I quickly pulled Zhuo Ya behind the nearest pillar, holding my breath as we waited for the creature to appear.
What was that? There was a white ox here!
A giant, all-white wild ox ambled leisurely in the center of the palace.
I estimated the ox to be about two and a half meters tall, its pair of sharp horns pointed straight ahead as it moved.
On its massive back was a small black dot, seemingly a person, but it was too far away for me to see clearly.
As the giant ox drew closer, I finally saw it clearly. There was actually a woman sitting on the back of the giant ox!
No, that wasn't right!
It was less a woman and more like a puppet!
She wore ornate clothing, clearly unusual at first glance.
Beneath her exquisite makeup were lifeless eyes, dead for a long time! Her head drooped, bobbing up and down with the ox's movement, yet she remained firmly attached to its back.
In this temple of the Kasa tribe, dedicated to the sea god Xiye, such a horrifying scene had appeared!
I felt my hair stand on end. This was beyond the worldview I had developed over twenty-odd years.
Even when being chased by the sea god's attendants earlier, I hadn't been as panicked as I was now.
How could there be a white ox in this temple where no other animals lived?
And where did the puppet on its back come from?
I desperately wanted to deny what I was seeing, but reality was sometimes utterly unreasonable.
I dared not even breathe, turning to look at Zhuo Ya, hoping she could explain. But Zhuo Ya was deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down her face. She trembled as she pointed a finger at the woman.
"That's... the previous Saintess!!!"
I was shocked. By the time elapsed, the previous Saintess should have been in this temple for 18 years! How could her corpse still be so lifelike, as if she were alive!
In her haste, Zhuo Ya had not managed to control her voice.
Suddenly, the ox let out a long bellow.
Bad! We had startled the two monsters!
I pulled Zhuo Ya behind the pillar and, unintentionally, met the gaze of the girl on the white ox's back.
What captivating eyes they were!
No beautiful word in the world could describe even one ten-thousandth of their charm. Perhaps only a god could bestow such eyes upon a human!
I was lost, captivated by the charm of these eyes. Everything in the world ceased to matter to me.
The woman slowly stood up from the ox's back. Had I misjudged? Was this a puppet at all? It was clearly a maiden in her prime.
The maiden smiled and walked towards me, her bright eyes brimming with boundless tenderness.
So beautiful!
Only a god could possess such power to create such a captivating woman!
To stay here, to be companions with such a beauty for eternity, wasn't that the happiest thing in the world?
This maiden is not human! You must escape with Zhuo Ya!
Two voices argued incessantly in my head. It seemed this maiden had caused my reason and emotions to split.
Gradually, as the maiden approached, my body completely slipped from my control.
I stared dotingly at the beauty before me. Today, I finally understood what it meant to be devastatingly beautiful.
The maiden shyly wrapped her arms around my neck, her cherry-like lips gently moving towards mine.
My eyes were hazy, my face flushed, eager to taste her sweetness.
What... what was that?!
I suddenly noticed something sparkling in the maiden's mouth.
I blinked in disbelief. Her mouth was filled with countless silver-white maggots writhing!
I was instantly shocked back to my senses, raising my hand to push her away. But to my despair, I found that my body, at some point, had completely ceased to obey me!
No! Move, damn it!
I stood like a wooden doll before the maiden, staring blankly at her.
I could already see the maggots eagerly emerging from the maiden's mouth, and I could even feel the cold, slippery sensation on my lips.
The maiden's face was no longer alight with a bright and charming smile, but had become stiff and cold like a corpse, devoid of any warmth.
Damn it... I'm going to be disgusted to death...
Just as I was about to despair, I suddenly felt a force from behind me, as if someone had shoved me hard.
My body involuntarily stumbled forward, and then, to my surprise, I found I had regained control of myself.
When I opened my eyes, I was astonished to find that the puppet maiden and the white ox had vanished, as if they had never existed!
Were they real, or was it my hallucination?
For a moment, I couldn't distinguish between reality and dream, for their existence had been too real to doubt!
I shook my head forcefully, forcing myself to calm down, and turned to thank Zhuo Ya.
When I turned around, I found that a mysterious figure in a black robe had appeared behind us at some point!
Zhuo Ya also had a dazed expression, clearly having lost control of her body just now as well.
I looked at the mysterious figure with suspicion. He must have saved us.
But who was he?!