Li Ruonan curled up on the ground, clutching her head and shouting uncontrollably, "I didn't do it! I really didn't! They came after me first! Please… let me go! The village chief is still waiting for me, I'm begging you…"
"Hmph! If we let you go, who's going to give us justice?"
"My family has had no peace because of you! You're a menace!"
"Oh, dear. It's so cold in here. We can't let our village's great Goddess freeze, can we? Quick, find a quilt and cover the Goddess!"
A few of the girls giggled as they shoved her under the quilt as if she were a corpse. The quilt was thick, stuffy, and hot.
"Pile it on. We can't have you catching a cold. We're being pretty nice to you, aren't we? This treatment befits your high station."
"It's the middle of summer. What if she dies from the heat under all this? If she dies, we'll have no way to answer to the village chief!"
"She's the Goddess. She has divine protection. She won't die, don't you worry."
