Free Web NovelChapter 1423: Chapter 529: You Shen Ritual (Part 3)
A flood of questions, all talking at once, but Zhou Xuan didn’t say a word. Instead, Zhao Wuya got angry and shouted, "You’ve got your damn microphones all up in my face; how’s the gentleman supposed to speak?"
The flashlights dazzled the reporters’ eyes, making people see double. The long and short lenses all aimed at Zhao Wuya,
and Zhou Xuan looked and laughed — if these were real spears and knives, Ya Zi would have been stabbed into a pincushion by now.
"Who let out the secret of my whereabouts with such a long tongue?"
Zhou Xuan sighed deeply.
"It’s tough being a person, even tougher being a celebrity, and being a top-tier star is nearly impossible."
Finally, under Zhao Wuya’s stern protest, those long and short cameras turned their heads and aimed at Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan smiled, raised his right arm, and said, "Due to time constraints, I can’t answer all your questions individually. As for whether Ping Shui Prefecture will follow in the footsteps of other states and experience weird events, I just want to say one thing."
"Justice will prevail over evil!"
A mere four words, yet they were like a calming pill, causing the crowd welcoming Zhou Xuan to erupt in thunderous applause.
Then, at this very moment,
the entire station darkened.
At this time, daylight was bright, yet the ever-extending branches of the Ancestor Tree covered it like a dome, concealing the daylight.
The welcoming crowd felt their hearts suspend with worry; not seeing light makes people anxious.
But Zhou Xuan spoke to comfort them: "Folks, don’t be afraid. This is the Ancestor Tree of Zhou Family’s Troupe, the Ancestor Tree of the Nuo God."
The willows formed a canopy, concealing the daylight,
and behind the crowd, torches began to light up one by one.
"Woohoo!"
"Hey yo."
Two bursts of ghastly sounds suddenly arose,
followed by the sound of cowbells ringing.
With a mysterious folk-witch-like voice, Zhou Lingyi shouted brightly, "Ping Shui Nuo has emerged."
Hundreds of people wearing Nuoxi masks, dressed like Evil Ghosts, began to dance with very strange steps behind the crowd.
Someone shouted,
"This is Zhou Family’s Troupe’s Nuoxi, they’re performing Nuoxi to welcome the gentleman."
With that shout, the crowd tactfully stepped aside to make a path,
Zhou Lingyi, barefoot, dressed in black witch robes, bowed his head and led the performers around.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The playmasters, like Evil Ghosts, gathered before Zhou Xuan, continuously dancing, and during the dance, they would occasionally kneel on one knee to show their devotion.
Soon after, more ghastly cries "Awoo!" a bamboo palanquin was brought forward before Zhou Xuan.
"Zhou Family’s Troupe, Wild Ghosts and Spirits welcoming the Nuo God."
In Nuoxi, all the actors dressed as Wild Ghosts, though some were also folk deities, but whether ghost or god, in front of the true Nuo God, they dared only call themselves "Wild Ghosts and Spirits."
Zhou Xuan knew this was Zhou Family’s Troupe’s highest greeting ceremony; the masters in the troupe regarded him as the Nuo God.
He unhesitatingly got on the palanquin.
Seeing her brother on the palanquin, Zhou Lingyi used a nail to cut her palm and sprinkled blood forward.
Where the blood fell, it was devoured completely by some invisible spirits.
Beyond the mysterious aura of a folk witch, Zhou Lingyi’s gaze and expression had an added divinity.
"Divination, Divine Travel."
Zhou Lingyi seemed to mutter to herself, but this murmur was very powerful, and after she finished speaking, all the playmasters shivered involuntarily, their bodies swaying slightly.
Once the trembling ceased, they seemed to transform; regardless of their step technique or form, they became charged with a wild, ghostly energy.
And the appearance of the entire Zhou Family’s Troupe, as seen by the bystanders around, changed too.
What they saw were not individual performers anymore; they saw hundreds of gigantic "ghosts" several feet high, constantly dancing.
In their dances was a pervasive aura of fear and eeriness, as well as an overwhelmingly powerful pressure; this was "Divine Travel," the God-raising Tour Mansion’s Divine Travel ceremony.
In the Divine Travel ceremony, amidst a crowd of giant ghosts, was the Nuo God with a constantly changing face—Zhou Xuan.
The onlookers needed only one glance at the Nuo God to feel as if they had trespassed, bowing down quickly to seek the deity’s forgiveness.
