Lan's coming-of-age ceremony: Beastmen are children of Xia, and so are other living beings.
Summer grassland habitat.
The orcs guarding the entrance were excited when they saw the returning caravan, which had gone out to hunt wild beasts. Remembering their duty, the guards forcibly suppressed the urge to fly forward and watched helplessly as the caravan, laden with the carcasses of wild beasts, slowly approached.
Only when the caravan arrived did the guards begin to stir, peering out to see what kind of wild animals the caravan had brought back. They were curious about what kind of wild animals had appeared in their territory.
Seeing their reaction, Jiang Yunlan chuckled and slowed the group down so they could see the beasts piled up together.
The guards' eyes brightened as they watched the group register and enter their habitat, making no unnecessary noise. They were seasoned guards now, and wouldn't let out a careless cry like before.
Agni watched their reactions and laughed heartily for a while, his voice full of amusement. "Lan, the wild beasts in the grasslands have been mostly cleared out. The remaining beasts are no match for the grassland orcs. Shall we head back to Forest Lake?"
“I’ll be going back in a few days,” Jiang Yunlan said with a sigh. “I didn’t expect that clearing out the wild animals would take three or four days longer than I thought. Tomorrow is the first day of the snow season.”
She made a point of arriving at the grassland habitat before the supply team departed, originally intending to return to Forest Lake with the team and act as an orc escort. However, the newly arrived wild beasts proved to be more troublesome than she had anticipated, dragging the cleanup operation through until now, after the supply team had left.
Hearing her mention the snow season, Freya recalled what Maple and the others had said the day she returned to Forest Lake, and unusually, she took the initiative to speak up, "I'll also make up for Lan's coming-of-age blessing tomorrow!"
“Me too!” Agni exclaimed excitedly.
"Grey Honey and the others are already ready in the tribal square," Black Soil added, glancing at the Summer Orcs who were moving swiftly and smiling on both sides of the street. "Everyone is very excited."
Lan is a beastman who officially entered adulthood this year, having transitioned from semi-adulthood to adulthood. Logically, she should have received the coming-of-age blessing along with other beastmen this year when the flowering season arrived. However, Lan is still away and hasn't returned this year, and the beastmen of Xia are unaware that Lan is coming of age during this flowering season.
Many days after Lan returned to the grasslands, Gray Honey, a rock squirrel beastman, suddenly sensed a change in her aura, as if she was preparing to enter adulthood.
Gray Honey belatedly realized she was about to come of age, so she secretly sought out Maple Sugar and the other orcs to discuss coming-of-age blessings. Later, when she went to Forest Lake, she overheard Maple Sugar and the others asking her if she could return before the snow season.
They have already discussed it and want to give her a belated coming-of-age blessing during the snow season.
The orcs don't remember when the "coming-of-age blessing" originated. Its origins have long been lost in the river of time, and the remaining generations of orc chieftains have passed down this important ritual.
Each clan chief chooses a different blessing day, but they all coincidentally bless their clansmen who have come of age on that day.
Too many orcs in the orc clans died before reaching adulthood, making each one a rare exception. They hoped that their hard-won members would live for another season, and then another.
“I know you value coming-of-age ceremonies. When I’m in the habitat during my flower season, I also hold a proper coming-of-age ceremony for the newly adult beastmen. But isn’t my coming-of-age ceremony a bit excessive? This is already a celebration, isn’t it?” Jiang Yunlan looked up at the tribal square not far away, her expression somewhat blank.
Sveta, along with Hati and other orcs possessing wood-elemental powers, awakened the flowers, adorning the plaza with vibrant blooms. Freya, carrying snowflakes crafted by Maple Red and Mountain Shepherd, blanketed the plaza, and any orc could pick up a snowflake from an item and offer it to her…
The orcs held this coming-of-age ceremony almost exactly like the campfire gathering, with decorations spontaneously hung up by the orcs themselves in every street of the habitat. They even prepared a float for the parade so that Lan could ride around the grassland habitat in it.
The group of beastmen who accompanied her, reflecting on their preparations, said matter-of-factly, "It's not an exaggeration."
Jiang Yunlan sighed helplessly, looking at the familiar lantern-lit corridor at the entrance, and asked with a smile, "You didn't arrange a large bonfire, did you?"
“We originally planned to have a campfire, but Agni said its flames didn’t need one. So we didn’t set up a campfire,” Maple Syrup said, turning to look at her.
She didn't mind the lack of a bonfire; the bonfire wasn't the main point of the coming-of-age ceremony. But looking at the center of the square, which was obscured by her tribesmen, her eyelids twitched inexplicably, and she took a deep breath. Nervously, she rushed towards the center of the square where her tribesmen were gathered, afraid that she would see something that would scare her to death.
"Lan?"
The orcs, including Maple Syrup, were puzzled and caught up with Lan, who suddenly sped up and ran into the tribal square.
In the center of the square, many gifts were piled up. The orcs of Xia gathered here, trying to stuff what they had brought into the mountain of gifts. From headdresses and clothing to daily necessities and various delicacies, they divided the gifts into several piles, with the food placed on a long table nearby.
"It's not a statue." Jiang Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief, her slowly returning rationality realizing that something was wrong.
This pile of things, barely wrapped, could it be a coming-of-age gift from the orcs? A headache started to rise within her. She didn't notice the orcs, including Grey Honey, who had followed her, twitching their furry ears, their attention fixed on the "statue" she mentioned.
A statue? What statue? Does Lan want a statue?
The orcs blinked, noting the story down their minds, intending to secretly tell the rest of their tribes so they could surprise Lan. They would place a statue of Lan in every habitat!
Jiang Yunlan shivered slightly, adjusted her cloak slightly, and then walked forward in a good-natured manner to persuade her people to take the items that had been placed in the gift mountain with them.
“Even for a coming-of-age ceremony, I will not accept these expensive gifts,” she said, pointing to the mountain of gifts with a helpless smile. “Thank you for the gifts, I appreciate your kind intentions. I am very happy, but I really cannot make an exception and accept them. Please take them back.”
If she accepted these gifts and broke the rule, it would create a loophole that could be exploited, and orcs would undoubtedly use this as an opportunity to offer bribes in the future. She couldn't allow corruption within Xia, so she naturally wanted to eliminate any possibility of legitimate bribery from orcs.
The simple-minded beastmen, oblivious to these intricacies, simply accepted the gifts she had given them upon hearing her words. Lan had said that their sentiments had been conveyed, and she was very happy.
After a while, all the gifts except the food were taken back. Jiang Yunlan nodded in satisfaction. She assumed the food on the table was maple syrup, a free meal they had prepared for everyone, just like at the campfire party.
In reality, half of the food on the long table consisted of homemade dishes and purchased delicacies, all painstakingly prepared by the Xia orcs, and the quantity was quietly and rapidly increasing. The orcs who came to the tribal square secretly told their friends that food could be brought into the square and placed on the tables.
The group of orcs raised their claws and grabbed their friends who could cook, shouting, "This is the best chance for Lan to eat your cooking!"
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