Chapter 61: How shameless! He rubbed her head without mercy...
The next day, the people of Yinan City held a grand parade.
The Rain-Prayer Festival, an ancient festival that has been passed down for a long time in this small border town, carries the earnest expectation for rain from generation to generation.
Yinan City is located in an arid area with little rain, so this solemn celebration can only be held every three years, when the spring rain arrives.
On this day, even the poorest families who have nothing at home and struggle to make ends meet will give away everything they have and devoutly offer the most precious food in their home.
The elaborately decorated tourist bus is magnificent, with flowers of various shapes and shapes in full bloom wrapped around the bus, giving it a rich and fragrant aroma.
Even the two horses pulling the carriage wore delicate wreaths around their necks. This extreme beauty was incompatible with this small town accustomed to wind and sand and with a monotonous color scheme.
Most of the soldiers in the military camp were born and raised here. On this day, they followed the tradition, took off their armor, and joined the crowd of people praying for blessings.
According to traditional custom, the procession would slowly circle all the streets south of the city twice. At a time when people would normally be asleep, the long streets were now filled with eagerly awaited crowds.
The five of them quietly blended in with the people, stood on one side of the long street, and waited for the tour bus to arrive.
Xie Yan's tone was filled with disapproval. "I can barely even get enough to eat, yet I'm still offering my survival rations to some ethereal god. Isn't that a waste of natural resources?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Nanyuan immediately leaned closer. "You don't know this! I learned from chatting with the uncles and aunties in the fields that after the ceremony, most of the offerings are carefully taken home and eaten by each family. Nothing is wasted!"
Jiang Yuanan was surprised: "You even know this?"
"Of course," Chen Nanyuan continued. "Also, there's a 'rain lady' on the ride, sprinkling water on the crowd with willow branches soaked in clear water. Legend has it that anyone touched by the water from the branches will be blessed by heaven for the next three years, with good weather and plenty of food and drink. That's why everyone's huddled here, eagerly awaiting that little bit of 'blessing'."
Culture is rooted in the local environment. This custom doesn't exist in the Northern Kingdom, but it does exist in Yinan City, Yun Kingdom, because Yinan City experiences drought nine out of ten years.
When people found that some problems could not be solved by human efforts, praying to God became their only hope, and thus the Rain Prayer Festival came into being. The neighboring city of Weizhou also suffered from perennial drought, so it was reasonable for it to have a festival similar to the Rain Prayer Festival.
Xie Yan turned his gaze to Jiang Yuanan: "Is there no such custom in Xiliang?"
Jiang Yuanan shook his head. "I rarely leave Liangding. In Liangding, the people don't worship gods. They worship my father, the king."
Jiang Cichen's gaze drifted indifferently towards the silent Luo Wan, who seemed to sense his gaze and turned. The young man paused for a moment, then shifted his gaze imperceptibly, returning it to the empty space in the middle of the long street.
Before Luo Wan could think deeply, Jiang Yuanan put his arm around her and said, "Sister Luo, look, the tour bus is coming!"
All thoughts were drowned out by the roaring cheers.
The tour bus surrounded by flowers finally drove slowly under the attention of the crowd.
The flowers everywhere add some vitality and color to this small town which has been dominated by wind and sand all year round.
On the tourist bus, a "rain girl" dressed in a shimmering light blue gauze dress stood gracefully, holding a green willow branch. She gracefully dipped the branch into the clear water in the wooden bowl beside her, and gently swung the willow branch covered with water droplets, sprinkling it on the crowd.
Wherever he went, the people on both sides of the long street held their breath, put their hands together in front of their chests, and bowed their heads reverently.
The cheers gradually died down, and the five of them followed the local customs and imitated the people around them.
There was only one exception.
Jiang Cichen stood quietly, his eyes still open. He watched the slowly approaching float until it stopped in front of Luo Wan.
The rain girl in the car leaned forward slightly and gently touched Luo Wan's smooth forehead with the tip of the wet willow branch.
A cool and clear touch came from her forehead. Luo Wan opened her eyes and saw Yu Nu standing up and giving her a faint smile through the shadows of the flowers.
The float restarted, moved forward only a few steps, and stopped again.
This time, the tip of the willow branch soaked in clear water passed through the crowd and gently touched Jiang Cichen's forehead.
