Chapter 279
Chapter 279
Night gradually deepened.
Standing at the mansion’s gate, Xia Ximo looked southwest, where lights glittered and voices clamored.
By comparison, Prince Wu’s Mansion was very quiet.
The princess consort’s funeral had only just ended, so festive decorations were inappropriate. Only plain couplets had been hung anew at the entrance, while unadorned paper lanterns hung inside.
No wonder Zhao Wan had wanted them to stay for the New Year. In such surroundings, how could she not be reminded of her grief?
Xia Ximo was about to head southwest when slow hoofbeats sounded behind her.
Turning, she saw Ren Fengjue driving a carriage toward her. He called out clearly, “Liangzhou City is much larger than Prince Wu’s Mansion. You can’t cover it all on foot.”
He stopped before her.
“Miss Mo, please.”
Xia Ximo said, “I’m going to find a soul. Having you along will be inconvenient.”
Ren Fengjue lifted the curtain for her with a smile. “I’ll only be your driver. If you find the soul, I’ll stay away.”
After a brief hesitation, Xia Ximo said no more and stepped inside.
The carriage traveled slowly along the streets to the southwest. Before long, the faint smell of firecrackers drifted through the air.
A group of children played in the street, their laughter as pleasing as silver bells.
The closer they drew to the main street, the louder the surrounding voices became.
Decorative lanterns glimmered along the street, and visitors thronged it. There were many people strolling and many vendors selling their wares.
Everywhere they looked was bustling.
Ren Fengjue said, “It seems New Year’s Eve is lively everywhere.”
After all, it was the last day of the old year.
Bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new always gave people much to hope for.
The carriage paused briefly at the street entrance. When Xia Ximo made no reply, it continued forward.
Just then, the sound of gongs and drums approached from afar, accompanied by shouts. “The Holy Son is bestowing blessings!”
Xia Ximo frowned slightly, and Ren Fengjue stopped the carriage.
They both looked ahead and saw a crowd of townspeople surrounding a large sedan chair carried by eight bearers, coming toward them.
The man seated upright upon it wore a reddish-gold robe, a red cloak, and a bronze mask. He looked imposing.
Behind him stood a man with a black gauze veil over his face, still carrying a sword case. It was the driver from earlier that day.
The eight bearers also wore painted masks, though theirs looked rather hideous.
A closer look revealed that every face painted on the masks represented a fierce deity.
Ren Fengjue remembered seeing such masks in ritual dances at palace banquets in past years, performed to drive away evil and disease.
But by having “deities” carry his chair, this man was clearly placing himself above all the gods.
With the Holy Son’s arrival, the streets and alleys were instantly packed, just as they had been earlier that day.
Ren Fengjue’s carriage was caught in the middle.
He told Xia Ximo inside, “It seems we’ll be delayed for a while.”
Xia Ximo lifted the carriage curtain to look across as well.
As more people gathered around, the Holy Son had the bearers stop.
Seeing this, those below began kneeling of their own accord.
The once-noisy street fell silent in an instant. The atmosphere was solemn, yet eerie.
Then a woman carrying a swaddled infant pushed tearfully to the front. Holding up her child, she called to the man on the chair, “Holy Son, please save my child!”
The seated man turned to look at her, then reached out and gently touched the child’s brow.
The next instant, the infant began crying loudly.
Weeping with joy, the woman knelt and struck her forehead firmly against the ground several times.
“My child is well! My child is well!”
Someone in the crowd immediately praised him. “The Holy Son brings the dead back to life. He truly is a god!”
“Having the Three Holy Sons in Liangzhou City is a blessing for our Northern Border!”
“The Three Holy Sons are true gods descended to earth! Protect our Great Qi!”
Listening to these deluded cries, Ren Fengjue felt anger amid his shock.
Had he not come to Liangzhou City himself, he would never have known what a murky mess this place had become!
The cries grew louder. Then an elderly man at the back of the crowd called out, “Holy Son, please save my granddaughter. An evil being has possessed her!”
At the sound, the Holy Son beckoned, and the crowd parted of its own accord.
The old man led forward a girl who looked no more than five or six.
Her eyes were vacant, yet an eerie smile wholly unsuited to her age lingered at the corners of her mouth.
She did indeed look as though she were haunted by an evil being.
After one glance, the Holy Son gave a brief command. “Bestow the lash.”
One of the bearers immediately drew the long whip at his waist and struck the little girl.
Ren Fengjue’s heart clenched at the sight. He nearly went forward to stop it, but Xia Ximo gave him a light tug.
At that single stroke, however, the little girl fell to her knees and began vomiting a great deal of black liquid…
The crowd gasped and backed away.
The Holy Son commanded, “Destroy it.”
Another man stepped forward, took a pair of iron rulers from his waist, and stabbed forcefully into the black liquid.
Strange blue-green smoke seeped from it, slowly dissipating.
The little girl’s eyes gradually cleared. She threw herself into the old man’s arms. “Grandpa, I’m scared…”
Patting her back, the old man hastily drew her down with him to kneel and bow before the Holy Son.
“Quick, kneel and thank the Holy Son. He saved your life! He is a true immortal!”
The little girl timidly looked at the Holy Son, as though trying to see what he looked like. Then she answered without fully understanding, “Thank you, immortal…”
The crowd erupted into praise and flattery once more.
Then the Holy Son suddenly spread both arms. “Bestow blessings.”
Great flakes of gold leaf scattered over the crowd like falling snow.
Just as outside Kaifu Temple that day, the people immediately began scrambling for them like madmen.
At that moment, the Holy Son gave the attendant behind him a quiet instruction and handed him something.
The attendant nodded. Then, using his lightness skills, he swept over the crowd and came straight to Ren Fengjue’s carriage.
He inclined his head slightly to Ren Fengjue in greeting, then said, “The Holy Son says that, out of respect for Princess Fenghua, he wishes to give something to the young lady in this carriage.”
Ren Fengjue was startled by those words.
Xia Ximo lifted the curtain and cast a cold glance at the man.
The attendant presented an object with both hands. “This is what the young lady is looking for.”
Xia Ximo was surprised too. At a glance, she could see a soul concealed inside.
If she was not mistaken, it should be Xiaoyun’s soul.
She took it directly and asked, “How does he know I’m looking for this?”
The attendant replied, “The Holy Son is a true god. Naturally, he can foresee all things under heaven.”
“He also said that he and the young lady will meet again.”
With that, he stepped back and, as lightly as he had come, swept over the crowd to return behind the Holy Son.
Beneath the bright moon, across the frenzied crowd, the Holy Son looked toward them amid the people’s adoration. His bearing suggested that he truly believed himself a god high in the heavens…