readbooksol Chapter 512 - 285: The Strange Ghost Gate Festival of the Array Kingdom and the Evolution of the Leaf Throughout the Ages
Chapter 512 - 285: The Strange Ghost Gate Festival of the Array Kingdom and the Evolution of the Leaf Throughout the Ages
In the dimly lit dormitory hall, the scent of alcohol permeated the air, and the foxes sang and danced, filling the atmosphere with a sense of joy.
Chongchong Fox and Peony Fox huddled beside their master, leaning on his shoulder.
"Eek eek eek!"
Neither of them attended the celebration; instead, they stayed by their master’s side, acting as temporary secretaries, ready to follow his orders!
"Ooh ooh ooh!"
Peony Fox had drunk too much and staggered, letting the cup slip from her hand, almost falling over.
Swish!
Bai Mo’s arm wrapped around Peony Fox’s shoulder, caught her cup, and held her in his embrace.
"Hey, is this how you act as a secretary?"
Bai Mo grinned, taking the cup from Chongchong Fox on his left, embracing his two drunken disciples.
He saw that most of the disciples in the hall had already collapsed, sleeping soundly in a drunken stupor.
A small number still held their cups, swaying as they moved.
Luckily, these little ones are all plump and roly-poly, with a fur coat, so they’re not afraid of cold or falls.
Bai Mo smiled and continued reading the documents.
[... Ghost Festival is Array Kingdom’s most important holiday. The entire nation worships the Ghost Gate...]
The most important?
Similar to the modern world’s Spring Festival?
[... As the Ghost Festival approaches, any disputes between the other eight countries and Array Kingdom are temporarily set aside...]
[... Envoys from the eight countries will gather in Array Kingdom to present their gifts and jointly worship the Ghost Gate...]
"Oh?
"The priority is so high?"
Bai Mo clicked his tongue; he didn’t really understand the cultural environment of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty or its social concepts, so he couldn’t comment on this matter.
[... The Water Lotus Palace Master of Sword Kingdom had a vengeance for killing his father and stealing his wife against Marquis Shanyan of Array Kingdom. They fought fiercely for one hundred and thirty days, countless immortals fell, and the battle was relentless, but with the arrival of Ghost Festival, both sides temporarily rested, and renewed hostilities after the festival ended...]
Ah?
Bai Mo didn’t quite understand if revenge for the father’s murder and for the stolen wife were considered heavy grudges in the Ancient Immortal Dynasty, but could such matters be set aside because of the Ghost Festival?
A pile of documents was quickly read through; some were about personal lives, some obscure remedies, some etiquette scripts, but there were no more documents related to the Ghost Festival.
By this time, the hall had quieted down significantly, with only a dozen or so foxes still drinking and singing.
"Drinking so much won’t harm their bodies, right?"
Bai Mo furrowed his brows, his divine sense dispersed like the wind, observing the disciples’ physical conditions...
"Uh... indeed, there’s nothing wrong."
The alcohol content within the disciples’ bodies was not much!
In other words, they were drunk not because they consumed a lot, but because they had a poor tolerance for alcohol; they’re all lightweight drinkers!
Bai Mo chuckled and suddenly remembered something, opened his tablet, and looked up the recorded calendar of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty.
"This calendar, also based on the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, the phases of the moon, and changes in tides and temperatures, is not so different from the present world’s calendar."
He found the Ghost Festival on this calendar and blinked, converting it.
"Equivalent to August 28th in the present world?
"The present world’s... Earth Element Festival?"
Bai Mo clicked his tongue.
How can this be related?
The Ancient Immortal Dynasty’s Ghost Festival and the present world’s Earth Element Festival seem to sound related, as they’re on the same day in the calendar.
"They come from two different civilizations, could there be any connection?
"But why was the Ghost Festival time set in the Ancient Immortal Dynasty?
"Why is the time for the Earth Element Festival set in the present world?
"Perhaps the reasons for setting the time for these two festivals are the same?"
Bai Mo put down the tablet, yawned, lay down, and prepared to sleep.
Only to see a dozen disciples who hadn’t gotten drunk eagerly rushing over to the bed, either jumping into their master’s arms, running to his side, or using their big tails to help cover his feet.
Each one of them snuggled up to their master proudly.
"Eek eek eek!"
"Ooh ooh ooh!"
Today, those who drank the most fiercely and stayed up till the end without falling are them!
It would be fitting for them to sleep with their master!
...
In a dream, a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain.
Inside the room, a faint light flickered like a bean.
Huang Sitong woke the two Ancient Immortal Masters one by one.
"Master!
"Quick, wake up!
"I brought Earth Element Cakes for you!"
The two Ancient Immortals sat up groggily, rubbing their eyes, seeing their disciple sitting by the table, unwrapping a package of oil paper revealing the flaky pastries inside.
"The present world is soon to reach Earth Element Festival.
"This is the traditional food for Earth Element Festival, called Earth Element Cake."
The two Ancient Immortals came over, each took a piece to eat.
"Mmm, mung bean filling!"
"Not bad!"
"What kind of festival is the Earth Element Festival?"
Huang Sitong explained, then saw the Flowerpot Ancient Immortal counting on his fingers.
"Huh?
"Isn’t that just Array Kingdom’s Ghost Festival?
"If you align it with the sun, moon, and star tides calendar, it’s basically the same!"
The two Ancient Immortals happily ate the pastries, explaining the Earth Element Festival to their disciple.
Huang Sitong listened in amazement.
"... Why is Array Kingdom the largest during Earth Element Festival?
"Why can’t you attack them during the Earth Element Festival?
"Is there any peculiarity about the Earth Element Festival?"
The Flowerpot Ancient Immortal shook his head.
"These matters... nobody really knows why.
"Anyway, it’s been like this for thousands and millions of years.
"It can be said to be a taboo, or perhaps a tradition.
"It might involve some secrets of Array Kingdom?
"In the numerous historical years of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty, there are countless strange and bizarre taboos and traditions, nothing surprising about it."
...
"Feels like I haven’t been back in a long time."
Outside, the sun shone brightly, as Bai Mo returned to Immortal Grass Building at West State University with Fang Xiaoyu.
Entering the office, the sense of familiarity was profound.
Fang Xiaoyu pulled out a cloth from her bag, about to wipe the desk, then her eyes suddenly sparkled.
"Wow, someone’s been helping us clean all along, the room is still tidy, hehe."