I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 202: Chapter 142: Live Human Fire Sacrifice

Ruchen giggled strangely, asking and answering himself as if he were talking to the mud doll. "Little Nini, tell me, what’s happening up ahead?"

"Oh?" Ruchen cupped a hand to his ear, his eyes wide. "What? You say there’s the smell of death up ahead? Someone’s been burned to death? A really, really foul stench of death?"

SPLAT.

The dancing mud doll dissolved back into a lump of clay. Ruchen got up, and the moment he turned his head, the playful smile vanished from his face without a trace. "It seems someone was burned to death up ahead? Huh?" Ruchen said in alarm. After his initial shock, he scratched his head in confusion. ’How did I know that?’

"That’s enough." Zheng Xiu patted Ruchen’s shoulder and said calmly, "Don’t forget what I said before. We need to keep a low profile. Don’t go recklessly using your Miracle Techniques." Zheng Xiu planted his foot on the clay remains of Ruchen’s doll, emphasizing once more, "Low profile. We can’t attract any attention."

Ruchen lowered his head, a hint of conflict in his eyes. But it quickly passed, and he broke into a carefree smile. "Brother Zheng, now that we’re here, I suppose it’s time we parted ways. I’ll go take a look first. You don’t need to follow me, Brother Zheng. We must prioritize the bigger picture! You should go on ahead up the mountain. Find a secluded place and rescue Donor Feng Bei—that’s what’s most important!"

With that, Ruchen turned, waved to Zheng Xiu over his shoulder, and ran swiftly toward the rising black smoke. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Ruchen laughed as he ran, his voice carrying on the wind as he entered the town.

Zheng Xiu stood there for a moment, then turned, intending to leave.

But as he took his first step, Zheng Xiu instinctively tightened the strap on his shoulder. He stood frozen for a moment before turning back and heading into the town.

The moment he entered the town, Zheng Xiu sensed something was wrong. The wide streets were completely deserted. A few houses were scattered here and there in a pleasant arrangement, but all their doors and windows were shut tight. Faint sounds drifted from within: the murmur of low conversation, the sound of breathing, and an adult’s hushed voice scolding a child.

’Strange.’

Zheng Xiu scanned his surroundings, and his keen [Intuition] immediately picked up on the town’s strange atmosphere. This wasn’t a warning of imminent danger; it just made Zheng Xiu feel that the whole situation was odd.

’That’s it!’

Zheng Xiu moved with powerful, wind-like strides. After just a few more steps, he came to a sudden realization.

’There are people inside the houses! That’s the most bizarre thing about all this.’

’Thick smoke was billowing from a raging fire within the town, and Ruchen had said someone was being burned to death up ahead. Yet, the other townsfolk were all hiding in their homes, doors and windows shut tight, as if they were completely unaware?’

’Unless the townspeople knew there would be a fire today.’

In moments, the source of the billowing black smoke was just ahead.

Although one of Ruchen’s personalities followed the [Wandering] Path, moving with electric speed, the Mighty Man’s muscular power was no illusion. Zheng Xiu was only a few steps behind him.

"Eee-yah-li, ya-wo-wa-la-ka-gwa..."

A hoarse voice hummed and chanted, the melody twisting and turning in a bizarre song. Zheng Xiu saw a hunched-over figure wearing a feathered mask and outlandish clothes, with bells hanging from his body and a drum at his waist. The man was swaying, making the bells jingle as he beat the drum, dancing wildly to the rhythm.

’It’s a Divine-Tuning Witch!’

"Let that woman go!"

Ruchen charged into the crowd, but several townspeople rushed forward to block him, shouting and cursing.

In a matter of moments, several burly men with pitchforks had Ruchen pinned to the ground, completely immobilized.

Zheng Xiu’s pupils contracted. He was utterly shocked. But what shocked him wasn’t the Divine-Tuning Witch, or even Ruchen being pinned to the ground.

It was the scene in the center of the town’s open square. A massive bonfire had been piled high and was burning fiercely. A wooden Pillar stood in the fire, and on it, a beautiful, plainly dressed woman was enduring the agony of being engulfed by flames, a bundle of bright red swaddling clothes held in her arms.

She clutched the swaddled bundle desperately to her chest, shielding it with her own body.

"WAAAH—!"

A baby’s cry erupted from within the swaddling clothes.

The sight made Zheng Xiu’s blood run cold.

The town’s residents were... burning people alive!

An adult and a child—two living Human beings.

This scene was like a cruel, living Human sacrifice!