—Darkness enveloped the earth.
—People live in pain and fear, and death hangs over us. But if my sacrifice can bring peace to the earth, what does it matter if I sacrifice one person
This is a great legend from long ago.
Surrounded by the sea on three sides, the waves roared and slapped the peaks, sharpening the towering hills year after year. And between the several peaks, there is a small plain, protected like a child by the surrounding mountains. Over time, on that small plain, humans multiplied and established a small country named Qingqiu.
Qingqiu country is very small, but everyone's life is quite affluent. There is no scrambling or noise in the long fields, and there is no strife or noise. Occasionally, thieves and robbers will appear, and they will be reviled by everyone else. It will not be long before peace will return to normal.
However, one day, bad luck came to this small country.
The land that had always had good harvests suddenly stopped producing food, and the rainy season, which was originally a suitable amount of water, stopped raining. The people of Qingqiu Kingdom suddenly sensed the crisis, but they didn't understand the reason, and they were in panic all day long.
Until one day, a hunter who went hunting in the mountains found a huge white fox with fangs and claws in the deep mountains. He was frightened and turned pale immediately, and rushed back to the village to tell everyone about it.
In this way, everyone knew the existence of the nine-tailed demon fox, and without even thinking about it, they attributed the bad luck of the weather and the land to the nine-tailed demon fox.
It must be the fault of the monster, this monster wants us to die!
As a result, the righteous villagers took up weapons, assembled troops, and started the road to crusade against monsters.
As a result, the nine-tailed demon fox was completely enraged.
Qingqiu country is at war. The king frowned every day, mobilized all the force in the whole country, and vowed to subdue the demon fox and return Qingqiu country to a blue sky and a bright day. People in this country firmly believe that there will always be darkness, but the light of peace that belongs to them will surely come one day.
However, as a small agricultural country, Qingqiu has neither precedents for war nor decent weapons. The weapons used to defeat the nine-tailed demon fox can only kill a tiger in the mountains and forests at most, and it must be done by a strong and healthy person.
This peaceful small country fell into the darkness of death.
People die every day, men are ordered by the king to join the crusade team, but none of the men who joined the team has ever returned. The women wash their faces with tears at home every day but there is nothing they can do. Soon after, all the strong men in the crusade team died, and even the children had to fill up the number, holding spears in hand to attack the nine-tailed demon fox.
However, although the people of Qingqiu Kingdom have exhausted their power, the vicious fox has not been injured at all.
The number of people is decreasing day by day, but the crying is increasing.
Even the king seemed to be in despair. He just sat on the throne every day, looking at the mountains in the distance and sighing, as if he had given up hope.
It seemed like a war that was doomed to be lost. However, a woman stood up at this time and proposed a new plan.
"Father, let me go."
The woman who spoke had a face that was as delicate as a work of art. She was wearing a light gauze and silk, and her long hair was stuck behind her head like a waterfall.
This is the most beautiful woman in the whole country, the only daughter of the king, and her name is Qingyu.
This proposal was swiftly rejected by the king.
"How can we do that! There are still many people who can fight, and we haven't lost yet!" The king insisted, "Even if you go to the battlefield, what else can you do besides die?"
But Qingyu shook her head.
"No, it's not. You'll be mistaken. I don't want to go to war, but I have an idea."
Princess Qingyu shared her thoughts with the king. It turned out that the princess had observed the nine-tailed demon fox during the attack. She discovered a strange thing, that is, the nine-tailed demon fox seems to have a strange obsession with beautiful things.
If the demon fox catches a middle-aged man or a middle-aged woman, it will immediately eat them without hesitation. And if he catches a cute child, or a young girl in cardamom age, he will take them away and bring them back to the lair.
Although I am afraid that their fate will be the same, the demon fox will not eat them immediately.
Princess Qingyu put forward her own idea. She believes that the nine-tailed fox, like human beings, has a wonderful yearning for beautiful things.
"I decided to sacrifice myself." Qing Yu said calmly, "On the day of the sacrifice, arrange the band to play around, and I will wear the most beautiful clothes in the world, and put on the brightest lip color and rouge. The demon fox will definitely choose to take me away and let others go. And father, you can use this time to let Yingchen cooperate with me to cast a spell to seal that evil beast."
Behind Princess Qingyu stood a young man, looking worriedly towards this side. The man was an attendant named Ying Chen, he had a face with good features, no matter from which angle he looked at it, he was a very handsome and upright young man.
As a matter of course, the king firmly rejected this proposal at first. He has no children, and his wife passed away very early. The only flesh and blood is this Qingyu who is called "the witch princess" by the world.
