This is a nostalgic dream, something that people dream about in their dreams, things that they don't want to forget and can't forget...

In a remote and backward village in the western part of the mainland, the villagers woke up early in the morning.

It was still dark outside, and the rooster responsible for crowing at dawn was still in its nest, spreading its wings that couldn't fly and protecting the chicks sleeping next to it.

If people in the world could all be as hardworking as the villagers today, the future of poultry would be bleak.

Fortunately, not everyone can wake up earlier than the rooster. Even the people in this village only get up early on this particular day.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone is busy with the same thing, talking about a common topic.

"Which young girl should we send away?"

The cause of this situation originated from the group of demonic creatures lurking outside the village.

These strange creatures, with various appearances, migrate like antelopes, constantly moving in large numbers around human settlements.

Humans and demons are mortal enemies, needless to say;

But from another perspective, many powerless people are also afraid of demons.

If there were only one or two demons surrounding the village, it would be easy to handle. The villagers could negotiate how to kill them.

But once the number of demons increases, the most frequently heard phrase among the people would inevitably be:

"How can we survive? Our lives will become unbearable!"

People are thinking of ways to protect themselves.

When there is a need for someone to make a decision, people often rely on someone to come up with a solution.

So everyone turned to the village chief. The women's eyes looked like they were looking at a long-time crush;

The men's eyes were as if they were looking at their own second selves.

Faced with so many eager eyes, the old village chief felt a bit overwhelmed;

He shook his cane, which was older than himself, and said in a trembling voice:

"Don't look at me like that, I've been having headaches lately, thinking about difficult things makes my head hurt!"

Then, in front of countless neighbors, the village chief placed his hand on his heart;

It seems that in this old man's body, the brain and the heart are directly connected.

Everyone generally thought that this old man was unreliable, and there was a noisy commotion until someone raised their hand.

"Can I say something?"

The man who attracted everyone's attention was the village's only diviner, although he wasn't doing very well.

On average, he could only perform divinations once every three months. When he didn't have any work, he would rely on stealing from the villagers' houses to survive.

But today was different. When the masses needed him, even a piece of tattered grass could be cherished as a life-saving straw.

The diviner quickly experienced the same treatment as the village chief just now, bathed in the fiery gaze of the neighbors, and even raised his usually lowered head high.

Since no one had a suggestion at the moment, the diviner thought about taking matters into his own hands and coming up with a solution to deal with the demons outside the village;

Even if the solution failed, he could distance himself from it and pretend to be an aloof expert.

This guy was good at deceiving and playing tricks. He dispersed the villagers and began his grand performance.

After a long "yiyaeeyo", this charlatan who couldn't even predict if a villager's house had mice or not solemnly concluded:

"I feel it! The divine will from above has told me that in order for this village to survive this disaster, a sacrifice must be made!"

Perhaps it was because his stomach had growled a few times, but the fortune-teller quickly came up with an idea.

The sacrifice mentioned by the fortune-teller was the "offering of a young girl" that everyone had discussed from the beginning;

There seemed to be no apparent connection between this matter and the demons outside the village, but the fortune-teller said:

"My fellow villagers, think about what these demons are. They are all monsters who love to eat human flesh! They have gathered outside our village, surely to feast on fresh human meat!"

This suggestion could be simplified as offering a living sacrifice.

According to the traditional customs of the continent, most people believe that offering a young girl is more appropriate than offering a young boy.

After all, regardless of whether the leader of the demons is male or female, they should be able to accept the offering of a young girl.

It would be different if a young boy were offered.

If the leader of the demons turns out to be a female demon who likes young boys, then this "gift" would at least satisfy her;

But if the leader of the demons is male, and the village sends another male...

Wouldn't that be seen as a provocation?

Considering various factors, the villagers eventually approved the fortune-teller's proposal.

Now, returning to the initial question:

"Who should we send?"

"A young girl" literally means that a certain household needs to offer their young daughter.

Those without daughters in their homes, who currently had a good mindset, thought that they wouldn't suffer any losses anyway;

But those with daughters in their homes felt aggrieved, no matter how many daughters they had, they all thought:

"It wasn't easy raising a daughter to this point. Do you think it's easy?"

