During the Dragon Boat Festival, besides wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), people dropped everything and rushed to the riverbank. The annual dragon boat race had begun. Fourteenth Master and Xiniu successfully blended into Erganzi's dragon boat rowing team.
"Hey, put it on!" Xiniu had changed into a tomboy's outfit, wearing a jacket and trousers, a headscarf, and blue cloth shoes.
A pretty little girl instantly transformed into a handsome young man. When the Fourteenth Prince turned around, he was immediately drawn to Xiniu's dashing appearance in men's clothing.
Seeing Fourteen staring at her, Xiniu felt a surge of joy, and a blush immediately rose to her cheeks.
"Why did you let me touch this?" Fourteen saw clearly what Xi Niu was holding; it was actually charcoal ash.
"It's because you're too eye-catching. With your looks, you're bound to attract the attention of buyers. My brother Erganzi already told me that those buyers are outsiders. They're very strange; they stare at people like they want to eat them alive. But they did charge a high price for the boat, so my brother Erganzi bought it for them and even brought a bunch of people to help row it," Xi Niu said, pouting.
Fourteen thought about it and felt that Xiniu's words made sense, but she also disliked the charcoal ash for being dirty and hesitated whether to put it on her face.
Seeing that Fourteen hesitated, Xi Niu reached out and smeared it all over Fourteen's face.
"Hey!" Fourteen exclaimed in surprise. Letting such a young girl touch his face like that was really beneath him!
"Don't dodge!" Xi Niu grabbed Shi Si's chest and quickly smeared his face all over, turning him from a fair-skinned young man into a handsome farm boy, making his skin much darker.
After they finished dressing, they mingled with the group of two tough guys rowing the dragon boat. This was the first time Fourteen had seen those people so closely. Judging from their build and gait, they were all trained fighters, unlike the ordinary farm boys who relied on brute strength. The boat was truly enormous, with seats on both sides that could comfortably seat forty or fifty people. There was even enough room to stand in the middle.
Those people first let the people Erganzi brought sit in their respective seats, and then they themselves squeezed in their own people. Shisi and Xiniu naturally sat together.
Amidst the clamor of the crowd, the dragon boat race was about to begin. Each dragon boat was specially equipped with a large drum, with a designated person to beat it, and a person who seemed to be directing the rowing stood at the bow of the boat. On Fourteenth Master's boat, naturally, was Erganzi himself.
Five dragon boats were lined up on the river, each decorated in various ways to stand out in the crowd. Many spectators stood on both banks of the river. On this day, most of the people in the county had come to watch the dragon boat races.
This was also the first time that Shisi had participated in such a dragon boat race among the common people, and it was quite a novel experience. If it weren't for something on his mind, Shisi would have really wanted to give it his all.
"Hey, is it fun?" Xi Niu stood next to Fourteen and nudged Fourteen's arm with her elbow.
"This is fun. Do you think you, Erganzi, are confident of winning this match?" Fourteen glanced at the few people standing in the middle of the team and whispered.
"Of course we can win. My brother Erganzi has won for three years in a row. Those guys obviously want to go to the abbot of the mountain temple to pray for blessings. They must have known that my brother Erganzi can win!" Xiniu said proudly.
Fourteen glanced at the man standing at the bow of the ship, who appeared to be the leader of the group, and they were talking. Fourteen tried hard to memorize the faces of everyone in the group.
"Alright, then you can go with your idiot brother to Mount Wutai to see the abbot's blessing ceremony." Fourteen smiled and winked at Xiniu.
Xiniu froze, realizing that Fourteen had just winked at her.
Thump thump thump! Thump thump thump!
The dragon boat race began, and the crowd standing along the riverbank erupted in cheers, shouting encouragement to their favorite teams. The drumming sound that Fourteen had just heard was the sound of each family's large drums being struck.
The team members on each boat secretly mustered their strength, preparing to swing their arms and start rowing with all their might.
With the sound of a whistle, the real dragon boat race was about to begin. The people on the shore seemed even more excited than those participating in the race, shouting excitedly at the people in the boats.
Before Fourteen even started moving, they noticed the boat was already in motion, and everyone was rowing with all their might. Fourteen immediately joined in. He also hoped they would win, so he could safely return to the mountain temple with them.
Thinking back to what Fourth Master had said to him that night in Fourteenth Room, Fourteenth was even more determined to row harder.
Otherwise, Fourth Brother will look down on us again. We must make sure these people enter the mountain temple smoothly so that we can wipe them out in one fell swoop! Fourteenth Brother muttered to himself, burying his head in his hands and rowing hard, his head almost touching his chest, not even looking at where the fleet was in the rankings.
"Hey, what's your name? I still don't know your name!" Xi Mei, who lived on the 14th, suddenly called out from behind him. The little girl was also paddling hard, determined not to hold the fleet back.
"I'll tell you after we win this match!" Fourteen said. Actually, he felt a little bad for this girl who liked him, for dragging her into this. He knew he had to protect her and make sure she got out unscathed, so she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
Fourteen had forgotten exactly how he swung his arms to row, but he did row with all his might.
Xiniu was shouting and yelling from behind, as if a boat had veered off course and the people on board had almost crashed into the riverbank, and some had even fallen into the water.
"We won!" Xi Niu shouted, slapping Shi Si on the back.
"We won! We won!" the entire crew shouted. Fourteen felt as if his arms were no longer his own. He glanced around warily and saw that the men had naturally huddled together, seemingly awaiting orders.
Erganzi and his brother congratulated each other, completely forgetting that their boat was no longer theirs.
"See? I told you we could win!" Xi Niu said, pulling on Shi Si's arm. Before Shi Si could react, she had already pulled him in front of Er Gan Zi.
“Brother Erganzi, this is my brother!” Xiniu pulled Shisi to talk to Erganzi.
"Hello, you guys rowed so well!" Fourteen quickly congratulated them. Although he was talking to Erganzi, he was constantly observing the other people's behavior. They were clearly different from the locals; even though they won the race, they didn't seem happy, and their expressions remained unchanged.
"Brother Erganzi, who are they? Why don't they seem happy even though they won?" Xiniu asked first.
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