He neither closed his eyes nor put his hands together, he just stood there.
Across Jiang Yuanan, across Xie Yan, across the surging crowd and the diffused fragrance of flowers, Luo Wan's gaze and Jiang Cichen's sight, at this moment, silently and accurately collided.
The Rain Girl once again dipped the willow branch deep into the wooden bowl, soaking it with clear water. She stretched out her arms and swung them vigorously in all directions, creating a full arc.
The sound of splashing water broke the long silence. Everyone opened their eyes one after another, their eyes filled with satisfaction and hope, as if bathed in spring breeze.
Two women who had been following the tour bus suddenly stepped forward and said, "Two lucky stars, please follow us to the altar."
"I've been chosen to be a lucky star!"
"Congratulations!"
Congratulations came one after another.
Led by the woman, the two walked towards the altar.
On the way, the woman finally explained the meaning of "lucky stars." It turned out that during the parade, the Rain Lady would select two people she believed would bring the most blessings to the people. These lucky stars would ascend the altar and assist the Rain Lady in the final sacrificial ceremony, praying together for a rain from heaven.
To put it simply, it is to help Yu Nu.
The woman led them into a secluded courtyard.
Luo Wan asked doubtfully, "Aren't we going to the altar?"
One of the more friendly women immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lucky Star. Change your clothes here now. It would be disrespectful to the gods if you go to worship them dressed like this."
The two women exchanged glances and led Luo Wan and Jiang Ci Chen to different rooms respectively.
Luo Wan was brought into the room, and the woman quickly brought out a brand new set of clothes, also light blue, with an exquisite silk ribbon tied around the waist, and the skirt was layered and embellished with fine silver tassels.
I don’t know what happened in the next room, I just heard a noise, and a moment later, the woman who changed Jiang Cichen’s clothes came out with an annoyed look on her face, cursing under her breath.
She angrily pushed open the door of Luo Wan's room and walked straight in. "I've never seen anything like this before! How petty! I brought him some clothes and said I'd help him change. But he acted like a virgin and said he could do it himself with a stern face. I said the sacrificial dress was complicated and I was worried he wouldn't be able to wear it properly and would delay the service. He said it was just a piece of clothing and it wouldn't be a big deal! Oh, I've been dressing Fuxing in sacrificial clothes for thirty years, and I've never seen someone so difficult to please!"
"I'm afraid this young man hasn't gotten married yet. He's too shy."
"As a grown man, what is there to be ashamed of?"
"He can put it on himself, so you don't have to worry about it."
"I want to see if he can put it on properly!"
The two of them chatted back and forth.
After finishing her makeup, the woman looked at Luo Wan in the mirror and said kindly, "Look, how beautiful you are when you smile! Girls should smile more often, it brings good fortune."
Hearing this, Luo Wan subconsciously looked up at herself in the mirror. The person in the mirror had bright eyes and white teeth, and a faint smile had crept into the corner of her mouth, one she hadn't even noticed.
This hint of smile had not yet completely dissipated, but it was intertwined with the usual coldness in her eyes and the slight confusion at the moment, forming a strange and unprecedented vividness.
The most time-consuming thing is to create a complicated bun for a lucky girl.
When Luo Wan had packed everything up and the three of them walked out of the room, Jiang Cichen was already waiting at the stone table in the yard.
He also changed into a light blue suit of the same color as Luo Wan's, which surprisingly fit his slender waist and broad shoulders. The superior lines that were usually hidden by formal or casual clothes were faintly revealed under the luxurious fabric.
Luo Wan just felt that Jiang Cichen should be like this.
The woman who was originally responsible for helping him change clothes was standing in the corridor with her hands on her hips, looking Jiang Cichen up and down with a critical look. Seeing that he really wore the complicated formal suit meticulously and neatly, she snorted coldly.
The two women led Fuxing, who had changed his clothes, back to the altar.
Luo Wan followed behind the woman, with silver tassels adorning her slender waist.
Jiang Cichen's gaze was originally elsewhere, however, when the sound of the tassels and the fatally attractive footsteps approached, the corner of his eye inevitably caught the swaying, flowing light blue light.
The light and shadow outline the round and smooth hip line below the slender waist, as well as the full outline of the chest that rises and falls with breathing under the moonlight and tassels, outlined by the fabric.
