The young man in a dark blue riding suit took the flag, jumped off his horse, and landed on the ground with astonishing smoothness.

The owner of the horse farm was not a stingy person. He simply handed the purple jade whip to Xiao Jue and praised him, "Young Master, you are very skilled. In the competition in recent years, you are the fastest to get the flag!"

Cui Yuezhi couldn't help but clap his hands, "Xun Qing, before you arrived, I heard that your adoptive father had found a martial arts master for you. Now it seems that the martial arts master has put a lot of effort into teaching you. Such skills are rare even in Jiyang City."

Xiao Jue nodded and smiled: "Thank you, uncle."

He Yan thought, Cui Yuezhi didn't know that Xiao Jue was still holding back on what he did just now. If he really went to fight openly, it would probably shock everyone and put his identity at risk of being exposed.

While she was thinking, Xiao Jue came over and threw the purple jade whip into her arms.

He Yan was flattered and said, "Thank you...thank you."

I always feel that Xiao Jue is very different today. He seems to be especially easy to talk to and has a good heart.

But he couldn't think of a name, so He Yan shook his head.

"Now we have the purple jade whip." Aunt Wei said with a smile: "Why don't we go to the sacrifice ceremony by the river? It's very lively, and we can also receive offerings from the water god. After eating the offerings from the water god and being bathed in the holy water, we will be blessed throughout the next year."

Cui Yuezhi slapped his head and said, "Yes, yes, yes, I almost forgot about this. Qingqing, Yuyan, all of you go and pray for a good omen! How can we come to the Water God Festival and not come to the Water God Ceremony?"

What was the Water God Ceremony? He Yan was confused, but he couldn't refuse the hospitality, so he followed the crowd to the other side of the canal. When they got close, they saw a large flat area near the canal, and a round platform was built. There were many people wearing masks singing and dancing on it. They were probably Jiyang folk songs, and the tunes were very cheerful. There were men, women, young and old, and it was very lively.

As soon as he stood still, he heard a woman's voice: "Master Cui."

A few people looked over and saw Ling Xiu, the young lady from the Dianyi Mansion who had been a guest at Cui's house a few days ago and had played the zither for everyone. Next to her stood Yan Min'er, looking at them unkindly.

Ling Xiu was also dressed up today, wearing a pink corseted long skirt and small boots that Jiyang women wear, and her long hair was tied with tiny bangs, looking gentle yet playful. She smiled and said, "Min'er and I just arrived here and we met Lord Cui. It's such a coincidence. It's fate."

Cui Yuezhi also laughed: "Ah Xiu, Min'er, where are your parents?"

"Father and mother are both on the boat. Min'er and I are walking around here with the servants and guards. We want to take a look at the ceremony and take some offerings back." Her eyes fell on Xiao Jue. Xiao Jue only looked in the direction of the altar and didn't even look at him. A trace of gloom passed through Ling Xiu's heart.

In fact, she and Yan Min'er saw Xiao Jue not here, but when he was seizing the spotlight on the horse field. The young man was as beautiful as the moon, stunning and stunning, and the way he grabbed the flag and smiled immediately entered people's minds, making it difficult to forget. However, such a man, who was so prominent in front of everyone, was just to win the woman's favor with a whip.

Ling Xiu was extremely jealous.

She was beautiful, talented, and a daughter of a rich family. Many young men in Jiyang City admired her, but she looked down on all of them. One day, such a person came and outshined everyone in the city. Unfortunately, he was a married man, but he was so nice to his wife who looked ordinary to him. If she was just angry at Xiao Jue's ignoring her at the beginning, after several times, Ling Xiu even disliked He Yan.

If there was no Wen Yuyan, if it was me who met Qiao Xinqing first... the ending would not be like this at all. What good is that woman? Qiao Xinqing must have been blinded by greed, mistaking fish eyes for pearls.

He Yan was watching the people dancing and singing on the stage with great interest, and asked Aunt Wei: "Why do they all wear masks?"

