Chapter 318: Opening Ceremony (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Ah Zi, are you done?"
"We need to hurry over there, or we'll be too late."
"Ah Zi, Ah Zi—"
Lin Feng changed his usual plain attire, wearing a small shirt with amber and pale yellow stripes, covered by a long green butterfly skirt, with a soft gauze tied around his waist with many small ornaments, and his hair was styled in a small and exquisite double-ringed snake bun, tied with a long pearl rope.
He held an elegant little round fan in his hand.
He would occasionally peek into the house and urge them on.
Inside the room, Yu Zi peeked out hesitantly.
He stammered, "Is this okay?"
Lin Feng grabbed Yu Zi's hand and pulled her outside, saying, "Why not? This is fine."
She's grown so fast.
Following his good habit of thrift, he dismantled and re-mended all his old clothes—these were all made of good materials, belonging to Lin Feng's luggage brought from his hometown. Some of the clothes that were difficult to alter were all stored away.
But Yu Zi was petite, so the clothes suited her well.
Today was the grand ceremony for the Floating Maiden, and the two carefully selected the best attire—clothes that neither clashed with the festive atmosphere nor violated the taboos of mourning. Lin Feng's teacher, Chu Yao, had reserved seats for them. However, the two were so busy that they forgot the time and rushed out in a flustered state.
"I don't know if I'll make it in time—"
Lin Feng disregarded her manners and lifted her skirt to run.
Outside the door, two guards had already prepared a carriage drawn by two rather short crossbowmen.
Yu Zi sat down, a thin layer of sweat appearing on her forehead without her noticing.
I blame myself: "It's my fault, I was so careless and forgot the time..."
Lin Feng said, "Didn't I forget too?"
If anyone is to blame, it's the two of them; no one else can be blamed alone.
She lifted the carriage curtain. The roadside was sparsely populated with ordinary people, but they were all heading in one direction—the main venue for the "First Fuku City New Year Games," located in the southwest corner of Fuku. The opening ceremony would be held there after nightfall.
Lin Feng originally did not want to participate in any activities.
After all, we are still in mourning, so we should exercise restraint when it comes to entertainment.
The teacher, with a hint of mystery, told her that today was an exception; she could go out and have some fun, or she might regret it for the rest of her life. Lin Feng hesitated for a long time before following Yu Zi out. She planned to go back after watching the opening ceremony organized by her husband.
Yu Zi held two small stools, murmuring worriedly.
"It's not starting yet, is it?"
Lin Feng shook his head: "The time shouldn't have come yet."
The so-called main venue was actually a large open space next to the small market. The common people were notified in advance to bring their own mats, cushions, stools, and other similar items so that they could sit on the ground to rest and watch the grand performance that night.
The common people didn't quite understand this notice.
What are you looking at sitting on the ground in the dark?
However, since Shen Jun had given the order, there must be a deeper purpose behind it, so they brought it along with some skepticism. Many commoners even blindly and excessively trusted Shen Tang's orders, bringing not only tools to sit on anywhere, but also snacks.
"Whoa—"
The guards driving the carriage brought it to a stop.
He said, "Ladies, we've arrived."
Fugu City was full of poor people who relied on their own two feet for transportation. Only a very few families owned mules or donkeys. Horse-drawn carriages were a luxury reserved for a few local powerful families. Therefore, the place where carriages were temporarily parked was very empty.
Yu Zi was the first to jump off the carriage.
He raised his hand and handed it to Lin Feng, who was bending down as he came out.
Looking at the dark sky, Lin Feng guessed that it probably hadn't started yet, and breathed a slight sigh of relief, walking slowly towards the "main venue." Probably half the people of Fugu City had come here. Yu Zi looked at the crowd, slightly nervous.
Why are there so many people?
She hugged the two small stools even tighter.
Lin Feng remained composed: "This is a grand ceremony prepared by the young master for the common people of Fugu, so of course they have to come out and see it."
Some commoners, along with their acquaintances and neighbors, occupied a spot, sitting on mats, stools, or even small stones they had brought from somewhere, chatting and gossiping. Others, feeling bored, went to stroll through the nearby small market.
Lanterns hung on both sides of the small market.
It's much brighter than here.
Lin Feng and Yu Zi followed two guards to the seats that Chu Yao had reserved for them. When they arrived, they found that many family members and relatives of the local officials were already seated there. After sitting down, Lin Feng and Yu Zi looked around but didn't see any familiar faces.
He asked in confusion, "Where are the teachers?"
Yu Zi also said, "I haven't seen Mr. Kang either."
Logically, shouldn't the young master and the other gentlemen be here too? If they're not here, who should host the opening ceremony?
