137 Strike a Deal (1/2)
Xue Wei exited the room of darkness. His face was haggard and his complexion pale. His eyes were drooping, and he seemed to be in severe pain.
He had remembered what Tianyi had told him and acted exactly as they had planned.
Hei Gou's face turned ugly, but it quickly straightened out as Xue Wei sent him a voice-compressed message.
Hei Gou's expression froze in place, becoming a strange mixture of amusement and crying.
Xue Wei had not said much other than, ”I am stealing their treasure,” but this already showed what he had been doing inside the room.
It was clear that they had been brought here because of something that would not benefit them, but now it seemed that Xue Wei had turned it around.
This made Hei Gou unaware of whether or not he should laugh or cry, making his handsome face turn into a hideous expression. Fortunately, all the villagers and the priestess were busy observing Xue Wei and his appearance that was lacking all energy.
”I see that it liked your soul,” Qing Li gloated, but he dared not speak too loud. He had been scared silly earlier when the thunder rumbled, and the temple shook, but now he reached the conclusion that the reason for this to happen was because 'it' was very pleased with Xue Wei's soul.
The priestess frowned. Her eyes gleamed with intelligence, and she was quiet as she looked at Xue Wei from top to bottom.
”You there, speak up. What happened inside the room?” the priestess asked with a stern voice that was filled with uncertainty and a bit of fear.
”I don't know,” Xue Wei answered with a frown on his face before grimacing. ”I stepped into a world of darkness. I could not see anything at all, and within this world, something seemed to cut through me and remove a part of me, though I do not know what part of me this was.”
”It was excruciating pain and I almost blacked out,” he continued as his body started trembling at the memory. The priestess nodded her head, satisfied with the answer.
”The two of you will follow me,” she said, the stoic air returning to her. It was as if nothing had happened that day that could shock her.
Xue Wei and Hei Gou obliged without resistance and followed the woman towards the depths of the temple.
Qing Li wanted to tag along, but Long Tian stopped him. In the end, only the three of them set out, while the rest all retreated to the village itself.
After walking slowly into the deeper parts of the temple, the priestess came to a halt. She turned around and looked at Xue Wei before she snorted.
”You did not lose any of your soul, and the natural phenomenon that appeared made me think that perhaps it is time for it to once again appear in the world,” she said.
Her face was still expressionless, her voice devoid of emotions and her bearing stoic. Hearing her words, Xue Wei was stunned and looked at her with wide open eyes.
”I don't know what you mean,” he mumbled with a low voice. ”Who said anything about losing my soul?” he asked. In response, the woman just snickered.
”Don't try to trick me,” she said with slight amusement. ”I have been the priestess of this temple since I was five years old. The ritual to become the new priestess is horrible, and it connects you to the sword. I heard what you two spoke about within the room, and I have to admit that I hope for it to happen too.”
”I am a young woman, but I have been locked up in this village since birth. My soul is slowly being shaved down little by little, and my life will be forfeit. Right now, I am already a little too old to do my duty, but I am supposed to find a husband and produce a child as soon as possible.”
”When my child turns five years old, this child is supposed to take over the job as a priestess, and the mother's life will be forfeited.”
”Will she be used to feed the sword with her soul until she dies?” Xue Wei asked, and a sad smile appeared on the priestess' face. ”Something like that,” she replied, without going into details.
Xue Wei paid it no heed. He did not think that it mattered too much and instead wondered how to deal with the villagers.
”Would it not be ideal for the entire village if I take away the sword?” Xue Wei asked after a bit of silence. ”As things are now, all of them will die young as they will give up their souls to the sword one after another.”
”This is also the reason why no one here has managed to reach a high cultivation rank; they are simply not able to live long enough to succeed.”
”It is true that they are giving up their lives,” the priestess said with a solemn face, ”but they have no choice. This village exists for the sake of holding the sword captive. We can never let it go,” she said, sighing deeply, and did not hide the fact that she disagreed with that.
”I will take you to two rooms. No one will be watching you, and you can roam around as you please. Since you have entered the village, there is no exit for you – other than when you become a corpse and scatter your ashes from a mountaintop.”