"A mask represents an identity. These are all legends related to the water god. Dancing and singing at the ceremony is actually conveying the legend of the water god." Aunt Wei smiled and said, "If Miss Yuyan likes, she can also go on stage to dance and play one of the roles. When it is almost over, the elders will dip the blessed water with willow branches and sprinkle it on everyone. After bathing in the blessed water, good fortune will come."

He Yan had never heard of such folk customs, so he said, "Very interesting."

Ling Xiu stepped forward and said with a smile, "Mrs. Qiao, do you want to go on stage with us?"

He Yan waved his hands: "I'm just talking."

"Min'er and I also want to go on stage and dance together. If Madam is willing to join us, it will definitely be lively." She stared at He Yan and smiled softly and considerately, but for some reason, He Yan instinctively resisted. She was not very familiar with the relationships and undercurrents between women, and could even be considered careless, but she could still generally distinguish between ordinary hostility and friendliness.

Ling Xiu had an unconcealed hostility towards her. Why was that? He Yan thought about it over and over again and realized that she had not done anything to offend this girl.

"You two are about the same age," Cui Yuezhi said with a smile, "Yuyan, come with us. Our Jiyang Water God ritual is very simple and not difficult. If there is anything you don't understand, let Ah Xiu and Min'er teach you together."

Cui Yuezhi had already said that if He Yan continued to refuse, it would seem that he was disrespectful to the folk customs of Jiyang, so he said, "Okay then. But I can't dance, so don't laugh at me."

"No." Ling Xiu said sweetly, "We will teach you everything." Then she pulled Yan Min'er towards the platform, "Let's go get the masks first."

He Yan gritted her teeth and sighed. Forget it. Even though Ling Xiu and Yan Min'er were hostile to her, they were not good at fighting and would not do anything to her. They were just some harmless jokes. She could be more clever. It was nothing.

As she was thinking, she heard someone beside her say, "Why don't you refuse?"

He Yan was surprised and turned her head to look. Xiao Jue's eyes fell on her face. It was hard to tell what expression he had. He taunted her and said, "You obviously don't like it, so why don't you refuse it?"

"That's not good," He Yan hesitated, "If I refuse, Master Cui might be unhappy."

He laughed, as if he disagreed with He Yan's approach, and said, "If you don't like it, just reject it. You have the ability to reject it, Miss He," he reminded, "You can't make everyone happy."

That's true, but...

Trying to make everyone happy and satisfied seems to have become a habit.

On the other side, Yan Min'er pulled Ling Xiu aside and whispered, "What do you mean? Who wants to dance with her? I'm already bothered by her! I'm not going!"

"Wait," Ling Xiu grabbed her, "Listen to what I have to say."

"What?"

"I've heard about what happened in Xiu Luo Fang before."

Upon hearing this, Yan Min'er's face immediately turned red. She choked for a moment and said, "How do you know?"

"Everyone knows about this matter now. It has been spread a long time ago." Ling Xiu looked at her with a smile, "Don't worry, I am of course on your side. Besides, I don't like Wen Yuyan either. If that's the case, how can I let her have an easy life?"

"What do you want to do?" Yan Min'er said unhappily.

"This is just dancing, but we don't want her to be in the limelight. We want her to make a fool of herself." Ling Xiu pointed at the mask on the side with a smile, "Let her suffer for her own mistakes. The girls from Jiyang are not that easy to bully."

…

"I've never seen Madam dance before," Lin Shuanghe waved his fan and said meaningfully, "Today I have this opportunity to broaden my horizons. I'm really looking forward to it."

He Yan thought to herself, she can't dance, at most she can dance with a sword, but she is a foreigner, even if she dances at a ceremony, others won't be too harsh on her, just hope she doesn't make a big mistake. They are just trying to have some fun together.

