Chapter 544, Star Death Festival
"It's a bit similar to our country's Qingming Festival, commemorating the deceased, but there are also some differences." The queen explained to Kong Xiyan and others: "Because Xing'ertang is known as the country where stars are born, many of the customs here are somewhat fairy-tale-like.
Including the death education here, it also advocates that the deceased return to the sea, become the light points cast by the stars on the sea, and become children of the stars again.
Death is not the end of life, but the starting point of becoming a star again, completing the cycle of life."
"How romantic!" Zhong Yangyang blinked.
"It's romantic, but there are some differences." The Queen smiled. "Those who commit suicide won't become stars. Their souls will become food for marine life. And in Xing Ertang's beliefs, suicide is a serious crime not worthy of commemoration."
"This is universally applicable. In many cultural systems, suicide is a serious crime." Kong Zhishan nodded to show her understanding.
"The purpose of releasing river lanterns is to convey one's thoughts to the reflections of the stars on the sea, right?" Kong Xiyan said after seeing the queen nod, "It's quite romantic."
"Xing'ertang is a very small country. Many of the legends here are very beautiful and have a fairy-tale feel." The queen nodded and said, "I originally came to this country for vacation because of the star god culture here."
After saying this, the queen put her arm around Zhong Yangyang's shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I was thinking of asking you to light a river lantern to let your grandparents know you're safe."
"Thank you for doing this for me." Zhong Yangyang smiled and said, "Please tell my grandparents that I'm doing very well."
"And your uncle," the queen added, "must be told too."
"Uncle?" Zhong Yangyang blinked.
"After taking the motion sickness medicine last time, we fell asleep. We never mentioned this during our phone conversations." The Queen held Zhong Yangyang's hand and said, "There are four siblings in my generation. Besides Mo Ya's mother and me, and the current Imperial Master, we also have a youngest brother, but he died early."
"How did he die?"
"He died of illness." The queen sighed softly, "My father was an expert in folklore research. At that time, we heard about the star god culture of Xing Ertang, so we came here to pray for my brother.
After all, when medicine is of no use, we have to think of other ways.
I have prayed to many gods and temples in China, and I am not going to let go of any foreign gods either.
Try to save the dying horse as if it were alive.
In the end, we were unable to keep him, and he died of illness at a young age."
"What disease?" Kong Xiyan was curious: "Cancer?"
"Gregory syndrome," the Queen replied. "It's a genetic disease."
"Ah..." Kong Xiyan nodded. "This disease mostly affects men. Patients tend to be young, usually showing symptoms in their teens. It's a very painful disease. Once discovered, there's only one outcome, and there's still no cure."
"Indeed." The queen nodded and said, "At that time, we also heard that an injection would be auctioned at the auction of the Eastern Morning Star, but my brother didn't live to see that day..."
"There's no point in waiting. If we get on that ship... the ending won't be good." Kong Xiyan crossed her arms over her chest: "It's hard to predict fate."
"Indeed." The queen smiled with relief, hugged Zhong Yangyang and said, "When the time comes, I will light a river lantern and tell everyone that I have not only Yangyang but also Xiyan, so they can rest assured."
Zhong Yangyang smiled and sniffed the fragrance coming from the queen, feeling very at ease.
This person is her mother.
Everyone chatted until very late and then turned the topic back to trade.
"You seemed to be hesitant to speak at the dinner table. Are you worried that Winnie is too tired?" Kong Xiyan looked at the queen.
"Yes." The queen nodded and sighed, "That child works too hard."
"I can see that she is a very strong-willed person." Kong Xiyan thought for a moment and said, "As the former future prince consort, I will try to persuade her."
"Thank you so much." The queen looked at Kong Xiyan and said, "Maybe the child will listen to you."
"Oh, I would also be shy when someone suddenly places high hopes on me. The pressure is so great~" Kong Xiyan scratched the back of her head and laughed.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they saw this.
The next day, Kong Xiyan got up early and while stretching in front of the window, she saw Princess Winnie practicing sword-slashing in the garden downstairs.
"Robots also need to rest. No wonder my godmother is worried..." Kong Xiyan shook her head, changed her clothes and went downstairs.
Walking through the main hall, she looked at Winnie who was doing morning exercises.
"Good morning." There were beads of sweat on Winnie's forehead and nose, and her cheeks were flushed.
"Good morning." Kong Xiyan passed by her, picked up a branch from the tree beside her, and returned to Winnie: "What's the point of practicing alone? I'll accompany you."
"Just use this?" Winnie looked at the branch in Kong Xiyan's hand with a subtle look.
"This branch is very straight! It ranks in the top ten branches I've ever picked up!" Kong Xiyan waved the branch: "Feel its toughness and listen to the sound of it twitching!"
"Why do I feel like you're having a fit?" Winnie shook her head and said, "Forget it. If you insist on doing this, I won't stop you."
"Let's start." Kong Xiyan smiled slightly.
After just one confrontation, Winnie felt a burning pain on the back of her hand and couldn't even hold the sword.
The sword in her hand fell to the ground, and she looked at Kong Xiyan with a frown.
"I told you before, don't underestimate my branches. These are not ordinary branches." Kong Xiyan raised the corners of her mouth: "Continue?"
"Go on!" Winnie made up her mind and was beaten all morning.
Fortunately, Kong Xiyan's men did not hit Winnie's face with the branch, but the pain in her body still made Winnie tremble.
"Hey...it's been so long, how come you haven't made any progress at all?" Kong Xiyan put the branch on her shoulder, tilted her head and looked at Winnie and said, "If this goes on, don't tell others that you are my ex-fiancée when you go out. It's so embarrassing."
"You!" Winnie didn't cry in pain after being beaten all morning, but her eyes turned red after being provoked by Kong Xiyan's words.
She pursed her lips, unwilling to admit defeat, and turned around with her back to Kong Xiyan.
"Are you crying?" Kong Xiyan moved closer to Winnie and looked at her face: "Are you really crying?"
"You!" Winnie was angry and embarrassed. She reached out to push Kong Xiyan, but she took advantage of the situation and grabbed her hand and pulled her into her arms.
Before Winnie could react, Kong Xiyan stuffed the branch into her hand.
"The mind moves as it wishes." Kong Xiyan said as she guided Winnie's hand, instructing her on how to exert her strength: "The inner secret is deeper than the mountains, the Qi sinks into the Dantian and the body remains steady. Step forward with the sword, lean forward, and thrust forward with a level step. Turn around and strike back, grasp the sword, and dive into the sea with the sword. Let the sword soar into the air, the mind remains steady, lift your knees, hold the sword, and turn your palm."
After demonstrating a set of sword moves, Winnie was still immersed in the mysterious feeling of force and body movements.
Only when she heard someone gasp beside her did she realize that she was still in Kong Xiyan's arms. Her face flushed and she pushed her away fiercely: "Too close!"
"How else can you learn?" Kong Xiyan took two steps back to steady herself and rubbed her chin. "Even though you might not be able to learn it this way, at least you should know the shortcomings of your previous swordsmanship, right?"
"!" Winnie looked at her with a red face, very unwilling, but she had to admit that Chinese swordsmanship was mysterious and Kong Xiyan's attainments were far above hers.
So angry.
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