The situation became a stalemate.

Those without daughters couldn't say anything, and those with daughters generally didn't want to speak up.

This village as a whole was reasonable, and it was impossible for an unpleasant scene to occur where the villagers would join together and forcefully take away a young girl from a fellow villager in broad daylight.

Since there were young girls who had the support and backing of their parents, their personal safety was already fully guaranteed, and it was the unfortunate girls who were devoid of any support who should bear the burden.

Someone in the crowd had a flash of insight in their mind and came up with a flawless proposal:

"We can send a nun!"

The appearance of this proposal was like throwing a stone into a pond, causing a "thud" to explode on the scene, except what exploded was not sparks but water;

When many villagers echoed and splashed saliva from their mouths, it was enough to give the surrounding ground a good sprinkling.

"Yes, let's send the nun."

"Although her parents were both priests, they died many years ago during a mission to take down the demons, together with their only son, in the wilderness. There is no one else she can rely on in her family."

"Having no one to rely on is best. Let us decide this important matter that will bring peace to the village on her behalf!"

The nun mentioned by the villagers lived in the most remote corner of the village in the dilapidated wooden house, which was her only home in the village.

The word "nun" represented both the profession of the young girl in the village and the name given to her by the villagers.

Since the girl's parents were no longer alive, the villagers didn't have extra brain cells to remember the name of an outsider;

Over time, everyone simply used her profession to address her.

This nun is very important to the village.

In recent years, whenever a family needs to repair a wall or dig a well, or any other miscellaneous jobs, they would always entrust them to the nun, allowing her to "help others" every time.

Unfortunately, this good handywoman nun is about to be sent to the hands of the evil and wicked demon clan, putting an end to her youthful life;

While the villagers feel sorry for her, they can't help but curse the detestable demon clan in their hearts, resenting those heartless monsters for causing them to lose their best free labor.

But despite their sorrow, life goes on for everyone.

Apart from the parties involved, all the villagers unanimously agreed to the proposal of sacrifice;

Everyone believed that the nun was the best candidate for sacrifice and happily decided on the matter.

As the representative of the village, the village chief, with a thick face, went to knock on the nun's door. In order to uplift this unconventional old woman, the other villagers chose to follow behind the village chief.

Knock knock knock!

After a few knocks, the door opened.

The nun, who was cooking for herself, came to the door with a ladle in her hand and saw her whole street crowded with people.

"Why is everyone here? Do you need me to help with something today? Fixing roofs or feeding pets?"

"Sister, here's the situation..."

Embarrassed, the village chief explained the cause and effect, and tears flowed from his turbid old eyes.

"Sister, the lives of the entire village depend on you. For the sake of our elderly and children, you can't just stand by this time!"

Crying alone would have been enough, but now with the village chief's tears as a start, the whole village howled one after another.

The scene in front of the nun was simply overwhelming;

As a young girl who had only lived for a dozen years, she couldn't help but feel as if she was being "enthusiastically" sent off by the whole village;

If she didn't react, the situation would really go out of control and turn into a farewell to a deceased.

"Don't cry, everyone. I'll go, I'll go right away."

From the nun's tone, it was clear that she was calm at the moment, as if she wasn't going to die in vain, but was being asked to go on a trip somewhere.

The lamb willingly enters the tiger's den, and the people naturally rejoiced, but a small minority raised doubts:

"Sister, did you listen carefully to the village chief's explanation? We're not sending you to the demon clan to enjoy yourself, but to sacrifice yourself to be eaten by those monsters."

"Why don't you feel sad or show any sign of fear?"

Upon hearing this sarcastic doubt, the nun immediately chuckled:

"Am I necessarily going to die?"

"Isn't it impossible for someone who goes to the demon clan's lair to come back alive? I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing throughout history."

"Hoo, hoo, just because something hasn't happened before, does that mean it won't happen in the future?"

Everyone thought the nun was crazy, unable to bear the enormous pressure of facing death, and had lost her sanity, using nonsense to escape reality.

Under the scrutinizing gazes filled with suspicion, the nun did not continue to argue.

She just went into the house to get a clean set of clothes, locked the door before leaving, and securely put away the key, then resolutely headed towards the village exit.