Just as he was thinking, Ling Xiu and Yan Min'er came over. Yan Min'er was holding a few masks in her hands, while Ling Xiu was holding a wooden box. When she came to He Yan, Ling Xiu looked embarrassed and said, "I just asked the ritual master. There are many people coming to the ceremony today, and there are only a few masks left. I don't know how to distribute them. How about drawing lots to decide?"

Isn't it just a mask? He Yan didn't care too much and asked, "What's the difference?"

"Different masks represent different roles. In the legend of the Jiyang Water God, there are also some villains and ugly characters..." Ling Xiu paused, then smiled again, "But it's unlikely that Madam will draw an ugly character. It's unlikely."

He Yan humbly said, "You guys go ahead and draw first."

"Madam is not from Jiyang, so you should smoke first." Ling Xiu said with a smile.

There was no point in making excuses for this matter, so He Yan said, "Okay." As he spoke, he reached into the wooden box that Ling Xiu was holding and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

She opened the note and saw the word "liar" written on it.

"What do you mean by liar?" she asked hesitantly.

Cui Yue was startled, and Aunt Wei was also a little surprised. But Ling Xiu covered her mouth and exclaimed, "It turned out to be a lie. Madam, today... it's really unfortunate."

"Is this bad?" He Yan was puzzled.

"As I just said, there are villains, ugly characters, and cunning liars in the legend of the Jiyang Water God. This is one of them. He is a liar who has done many evil things by the water in the human world, cheating many people of their property, even the elderly and children. He has done the most shameless things in the world. The gods in the sky couldn't stand it, so they sent a fairy, a subordinate of the water god, to subdue him. This liar can lie in front of others, but in front of the fairy, he can only tell the truth. He told all ten secrets about himself, and was finally imprisoned in the seabed dungeon by the fairy, and he can never come ashore."

As He Yan listened, he unconsciously put himself in the story. When he heard that he could never go ashore, he couldn't help but say, "How tragic."

"It's pretty miserable." Yan Min'er said with a fake smile, "But since you have already drawn the lottery, you can only lie. If you have already decided to hold the Water God Ceremony but regret it halfway, you will be punished by the Water God."

He Yan really wanted to ask the water god how he would punish her, but then she changed her mind and thought, didn’t she die in the water in her previous life? She didn’t know if it was a coincidence.

She said, "Then let him be an ugly character. In this world, there must always be someone who plays the ugly character, right?"

Cui Yuezhi was still a little hesitant: "But Yuyan, that mask..."

"What happened to the mask?"

Ling Xiu took the mask from Yan Min'er and handed it to He Yan: "This is the mask of the lie."

When He Yan saw the mask, she finally understood why Cui Yuezhi had that expression. The mask looked like a cat, and a particularly ugly one at that. It was painted to look ferocious, but there was a large area of ​​white paint between the eyes and the nose, which made it look both treacherous and ugly. A girl would definitely not want to wear such a thing on her face. Moreover, the mask was very heavy, and when it was put on the head, it made the head look bigger.

He Yan weighed it and said, "It's OK."

She never cared much about these appearances. Aunt Wei's face was not very good. She had been with He Yan for the past few days and felt that He Yan was gentle and cheerful, and treated people kindly and cheerfully. Others couldn't understand it. She grew up in the back house and could see the jealousy between women at a glance. It was clear that Ling Xiu was deliberately setting a trap for He Yan.

Think about it, playing a clownish role in front of the beloved, and performing all kinds of funny and ridiculous actions, let alone what others think, the woman herself will feel ashamed and embarrassed. Which woman in the world does not want to be as beautiful as Xi Shi and Diao Chan in the eyes of her lover?

Aunt Wei asked, "How can you let Miss Yuyan play a fool? Why can't you tell the eunuch?"

"Nothing." He Yan smiled and said, "When it comes to rituals, sincerity is the key to success. There's no need to get hung up on the details."

Cui Yuezhi didn't notice that the atmosphere was wrong. When he heard He Yan say this, he smiled and said, "Great! Yuyan is really cheerful!"

Lin Shuanghe and Xiao Jue on the other side frowned at the same time.

