"Old Mrs. Cao has been making lanterns and funeral offerings for years, the scent of musk is strong on her, and coincidentally, you have it too."
"One of the paper lanterns made by Old Mrs. Cao is of her daughter; the clothing painted on it is identical to what you’re wearing."
The Priest cast a cold glance at Yue Xi.
Yue Xi quickly regained her composure: "So what? All the aunties who serve the Holy Daughter have worn the sa clothes. She draws the people who serve the Holy Daughter, not just specifically."
"Is that so?" Josh’s eyes had a penetrating gaze that made Yue Xi feel uneasy.
The Priest’s face darkened, glaring at Josh: "You outsider, give us back the Holy Daughter!"
Josh ignored him and looked at Yue Xi: "If the previous clues aren’t enough to prove you’re Old Mrs. Cao’s daughter, then how do you explain going to her house late at night a couple of days ago to deliver food?"
Yue Xi recalled that night, her expression changed: "You were spying on ?!"
Josh’s lips curled into a mischievous smile: "I was worried about my aunt going out at night and running into trouble, so I followed."
Yue Xi pressed her lips together: "So what? The Sacrificial Girl’s death has nothing to do with us."
Josh played with the knife in his hand: "Of course it has nothing to do with you, because you were following soone else’s orders. Let guess, the real killer is... the Holy Daughter?"
The Priest was visibly agitated: "Of course not!"
"Then why are you so worked up?" Josh glanced at him.
She continued: "On the first night, a Sacrificial Girl died, losing her hair. The next day, the Holy Daughter’s hair beca shiny and black, like a young girl’s hair. On the second night, another Sacrificial Girl died, losing her hands, and the Holy Daughter’s hands beca soft and youthful, as if transplanted from soone else..."
The Priest’s face showed a hint of guilt.
Josh looked at them: "On the third night, because of our disturbance, all the Sacrificial Girls were outside, and no one died. Consequently, your revered Holy Daughter fell into a coma. How convenient is that?"
The Priest was agitated: "No, it’s not like that! The Holy Daughter didn’t kill anyone!"
Josh: "Isn’t it? But it was because no one died last night that the Holy Daughter is in a coma, and you held a ridiculous ritual to wake her up. You planned to sacrifice us, the ’female college students’ trafficked from outside, to awaken the Holy Daughter."
"We are left with no choice! Without the Holy Daughter, during the next tidal surge, no one can hold back the sea except by awakening the Sea God!" The Priest looked at her with a mix of anger and urgency: "By sacrificing a few of you, awakening the Holy Daughter can save the entire village. You’d be written into the village’s book of heroes; isn’t that an unparalleled honor?"
"Pfft..." Yuze lazily chuckled, "Unparalleled honor? How much is that per pound? I wouldn’t take it even if it were for free."
Josh nodded in agreent: "Being rembered by people in a mountain village isn’t sothing to be proud of."
The Priest was taken aback: "But if you sacrifice your lives, everyone in our village will be grateful to you!"
His tone was so earnest, as if he genuinely believed they were getting a bargain.
Josh stared at him for a long mont before suddenly saying: "You should stand up right now and bash your head against that pillar. I’ll not only carve your na into my family’s genealogy, but I’ll also adopt you as my son and give you a title! How about it? Isn’t that an honor? Want to go die now?"
The Priest, as if hearing the biggest joke, looked at Josh as if she were a fool: "Who cares about being in your genealogy?"
Josh looked at him confusedly: "Really? You have no idea how many people are rushing to get into my genealogy. Despite my disdain for them, I agreed to let them call dad, and they couldn’t be happier. This honor is extended to you, and you aren’t kneeling in gratitude and rushing to bash your skull?"
Barrage: [Thank you, I feel offended.]
[About the ti I never went to another streaming room after having the "Josh’s Good Son" dumb plaque over my head.]
[Sa here.]
[I’ll never bet in Josh’s stream again.]
The Priest glared at her angrily: "Who are you insulting? You should see what you are! Get in your genealogy? Pfft!"
Josh chuckled slightly, mimicking his tone: "And who are you insulting? Don’t look at what your village is! Get into your village’s book of heroes? Pfft!"
[Nice coback!]
[Is this what they call ’using magic to defeat magic’? Learned sothing new!]
[No, this is called ’using magic to humiliate magic’.]
The Priest imdiately understood her aning, his face turning blue and white, stamring for a while, finding no words to retort, and finally turning his face away in anger.
Josh looked around at everyone, "Since it’s confird that the killer is the Holy Daughter, shall I take action then?"
Her knife rested on the Holy Daughter’s neck.
"It’s really not the Holy Daughter!" A hint of urgency flashed across the Priest’s face: "Why don’t you believe us? Even if you find the killer, what can you do? You can’t beat her!"
Josh was too lazy to respond, her knife edge pressed closer to the Holy Daughter’s neck, leaving a small cut; any closer and it would reach the artery.
"It’s the Forbidden Nightmare!" In a mont of desperation, the Priest revealed the truth: "The killer is the Forbidden Nightmare!"
[Ding! Congratulations to players Josh and Yuze for triggering a key main storyline: ’Pacifying the Forbidden Nightmare’s Resentnt’ main task progressed by 20%.]
At this point, the main storyline was officially pushed forward.
Josh and Yuze exchanged a glance.
So the killer really wasn’t the old Holy Daughter, no wonder their previous efforts barely moved the main storyline.
Josh looked at the Priest: "Who is the Forbidden Nightmare?"
Once the conversation started, it was easier to talk about the rest.
The Priest sighed, slumping down: "The Forbidden Nightmare is neither human nor ghost, usually residing alone on the mountain top. Those cursed to death by the Forbidden Nightmare won’t have any wounds on their bodies, and the corpse remains warm and fresh until the Forbidden Nightmare dies."
"The Forbidden Nightmare wanted to kill the Holy Daughter; we redirected the curse to other Sacrificial Girls to protect her."
Josh quickly caught the point: "So those Sacrificial Girls who died earlier were because of this? You sacrificed over thirty Sacrificial Girls to protect the Holy Daughter?"
A trace of helplessness crossed the Priest’s face.
Yue Xi pressed her lips together, saying to her: "Before a new Holy Daughter is chosen, the current one must not die, or the tides will drown the entire village instantly."
Josh found it absurd: "Didn’t you think about solving the Forbidden Nightmare?"
The Priest looked at her, sowhat helpless: "You saw it; just now, the one suppressed atop the tower was the Forbidden Nightmare. She’s so powerful that we can’t do anything to her."
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