"I will definitely not harm Tianyun Sect, don't worry." Fan Zhiyi held up three fingers and swore, "This was given to me by He An before he left, so that he could chat with me occasionally."
Bing Nandong didn't say anything, so Fan Zhiyi hurried to explain: "It's true, and I've lost my memory. Even if I did know some of Tianyun Sect's secrets, I've forgotten them all."
Bing Nandong continued to stare at him in silence, making Fan Zhiyi uneasy. "Okay, it's true that Zhuang Yujing and the others used this token to ask me out last time. They also said they would contact me through this token if they had any news about the competition. But I remember the pros and cons you analyzed for me, so I didn't plan to tell Zhuang Yujing anything."
After a brief pause, Fan Zhiyi added, "You haven't told me anything about the competition, so I don't know anything and there's nothing to tell Zhuang Yujing."
"..." Bing Nandong finally sighed softly, "I'm not doubting you, I just don't want you to be so defensive of me."
Fan Zhiyi was concerned about him talking to other people, which made Bing Nandong feel uncomfortable.
Fan Zhiyi was stunned, and then his peripheral vision was attracted by the sudden burst of fire like a meteor. He turned his head to look, and the fire in the distance illuminated half the sky.
Fan Zhiyi changed the subject and asked, "What are they doing?"
Bing Nandong followed his gaze and said, "There are people from other ethnic groups in the Tianyun Sect's territory. Today should be their Festival of Prayer for Harvests, and they are celebrating."
Then Bing Nandong's eyes turned, and seeing that Fan Zhiyi seemed very interested, he suggested, "Shall we go and take a look?"
"OK."
The incident that just happened was just put behind them, and both of them tacitly agreed not to mention it again.
Fan Zhiyi and Bing Nandong walked over and found that there was a circular open space with a large bonfire burning in the middle. Some people wearing distinctive costumes were spinning and dancing around the bonfire, and many children and men, women, and children were sitting in a larger circle.
Looking closely, I saw that the people dancing in the middle were all boys and girls. They wore silver bells on their wrists and ankles, and their clothes were tie-dyed in bright colors. The hems of their clothes rippled layer by layer, and they swayed with their dance steps, like the flapping of butterflies' wings, with the bells ringing rhythmically.
The dance was also quite spectacular, with ups and downs, turns and stands, and the movements were very large. Even people like Fan Zhiyi who didn't understand it felt that it was more like a sacred ritual than a simple dance.
Seeing him staring intently, Bing Nandong couldn't help but act as an interpreter: "This ritual lasts a whole day, praying to the sun and the moon for a good harvest and a smooth life in the coming year."
Fan Zhiyi already liked this mysterious culture, and he couldn't help but become even more curious.
"You two don't look like people from our tribe." An old lady with a hunched back came over and asked.
She was already very old, and looked very kind and gentle, with three short horizontal lines painted on the left side of her face with oil paint.
Bing Nandong nodded: "We are disciples of Tianyun Sect."
The old lady smiled and said, "Have you ever heard of the Festival of Praying for a Good Harvest?"
"I've heard a little about it." Bing Nandong replied.
"Although it's a little late, if it doesn't take too long, would you like to experience it for yourself?"
Fan Zhiyi was of course very willing: "Can people who are not from this tribe also participate?"
"Sure." The old lady pointed to another street. "That street has our ethnic food and some handicrafts. You can go shopping there. If you want to participate in the sacrificial activities, you are also welcome to do so."
The old lady waved to them and asked them to follow her.
Fan Zhiyi looked at Bing Nandong very excitedly, and his meaning was self-evident.
Bing Nandong advised: "Fan Zhiyi, besides the meaning of the Harvest Festival that I just mentioned..."
But Fan Zhiyi was so excited that he didn't listen to Bing Nandong at all. He pulled Bing Nandong and rushed forward. Bing Nandong sighed and felt a little headache. Although he thought it was unlikely, he still tried to persuade Fan Zhiyi again: "Fan Zhiyi, it will be very troublesome later."
"Ah, what did you say?"
Fan Zhiyi moved closer, putting his ear close to Bing Nandong's. The soft hair on his head scratched Bing Nandong's chin, causing him to gasp. He then pushed Fan Zhiyi's head away with a palm, his tone sounding a little cold because of his forced calmness: "Nothing."
Fan Zhiyi naturally didn't notice any of this, as he was completely focused on this fun ceremony.
Under the guidance of their grandmother, Fan Zhiyi and Bing Nandong came to a small corner and watched the old lady calling a young girl holding a small shell-shaped box.
The old lady introduced: "This is my granddaughter Qianqian. She is currently unmarried."
Fan Zhiyi nodded, and found that Qianqian's eyes were glued to Bing Nandong.
The girl's feelings were so obvious that Fan Zhiyi couldn't help but see it. However, he had always felt that love at first sight was very unreliable. He didn't expect that the girl would fall in love with Bing Nandong so easily.
Qianqian is a typical beautiful girl with an oval face, almond eyes, and a silver ornament on her forehead that makes her look even more charming. There is only a short horizontal line painted on her left cheek.
Qianqian said in a sweet voice: "It is our custom to paint the left cheek to bring good luck. If you are not yet engaged, apply one layer of paint. If you have someone you like, apply two layers of paint. If you are married, apply three layers of paint." After saying that, she looked at Bingnandong with expectant eyes.
Bing Nandong: "...I'm sorry, I..."
"I'll do it!" Fan Zhiyi lifted his long sleeves and dipped his fingers into the shell box, then wiped a mark on his left cheek and asked, "Is this right? Did I do anything wrong?"
Qianqian smiled: "That's right."
After Fan Zhiyi finished this series of actions, he saw that Bing Nandong still didn't react and was just staring at him with a gloomy expression. Guessing that Bing Nandong might not be very willing to participate, he took the initiative to dip the paint and smeared it on Bing Nandong's left cheek: "Don't be unhappy, we'll just stay for a while and then go back."
Bing Nandong was originally just staring at the painted mark on Fan Zhiyi's face, but he was caught off guard when Zhiyi also drew one on him. He felt so angry that he felt numb, and then...
Bing Nandong didn't want to admit that he felt so happy so easily at this moment.
Fan Zhiyi took a look and found that the young man looked even more handsome and radiant with the bold strokes on his face. He was truly suave and charming, and no amount of praise could describe him.
Apparently everyone thought so. After the painting was finished, Qianqian asked again, "Is it finished?"
Fan Zhiyi heard the voices of discussion around him getting louder. Many young boys and girls were looking over here, including Qianqian. Their eyes were as fierce as those of wolves and tigers, mostly directed at Bing Nandong, and some were directed at himself.
Fan Zhiyi thought he had drawn it wrong and nodded blankly: "Okay."
"No." Bing Nandong continued, then added another mark on Fan Zhiyi and his own face, so now both of them had two marks on their faces.
All the discussions and glances were withdrawn, leaving only a unified sigh.
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