Blood Crimson Digits

Four tall men put down their carrying poles, deftly untied the ropes on the large earthen jar, and removed the talismans from its surface, carefully storing them away. Then, they respectfully bowed to the two masters of talismans and quickly retreated from the circular altar.

The two talisman masters each took out a folded yellow paper talisman from their pockets. While ordinary talismans were usually only three fingers wide, the ones in their hands unfolded to be six fingers wide and a foot long.

They exchanged a glance, then both crouched down and slapped the talismans onto the stone slab.

The paper talismans began to emit a faint yellow light, and thin yellow lines, as thick as a pinky finger, spread out from them, crawling along the gray stone floor.

Zhou Fan's pupils contracted as he watched the inexplicable crawling of these talismanic lines, finding it absurd beyond comprehension through the lens of modern societal knowledge.

The two sets of pale yellow talismanic lines continued to extend in a fan-shaped pattern, quickly enveloping the entire circular altar. Finally, they converged at the center of the altar, climbing up the large earthen jar, which became covered in densely woven talismanic lines.

Crack!

Cracks appeared on the surface of the jar.

With a bang, the jar shattered, and deep red liquid flowed out, filling the air with a pungent smell of blood.

Zhou Fan caught a whiff of the strong scent and quickly realized it was the unmistakable smell of blood!

Strangely, instead of spreading randomly upon hitting the ground, the blood flowed was swiftly absorbed by the spreading talismanic lines.

The crisscrossing talismanic lines on the circular altar were now completely dyed red, emitting a chilling blood-colored light.

If one were to look down from the sky, they would see that while these blood lines seemed twisted individually, they formed a gigantic spell when viewed as a whole.

The talismans in the hands of the two masters had burned to ashes, dissipating into black smoke. A hint of exhaustion flickered between their brows.

The master on the eastern side glanced at the lower part of the altar and said, "Bring all the children with unbound hair up here."

With the master's command, young men and women started trembling as they ascended the altar.

Zhou Fan turned to Zhou Yi and said, "Let's go up. Whatever the masters tell us to do, we do."

Zhou Fan nodded and made his way towards the circular altar, feeling somewhat uneasy. The scene before him resembled a blood sacrifice described in books, and he feared he might be offered as a sacrifice. However, he reasoned that it couldn't be a sacrifice, as the families of these children wouldn't behave this way if it were.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Zhou Fan stepped onto the altar, observing the talismanic lines that seemed to move like snakes, evoking a strange sensation.

"Avan," Skinny Monkey also climbed up and stood beside Zhou Fan, his teeth chattering as he spoke.

Zhou Fan patted his shoulder, reassuring him not to be afraid. However, Zhou Fan still couldn't understand why Skinny Monkey and the others were so worried. What secrets did this hair-binding ceremony hold?

Only twenty-eight people participated in the ceremony. They stood in a row, many with anxious expressions, their eyes darting nervously towards the two masters.

The two elderly masters, both appearing to be in their eighties, walked over. They merely glanced at the young people before one of them asked, "Is everyone here?"

The village head, Luo Lietian, standing below the altar, quickly replied with a smile, "Twenty-eight people are participating this year, and they're all here, without exception."

Both masters nodded, and the shorter one with a deep voice shouted, "Listen up! Men, take off your shirts. Women, take off your right shoes and roll up your pant legs."

The twenty-eight participants immediately followed the instructions. Zhou Fan removed his shirt, revealing a sturdy upper body, while Skinny Monkey, beside him, was nothing but skin and bones.

The girls also took off their right shoes and rolled up their pant legs, revealing fair calves.

The villagers below the altar held their breath, knowing that the moment that would determine the future of these twenty-eight people was about to arrive.

Once everyone on the altar had complied with the masters' instructions, the tall master formed a hand seal with his hands clasped together.

At the moment the seal was completed, the talismanic lines, already emitting a faint blood-colored light, suddenly burst into dazzling red light.

The lines began to contract towards the twenty-eight people, causing a burning sensation on their feet as if they were stepping on hot iron.

Some people even wanted to lift their feet to avoid the scorching heat.

However, the shorter master reprimanded, "Don't move."

His stern voice resounded, and everyone dared not move again. Fortunately, the burning sensation was not unbearable, and they endured it.

Zhou Fan could clearly feel the heat spreading from his feet to his body, as if he were engulfed in flames. Strangely, the burning sensation quickly dissipated from his limbs, but a burning sensation remained in his chest.

He quickly looked down and found a gray ring burning in his chest. Within the ring, blood-red characters slowly emerged. At first, they were blurry, but soon became clear.

"Nineteen," Zhou Fan read the blood-red number on his chest, feeling stunned. He then looked at Skinny Monkey beside him.

Skinny Monkey's face was pale, staring blankly at his chest, where there was also a blood-red number—thirty-two!

Zhou Fan shifted his gaze to the girls and noticed gray rings on their right calf, each displaying blood-red numbers of varying sizes.

After the initial shock, some people showed expressions of despair, while others smiled.

Zhou Fan noticed that those with lower numbers, such as in the twenties and thirties, looked despondent, while those with higher numbers, reaching even the hundreds, smiled. The highest number he saw was one hundred and ten!

Zhou Fan had yet to see anyone with a smaller number than his, and a sense of dread crept over him, sinking his heart.

The parents of the bound children approached the altar, staring wide-eyed at the blood-red numbers on their children's bodies, their faces displaying a mix of joy and sorrow.

Below the stage, Zhou Yimuo and Gui Feng also saw clearly the blood-red digits in Zhou Fan's chest cavity. Zhou Yimuo closed his eyes in despair, while Gui Feng's eyes turned red, almost on the verge of tears.

Zhou Fan witnessed all of this, his brows furrowed. He knew that the number nineteen in his chest cavity was definitely not a good sign. The maximum was one hundred and ten, and the smallest seemed to be his number nineteen. Could it be his age?

But in this world, he was only fifteen years old, so what could the connection be with nineteen?

Or does it imply that something will happen when he turns nineteen?

"Village Chief, hurry up and come up to do the registration." The tall symbol master and others saw that the emotions of these teenagers had eased a lot, so he slowly called out to the Village Chief.

Luo Lietian responded with a sound and quickly walked up. He took out a blue booklet and swiftly recorded with the brush in his hand. In no time,