The scheming empress starts by conquering men

Until dawn, when the rooster crowed, the blood-sucking locust branches seemed to be frightened and seemed to come alive.

He quickly pulled it back, and as he did so, the branch inexplicably broke, and the green juice mixed with blood plasma inside sprayed all over the old woman.

After the red and green blood plasma sprayed on the old woman, a strange thing happened. All the wounds on her body disappeared in an instant.

Even the place where the wound was exposed was growing new flesh at a speed visible to the naked eye?

Shaodian Sishui looked at this scene in astonishment, it was too unbelievable.

"I recovered after daybreak and was found by an old couple, who took me home."

The old woman continued to talk about the past in vivid detail, but Shaodian Sishui suddenly came to his senses and raised questions.

"What you just said was just your imagination. How did you know that you were unconscious?"

The old woman sighed, walked aside and closed her eyes.

"It's not that I look like him. I once secretly saw someone else being treated under the locust tree."

"I guess my treatment method back then was the same as that person's."

Now Shaodian Si Shui was speechless. She pursed her lips and felt like running away.

She wanted to leave this damn and weird place right now.

But it’s not possible now, Shaodian Sishui asked again patiently.

"You can't leave here, is it because you were saved by that sacred tree?"

Otherwise, if she hated Gushu Village so much, why would she leave and come back?

The old woman uttered a doubtful sound, then stared at her in admiration, looking at her as if she were looking at a treasure.

"You are really smart and intelligent. You can guess the general situation just by the slight changes in my body."

Shaodian Sishui's mouth twitched. Isn't it enough to just have eyes?

Any modern public official or workplace elite can guess the general idea.

The old woman said, "Yes, I have left before, but I found that I cannot be away for more than a year. If I am away for more than a year, my skin will turn into the color of locust bark and I will not feel anything until I come back here..."

She said with a sneer and a deep sigh; "The skin on your body will be fine."

"For the past twenty years, I have tried again and again, but have failed every time, and I have been unable to find the cause."

Her face was full of regret, but her eyes were looking at Shaodian Sishui.

Shaodian Sishui continued her words; "So, when the villagers brought me back and wanted to let the ancient trees save me, you appeared and chose to save me, and said that you would make me lose my memory."

The old woman opened her mouth and was stunned in amazement.

Then he nodded again, his chest rising and falling, and his breathing becoming rapid.

It seems that he didn't expect that she could even guess this?

"Yes, it is just as you think. But why do you think that I took the initiative to save you instead of them begging me to do it?"

They were referring to the couple, Shaodian Sishui understood.

She thought about it for a while, pursed her lips and looked at the old woman, and asked tentatively; "Do I look like your old friend?"

The old woman suddenly froze, her back felt numb, and her whole body was shaking.

She stared at Shaodian Sishui in astonishment, her lips moved but she said nothing.

Seeing his expression, Shaodian Sishui nodded in confirmation.

"She really looks like your old friend. Is she my mother?"

As she asked the question, she looked at the old woman, but the old woman came back to her senses from her shock, calmed herself down, closed her eyes, and did not respond to her.

Shaodian Sishui observed, nodded in understanding, and gave the answer.

"That's my father."

The old woman suddenly opened her eyes, stared at her sharply, and then laughed softly.

"You guessed wrong this time. Neither of them is true."

"Oh!"

Shaodian Sishui nodded lightly, raised a smile at the corner of her mouth, and stared at the old woman in front of her.

"Whether it's love, hatred, or blood feuds among you older generations, I, as a younger generation, don't want to ask or get involved."

"My mother and father gave birth to me without consulting me. I was born under duress. What happened between you has nothing to do with me."

"Since you chose to save me, tell me, what do you want me to do for you?"

She didn't believe that the old woman saved her simply because she was the daughter of an old friend. This kind of plot might only exist in novels, but in reality, interests come first.

The old woman was speechless, and suddenly she laughed in a low voice.

I was so angry and amused by her words, "My mother and father gave birth to me without consulting me."

What kind of brain does she have, how could she come up with such a weird idea.

Is this really his daughter?

How could one say such inhumane nonsense?

She sighed and spoke softly.

"I don't want you to do anything, I just want to save you. Tomorrow is the day of sacrifice, and the sacrifice time is tomorrow morning. I will not go to save you. If you want to save yourself, there is only one way."

Shaodian Sishui let out a cry, then nodded in understanding. It was good that there was no purpose.

She didn't ask for any solution, but picked up the bamboo slips and continued reading until the name left after reading was recorded on it.

The people recorded were the descendants of that noble man and had served as clan leaders.

She closed the bamboo slips, examined them carefully, and asked.

"Is this dug out from the locust tree?"

The old woman nodded; "Not bad."

Shaodian Sishui collected the bamboo slips and put them aside, rubbing his index finger and thumb continuously, his eyes slightly narrowed as he thought about something.

"How did you escape the sacrifice back then? If you were not sacrificed, then someone else took your place in the sacrifice later, right?"

The old woman snorted coldly; "The one who saved me with a purpose must be the couple who offered sacrifices, why would anyone else be required to offer sacrifices?"

"Is it okay for older people to do that?" Shaodian Sishui asked in surprise.

"Of course, as long as they are male or female priests, there is no age limit."

Now Shaodian Sishui was confused again. He stared at her and was about to ask when he heard the old woman speak again.

"Are you wondering, since older priests are also acceptable, why do they choose young people?"

Shaodian Sishui nodded quickly; "That's right, since sacrifices are not limited by age, then the elders can die for the younger ones. After all, the younger ones can continue to carry on the family line, and the older ones are about to wither and die, so it's okay for them to sacrifice. Why do we have to..."

Shaodian Sishui paused for a moment and swallowed back the words "die in place of others".

I already knew in my mind why I let someone else die in my place.

"They want to try?"

The old woman nodded again in appreciation, with excitement on her face.

"Yes, you have thought of their thoughts."

Shaodian Sishui sneered and mocked, "Human nature has always been like this. I was shallow before and didn't think of this."

"They simply wanted to find someone to replace their own child, to see if a foreigner could also be sacrificed alive. It had nothing to do with whether it was a true replacement for their own child."

"Just like the couple you killed 20 years ago, their death brought 20 years of peace and prosperity."

"Since then, some people in this village have been thinking that if age is not a problem, then not knowing blood relationship is also not a problem."

"Twenty years later, they wanted to try it, so they chose me and my companions."

"If the attempt is feasible, I think that every twenty-year sacrificial day, Gushu Village will no longer have its own people to perform the sacrifices. Instead, they will buy or kidnap people from outside to perform the sacrifices."

“It’s even possible that they will continue to try and make comparisons by offering sacrifices as slaves, deities, and nobles.”

"If the higher their status, the better their life..."

Shaodian Sishui paused when he said this, and a gleam of brilliance flashed across his eyes.

"They know that I am a noble, and they want to try it on me first."

"Hehehe~~" The old woman smiled and nodded; "Yes, judging from your appearance and the way you were dressed when you came, how could they not know that you are a noble?"

Shaodian Sishui frowned, with doubts in his heart again.

"Aren't they afraid of my power? If the news of this living sacrifice gets out, won't the whole village be buried with me?"

"The news can't be spread." said the old woman.

"Why?"

The old woman didn't say anything, but said, "When you leave Ancient Tree Village and come back, you will know that what you are talking about now will not happen."

Shaodian Sishui frowned and looked at the wounds all over his body.

"Do you think I can leave here in my current state?"