Chapter 57: The Legendary Mermaid Song on the Winter Solstice
Lorelai claimed that she was receiving the induction of the ocean, and the shackles around her throat loosened slightly.
The singing went from being extremely unpleasant to being barely audible. She sang a song in the tavern. This time, no one reported her for abusing magical creatures. However, it was still not enough to participate in the singing competition. After all, a week before the singing competition, many singers and bards came from all over. Ye Wan specially bought a large wooden rack to place the bards' instruments.
Those musical instruments are all strange. For example, the aphrodisiac is composed of two pipes, one long and one short. It has a wild and loud sound and was used in Dionysus sacrifices in history; the lute is a pear-shaped plucked instrument with a soft tone and is said to be a court instrument.
These bards treated their musical instruments like treasures, so Ye Wan had no choice but to send Pancake to sit in front of the wooden stand all day to guard their instruments.
Their attire was uniform: dark green woolen cloaks, linen shirts, brown waistcoats, and fashionable bell-bottom pants. Their food requirements were also uniform, and when ordering, they would repeatedly emphasize to Ye Wan, "No chili," "No alcohol," and "No caffeine." To them, these delicious substances were like the eyes of Satan, the scepter of Baal, and the three heads of Asmodeus, which would damage the poet's precious voice.
The weather in the royal capital is very cold in winter, and almost everyone who comes in asks for a cup of hot wine as the first thing they ask for. In order to cater to these guests who don't drink, Ye Wan introduced winter hot milk tea.
Fresh milk was delivered from outside the city by the farmers on the ranch early in the morning. People had to fight to buy it. Youan took advantage of his long legs and ran faster than anyone else, so he could always bring back a big bucket.
Hot cocoa is a good choice. Ye Wan also prepared brown sugar pearl cocoa milk tea and fresh taro cheese milk tea. First, let the brown sugar block slowly melt in the pot, and then throw the rolled tapioca starch balls into the boiling syrup.
As the syrup thickened, the pearls softened and became sticky, their surfaces gleaming with an alluring black sheen. Ye Wan poured cocoa powder into the fresh milk, stirring it slowly with a long spoon. The milk turned from pure white to a deep mocha color, its frankincense blending beautifully with the bitterness of the cocoa.
Ye Wan threw the brown sugar pearls into the milk tea, and the brown sugar syrup formed a gradient marble texture in the cup.
Because the milk tea culture in the royal capital is still based on black tea and milk, with some white sugar at most, Ye Wan's two very distinctive milk teas are very popular among ladies.
Emma likes fresh taro cheese milk tea very much and drinks a cup every day. The cheese milk cap is delicate and salty, and the taro paste inside is sandy and sticky, with the unique sweetness of taro. However, this thing can easily make you fat. It is said that she gained three pounds after drinking it for three days.
Ye Wan was still researching other styles of milk tea, planning to sell them at Cinderella Plaza during the Winter Solstice Festival. You An reminded her, "Did you forget you were participating in the Diva Contest?"
Ye Wan paused for a moment and said vaguely, "Oh, that."
Because the contestants who came from all over the country to participate in the singing contest in the capital were so outstanding, she secretly canceled her registration while she was shopping for groceries alone:
"It is indeed more reliable to get rich by working hard and relying on your own hands," she said.
Youan showed an approving expression.
"Of course it would be even better if Lorelai could win the competition and get a reward of 1,000 silver coins and then lend me some money," she thought secretly.
On the winter solstice, Cinderella Square became a boiling, vibrant ocean. Citizens wrapped in colorful woolen cloaks formed a colorful stream of people, looking forward to the arrival of the concert.
Ye Wan was brewing milk tea in several large pots: brown sugar biscuit cocoa, osmanthus milk, salty cheese milk cap...
Business was very good and there was a long queue in front of the shop. Even the mulled wine stall was not as crowded as hers.
It was busy until the evening, when the crowds gradually dispersed. The square was lit up with star-like lights, and it looked like the concert was about to begin. A team of guards walked past Ye Wan, and Ye Wan saw the leader, Lawson, with a serious face.
"You're worried something might happen at the concert. Remember the flying broom championship?" Emma had already finished three cups of milk tea and couldn't eat dinner.
As dusk fell, the Winter Solstice Column in the center of the square was already emitting a pale golden halo. The audience began to enter in an orderly manner, and many dreamy transparent bubbles began to float above the stage. The first bard to go up was from the Loren Canyon in the north. Her instrument was a large harp with a beautiful and soft tone.
The person singing seemed to be an epic poem, with a lot of complicated ancient Chinese texts interspersed in the middle, which Ye Wan could not quite understand.
Ye Wan looked around while holding a cup of hot brown sugar milk tea: "Where is Lorelai?"
You An did not take a seat in the audience. He stood at the back with his arms folded, looking around vigilantly. Ye Wan walked up to him with a cup of milk tea and asked, "What are you doing here? Standing guard?"
