Chapter 1224: Holy Spring City's Dark Night Festival
"You're going to go alone?"
Isabel frowned, a little worried. "At least take Lily with you. She can protect you in secret. And with Lily here, I'm here too. With our combined abilities, we can help you solve your difficult problems to the greatest extent possible."
She felt a little uneasy when she heard that Aiwas planned to go to Holy Spring City alone.
She is now more than four months pregnant and her abdomen is beginning to show a noticeable bulge.
When Aiwass realized that a war was about to break out in Parthia, he knew that he could no longer protect Isabel on his own - she was no longer able to participate in overly intense activities.
Although the puppet technique allowed her to transform into another person, granting her the ability to move freely... the puppet wasn't a stand-in. If the person she was impersonating were injured or even died, the injury would be reflected back to the original. Similarly, if Isabel, the character Lily was impersonating, were injured or died, the injury would be reflected back to Lily, the carrier.
From this perspective, Lily, who can hide in the shadow of Aiwass, is the most suitable person to be the carrier of Isabel's abilities.
"I'll ask Lily herself."
Aiwass remained noncommittal, emphasizing, "This could be very dangerous—unlike the previous two Tail Ring rituals, Yuan Tiansi is extremely skilled at attacking, especially in group attacks. I failed to maintain your confidence this time. Perhaps it would be easier to take on the challenge alone."
Considering that he was already caught in the vortex of fate, Aiwass decided to let Isabel retreat to the rear...at least to the location of the Rock Cellar City.
The good boss and the Red Hand Party are irrelevant.
An enemy of this magnitude simply couldn't harm Isabel or anyone else he cared about under Aiwass's protection. Aiwass now possessed the confidence and strength to dominate the material world, and no nation or political system could stand in his way.
Now, the only ones who could become his enemies were the gods high above him.
But now this matter involves the replacement of the Pillar God and the arrival of the Heavenly Official... If Aiwass, a mortal, can still have the confidence to control the overall situation under such a threat - then this "confidence" is better described as "arrogance".
"Also, I'm going to ask Zhu Tang and Mu if they want to go."
Aiwass nodded and added, "If things get tense, they can at least leave Anxi... If they don't come this time, they might not have the chance to take revenge themselves."
Isabel hummed, "I'll have to ask. However, those followers who were originally going to accompany you to Holy Spring City... let them evacuate Paradise City first. They are just ordinary people and will be easily crushed by a fight of this level."
Shengquan City - this is the border city-state where Zhu Tang caused trouble in the past.
In the past, Zhu Tang accepted the invitation of his deceased friend and went to Shengquan City to participate in the "Dark Night Festival" on the winter solstice.
That is the most important and grand festival for the Parthians.
Because this day is the longest night of the year. As long as you endure the longest night, every night after that will be shorter than this day.
A resting poet once said: "All suffering will end, just as the winter solstice comes every year. When the sun rises, hope arrives as promised."
In Anxi, neither free people nor slaves lived happily.
Everyone has their own worries. Living resources are extremely scarce, it's hard to even survive, and life is extremely difficult... Precisely because of this, everyone craves hope.
If life has reached its worst, then every day that follows will get better.
If life can't get any worse, at least hope it will get better in the next life.
That is why the Sabbatarians celebrate the coming of the Darkest Night.
On this day, even the Good Lord would be merciful and give the city's freemen and slaves a day off. People would walk through the streets, shouting as enthusiastically as possible... singing, hawking, playing instruments, or simply shouting.
This proved that he was not dead yet. If his voice could pierce the sky and linger beyond the night... he could carry this vitality into next year. This also meant that they might be alive next year too.
The evidence of this tradition of the Sabbatarians is that... on this day, those who no longer have the strength to walk and shout often die in the winter.
Before nightfall, braziers would be set up in the streets of every city. Every household had a brazier at their doorstep, and a massive bonfire was set in the center of the city. The oldest person in the family would be assigned to carefully guard the brazier, preventing it from tipping over or going out... This foretells whether the family will survive until the next year.
On this day, benevolent lords dispatch their followers to distribute candy to all children around the bonfire. Normally, sugar is poisonous to the poor, as consuming too much sweetness will lead to a desire for water, depleting every household's precious water supply. However, on this day alone, water is unlimited... meaning, on this day alone, everyone is allowed to eat candy.
This is an extremely sweet memory.
Those with a skill would perform around the bonfire. Even if the dim flames made it hard to see faces, one could still see dancing, juggling, or hear singing and playing instruments. Whether slave or free... on this day alone, all were equal.
On the other hand, the good master himself will also have a feast in the palace - those free people who are qualified to attend the banquet, as well as the dancers or singers who participate in the dinner will receive a generous reward. And it is possible that under the good master's favor, the dinner will be improvised into a decadent feast -
If the benevolent master isn't satisfied, he'll send his men to randomly capture people from around the bonfire. Freemen and slaves alike might be taken away to be used as material for his pleasure. Some might receive a generous reward, while others might die that night.
