiang Ruoyu lifted her head, quickly glanced at Song Xuyi, then lowered it again: even though a heavenly moat separated them now, even if it meant going against her own nature, even if things would become complicated, she still wanted to use all her strength to get a little closer to Sister Xuyi, to become more like her…

The two days passed quickly.

The Holy Maiden selection consisted of three trials: those who passed the first trial stayed in this inn, with High Priest Fu Sheng presiding over the second trial. Those who passed the second trial would enter a cave for the third trial. No one knew what the girls encountered in the cave, as those who emerged told different stories – some claimed to have seen treasures, others said they became empresses, and some spoke of being reborn into wealthy families. But it was during the third trial that a Holy Maiden with divine powers would typically emerge.

During the second trial, Song Xuyi saw Fu Sheng. She had expected him to be a plump, middle-aged man, but surprisingly, Fu Sheng was elegant and refined, more resembling a scholarly gentleman.

Fu Sheng waved his fan, his gaze carelessly sweeping across the girls in the room, but when it landed on Jiang Ruoyu, his eyes suddenly widened—

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LP: Re-translated on December 06, 2024

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