Chapter 341: Bright Flower Festival (Part 1)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Although she still did not know Qian Ye’s ident.i.ty, from Ah Gui’s att.i.tude, it seemed that he was not a bad person.
As for the reason why he was hiding his ident.i.ty, Huanhuan planned to slowly investigate it when she returned.
The three of them returned to the fruit tree, picked up the fruits, and returned the way they had come.
They met Bai Di and Xue Ling on the way.
Bai Di and Xue Ling saw Huanhuan’s message in the s.p.a.ce and deliberately put down their work to pick her up.
!!
After returning to the Divine Wood City, Ah Gui and Qian Ye found an excuse and slipped away early.
Huanhuan and Bai Di Xueling carried the fruits to Xue Hui and gave them to her.
Coincidentally, they were lacking some fruits for the bonfire party that would take place the day after tomorrow. Xue Hui picked up some fruits and asked, “I heard that you and Ah Gui went to the forest to play. How was it?”
Huanhuan smiled bitterly. “Don’t mention it. That guy went to poke a beehive and triggered a large swarm of bees. He scared me to death.”
Xue Hui quickly asked, “Are you injured?”
“No.”
“That’s good.” Xue Hui heaved a sigh of relief as she reminded her, “Don’t tell Lord Bi Huan about this, or Ah Gui will definitely be taught another lesson.”
Huanhuan felt that Xue Hui was a little too protective of Ah Gui. If a child made a mistake, the parent would definitely have to step forward to discipline them. Otherwise, they would only be more unrestrained when they grew up.
However, these were all family matters. As an outsider, there was no need for her to get involved.
She nodded. “Okay.”
Huanhuan thought of Qian Ye and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know who Qian Ye is?”
Xue Hui was stunned. “Qian Ye? You’ve seen him?”
“That’s right. When Ah Gui invited me to pick fruits with him, he also invited Qian Ye. We went as a group of three, but I have a feeling this child is not simple.”
Xue Hui’s expression became complicated. “You didn’t say anything overboard when you were with Qian Ye, did you?”
Huanhuan thought back. “No.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
“So he—”
“You’ll know Qian Ye’s ident.i.ty the day after tomorrow.” Xue Hui paused and frowned. “Ah Gui actually brought Qian Ye out too. This guy is getting more and more daring! Just see how I deal with him later!”
Huanhuan did not know if Xue Hui would really lay a hand on Ah Gui.
Anyway, the next morning, Huanhuan suddenly heard a knock on the door. She ran to open it and found a bowl full of honey outside.
She picked up the honey and looked around. There was no one in sight.
Huanhuan carried the honey into the house and gently placed it on the table.
Xue Ling leaned over and asked with interest, “Where did the honey come from?”
“I don’t know. Someone knocked just now. When I opened the door, I saw this bowl of honey on the ground outside.”
Xue Ling immediately became vigilant. “This honey was given to you by the male beast, right? He wants to woo you?”
Huanhuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Don’t be so sensitive, okay? I’m guessing that this honey is from Ah Gui.”
When Ah Gui carried the hive home yesterday, he must have dug out all the honey in it. Such a big bowl was almost a third of the amount.
If Huanhuan’s guess was right, Ah Gui must have divided the honey into three portions. One for him, one for Qian Ye, and the last one for her.
She did not expect this awkward guy to be quite loyal. He even knew to share good things with his friends.
Hearing Ah Gui’s name, Xue Ling immediately understood. “It’s him…”
He was not Huanhuan’s type at all. He did not have the potential to be his love rival.
For lunch, Bai Di coated the sweet fruits in honey. They were so sweet that Huanhuan felt as though her teeth were about to fall out.
After eating two, she couldn’t stand it anymore. The rest of the sweet fruits went into Xue Ling’s stomach.
This guy wasn’t picky. He would accept anything delicious.
…
On the day of the Bright Flower Festival, all the flowers in Divine Wood City bloomed.
On the lush green trees, flowers bloomed brightly and cl.u.s.tered together, forming colorful clouds. It was as beautiful as a fairy tale dream.
Huanhuan saw so many flowers for the first time. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, “They’re so beautiful!”
Today, all the beasts in the Divine Wood City came out. They wore beautiful new clothes and danced on the gra.s.s, giving each other food.
The male beasts would wear a laurel wreath made of gra.s.s and leaves on their heads. The females would braid their hair and weave colorful flowers into it.
They communicated in song and dance. If they liked someone, the male beasts would give their laurel wreaths to the female.
Huanhuan wore Little Lotus on her head. In view of Little Lotus’ aversion to other flowers, Huanhuan did not intend to wear other flowers on her head. Moreover, she did not like to wear too many flowers on her head either.
Bai Di and Xue Ling were beside her. Even so, she received many laurel wreaths from male beasts along the way.
Huanhuan politely declined all of them.
She’d expected Bai Di and Xue Ling to be jealous, but they seemed to have expected it. Instead of being surprised, they were happy.
Huanhuan didn’t understand. “Why do you look so happy when I’m being pursued by so many male beasts? Aren’t you afraid that you’ll be chased away?”
Bai Di smiled. “It just shows how good you are. Of course, we’ll be happy for you.”
Xue Ling chuckled lazily. “As for whether we’ll be chased away… Heh, do you really think the two of us are pushovers? If you’re really interested in any male beast, we’ll immediately beat him up until he can’t take care of himself.”
Huanhuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re too arrogant.”
“It’s a duel between male beasts. It’s fair.”
There was an important highlight during this festival—the blessing.
The so-called blessing was a sacrifice led by the temple and presided over by the high priest.
It was a much smaller ritual than the sacrificial ceremony in the City of 10,000 Beasts.
The ceremony was held under the divine tree. All the beasts in the city could attend the ceremony. Huanhuan and the others also went.
There were many flowers and fruits on the gra.s.s under the tree, as well as a basin of clear water.
The high priest walked slowly to the tree under everyone’s gaze. He held a dark piece of wood in both hands and faced the divine tree. He bowed respectfully and began to recite a prayer.
He spoke slower and with a very unique cadence.
No one understood, but they listened attentively to the high priest’s words. Their expressions were pious and serious.
Looking at this scene, Huanhuan couldn’t help but remember the dream the night before.
The beasts who were kneeling in their dreams also had this pious expression.
Ahead of them, the divine tree towered into the sky.
The general situation was extremely similar.
The biggest difference was that there was no dancing girl under the tree. Only the high priest was chanting the prayer over and over again.
Unknowingly, Huanhuan seemed to understand the general meaning of those words.
“My blood in exchange for your life.
“Exchange my flesh for your body.
“Exchange my eyes for your soul.”
…