At the entrance of a dark, deep cave stood an ornate and delicate sedan chair. The chair was draped with a layer of sheer gauze, through which the figure inside was faintly visible. Upon closer inspection, a maiden with a graceful posture and a lovely face could be seen sitting within.
The young woman wore a striking, vibrant red bridal gown that blazed with the fiery brilliance of flames. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, gently brushing against her snow-white skin. Yet at this moment, far from possessing any delicate and charming exterior, she was shivering uncontrollably, as if struck by profound terror.
Her once bright and captivating eyes were now filled with fear and helplessness, fixed intently on the dark, gloomy cave ahead, as though some dreadful entity awaited her. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists, her fingernails dug deep into her palms, bearing witness to her inner tension and anxiety.
All around was dead silence, broken only by the rustle of the wind through the leaves, which added a bizarre and eerie atmosphere. In this desolate place, the maiden sat alone in the sedan, facing an unknown horror, entirely at a loss as to what to do.
And she was Xiao Qi, the one offered this time as a sacrifice to the River God.
The reason she was called Xiao Qi was simple: she had been found on the seventh day of the first lunar month.
Yet behind this seemingly ordinary name lay an untold story.
The person who found Xiao Qi had not been motivated by kindness or sympathy, but by an ulterior motive—to use Xiao Qi as a substitute for their own daughter.
For in this village, a bizarre custom had long been passed down: every three years, a maiden in the prime of her youth must be sacrificed to the River God.
As Xiao Qi happened to be of an age similar to that couple's daughter, she was adopted by them into their home.
From that day forth, her life turned completely upside down. Not only did she have to herd cattle and sheep on an empty stomach every day, but she also constantly endured abuse, beatings, and scoldings from her adoptive parents.
Yet, young and innocent, she did not understand why she was treated this way; she simply bore it all in silence, waiting for the day of sacrifice to arrive.
Having safely escaped the drawing of lots for the first three times, she had unfortunately been chosen this time around!
How unbelievable it was! Her eyes widened, her heart filled with despair and terror. That family had shown no mercy, dressing her up and adorning her as if she were nothing more than a doll to be manipulated at will. Her hair was combed neatly, her face plastered thick with powder, and her lips painted a vivid crimson. She felt like a stranger, ridiculous and pathetic, yet utterly powerless to resist.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, they dragged her onto the sedan chair. She tried to struggle, tried to escape, but it was all in vain. Her strength was far too weak to contend with those brawny people. She could only watch helplessly as she was locked into this cramped space, left at the mercy of fate.
Inside the sedan, her tears flowed unceasingly. She had no idea what awaited her; she felt an incomparable loneliness and helplessness.
Though all her weeping, crying, and thrashing were of no use, she still mustered every ounce of strength for a final protest.
Her voice echoed in the air, failing to draw a single shred of sympathy or attention. Gradually, she grew exhausted, her voice growing fainter and fainter.
In the end, she could only sit quietly inside the sedan, awaiting her unknown destiny.
When the ornately decorated sedan slowly came to a halt, the sedan bearers' faces instantly drained of color, as though they had seen something terrifying.
In a panic, they dropped the sedan and fled in all directions, not even pausing to offer a word of explanation to the girl sitting inside.
Right now, she sat alone within the sedan, her heart gripped by fear and helplessness.
Though she had tried to flee, her hands and feet were tightly bound, making it utterly impossible to shake off those ruthless shackles.
She widened her eyes and scanned her surroundings, searching desperately for a sliver of survival or a way out.
Yet all around lay only silence and darkness, plunging her deeper into despair.
The sound of her beating heart was loud in her ears, and cold sweat trickled down her forehead. She knew she faced grave danger. Every second of waiting dragged like a year; she had no idea what would happen next, feeling only a chill rising up her spine.
She prayed silently, hoping a miracle would appear to save her from peril.
Yet reality is often cruel, and she could rely only on her own courage and wits to face the immediate predicament.
Just as she struggled fiercely to break free from the bonds tying her down, a strange, faint sound suddenly issued from the dark cavern—a sound as though some unimaginably massive creature were slowly slithering toward her.
Startled rigid by this sudden noise, her heart filled with fear and shock, her movements froze instantly. She widened her eyes, staring fixedly at that pitch-black cave entrance without daring to relax in the slightest.
As time passed, a slender shadow as massive as a hill gradually emerged upon the cave wall. Even more terrifyingly, the top of this shadow bore two strange, upright, stick-like shapes. They loomed vaguely in the dark, looking exceptionally mysterious and horrifying.
Watching that enormous figure draw closer and closer, her heartbeat grew increasingly rapid, as though her heart might leap out of her throat the very next second. Her breathing turned shallow and chaotic, tiny beads of sweat broke out upon her forehead, and her entire being was locked in extreme tension.
Suddenly, she caught sight of two crimson lanterns, glowing with an eerie light in the darkness.
As the dark shadow drew nearer, those lanterns grew larger and larger.
Xiao Qi's heart raced; she realized those were no ordinary lanterns at all, but a pair of immense, blood-soaked eyes!
When she saw its full form, Xiao Qi nearly fainted from fright.
Before her stood a creature of astonishing proportions, resembling a dragon yet bearing distinct differences from the dragons commonly depicted in folk art.
Dragons usually possessed forked horns, whereas this creature had straight ones; dragons had two pairs of claws with five digits each, yet this one possessed only a single pair of claws, each with four digits. Even though it had not yet fully slithered out of the cave, the exposed portions of its scales shimmered faintly, much like a snake's skin.
At that very moment, Xiao Qi finally understood: was this not the legendary Flood Dragon said to cause floods and disasters?
Only now did she realize that the so-called River God was actually the legendary Flood Dragon! This astonishing discovery plunged Xiao Qi into deep terror; she had never imagined she would witness such a mythical existence with her own eyes.
The Flood Dragon slowly lowered its head, sizing her up with a look that was both curious and faintly playful.
Suddenly, as if the Flood Dragon had discovered something amusing, it gently blew a "breath" toward her.
In an instant, a potent, fishy gust surged from its mouth, sweeping toward Xiao Qi like a fierce gale. Xiao Qi felt her body struck by a mighty force; the gale was so biting that she could barely keep her seat in the sedan.
At the same time, that nauseating, foul stench billowed forth, piercing her nasal passages and stimulating her to cough repeatedly until she could barely breathe.
Xiao Qi tried to turn and flee, but it was already too late. When she looked back again, she saw with terror that the Flood Dragon had already opened its massive jaws and lunged directly toward her.
That cavernous maw seemed capable of swallowing everything whole. Pale-faced and trembling uncontrollably, Xiao Qi instinctively closed her eyes, her heart filled with despair and dread as she could only await the descent of death in silence.