The latter didn't want to pay attention to her, so Ye Wan looked around for Lorelai again: "Where did she go? Did she run away because she was nervous?"
Lorelei, who was being hunted everywhere, hid behind the stage. She was wearing a pair of very soft shoes today, which were given to her by the fishermen on the beach. Just now, she also met a few fishermen who came to visit the singing competition.
Many people are looking forward to the performance of the mermaids. After all, in many legends, the singing of mermaids is like the sound of nature.
What should we do if everyone looks disappointed?
As she was hesitating, a thick, bitingly cold white mist suddenly rushed over from a distance, covering the stage and the audience seats.
A chorus of screams erupted, and the musicians on the stage suddenly lost tune on their aphrodisiacs, emitting sharp explosions. The square was packed with people, and the scene fell into chaos, with hysterical screams and sobs intertwined.
Ye Wan shivered from the cold white fog.
She hurried to find the muffin curled up into a ball in the thick white fog, stuffed it into her arms, and then was bumped into and thrown away.
Soon Ye Wan discovered that this cloud of white mist was not just cold, it was accompanied by a shrill cry that was full of sadness and despair. Ye Wan was enveloped by an inexplicable negative emotion, and she even felt the sorrow of impending death.
Everyone around her was crying helplessly, and the next second, she was enveloped in a warm embrace.
Youan shuttled back and forth in the surging crowd and finally found her in the corner. He suddenly pushed through the crowd and pulled Ye Wan into his arms. He wrapped her in a thick woolen cloak and rested his chin on the top of her head: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
It was strange that this usually very cold guy could say a few gentle words that were so powerful. Ye Wan suddenly felt less afraid.
"What happened?"
"It must be the Banshee," he said.
The Mourning Banshee is an evil ghost whose shrill cries bring fog and foreshadow someone's death. Her cries are full of despair, and those who hear them will be affected by this negative emotion and even feel the pain of impending death.
It is a magical creature that often appears in abandoned castles. I don’t know how it appeared in the royal capital.
Youan drew his sword: "Such a thick fog, how many ghosts have been sent here?"
Ye Wan was protected by him and finally dared to look up to see the situation. She saw Lorelai push away the panicked crowd and resolutely ran to the center of the stage and stood still.
For today's performance, Lorelai wore a blue diamond dress that Emma had lent her. The diamonds on the dress shone with a sea-blue light, and as she ran towards the stage, she looked like a glimmer of light going upstream.
The moment the white fog enveloped Lorelai, she returned to a foggy night before the winter solstice. She looked at the shore from the sea and saw the dotted fishing lights on the shore.
That is the legendary land.
When the beautiful blue tail touched the beach, it automatically turned into a pair of slender legs. She was not used to using her legs, and when she walked on the ground, her feet felt as painful as if they were being cut by a knife.
But the mermaids had signed a contract with the ocean. The moment she came ashore, she felt a chill pass through her throat. She opened her mouth, and although she could speak, her voice was hoarse, like a raven perched on the sail.
The ocean took back the gift of its heavenly voice from her.
In short, she picked up some tattered clothes from the trash can, stumbled out of the port, and then, as if guided by fate, Lorelai secretly got on a carriage and broke into a tavern in panic, hunger and cold.
She was terrified, and when the friendly innkeeper asked her what she needed, she remembered the chief's words:
"Alcohol, it's a liquid that makes you forget your troubles."
She took a sip, then fell down, and was taken in by the tavern in a daze.
The shore was beautiful, without the danger that her tribesmen had hinted at; the tavern was warm and cozy, the owner Ye Wan was hospitable, the diners were gentle and friendly, and the fishermen on the beach regarded her as a messenger of the ocean, and worried that she would not be able to walk properly on the shore, so they sent her a pair of soft shoes.
"I want to do something for the people on the shore with the only precious thing I have - my singing voice!"
It's not for winning any competition or showing off my beautiful singing voice, but just to soothe the ocean of pain in front of me.
Lorelai stood on the stage and she began to sing.
At first, her voice was still hoarse and ordinary, but she still insisted on singing. Some bards came onto the stage with their instruments and echoed her singing with their instruments.
The sweet sounds of those ancient instruments resonated with Lorelai's singing.
Lorelai felt the shackles around her throat loosen again, and the ancient oath from the Sea of Mists sensed the emotion in her song.
It was the kindness radiated by the people on the shore and the collective call of Lorelai's pure soul that broke the shackles on her throat.
"The mermaid's singing is indeed heavenly." Ye Wan thought.
A voice as pure as the breeze, carrying the warmth of the tide, flowed from Lorelai's throat. The song was very subtle at first, then became increasingly ethereal and pure, forming a bright and soft light. The light formed a beautiful mermaid tail, gently enveloping the screaming fog.
Soothe the thick fog and melt it with a warmer power.
Ye Wan no longer felt cold. The melody was like warm sea water, enveloping everyone. Everyone looked at the pitch-black stage as if they were looking at a lighthouse in the sea.
Lorelai's singing stopped.
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and applause rang out.
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