Lin Shuanghe covered his face with a fan and whispered to Xiao Jue, "You are the trouble maker. My sister He has to suffer the consequences of the trouble you caused."

Xiao Jue's face turned slightly cold. He glanced at him, was silent for a moment, and suddenly spoke: "You just said that you wanted to tell the secret of lying to the immortal."

Seeing Xiao Jue take the initiative to talk to her, Ling Xiu was delighted and said with a smile, "Yes. Madam, when you go up to the stage, you must tell the person who plays the fairy your ten secrets." After a pause, Ling Xiu smiled and continued, "And these ten secrets must be true secrets. Because in the legend, when a liar faces a fairy, he is controlled by the fairy's magic and has to tell the truth. Madam, you must also tell ten secrets at that time."

He Yan was speechless, suspecting that this fairy was actually a lunatic who liked to pry into other people's secrets.

"Even gods have roles to play," Xiao Jue's eyes swept across Ling Xiu calmly, "In that case, I'll do it."

"What...what?" Ling Xiu was stunned.

He Yan was also stunned.

"Don't understand?" The man's eyes were sharp, and although his tone was calm, his expression was cold, "I want to play the role of a listener."

He Yan almost choked to death by his own spit. What did Xiao Jue mean by that? Did he want to go up to the stage and dance together? Was Xiao Jue crazy or was the world crazy? He Yan couldn't figure it out. If Xiao Jue did such a thing, no one in Shuojing City would believe it!

Chiwu and Feinu couldn't believe their eyes and suspected that there was something wrong with their ears and they must have heard it wrongly.

Xiao Jue took the initiative to bring up the matter. Ling Xiu had not expected this and did not know what to do for a moment. However, the man's eyes were too cold, which frightened her a little. She subconsciously asked, "Why... why?"

"Because," Xiao Jue said with a half-smile, "How can my wife's secret be known to others?"

Just one sentence made Ling Xiu, who had been a little afraid just now, turn blue with anger.

He Yan: “…”

She almost fainted. She felt that Xiao Jue was very unlike Xiao Jue today. She didn't understand why.

Xiao Jue didn't care about He Yan's expression, he just asked Ling Xiu: "Which mask is it?"

Ling Xiu pointed at the one in Yan Min'er's hand. Yan Min'er was a little afraid of Xiao Jue, so she immediately handed it over. He Yan took a look and found that the immortal's mask was nothing special. It was just a piece of black half iron with a cloud pattern on the forehead.

"How?" he asked.

Aunt Wei saw through the trick and said with a smile, "In fact, there are not so many rules for dancing on the altar. If you are a local, you will naturally understand. But if you are an outsider, as long as you are sincere and pray for the water god, the way you dance is just a formality. The water god is very tolerant and will not quibble over trivial matters."

Xiao Jue: "I understand."

He glanced at He Yan and saw that He Yan was still holding the mask, so he held her wrist and said, "Come here."

After walking two steps towards the altar, He Yan looked back and saw Ling Xiu and Yan Min'er's eyes on her. Their hostility was even stronger than before. She asked, "What's wrong with you? Commander, are you crazy?"

"You are crazy." Xiao Jue said unhappily, "Why did you agree to her?"

"I've already told you that I'm here now. I'm afraid that Master Cui will be unhappy. Besides, it's just a dance with a mask on. There's no need to wield swords or sticks. It's not a big deal."

He turned his head and stared at He Yan, and laughed sarcastically: "Why didn't you act so obediently when you were with me?"

He Yan: "...Am I not obedient enough?"

Xiao Jue is so difficult to please!

"In the future, if you don't want to do this kind of thing, you can refuse." Xiao Jue narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly: "Don't let people think you are giving in. It's so embarrassing."

“I didn’t compromise.”

"You do." He lowered his eyes and looked at He Yan, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a mocking look, "You like to lie to others, do you even lie to yourself?"

