Keep Him Alive

The villagers' expressions brightened, and an almost manic excitement shone in their eyes. "Let's go, Chief!" one of them exclaimed eagerly, unable to wait any longer. 

"We must depart now!"

"Right, right, the sooner we get this done, the better our condition will be!"

Had Song Zhuyu's mind not been muddled from the pain, he would have laughed out loud in sheer amusement and incredulity. But as things stood, he was in so much pain that only a soundless laughter escaped him. The villagers mistook the trembles in his shoulders as him enduring the agony, so they didn't even spare him another glance. 

Offering a sacrifice to an unknown entity in order to lift a curse? Were they stupid or plainly idiotic? Had they ever wondered, even if just for a fleeting moment, where this curse had originated from?