However, as time goes by. Qingqiu country has been torn apart, and the few men left can no longer resist the attack of the nine-tailed demon fox. If it continues like this, if it is left alone, Qingqiu Kingdom will soon be swallowed up by the demon fox and cease to exist.
At that time, not to mention kings and princesses, everyone, as long as they are human beings, will be buried in darkness forever.
In desperation, the king ordered that Princess Qingyu be sacrificed.
On the day of sacrifice, according to the princess's instructions, the king sent a band to follow the princess, beat gongs and drums, and sang along. The white petals are like winter snowflakes, dancing and dyeing everything around them pure white.
The miko who practiced it wore wreaths on their heads and danced barefoot around the altar. When the golden bell rang, many men in plain clothes sang along, the singing was deep and long.
"In the north there are mountains and there are foxes in the mountains; in Qingqiu there are countries scattered and lonely!
There are foxes in the mountains and fox eating Gu; wives and children are scattered by the roadside!
Now dedicated to the emperor's daughter; I wish to pray for forgiveness from the fox! "
What, what a sad song.
The thick singing really attracted the demon fox's attention, and the quiet time was only for a moment. The next moment, a nine-tailed demon fox as huge as a hill was born out of nowhere, appearing in front of everyone's eyes.
That was all fear incarnate. Those sharp teeth could easily tear apart the beams of the palace, and those sharp claws could easily penetrate anyone's chest. The huge figure of the demon fox covered the sun, and it roared at the dumbfounded people.
Survival instincts kicked in and everyone, including the band and many of the royals, backed away screaming, trying to scatter in all directions.
"Don't run away! Stay where you are!" the king yelled. "Whoever runs away will be killed!"
Even so, a few people ran away desperately, and the rest of them retreated one after another, their legs trembling, and some peed in their pants.
There was a dead stiffness in the air.
Qingyu sat on the high altar, bit her lips tightly, and lowered her head. She was wearing exquisite clothes and a feather crown, like a beautiful work of art, which really attracted the attention of the demon fox.
The pair of huge blood-like animal pupils looked in her direction. Qingyu slowly raised her head.
Somewhat unexpectedly, she caught a trace of curiosity in the eyes of that terrifying evil beast.
That demon fox... is it curious about itself? Thinking of this, Qingyu couldn't help showing a smile.
That must be a stunning and beautiful smile. Princess Qingyu's smile is like a delicate flower blooming in spring, which instantly stunned the demon fox.
However, at this moment, someone was born in horror, interrupting this frozen moment.
"Attack! You guys, attack quickly!"
Qing Yu turned her head away in horror, it was none other than the attendant named Ying Chen who yelled these words. The attendant's lips were trembling, obviously frightened by the sight in front of him, and he gave the order to attack recklessly.
"Wait! Don't!" Qingyu exclaimed, but it was too late.
Like Ying Chen, there were also many terrified soldiers standing around Qingyu. When they heard the order, they desperately started to shoot cold arrows, and some threw spears at the nine-tailed fox.
This time, the demon fox was attacked unsuspectingly. The arrow pierced his fur, the spear pierced his flesh, and blood spurted out immediately.
The demon fox roared in pain, and was completely enraged.
"Humans! You have to pay the price for your hypocrisy!" The roar of the nine-tailed fox resounded through the sky. This was the first time many people heard this monster speak human words, but what they heard was themselves. of death.
"Don't, don't! Stop!!" Qing Yu yelled almost collapsed, but her voice was drowned in the roars and shouts, and no one could hear her.
Nine-Tailed Fox quickly destroyed the altar, and not only that, he killed everyone who could. Qingyu watched him kill the guards of the palace, the soldiers of the crusade team, and her own father in front of her.
The resistance of human beings is so weak in front of the power of monsters, just like ants being crushed to death by the footsteps of elephants, no matter how much they struggle, no matter how much they resist, they will never escape the end of death.
Not long after, Qingyu's side became a sea of blood. All the white was infected by red, and the smell of blood spread in the nasal cavity, making people just want to feel sick.
Even the pure white long dress prepared for the sacrifice has been stained red mottled by the splashed blood.
Qingyu's body trembled, her eyes were dry, and she couldn't close or open them. All she could do was stare at all this powerlessly, her mind went blank.
The fear of death approached her, and in this fear, the desire to live was so strong.
The demon fox's sharp claws finally reached out to her, and she closed her eyes subconsciously, only to find that the sharp claws did not pierce her chest, but lifted her up and took her away.