Xie Lian stood up suddenly. Shi Qingxuan also stomped his foot onto the table, rolled up his sleeves, and seemed about to charge. But Xie Lian quickly held him back, saying, "It's okay, Master Feng, calm down."
Shi Qingxuan asked, "Is it okay even if the eyeballs are squeezed out???"
Xie Lian said, “It’s alright. It’s truly rare to see the Blood Festival here.”
Shi Qingxuan quickly took his feet off the table and asked, "Blood Festival? What is that?"
The two men sat down again. Xie Lian said, "Different places have different styles of community fire. The blood community fire is a special style, extremely rare. I've only heard of it, but never seen it. Its performance is bloody and bizarre, and the makeup is extremely secretive and not passed on to outsiders. It's becoming increasingly rare now."
Shi Qingxuan was stunned: "Makeup? Are these all fake? This, this, this... this is too realistic, I thought it was some kind of evil magic trick!"
His words were no exaggeration. Xie Lian sighed, "How many talented people there are among the common people."
The performers in the parade not only had their foreheads pierced with sharp weapons, but some had their intestines ripped out, their limbs missing, and they crawled on the ground, wailing and wailing. Several carried a tall wooden frame, with a woman dangling from the beam, her neck tied with a rope, as if she had hanged herself. Two more men dragged a woman by her legs, her clothes ripped to shreds, face-first as she was dragged along, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground. It was truly a scene from hell. It was clearly a human performance, but it was far more terrifying than the ghost market, which was filled with ghosts. Compared to this, the ghost market was simply a bustling human market. It was hard to tell how the makeup was applied. Even Xie Lian, who had heard of this tradition, almost mistook it for a demonic presence when he first saw it.
Many women and children, unable to contain their curiosity, pushed their way to the front of the crowd to see, only to be frightened and scream as they retreated. Shi Qingxuan asked, "Your Highness, didn't you say the community fire was meant to celebrate? How can we celebrate like this? It's going to scare people away, and the little girls will have nightmares. Does anyone really feel happy watching this kind of performance?"
Whether or not such performances bring joy to people is hard to say. The sight of blood and slaughter is, in fact, truly exhilarating. Regardless of fear or not, many people experience a sense of pleasure afterward. This kind of blood-themed performance seems to have a name in the local dialect: "stabbing happiness." Xie Lian's understanding of it is this: A fierce stab, a fatal one, brings joy to the heart.
Deep in people's hearts, there is a desire for "killing".
Of course, Xie Lian wouldn't say much, and simply watched intently for a moment. Amidst the vast procession, a tall, skinny, white-clad man in black wielded a sharp weapon. He suddenly struck a performer in gorgeous attire on the head, the knife piercing his skull. He then used a spear to lift the man up and dangle him in the air. The scene was brutal and bloody, as if he were actually committing murder. The crowd gasped in shock, yet also cheered. Xie Lian said, "I'm guessing they're acting out a story. This man in black is the protagonist, and the people he killed are likely villains, the evildoers. The whole story is about 'punishing evil and promoting good.'"
At this point, Xie Lian’s heart suddenly moved, and he said, “Master Fengshi, look carefully.”
Shi Qingxuan said, "I'm watching."
Xie Lian said, "I'm letting you watch the story. See who they're portraying and what kind of story it is. That Immortal Baihua must have sent you here for a reason. He chose today, perhaps just to get you to see this bloody performance."
The man in black knitted his brows in agony. He had single-handedly "killed" hundreds of "evil men" in the group, only to be stabbed all over by a tangled web of sharp weapons. In the end, he cradled several "corpses" with their skin torn and flesh exposed, their throats dangling from them, head hanging motionless. It was a shared fate. As one group passed, the next continued the cycle, and so on. Xie Lian asked, "Do you see what the story is?"
Shi Qingxuan frowned and said, "No. I don't really understand. He's just killing people."
Hua Cheng, standing beside Xie Lian, said leisurely, "I don't think this story is well-known. Ask the locals if it's from a local annals."
Just then, the waiter came up to serve the dishes and asked, "Dear guests, is it beautiful? Is it exciting?"
Xie Lian said, "It's beautiful and exciting. Hey, little brother, let me ask you, who is the one performing in the Blood Festival in your town?"
Sure enough, the waiter said, "Well, outsiders generally don't know about this, so they have to ask. Our Bogu Town's community fire performance tells the story of a local legendary figure. According to legend, hundreds of years ago, there was a scholar here named He.
"This He Sheng, although his family is very poor, he is very capable. He has been incredibly smart since he was a child, and he learns everything quickly and skillfully. He is also a well-known filial son, and everything he does is impeccable. But he is just very unlucky. Any good things that happen to him never last.
"He studied and took exams, clearly getting top marks, but because he didn't give the examiner a gift, he offended someone higher up, and his paper was deliberately hidden and replaced with a blank one. He remained off the list for several years. He was engaged to his childhood sweetheart, his fiancée, as beautiful as a flower, gentle and virtuous, but his wife and sister were both taken away by wealthy families to become concubines. One refused and was beaten to death, while the other, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide. He tried to argue, but was falsely accused of adultery and theft, thrown into prison, deprived of food, and nearly starved to death. His seventy-year-old parents kowtowed all night to plead for him, but it was no use. He was only released after two years. His mother died of illness early, with no one to take care of her, and his father, still working hard to support the family at such an old age, was only on his last breath. He gave up studying and went into business, but because he was so successful, other wealthy merchants ganged up on him, and all the money he earned was taken away, leaving him with a mountain of debt."