He Yan was speechless. She instinctively wanted to refute, but she also felt that Xiao Jue was right.

But in many cases, sacrificing one's own feelings and preferences has become a habit. There are more important things to consider. No one can tell her that she can refuse, be willful, or be unhappy.

So gradually, these also disappeared.

Seeing He Yan's listless look, Xiao Jue paused, tapped her head, and said, "Put it on quickly." As he said that, he picked up the mask in his hand and put it on his face.

The mask was made of iron and was polished very smoothly, but it was still very heavy. Xiao Jue put the mask on his face with one hand and reached behind his head with the other hand to adjust the mechanism. He couldn't get it right for a moment. Seeing this, He Yan put the "lie" in his hand aside and said, "I'll help you."

She walked behind Xiao Jue and said to him, "Put the mask on properly and I'll help you fasten it from the back."

Xiao Jue was tall, so she could only stand on tiptoe to put on the head mechanism. As she did so, she said, "Have you never worn a mask before? How come you can't even do something so simple?"

Xiao Jue mocked: "You have worn a lot?"

He Yan was startled and said with a smile: "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you have seen pigs running." After helping Xiao Jue put it on, she put the "fox lie" on her own face as well.

There were two people, one wearing a mask, looking more mysterious and noble, while the other was so funny and cunning that he looked ridiculous no matter how he looked at him.

Xiao Jue pulled her up to the altar. The master of ceremonies nodded to them and pushed them to the center of the altar.

People wearing masks were singing and dancing all around. He Yan couldn't understand what was going on, so he asked Xiao Jue, "Commander-in-chief, how do you dance like this?"

Xiao Jue: “I don’t know.”

He Yan imitated the people around her and danced for a while, but after a while, she felt it was too difficult and gave up. She pulled Xiao Jue to a corner of the stage, where no one would notice her, and said, "Forget it, forget it, let's not dance anymore, let's do something else."

Xiao Jue was wearing a mask, so his expression couldn't be seen clearly, but one could imagine that the face underneath the mask must be full of impatience at the moment.

"Commander-in-chief, will the water god blame us for being so perfunctory?"

Xiao Jue asked: "Are you scared?"

"It is better to believe it exists than to believe it does not exist."

The man was very indifferent: "Then you keep dancing."

"I can't dance."

After a while, He Yan said, "Commander-in-chief... Miss Ling just said that liars need to tell ten secrets to the immortals. Since we are here, we should act it out to the end. I will tell you my ten secrets. That's it. Maybe the immortals will see how pious we are and won't mind that we didn't dance."

Xiao Jue smiled and said lazily, "Okay, you tell me."

Ten secrets, and they all have to be true. That's hard to say.

She counted on her fingers and said.

"I used to be a good drinker, but now I am not."

"I can recite Wu Zi's Art of War."

"I am Liangzhou's number one guard."

"I really want to join the Nine Flags Camp."

"I ripped all the buttons on Cheng Lisu's clothes. I can sell them for money."

There are already five of them. Xiao Jue was speechless after hearing them. He just said, "Boring."

He Yan was encouraged and continued to do better.

"In my heart, the governor is a very good person. I am very grateful to him."

Xiao Jue sneered: "I won't let you enter the Nine Flags Camp."

"Every time the governor misunderstands me, I feel sad!"

Xiao Jue: "Keep lying."

"The governor and I have been connected for a long time!"

Xiao Jue was too lazy to even glance at her.

He Yan: "I was a female general in my previous life."

This is even more outrageous.

There is only one last secret left.

He Yan raised her head and looked at the person in front of her. His face was covered by a mask, staring at her straight, revealing only his beautiful chin, with extremely beautiful lines, and thin and bright lips, which were curled lazily, revealing the ruthlessness and tenderness of the young man.

Her own face was also covered by a mask, hiding in the dark, as if in the night, with an infinite sense of security.

"One last secret," He Yan stepped on his heels, leaned close to his chin, and said softly, "I like the moon."

"The moon doesn't know."