Tianyu Han

The students in our class walked into the auditorium from the route reserved for us and sat down in the designated seats. At this time, I noticed that there was a huge pool behind the square, but there was no water in it. Even from a distance, I could see many huge pythons at the bottom of the pool. Some of them coiled up with their heads held high, so even if they were at the lower of the ground, their huge heads sticking out their tongues could still be seen by the audience. Although the square was filled with people and noise, and I couldn’t hear the terrifying sound of the pythons sticking out their tongues, just seeing the heads of snakes and their looming eyes flashing with terrifying yellow light could make me feel a chill on my back in an instant. I quickly looked away, not daring to look at the anacondas.

“Don’t be afraid,” Zhanpeng patted my shoulder, “Before the ceremony begins, they will cover the pool with a tent, so we won’t see anything bad.”

“Since we won’t be allowed to see the consequences, why do we still come to watch the ceremony?” Waner was a little puzzled, “Even if we come, we can’t see anything in the end.”

“Because they will still let us see the whole process before, until the sacrificial students are sent in and the tent is covered, by that time the ceremony will be over,” Answered Zhanpeng, “Even though those students have fallen asleep due to the effect of anesthesia when being pushed into the pool, and we can’t see what happens next, in fact everyone knows what will happen next, so the purpose of this ceremony has been achieved.”

“I don’t care what the purpose of this ceremony is, I just want it to end quickly, I want to go home.” Said Siyuan.

“If they cover the pool with a tent, it means they also know that this process is very… very cruel.” Wan’er said in a low voice. “They don’t want everyone to see the consequence, but they want everyone to witness it. This is very contradictory. I really don’t know what they are thinking.”

“Their explanation is that because the snakes have become gods, the process of them eating the tributes is sacred. Therefore, if their eating is directly seen by humans, it is an offence and blasphemy to the gods.”

“It’s not sacred at all. These anacondas are goddamn murderers, and the people who raise these snakes are even more vicious than murderers!” I said.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Siyuan pulled my sleeve fiercely. “There are sacrificial ceremony staff and many guards nearby. Now we are not in school. If they heard it, the result would be terrible.”

“Yes,” Zhanpeng said in a low voice, “If the remarks criticizing the sacrifice ceremony were discovered, the person who speaks would definitely be sent into prison. Of course you can say those words to us, but they really shouldn’t be said here.”

“Look, the host is there.” Said Waner.

I looked in the direction Waner pointed, and a young man who looked about 20 years old had stepped onto the center of the square. When I saw him for the first time I was a little surprised. I blinked and looked at him again and again, and finally confirmed that he was the young man who waved the snake god banner and rehearsed in this square when I came to this city last time. Definitely he is the host of the sacrifice ceremony and I had already seen him half a year ago. Now he is also holding the long bamboo pole in his hand, but at this time, the same snake god banner has revealed a cold and terrifying atmosphere in front of my eyes.