Lin Feng listened blankly to the chattering around her, a vague worry creeping into her heart that something might have gone wrong in the process, and that her husband and the other gentlemen had gone to deal with it. If she guessed correctly, how serious would the problem be? She frowned her delicate brows.
The two sat there for a quarter of an hour.
Nothing has changed in the surrounding area.
At this point, some commoners and the families and relatives of officials around them became restless, and the topic of discussion changed from "What surprise has Lord Shen prepared?" to "Is the surprise going to turn into a shock?"
Lin Feng grew increasingly anxious.
"Junior sisters, you're here! I've been looking for you everywhere."
A familiar voice came from above.
The mischievous boy, who had become noticeably thinner, opened a small stool and sat down.
As soon as he sat down, Tu Rong asked, "Senior Brother, are you not late?"
Lin Feng said, "Not yet."
Seeing that Tu Rong still had traces of sweat on his face and smelled of sweat, which made her feel quite uncomfortable, Lin Feng scolded, "Why didn't you wash up and change before coming, Senior Brother? Or you could have taken a day off from your cultivation; Teacher wouldn't have blamed you..."
Tu Rong chuckled foolishly: "Stop? No way! For us martial artists, willpower is paramount! We can't easily indulge ourselves..."
He still wants to grow stronger and take revenge!
He never complained of being tired during his arduous practice.
I only regret that a day only has twelve hours; it's too short.
As he spoke, he suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?"
Lin Feng: "What happened?"
Tu Rong replied, "It's probably about to begin."
"How did you know?" Yu Zi asked, quite curious.
"Because it's getting hot around here." He wasn't a martial arts master yet, but his ability to perceive his surroundings was already beyond that of an ordinary person. He had come here covered in sweat, and theoretically, the sweat should have cooled down quickly, leaving him shivering.
"It's getting hot?"
Yu Zi stretched out her warm hands—or perhaps it was just her imagination, but the air didn't seem so cold anymore.
The common people have not yet noticed this change.
The murmurs grew louder and more chaotic.
After about half a cup of tea's time had passed, the air was filled with a warm and cozy feeling, and the common people finally realized that something was wrong.
"Look! What's that?"
As the common people were wondering, shouts suddenly rang out from the crowd.
Someone looked up and searched around aimlessly.
Those closer to the city wall could see a barrier rising into the darkness, and many commoners looked on with confusion. Only some elderly people, more experienced and knowledgeable, blurted out in shock, "War is about to break out!"
What? ? ?
Only then did someone remember what this barrier was.
This is a barrier within the city walls!
Only the seal of a prefect can be opened!
This is a defense system that can only be activated temporarily during wartime!
If this happens, it means a formidable enemy is attacking the city walls.
This realization flashed into the minds of this group of people.
But before they could hide, a new change occurred—a slight tremor came from the ground beneath their feet, and wisps of literary energy rose from their feet into the sky.
Bang!
A loud bang!
A cluster of dazzling fireworks exploded overhead.
A flash of brilliance, gone in an instant.
The private troops dispatched by the government to maintain order have already mobilized, instructing everyone not to panic and simply to sit back and enjoy the fireworks. In fact, even if they hadn't taken action, there wouldn't have been any major disturbance.
The moment the first red firework burst into a riot of colors overhead, their attention was completely captivated. Before they could even catch their breath, a second, a third… the dark sky was illuminated by a succession of fireworks.
Each one is extremely beautiful.
The common people had never seen such a scene before.
As the fireworks burst open, they spread out in concentric circles of different colors. At first, they were all circles, but soon other patterns were added.
"Junior sister, look at that character! Isn't that a character?" Tu Rong exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise, shaking Lin Feng's arm excitedly.
Lin Feng then came to his senses and said, "It is a character."
The words "joy" are still very clear.
After he finished speaking, another strange round face appeared on his head.
Emmm...
Is that a face?
A pair of eyes, a smiling mouth.
It's just strange that it has no nose, ears, or hair.
However, it doesn't look scary at all; on the contrary, it looks rather endearing, making people smile involuntarily.
"Junior sister, junior sister, what is that?"
Tu Rong watched the heart-shaped fireworks exploding continuously.
Muttering to himself, "It looks like a bunch of butts..."
Lin Feng stepped on his foot, neither too hard nor too soft.
"Nonsense! This is definitely not a butt!"
"Why would a young man blow his butt into the sky for no reason?"
This design must have a very beautiful meaning!
Tu Rong: "..."
That sounds so strange.
The sky was almost transformed into a sea of fireworks, with one wave fading away only to be followed by another, leaving viewers breathless.
Aside from the somewhat confusing fireworks patterns at the beginning, the subsequent patterns became much more normal, eliciting occasional shouts of surprise from the crowd. Following this, the twelve adorable zodiac animals—rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, and so on—made their appearance one after another.