Every detail was like the most precise arrow, with a scorching impact, instantly piercing through his deliberately maintained indifference.
Jiang Cichen turned his head away.
When they arrived at the bottom of the altar, the Rain Lady's parade ceremony had not yet ended, so the woman asked them to wait in the shade on the side of the altar.
Luo Wan thought about the woman's complaint just now and found it a little funny.
Jiang Cichen's face also seemed a little bad.
But in fact, Luo Wan was skeptical about this matter. Jiang Cichen had been living a life of luxury since childhood and always looked down on others.
Someone like him should have been served by maids and servants since childhood. Changing clothes should be commonplace for him.
*
Unlike the previous parade, the ceremony of worshiping the gods was solemn and sacred. There was absolute silence all around, and the onlookers did not even whisper.
Offering gifts, burning incense, and kneeling down.
After a series of ceremonies were completed, the people began to disperse one after another.
The long and complicated ceremony finally ended, and the people began to disperse one after another in silence.
The steward in charge of the Rain Prayer Festival came over with a big smile on his face. "Thank you for your hard work, you two lucky stars! It's getting late, so we've arranged a carriage to take you back."
Luo Wan looked around. The area near the altar was deserted. Apart from the float frame without any decorations, there was no sign of any carriage.
The steward followed her puzzled gaze and pointed to a plain, even old, mud-stained cart. Without the wreaths, this was the original appearance of the tourist carriage.
The driver, a cheerful man, was neatly tidying up the reins. He grinned at the words and said, "Where do you two lucky stars live? I'll take you there right away!"
“…”
Luo Wan reported the location: "Yinan Military Camp."
The driver was surprised and said, "Yinan Camp? Are you the Yinan Army?"
"No, we're just odd jobs." Jiang Cichen paused and said seriously, "I'm the blacksmith in the camp, and she's the cook in the kitchen."
"They are also great heroes who have contributed to our Yinan City!" The driver didn't care at all and shouted enthusiastically, "Come on, come on, sit tight! I will make sure to take you two back to the barracks safely!"
Jiang Cichen smiled slightly: "Thank you very much."
Luo Wan found it magical that he could actually say "thank you".
The driver cracked his whip, and the horse that had originally pulled the carriage was replaced by an old horse. The old horse pulled the simple cart and creaked into the street.
The car floor was solid, and the two men leaned against the railing, bumping along the bumpy road.
The night wind here is still so dry, blowing up fine sand and dust.
Luo Wan raised her hand, letting the wind, which felt like sand, pass through her fingers. Suddenly, she whispered, "After such a long drought, can we really expect a downpour of rain?"
Jiang Cichen said calmly: "Maybe, maybe not."
Luo Wan looked at him, the moonlight hiding half of the young man's outline in the shadows.
Jiang Cichen: "The place that can't will eventually become a desert. And the place that can wait for the rain will become another city to the south."
Luo Wan didn't know whether the rain after a long drought was a disaster or a blessing for the people.
Places without rain turned into deserts, driving out the indigenous people and forcing them to seek new habitats. Wherever it rained, the indigenous people stayed, but they were trapped in a vicious cycle, like the rain festival that repeats itself every three years.
Luo Wan felt that it was never God who gave gifts.
Wheat will only grow if it is planted. Even if a piece of land is fertile, without people to plant it, there will be no harvest and it is not a gift.
Luo Wan said, "I once got caught in a rain when I was a child. People there say that rain after a long drought is a blessing."
Jiang Ci Chen didn't say anything, but suddenly raised his hand and paused on Luo Wan's head for a while. Just when she didn't understand what was going on, the hand suddenly fell down and rubbed her head without mercy.
Luo Wan gritted her teeth: "Jiang Cichen."
He smiled.
Luo Wan glared at him. As the owner of Tingyu Tower and a master feared by people in the martial arts world, she was actually allowed to be touched on the head so casually. How could this be disgraceful!
The two sat side by side in silence for a while, and Jiang Cichen actually started telling a story for the first time: "Legend has it that a long, long time ago, perhaps not far from here, there was a vast desert called the East, South, West and North Desert. In the desert lived a mermaid..."
"How can a mermaid live in the desert?"
"Who says mermaids can't live in the desert?"
"It doesn't make sense..."
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