On this day, people don't resist. This is the "Darkest Night"—people believe that if they're tough enough, they can survive it. Conversely, if they don't, it means they're not tough enough. All of this is a test of fate.
Zhu Tang was watching the performance by the campfire and was having a great time... when he saw a group of camel riders suddenly come to grab the children.
Faced with this unprovoked and unexplained brutality, only the families of the children struggled to resist, only to be killed in the streets by the knights. Some, even their own families, numbly chose to accept it. Not to mention the cold-eyed gloating of the others around them.
Zhu Tang couldn't bear the anger in his heart because of the cries of the children who were trying their best to resist - he didn't know why the benefactor wanted to capture these children, nor did he know why those people turned a blind eye, but this middle-aged ritualist who was about to have grandchildren still chose to take the initiative to help.
Just as he said: "A gentleman in the world has things he should do and things he shouldn't do. To turn a blind eye is also unrighteous!"
...But this kind of help caused trouble.
On the day of the Black Night Festival, all the people in the city were regarded as the property of the good lord. They were gathered around the bonfire to wait for the judgment of their fate.
It's like the lambs in the sheepfold, scattering when the rancher invites guests to catch them. Whoever gets caught is just unlucky, a slow runner, and deserves it... Once the captured sheep are slaughtered, the others will return to graze and wander around.
However, Zhu Tang's action became "the wolf attacking the herdsmen".
Not only did the cavalry attack him, but even the freedmen—even the parents of the children—became hostile. This chilled Zhu Tang's heart... Unwilling to surrender, he fled the city in the darkness, his counterattack rituals and spells causing chaos everywhere. Some took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes, others to arrest people. The entire Holy Spring City was under martial law because of him alone.
By the time Zhu Tang was rescued by Mu, Shengquan City was already brightly lit.
——That’s why Aiwass brought Zhu Tang with him.
Let him personally settle the old hatred.
Further east from here is the town of Taichu. This also fulfilled Zhu Tang's request in the past - to take him home through the Parthian Desert and many city-states.
Mu is a Horus, and this is not the direction he is heading home.
However, the monk was quite interested in the Taichu Empire and wanted Zhu Tang to take him back to see it... and also to serve as his witness, to prove that Zhu Tang had not defected. After all, Zhu Tang, a criminal who had been exiled three times, had quietly disappeared from the border for half a year without writing a single letter - this was extremely suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
As a temple-protecting monk who has taken the vow of "silence", Mu's testimony is at least extremely credible.
They had traveled westward, crossing the desert and enduring countless hardships before escaping the ancient Parthian Empire... They had already developed a comradeship between them. Since this matter concerned the safety of his brothers, Mu was definitely willing to help.
As expected...
When Aiwas informed the convoy of the emergency and planned to evacuate Paradise City... and let most of the people in the convoy escort Isabel away, he also told Zhu Tang and Mu his thoughts in detail.
When they learned that this was extremely dangerous and there was a possibility of no return, Zhu Tang and Mu did not hesitate at all.
But Sherlock firmly refused to leave with the team, and once again refused the protection and companionship of others.
He had to stay alone in Paradise City until the last group of refugees left. Otherwise, if they all left, there was a possibility that these people would be kidnapped by evil slave traders, or they might become confused and even kill each other because they couldn't find anyone.
According to Sherlock, he possessed the protection of the fragment of the Water Icosahedron, possessing supreme power over the element of water. Even if the Abyssal Celestial Celestial descended, it wouldn't necessarily harm him, and the city's supplies were more than sufficient for him.
He would defend the city alone until Aiwass came back to pick him up.
Lily, however, agreed to the request without hesitation. Ever since arriving in Anxi, she had felt an inexplicable throbbing. The thought of participating in such a dangerous operation had actually calmed her down.
Ligeia chose to go to the harpy's nest, intending to use the identity of "the only winged person in the world" to take these stubborn and barbaric guys away from their precious nest and seek refuge in the west.
Because Ligeia did not obey the Red of Disaster, her fifth-level power of the Path of Authority has been temporarily blocked. However, she still has the newly acquired sixth-level ability of the "Ascended Sorcerer" that transcends the Path, so it is not too dangerous for her to act alone.
——Even if there was no need to pay any price and it was just nominal submission, Ligeia still chose to refuse.
This Great Arbiter, once blessed by the Crown Master, angrily rebuked the Red of Calamity three times in her dreams, rejecting the olive branch offered by the new Pillar God. The price she paid was the complete abolition of her Dragon Blood Laws... Had she not gained the power of the Winged One through the Ascended Warlock, she would have been annihilated by the enraged Pillar God into a mere mortal.
but……
In addition to these comrades who had fought side by side, there was another person whom Aiwass had never thought of, who volunteered to participate in this extremely dangerous adventure with a life-or-death experience -
Haina.
Update completed! First, a health update, even though this one is already nearly 4,000 words...
Also, I slept for a full ten and a half hours today, and my energy is recovering! Or maybe I'm just resting because I feel like I'm going to die (
Then there is the chapter recommendation for my friend’s new book——
(End of this chapter)
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