Chapter 373 Sacrifice
The Jade Rabbit had set and the Golden Crow had not yet risen; it was the darkest time of day. Yet, in Chaoge City, every household spontaneously burned incense and set up fires. Merchants along the street decorated their homes with colorful banners and laid out carpets. The firelight reflected on their faces, creating a unique and vibrant scene of prosperity and flourishing.
Before dawn, in front of the palace, the priests dressed in sacrificial robes had already begun their dance. This group of priests would dance all the way from in front of the palace to the Nuwa Temple.
The sacrificial ceremony cleared the way, followed by the Imperial Guards leading civil and military officials on horseback. Then came the King's entourage as they left the palace, with the Imperial Guards clad in golden armor, arrayed in formation, their banners obscuring the sky...
From the royal palace to the Nuwa Temple, the roadside was lined with various kinds of sacrificial animals.
Every five years, there is a grand sacrificial ceremony. On the eve of the last birthday of the Goddess Nuwa, the former king died, and the sacrifice could only be performed by the temple priest. Five years later, the people burst out with great enthusiasm, put on their best clothes, and went out of their homes.
Yang Jian rode on his tall horse, looking at the people along the road. He had lived among the common people and could feel the difference in their lives.
He was torn with inner conflict. The Shang Dynasty was ruled by an enlightened ruler, and the people lived in peace and prosperity. Did he really want to help Xiqi for his own selfish reasons?
"We respectfully wish Your Majesty good health..." Before the king, all the subjects knelt down together, respectfully wishing the king good health.
Chang Hao placed his hand on Quan Chang's hand and slowly got out of the car. His white sacrificial robe was embroidered with the sun, moon, mountains and rivers. As he walked, the sun and moon on the sacrificial robe came to life, with a unique kind of dynamism.
The temple keeper held a torch high, saying, "We respectfully request Your Majesty to light the bonfire."
Chang Hao looked up at the giant bonfire that had been set up, took the torch from the temple keeper, and held it close to the bonfire platform, which was more than ten meters high...
In an instant, a raging fire broke out, flames soared into the sky, and blue smoke rose straight up into the clouds.
The temple keeper, seeing the smoke rising in a straight line, was so excited his face glowed red. "Heaven blesses our dynasty..." The incense and faith were accepted by the goddess Nuwa.
Chang Hao stared at the wisps of smoke rising from the sky. Could Nuwa really hear him?
Nuwa, who was extremely bored in the Nuwa Palace, was surrounded by a ball of extremely pure incense and faith. Nuwa picked up a ball of incense and enjoyed it, gradually becoming immersed in it. It seemed as if she had returned to the beginning, to the carefree days in front of Buzhou Mountain...
Since she gained faith and incense offerings, Nuwa had never enjoyed such pure incense.
Even the incense at the Nuwa Palace captivated her; if she were to enjoy the incense there, the experience would surely be indescribably wonderful.
Following her heart's desire, Nuwa immediately descended to the mortal realm to enjoy a grand incense feast on the spot.
Nuwa became curious about who had offered incense this time. She began to think of keeping this person as a pet, hoping that this person would offer incense to her every day in the future.
"We respectfully request Your Majesty to perform the sacrificial ceremony..."
Chang Hao accepted the precious sword presented by the temple keeper, recalling the sacrificial sword dance he had received in the intensive training two days prior. In response to the solemn sounds of the sacrificial ceremony, the sword moved with his heart, and with each pull and release, he danced out his unique voice of faith.
The people had diverse beliefs, but as they followed Chang Hao's rhythm, their beliefs coalesced and then reached the ears of the heavens.
Nuwa listened to the strange requests around her, but they all pointed to the same thing: that their king find a gentle and virtuous queen so that his descendants would be numerous and endless.
That's easy. Nuwa was full of confidence. Although the Shang Dynasty was about to end, its descendants would continue indefinitely...
Suddenly, Nuwa was dumbfounded and lost all composure.
Who is the one performing the sacrificial dance for her below?