The entire Zhou Family’s Troupe engaged in divination collectively; at this moment, they were no longer human—they were ghosts, spirits, and also gods.
"Ring, ring, ring!"
Zhou Lingyi kept shaking the cowbell, the chimes reminding people ahead to step aside and not disturb the Divine Travel.
Even the elite of the Nine Mansions like Lord Jian dared not follow too closely, keeping his distance from the Zhou Family’s Troupe members.
"Woohoo."
"Hey ya ya"
On this day, the chilling cries of the giant ghosts echoed endlessly in Ping Shui Prefecture.
Lord Jian followed the Divine Travel procession, passing through several intersections, and unexpectedly ran into Lord Jiu.
"Lord Jiu," Lord Jian greeted him.
Lord Jiu, hands in his sleeves, said, "This collective divination Nuoxi, first time I’ve seen it in my life. Truly worthy of Zhou Family’s Troupe’s highest ceremony, quite a spectacle."
His eyes were full of envy.
Lord Jian, too, was very envious. He was good in many ways, but he had one quirk—he loved grandeur.
But what spectacle in the world could compare to "Nuo God’s Divination, the Parade of the Hundred Demons"?
Seeing through what Lord Jian was thinking, Lord Jiu jested, "Old Arrow, once I, Old Jiu, work a few more years, earn some money, maybe hire the Zhou Family’s Troupe to arrange a set for you?"
"Nonsense, is this a matter of money? If I’m not of Zhou Family’s Nuo God’s lineage, no amount of money would allow me to conduct a Divine Travel ceremony, otherwise—I might just lose my life."
Lord Jian declined Lord Jiu’s "kindness."
"Old Arrow, looks like you do know what’s what."
Lord Jiu laughed and said, "This morning, Zhou Family’s Troupe’s ’Fangxiang Style’ divine card moved, and the Nuo God descended with a revelation, instructing them to welcome the gentleman back to the troupe with a Divine Travel ceremony."
"Oh, so it was the Nuo God who leaked the gentleman’s itinerary?" Lord Jian was a bit surprised.
Lord Jiu said, "This Nuoxi requires extensive preparation. Zhou Family started early in the morning, and with so many people and so many mouths, likely someone talked about the gentleman’s return to Ping Shui Prefecture.
Then, one told ten, ten told a hundred, and this massive crowd naturally gathered to welcome the gentleman!"
Lord Jian nodded, saying, "So that’s how it is, I see."
"Let’s go have a couple of drinks, talk about heading to Mingjiang Prefecture to look after Sister Cui, but here I am, back in Ping Shui Prefecture first." Lord Jiu said.
"I’m not going with you, I need to guard Sister Cui."
"Come on, that Divine Travel ceremony, hundreds have engaged in divination, and they’re all possessed by ’something.’ Who dares touch Sister Cui at this time?"
"But..."
"No buts—Yun Ziliang, Li Changxun, including the gentleman himself, combine them and even Old Arrow wouldn’t dare, not us two as well."
"Come, come, let’s have drinks." Unresistingly, Lord Jiu dragged Lord Jian away.
...
As Zhou Family’s Troupe’s Nuoxi danced close to Zhou Family’s Troupe’s place, the Divine Travel ceremony finally ended,
and the collective divination of Zhou Family’s Troupe had almost completely subsided.
The divinity faded from Zhou Lingyi’s face; she stopped the cowbell and approached Zhou Xuan’s palanquin to ask, "Brother, returning home with such a welcome from the troupe, was it grand enough?"
"A bit too grand."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "I wonder who was talkative enough to leak my whereabouts. If I catch them, they’ll be tied up and paraded around Ping Shui Prefecture for three days!"
"..." Zhou Lingyi.
Zhou Lingyi winked and said, "Getting closer to Zhou Family’s Troupe, you better not say that; let me whisper something to you—it was the divine card of the Nuo God that revealed its spirit, saying you would return today."
"Ah!?"
"The Divine Travel ceremony was also initiated by a revelation from the Nuo God in my dream."
"..."
Zhou Xuan: "So I’ve been cursing the Zhou ancestors all the way."
"Come on, there are folks waiting for you in the troupe." Zhou Lingyi said.
"Who’s waiting for me?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"The great benevolent one of Ping Shui Prefecture, Lady Lianhua, of course." Zhou Lingyi replied.