“…”
The guy sighed and said, "Tell me, everyone, how could this person be so unlucky?"
Xie Lian coughed lightly and said sincerely, "Yes."
How could anyone else be so unlucky besides him!
After the clerk finished sighing, his face beamed with joy as he continued, "Then this man went mad and lost his temper. One night, the day before the Cold Dew Festival, he took a bunch of weapons and hacked to death all those who had wronged him! The killing was so bloody and fleshy, it was a thrill! Because the people he killed had been bullying the villagers for a long time, everyone applauded and cheered. So, every day before the Cold Dew Festival, the town would hold a blood festival to commemorate him, hoping that Lord Hesheng would bless us and kill the evildoers."
They said they were punishing evil and promoting good, but in the end, neither good nor evil had a good ending. The man left. Xie Lian saw that Shi Qingxuan seemed to be lost in thought and asked, "Master Feng, do you have any ideas?"
Shi Qingxuan came back to his senses and said, "I seem to have some inexplicable ideas, but... it's still too confusing to explain. What about you, Your Highness?"
Xie Lian asked, “I’m wondering if this He Sheng could be the predecessor of the True Immortal Baihua.”
As he spoke, the next parade began to reenact the story. Shi Qingxuan looked down again and asked, "Predecessor?"
Xie Lian said, "Indeed. The origin of these humanoid spirits is often related to a person's particularly strong resentment or obsession. For example, I heard that there is a ghost in Japan called 'Hashihime', which is formed from the resentment of a woman. Some say it is caused by the sadness of a woman waiting for her husband who never returns, while others say it is caused by the madness of a jealous woman. If the formation of the Baihua Immortal is originally due to someone who is plagued by misfortune, hatred for their unfortunate fate, or jealousy of those who are more fortunate, then it is not impossible."
Mingyi said, "Check the local chronicles. We need the exact time."
Xie Lian said, “Yes, we need to check.”
To understand whether this possibility is true, we need to check whether this "He Sheng" appeared hundreds of years ago. If he appeared later than the earliest record of Baihuaxianren, then it is not true. Shi Qingxuan nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "There is one more small thing..."
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from below, laughing loudly: "Just wait! Your closest relatives and your best friends will all die without a burial place because of you!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Qingxuan's face changed drastically. He pressed his left hand on the table and floated down to the restaurant.
That sound came from the parade crowd!
Xie Lian shouted from upstairs, “Master Wind Master! Come back!”
Shi Qingxuan landed among the blood-soaked zombies and shouted angrily, "Get out! Get out!!!"
However, the performers looked completely blank, ignoring him completely and continuing to sleepwalk forward. Shi Qingxuan was swept around in the procession, unable to discern who was suspicious. He saw one suspicious and was about to strike with his fan, then saw another even more suspicious. If he struck the wrong person, it could mean a life. Hua Cheng arranged the untouched vegetables on his plate into the shape of a smiling face, and without looking up, he said, "It's useless. It's easy for a thousand-year-old demon to hide his true identity."
It would be too easy for something inhuman to sneak into such a strange parade. Moreover, the Baihua Immortals' forms were very human-like, not to mention the Baihua True Immortals, who were the most accomplished among them.
After a while, Ming Yi also jumped down the stairs and carried Shi Qingxuan out. The group left the street and walked towards the Feng Shui Temple. Shi Qingxuan's hand holding the fan was still shaking slightly. Compared to the initial fear, he seemed to be angry now. He carried a wine jug out of the restaurant. After walking for a while, he took a big gulp. The bloodshot in his eyes gradually dissipated. He said, "Brother Ming, you should stop being my best friend for now. Wait until I kill this bastard and then you can be my best friend again!"
Ming Yi said bluntly: "Who is that? I am not one of them."
"..." Shi Qingxuan was furious, "Brother Ming, this is really boring. Can't you just turn your back on me when the situation becomes critical???"
They argued and bickered for a while. Xie Lian shook his head, fished out two objects from his sleeve, and said, "Master Wind Master, you should use these."
Shi Qingxuan picked up the phone and asked, "Earplugs?"
Xie Lian nodded and said, "Although this method is clumsy and can't cure the root cause, it can still be effective for the time being. As long as you can't hear, that thing can't do anything to you. I've set up a formation, and the password to enter is 'Heavenly Official Blessing, All Taboos Free.' From now on, let's all stay inside the formation while we talk to you."
Shi Qingxuan plugged his ears and could hear nothing. The four of them entered the formation one after another. Suddenly, Xie Lian heard Hua Cheng's voice whispering in his ear, "Brother, Brother."
Xie Lian looked up, only to see Hua Cheng blink at him without saying anything. His voice still echoed close to his ears: "Don't you have something to tell me? Since you didn't come to me, I had no choice but to come to you."
Xie Lian smiled and replied, "Who told you to set the password like that?"
Hua Cheng said, "Okay, okay. My bad."
Shi Qingxuan adjusted his earphones and saw that the two of them were clearly silent, yet smiling at each other. He wondered within the spiritual communication array, "Your Highness the Crown Prince and Xueyu Tanhua, what are you two doing? Are you exchanging passwords and whispering something?"
Xie Lian coughed lightly and said solemnly in the formation, “That’s not the case.”
Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly and whispered, "You're lying."
Xie Lian slipped, pretending to be serious while walking forward, looking straight ahead, and replied, "Sanlang, please stop teasing me... I need your help with something."
The two walked side by side, their eyes not meeting. Hua Cheng asked, "What's the matter?"
Xie Lian replied, “Cooperate with me and test whether this person is a Baihua Zhenxian.”
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