Nuwa wasn't blind, so she naturally recognized Xiao Shi, whose features were still quite immature at the time. He looked exactly like the Xiao Shi she had taken in when she brought the severely injured Chang Hao back to her cave.
Nuwa couldn't stop smiling. Her life had been worthwhile. Who else but her had ever received such treatment? Who else could make Xiao Shi dance and pray for her?
After realizing what had happened, Nuwa quickly took out the Lotus Lantern and collected the rare incense offering. "The incense offering from Little Ten is too precious to be wasted."
"We respectfully invite Your Majesty to offer incense..."
Chang Hao placed the sword back on the tray, knowing that today's process had reached its final step. Guided by the temple keeper, he entered the Nuwa Temple, followed by the civil and military officials who were fortunate enough to be present.
After receiving the three sticks of incense from the temple keeper, Chang Hao led his officials in a respectful worship of the Goddess Nuwa. He kept the safety of the country in his heart at all times. The weather was unpredictable, and praying to gods and Buddhas was useless. He could only seek peace of mind.
Nuwa revealed her true form behind the curtain and received a salute from Chang Hao in her true form. She was overjoyed; this was something she could be happy about for the rest of her life.
Taking advantage of the Emperor's momentary lapse in concentration during his kneeling and bowing, Zhunti and Jieyin joined forces to suppress Emperor Xin's rationality, inducing him to unleash his true nature. Without lingering, they immediately departed.
As Zhunti ran, he kept looking back, feeling increasingly uneasy. "Senior brother, that Human Emperor looks familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Zhunti and Jieyin had met Chang Hao when he was a young boy, shortly after leaving Zixiao Palace, but due to the passage of time and their long-standing respect for Chang Hao, they had long forgotten him.
Just as Zhunti was about to turn back to investigate, Jieyin grabbed him and ran as fast as he could. "Don't think about it, just run, the farther the better. Just now you blew a gust of wind, and I saw Nuwa descend to earth in her true form. If Di Xin writes a poem that angers Nuwa, she might think that someone is plotting against her in her rage. If we chase after her, we'll both lose face."
Jieyin felt he was having a run of bad luck today, almost getting caught by Nuwa. Luckily, Nuwa was inexplicably uneasy, and his fellow disciples were slightly more powerful than Nuwa, so they managed to hide themselves with great difficulty...
A fragrant breeze swept by, lifting the veil in front of the statue of Nuwa and revealing Nuwa's beautiful face.
Nuwa was stunned. Where did this evil wind come from, causing chaos here?
Chang Hao felt extremely relaxed, and the constraints that usually weighed on his heart vanished. In this situation, Chang Hao was inspired to write poetry.
"Someone, bring me a pen."
The temple keeper didn't know what the king wanted to do, but Emperor Xin's authority was growing stronger every day, and the temple keeper didn't dare to disregard the king's orders because of his status. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and fetch the writing brush and other items.
Nuwa, who was originally going to investigate, was drawn to Chang Hao's actions and became curious about what Chang Hao was going to write.
Chang Hao picked up his brush and wrote a eulogy on a stone pillar inside the Nuwa Palace: "The progenitor Nuwa molded clay to mend the earth, bestowing grace upon the eight wastelands, her name resounds throughout the four seas, her virtue rivals the sun and moon, and her blessings are everlasting..."
"!!!" Nuwa circled the pillar, already having the idea of moving the stone pillar back to the Nuwa Palace. At this moment, if anyone dared to snatch it, Nuwa would fight them.
This is all proof of Xiao Shi's deep respect and admiration for her.
"Your Majesty has a fine literary talent." Wen Zhong stroked his long beard with great satisfaction. The only contribution of the late king was leaving behind Your Majesty for the Yin Shang Dynasty.
"Grand Tutor, you flatter me. I was merely expressing my feelings." Chang Hao awkwardly put down his brush. What was wrong with him?
"It's getting late, it's time to return to the palace." Chang Hao didn't want to stay any longer; he felt that something was off about the Nuwa Temple, which was causing him to act strangely.
Seeking peace of mind through prayer and seeking divine intervention may ultimately bring trouble upon oneself.
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