Everyone was already overwhelmed by the sights.
Finally, darkness returned to the sky.
Yu Zi asked regretfully, "Is it over?"
The answer is, of course, not yet.
An even louder gasp came from the crowd.
Above the sky, a waterfall of golden fireworks cascaded down, at first glance appearing as if the Milky Way had changed its course and descended to earth. The common people instinctively covered their heads, only to discover that the waterfall hadn't reached the ground but had vanished into thin air.
What is that?
One of the people in the crowd pointed to the golden waterfall.
A black dot appeared in the center of the waterfall, expanding rapidly before suddenly bursting forth with a streak of seven-colored light. Spreading its wings, it transformed before everyone's eyes into the legendary phoenix, a divine bird only found in legends. The enormous phoenix carried something in its beak, circled the southwest corner nine times, and then rushed back to the golden waterfall, causing the waterfall to flow backwards and return to the Milky Way.
"God, a miracle!"
I don't know who said that.
One after another, ordinary people knelt down in devout prayer.
Only after the private retinue maintaining order repeatedly emphasized that it was merely the effect of a spell, not the miracle they had imagined, did things return to normal. Subsequent fireworks displays were merely clusters of flowers, lacking the breathtaking spectacle of the earlier ones.
Some of the designs are even a bit comical.
A string of firework footprints came from the direction of the city wall, accompanied by a heart pattern that Tu Rong jokingly called "buttocks".
It lasted for a full cup of tea before it ended.
The common people were still not satisfied.
When they finally looked down, their heads aching from looking up, they realized the surprise wasn't over yet. The surroundings had been divided into rows of colorful lanterns, their lights twinkling. When someone curiously tried to pluck one, they found it was empty—a fake?
"Is this also a firework?" Yu Zi looked at her hand passing through the tassels hanging from the lantern, feeling a little disappointed.
Lin Feng: "It should be the effect of Wenxin Yanling."
"Something like illusionary spells?" Tu Rong knew that such spells would cause illusions in enemies trapped within them, thus disrupting their battle formation. What they saw today was probably similar, except the former was lethal, while the latter was purely for viewing.
Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then gasped, "Such a vast area, such a long time... what a burden..."
No wonder we haven't seen the young master and the others yet.
In the entire city of Fugu, no one but them could muster such a grand display of spiritual power; their literary energy had been largely drained. Raising the city walls' defensive barriers ahead of time was likely out of concern that some "escaped fish" might try to cause trouble during the opening ceremony… For a moment, Lin Feng felt a complex mix of emotions.
She stood still and looked around.
The faces of ordinary people were bathed in the glow of the lanterns, turning them a deep red.
Almost everyone had a smile on their face, grabbing the person next to them to express their excitement and share the magnificent scene they had just witnessed.
Yu Zi asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng: "Is it worth it?"
"Is it 'worth it'?"
It was too noisy around her, and Yu Zi couldn't hear clearly.
Lin Feng murmured to himself, "Exhausting all his literary energy, going to great lengths, and paying such a high price... is it really worth it for my lord to prepare a surprise just to let the common people watch a spectacle for a while?"
Yu Zi shook her head: "I don't know."
A voice whispered in Lin Feng's heart.
【worth. 】
Chu Yao also wanted to ask this question.
Lin Feng's guess was correct; Shen Tang and the others had indeed been drained of their literary energy—if she hadn't suddenly come up with so many strange "butts," they probably would still have some literary energy left—now they looked like five dried-up salted fish.
Everyone stood in their own corner, watching the lantern festival.
Shen Tang and Chu Yao are in the same group.
Stay on the unfinished rooftop and look down at the thousands of lights below.
"What's so special about whether it's worth it or not?" Shen Tang smiled and tilted her head. "When did Wu Hui ever ask such a question?"
Chu Yao wanted an answer.
Shen Tang pondered seriously: "It should be worth it."
She pointed to the crowd below, who were enjoying the lively lantern festival.
"Wu Hui, look, they're all laughing."
Ordinary people, shrouded in the shadow of war and famine, are often seen with faces more bitter than a bitter gourd; genuine smiles are rare. Unless there's a happy occasion in the family, perhaps a slightly better harvest than usual…
If it can make them let go of the burdens of life and all their sorrows, and genuinely smile, even for a moment, it's worth it.
She replied matter-of-factly, "I don't understand grand principles, but shouldn't a qualified ruler ensure that the people under his rule live prosperous lives, have enough to eat, and are happy every day? Isn't that good?"
Chu Yao smiled and said, "Very good."
At this moment, his lord—
It is light, it is flame.
Besides his lord, there is probably no other person in this world who would go to such lengths just to make the common people smile? It made him feel from the bottom of his heart that all the bitterness he had endured over the years was worthwhile.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
