Chapter 1015 Father, Let“s Celebrate The New Year Too
Mag told the story of Nian in a gentle tone. It was different from the usual fairy tales, but Amy was still very intrigued.
“The Nian got scared by the lights and sounds of the firecrackers and fled. From then on, on every New Year’s Eve, people would paste red couplets at home, light up firecrackers, and make sure their houses were brightly lit, and they would stay up throughout the night. That is how this important festival of celebrating the New Year[1] came about. No matter where they were, people would always try to return home for a reunion dinner to celebrate the New Year together.”
“Reunion dinner!” Amy’s eyes lit up. She looked at Mag expectantly, and said, “Does staying up throughout the night mean that the dinner lasts until daybreak?”
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling also peeked its little head out and looked at Mag.
“Erm…” Mag was slightly taken aback. He smiled and nodded. “You can think of it that way.”
“Then it must be super blissful!” Amy looked at Mag longingly, and said, “Father, let’s celebrate New Year too. Let’s also have a reunion dinner, the kind that lasts till daybreak.”
“If Little Amy wants to celebrate New Year, then we shall celebrate it.” Mag nodded with a smile. He thought for a while, and continued, “But we would have to wait for around a month before it’s New Year.”
“Father said that when we celebrate New Year, everyone will reunite. Then what about Mother? Will she come back? Would she be celebrating the New Year with us?” Amy looked at Mag expectantly.
Mag felt his heart tighten a little as he met Amy’s gaze. Although she had seen Irina previously at Rodu, they had only spent a short amount of time together, and Amy did not know that she was her mother.
The situation in the Elf Tribe was still unknown. He was not powerful enough, and Irina could not bear to leave her pitiful people, so it was still unknown when Amy could acknowledge her and their family could reunite.
He struggled inside to answer that question.
“I am very happy as long as I can be with Father.” Amy seemed to have noticed Mag’s hesitation, and she smiled sweetly at him before closing her eyes obediently as she said, “Goodnight, Father.”
Mag looked at the obedient child and felt uneasy. He stood up and kissed Amy gently on her forehead, saying, “Goodnight, Little Amy.”
Ugly Duckling buried its head back under the covers and fell quickly asleep as it held Amy’s little hand.
“Power, how worrying.” Mag sighed. He left quietly and went downstairs to put on his ap.r.o.n again. He closed the door to the kitchen and continued trying to figure out the way to make beggar’s chicken.
…
The Wind Forest.
In a dim, large hall, a middle-aged elf looked worryingly at Borg, who was sitting on an elevated platform, and anxiously said, “Master, Irina already gathered hundreds of rebelling elves outside the Wind Forest at the southwestern corner to form a rebel army. In addition, there were still elves joining her over the past few days. They are getting larger day by day. What should we do?”
“It’s just a rebel army formed by a mere few hundred lowly elves. What’s so surprising about that?” Borg smiled stiffly. “But this is a great chance to get rid of Irina legitimately. Just let her continue for a while more. The day she starts invading the Wind Forest is when she and those fools meet their death.”
“But High Priestess Helena…”
“That old hag should be even more anxious than us. She was the one who had been attempting to unite the Elf Tribe, and whatever Irina is doing now is akin to giving her a slap in her face. I want to see how long she can put up with this. She would still have to come to me sooner or later. Jek, jek…” A chilly laugh echoed around the hall.
…
“High Priestess, there are another 30 elves who joined the rebel army. Other than slaves, there are six who came from n.o.ble families.” A figure rushed into Starry Cave.
Helena’s face was as cold as ice. She coldly said, “Have you found out who they are?”
“The masters of the families are already kneeling outside the cave, seeking forgiveness. Should I let them in?”
“No. Give them 50 beatings each as a warning, then lock their eldest son up in jail. Tell them if it happens again, they would have no more heirs.
“Spread the word. One rebellion and the entire family suffers!”
“Yes!” That elf left quickly.
“Irina, are you trying to ruin the queen’s and my efforts over the centuries?” Helena looked up at the brightest star in the sky and coldly said, “Although I brought you up, if you’re really bent on doing this, then I can only kill you.”
…
Outside the Wind Forest, in a canyon at the southwestern side.
The basic shape of a fortress was already formed.
A thin silhouette stood at the highest point of the fortress as she looked out quietly over the Wind Forest. Her white dress danced in the wind, and even the night could not mask her beauty.
“Princess, the three layers of defense are completed. However, I’m afraid they would not be able to stop 10th-tier intruders,” a young elf said politely to her back. His eyes were burning with admiration.
In the short time span of a few days, a rebel army was gathered outside the Wind Forest, and there were still endless streams of elves rus.h.i.+ng over from the Wind Forest.
She exuded with an aura that would make one revere her. Her speech about freedom was an epiphany for many elves. They were not afraid even if they were to face death.
“If we have 10th-tier intruders, I will deal with them,” Irina said calmly.
“Yes,” that elf replied and left quickly.
The situation is better than expected. A free spirit will never be restrained. Wait for a while more, and it will be time to attack. Irina smiled. After a while, she turned towards the south. Little Amy, give me a while more. We will soon be able to be together.
…
“Wow! The world has really turned white!”
Amy woke up the moment the sky brightened up. She walked to the window and drew the curtains apart to see the world covered in white.
“It really is.” Mag got up and walked to the window to take a look. A thick layer of snow covered the world. On top of trees, roofs, statues… it was white everywhere. The snow had acc.u.mulated to a thickness of 10 centimeters over the night, and it looked just like a world from a fairy tale.
“Meow, meow~” Ugly Duckling leaned on the window excitedly as well.
“Father, I want to play with the snow!” Amy said as she turned to look at Mag.
“Sure, but you must be warmly dressed and you must wear your gloves.” Mag nodded his head lovingly. He put on a thick jacket for Amy and helped her put on a pair of waterproof woolen gloves before he let her go out to play.
Ugly Duckling followed behind Amy eagerly and fell deep into the snow. After a while, it managed to struggle free and fell right into another pile of snow.
Curtis brought Kyle over to the restaurant to line up early in the morning.
[1] The word “Nian” is also “year”, and celebrating the new year, “Guo Nian”, is also literally “pa.s.sing the Nian”.