Chapter 14: Girl, why are you running around?
On the day of paying homage to the Dragon King, Xiao Yu was led to the river bank by the attentive Ah Fu and sat on the observation deck that had been reserved in advance.
Not only does this place have a good geographical location, from which one can see the entire ceremony site at a glance, but there are also pavilions for shade, fragrant tea and snacks, and stringed instruments. It is truly pleasant, and many dignitaries come here with their families to sit and watch the ceremony.
It can be seen that for the people of Tailing County, the annual worship of the Dragon King is a grand ceremony in which the whole nation participates.
Ah Fu also busied himself with greeting Xiao Yu. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the crowd below, basking in the sun. "Sir, look, isn't that our Xiang Shi Xu who followed us earlier? She's here to watch the ceremony, too."
Xiao Yu subconsciously looked over there and saw Xu Chuchu.
The sun was scorching, and she was holding something to block the sun. Because she was short, she jumped around in the crowd, trying to see the scene in front of her, but it seemed that she was unsuccessful.
Xiao Yu's eyes darkened: "Isn't she very capable? Why doesn't she go sit with other fortune tellers?"
There was another group of people dressed as fortune tellers gathered on the river bank to talk. Although their position was not as high as Xiao Yu's, it was also very close to the place of worship. It was estimated that they were specially invited by the local government to maintain order.
Ah Fu didn't know why Xiao Yu asked this question even though he knew the answer. He just thought he was in a bad mood and quickly flattered him, "No matter how good it is, it's not as good as following you, Master. Xiangshi Xu is unlucky. He can't sit in the best seat with you, without having to go down and squeeze, or get out in the sun, and..."
He quickly shut up before he finished speaking, because the young master seemed to be in an even worse mood!
Alas, what's going on? Flattery is really a philosophy. He needs to practice it well in the future.
…
The ceremony of worshiping the Dragon King began soon. First, the fat county magistrate came out to speak in person, thanking everyone for coming and hoping for good weather in the coming year.
Then a group of people with strange patterns painted on their faces came out to dance a sacrificial dance, and then threw offerings into the river.
The government threw offerings, not only the government but also the people. However, the government threw whole pigs and sheep that had been slaughtered and bled, while the people usually threw fruits, vegetables and leaves, no matter how big or small, to show their gratitude.
It seems that this mode of worship is similar to that in the capital, except that the offerings in general ceremonies are placed on the stage, but here they are thrown into the river.
After the offerings were thrown, a large-scale worship ceremony took place. The people gathered together and knelt on the river bank, kowtowed repeatedly, and chanted something. From the distance, Xiao Yu couldn't hear, but it was probably a prayer to the Dragon King.
He subconsciously glanced at the place where Xu Chuchu had just stood. It was already crowded with people kneeling, but she was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. He turned around again and found that she was hiding under a tree nearby, fanning herself.
You really know how to find a place.
Ah Fu saw that Xiao Yu had a mahjong face from beginning to end, and thought that he was bored, so he quickly tried to persuade him.
"Wait a little longer, sir. The annual physiognomist's ritual will begin soon. It's said to be quite spectacular!"
"Oh? There are also fortune tellers performing rituals?" Xiao Yu recalled the scene of Xu Chuchu performing rituals to exorcise ghosts, and then saw the children of powerful families around him leaning on the railings looking forward to it, and he also became interested.
Sure enough, the people who had finished their worship stood up and stepped back, leaving enough space for the fortune teller who was coming on stage next.
These fortune tellers were all elderly men, some even had gray hair and long beards, but they dressed differently and looked like they belonged to different schools.
The fortune teller standing in the front suddenly shouted loudly and waved his whisk quickly. The originally calm river water in front of him began to bubble like boiling water. There was a "bang" sound, and the water splashed three feet high, causing everyone to exclaim in surprise.
"The Dragon King has appeared! The fortune teller has invited the Dragon King!"
"What a master of physiognomy!"
Then another younger fortune teller came forward with different props. He held a huge banner in his hand and waved it. Suddenly, a group of flying birds gathered in the sky from afar, circled above the banner, flew low over the river, and then scattered away.
The next few people also showed their skills and cast spells one by one, allowing the people to see rare and unheard-of scenes.
"It's so beautiful, so beautiful! Mom, I want to come and worship the Dragon King again next year!"
Near the railing of the octagonal table where Xiao Yu was sitting, a little girl of six or seven years old was jumping and cheering.
Her mother hurried over and led her back, one because she was afraid she would fall over the railing, the other whispering, "Sanniang, be good. Paying homage to the Dragon King is the most solemn event of the year in our county. The physiognomist's ritual is to pray to the Dragon King for peace in the coming year. You can't just watch the fun like that."
Sanniang was very obedient and returned to her seat honestly.
Xiao Yu casually glanced at the mother and daughter and the dignitaries around them. When the fortune teller was performing the ritual, his face was serious and solemn.
If even the powerful and wealthy believe this, the common people will naturally believe it even more.
But Xiao Yu remained noncommittal.
Simply causing waves in the water, attracting birds to circle around, and even having schools of fish in the water gather to form auspicious words... These tricks were not the first time he had seen them.
There were people in the capital who wanted to please his father and grandmother, and they put a lot of thought into creating auspicious scenes during festivals and holidays. Every year they became more grand and novel, and they were far more than these pretentious fortune tellers could compare to.
Since we know that the newer things are fake, we naturally don’t believe these fancy things.
Until the end of the entire ceremony, he didn't feel that there was anything new or special about it.
Now he thought that the only fortune teller who made him feel that she had real skills was the girl from the mountain valley of Fengyang County. She could expel fox spirits and make wronged souls appear. She was definitely not comparable to those old liars below.
Xiao Yu admires people with abilities, and he really lacks someone with such talent around him.
But when he thought about the fact that Xu Chuchu had discovered the secret of his strange illness first, and as a woman, he really didn't know how to face it if he kept her by his side.
...No, not just Xu Chuchu.
Apart from the followers and guards who had followed him since childhood, he didn't want anyone around him to know about his strange illness.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yu looked again at the place where Xu Chuchu had just taken refuge from the summer heat, but she was gone again. She looked around but couldn't find her... She was just a girl, and she didn't know what she was doing running around everywhere.
Ah Fu was also very depressed, of course, it had nothing to do with Xu Chuchu.
He had been serving Xiao Yu since he was a child. Naturally, he had seen all the tricks that Xiao Yu had seen. He knew that these fortune tellers were just pretending and could not be hired to protect Xiao Yu. Moreover, it seemed that they had little to do with the woman's disappearance case, so he was depressed.
"My apologies, sir. I was mistaken." He bowed his head in repentance. "The ceremony is over. Shall I call the sedan bearers to take you home?"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu didn't leave at this time: "Wait a moment."
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