ATPnovel 9. Shamanistic rituals
9. Shamanistic rituals
Inside the villa.
Mr. Mu and Xiaorou were both very nervous. However, the live stream had been going on for quite some time, but they still hadn't seen Mu Yunni, which made Mr. Mu even more anxious.
"What...what's going on? Why isn't Yunni here? Is she...is she in danger?" Father Mu paced anxiously around the room.
Xiao Rou quickly comforted him, "Uncle, don't worry. Perhaps it's not time for Miss to appear yet. This has happened before in previous dungeons. And, based on my understanding of dungeons, the characters who haven't appeared yet are usually very important. During this period, you are absolutely safe."
"There's such a saying?" Hearing this, Mr. Mu felt a little relieved.
However, seeing Qin Mian struggling to keep up with the main group on the screen, Mu's father was heartbroken again, scratching his head in frustration.
"Oh dear, Yunni... you're so foolish! How could you choose this... Oh dear... what are we going to do? We're not even together yet, and we don't even have the chance to have a child!"
Xiao Rou was also very upset. She was genuinely worried about her young mistress, not because she was worried about Mu Yunni's abilities, but because she was worried that her son-in-law might die on the way.
Even if Mu Yunni clears the game by then, it will be too late; she'll only live for three years at most.
"Young master, you must hold on! At the very least, you must try to meet with Miss!"
Xiao Rou prayed silently in her heart, but seeing Qin Mian staggering, they all felt uncertain, as if Qin Mian might collapse at any moment.
……
As citizens of the Great Xia, although not as nervous as Xiao Rou and Mu's father, they all became nervous as they watched Qin Mian struggling to keep up behind.
[Oh dear, it must be really tough on him. He must weigh over 300 pounds. To be able to keep up with the others takes real perseverance.]
What can you do if you don't keep up? Falling behind means certain death.
It seems we can only pin our hopes on Mu Yunni of our Great Xia Dynasty. Let's hope she won't let us down.
[Keep it up, buddy! Think of it as a way to lose weight!]
[Haha, with this level of training, if he can really stick to it for fifteen days, he could lose at least 30 to 50 pounds! Haha, guys, I've discovered a business opportunity in weight loss!]
……
Traveling through the desert is a double torture for both the body and mind, and it is extremely exhausting.
It was alright in the morning, the temperature wasn't too high, but by noon, the temperature soared to fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. Looking ahead, it felt like the space itself was being distorted by the intense heat.
Not to mention Qin Mian, everyone else was finding the heat unbearable.
Qin Mian was drenched in sweat, his clothes were soaked through and then dried repeatedly, but he didn't feel tired at all. However, he stayed at the very back of the group, as if he was about to fall behind, but he just wouldn't. He gave people the feeling that he might fall at any moment, and that he was just persevering by sheer willpower.
"This Qilin blood is awesome!"
Qin Mian secretly admired himself, thinking that it would be great if he could clear this dungeon and bring the Qilin blood out.
However, even if he can't take it out, he'll probably lose a lot of weight in these fifteen days.
The temperature difference in the desert is extreme, and at night the temperature drops rapidly to below ten degrees Celsius.
After a day of walking, everyone was exhausted, but they still couldn't find the ancient riverbed on the map.
The group had no choice but to stop and rest.
Yamamoto Ichiro was getting impatient. "I'm telling you, are you guys even reliable? It's just a small section on the map, but we've been walking around for a whole day, and where's the river? We haven't even seen a trace of it! Could it be that we made a mistake from the start?"
Alice's expression was also grim. She licked her chapped lips, her voice hoarse but firm: "The direction is definitely right, but the situation may be worse than we anticipated. Part of this riverbed may have been buried by sandstorms, so even if we pass by the location of the riverbed, we may still miss it."
Andriff added, "Without knowing the exact location of the river, we can't pinpoint the location of the ancient city ruins. Instead of making sarcastic remarks, let's think of a solution."
Park Guk-chang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, glanced back at Qin Mian who was panting as he caught up, chuckled dismissively, and said, "As expected of a three-star difficulty dungeon, it starts on hell difficulty. Interesting!"
He didn't show any panic; instead, there was a hint of madness in his eyes.
Looking up into the surrounding darkness, he thought, "Judging from past dungeons, although they are difficult, there must be a way to solve them. It can't be a dead end. Since the map is no longer very helpful, it means that someone among us must have a skill that might help us find that ancient riverbed!"
“That makes sense.” Scarlett looked at Kia. “Mr. Kia, you are a priest who serves the gods and can communicate with supernatural powers. In this current predicament concerning our direction, is it possible… that we can obtain some revelation or guidance through your rituals?”
Everyone looked at Kia.
They all suddenly realized the special nature of his profession.
Kia felt the gazes of everyone, and his innate sense of superiority rose again.
He straightened his back, nodded slightly, and said in a solemn and mysterious tone, "It is our duty to communicate with heaven and earth and pray for divine guidance. In this place under the watchful eyes of the gods, perhaps... we can give it a try."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's give it a try!" Yamamoto Ichiro urged.
Kia said no more. He walked to the center of a small, relatively flat patch of sand and gestured for everyone to step back a little.
He closed his eyes, slowly raised his hands in a peculiar rhythm, and began to mutter incantations in strange syllables, not in any known language.
Immediately afterwards, his body suddenly trembled violently, as if he had been "possessed" by something.
Then, he began to stomp his feet on the sand alternately, the rhythm getting faster and faster, and his arms also waved, sometimes raising them high into the sky, sometimes slapping himself. His whole body trembled and spun violently as if he had been electrocuted, and the sounds coming out of his mouth became high and low, out-of-tone chanting and roaring.
Qin Mian came over to watch the commotion, but was dumbfounded.
"Wait, buddy, is this right? Did the Indians learn their worship of gods from those shamanistic rituals in Northeast China?"
Qin Mian's expression was strange, and he seriously suspected that this Kia had studied in Northeast China. He tried hard not to laugh, but the others obviously had never seen a Northeast shamanistic dance before. At this moment, they were all very solemn, thinking that Kia's performance was very mysterious, as if he was really communicating with the gods.
Qin Mian subconsciously touched his pocket, feeling a little regretful. He could only take out a compressed biscuit from his backpack, sit on the ground, and eat it while watching with relish.
Hmm, that's great. I'm very satisfied to be able to see artistic performances in this instance.
……