581: Chapter 581 Look, she's in a hurry again.

(I didn't mean to skip the update yesterday; I went home, and when I returned, my house was flooded. My two cats were fighting and broke the faucet, so their food bowls drifted all the way to the living room.)

The welcoming procession was grand and imposing, marching all the way toward the neighboring town.

The people in the town had already been waiting for a long time.

As soon as the procession reached the town entrance, they saw incense tables set up in front of every household, with people burning incense and kowtowing.

The men, women, and children of the town had all come out, crowding both sides of the street, scrambling to kneel and bow toward the large, curtained sedan chair.

There were even Spirit Beasts from the mountains following docilely at the end of the procession, step by step.

Seeing this sight, the people of the second town were all dumbfounded, and immediately erupted into even more devout kowtowing and cheering.

The crowd following them grew like a snowball, gathering more and more people, and soon became so large that the end could not be seen.

However, there were always some people who, from the bottom of their hearts, did not believe in any of this.

In their eyes, this welcoming of the gods was just an old custom passed down by their ancestors, merely for show.

The so-called gods were even more nonexistent.

They stood far away with their arms crossed, watching with a hint of mockery on their lips.

However, just at this moment.

They saw that scene.

From the direction they had come, out of the mountains, a massive swarm of wild beasts surged forth.

Foxes, rabbits, roe deer, muntjacs, wolves, deer... filling the mountains and plains, countless in number, emerging from the forests in all directions, surging toward the procession.

Leading them was a snow-white deer, its demeanor calm, guiding the endless herd of beasts behind it at a steady pace.

These mountain creatures, which should have fled upon seeing humans and preyed upon one another, were now as docile as if they had been driven, quietly following behind the large sedan chair, step by step.

One mile.

Two miles.

The herd of beasts followed the sedan chair, walking for stretch after stretch, showing no intention of dispersing at all.

The mocking smiles gradually faded from the faces of those people.

Taming one or two beasts might not be difficult.

But to have these thousands of birds and beasts of all kinds bow their heads and follow in worship—

Is this something human power could accomplish?

Just as their hearts were wavering, a cry came from far outside the crowd.

It was a woman, supporting her son who had been terminally ill but was miraculously able to walk today, sobbing and thanking the divine grace.

There were not a few who, like her, couldn't help but rush out.

Some were long afflicted by illness, some had sought children for many years without success, and some had met with misfortune in their families and were at their wit's end.

Carrying their respective sufferings and hopes, they rushed desperately toward the large sedan chair.

Most were stopped by the Divine Guards guarding the perimeter.

But among them, there were a few who, like that woman, received a red date, weeping with joy and bowing again and again toward the sedan chair.

No one knew by what criteria the person inside the curtained sedan chair had chosen them.

Others simply assumed it was the favor of the gods, a matter of fate.

Only Qin Wangchuan himself knew.

Who was truly suffering with no one to turn to, and who was just joining in the fun and being greedy for a lucky charm—those gazes were clearly visible in his eyes, and nothing could be hidden from him.

Just like that, the grand procession, after touring two small towns, finally returned to Liuxi Town as night fell.

The town entrance was already crowded with people waiting.

When they saw the returning procession, everyone gasped.

It was no longer the same scale as when it had left.

The crowd snaked out from outside the town, continuous and endless, with no end in sight, filling the entire official road.

The Spirit Beasts from the mountains followed at the end, quiet and docile.

Torches were like a long dragon, and incense smoke was like a sea of clouds.

Such momentum, not to mention Liuxi Town, even in the hundred years that the three towns had been holding the welcoming of the gods, there had never been a time that could compare to tonight.

Everyone vaguely felt that this year, this god was truly somewhat different.

The clamor lasted until the second half of the night.

Once the midnight bell rang, this grand welcoming of the gods came to an end.

Following the rules, Qin Wangchuan was finally able to remove the luxurious divine robes and change back into his regular clothes.

In the center of the square, a bonfire was burning fiercely.

The moon-white divine robe was thrown into the fire.

This was to send the god back to his place, to be welcomed again next year.

The tongues of fire licked the fabric until it disappeared.

Qin Wangchuan stood in the distance, watching quietly.

The thing that girl had stitched for so long, stitch by stitch, had turned into a pile of ashes in the blink of an eye.

If she were to see this later, she would probably feel heartbroken for quite a few days.

Thinking of this, he could almost imagine the look on that girl's face with her eyes widened.

The corners of his lips curved upward subconsciously.

After sending off the god, it was time for the ordinary celebration.

Beside the bonfire, drums and music sounded again, and people sang and danced, releasing all the joy they had accumulated throughout the year.

The most lively ones were the young people.

Taking advantage of this rare atmosphere, many people plucked up their courage, blushing as they confessed their feelings to the people they admired.

In the crowd, bursts of rowdy cheers erupted from time to time.

There was no need to ask to know that another blushing lad had gotten his wish.

The air was full of the throbbing and sweetness of youth.

It was only at this moment that Qin Wangchuan remembered Qin Zhaoer.

When it came to joining in the fun, this girl was always the first.

In such an occasion of singing and dancing, it should have been the time she played the wildest.

He looked around.

The large square was crowded with people, but the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.

Where was she?

Just as he was wondering, Qin Wangchuan's gaze fell on a figure not far away.

It was Miss Zhong.

She was standing in the shadows where the bonfire could not reach, looking over here from afar, with a hint of melancholy in her expression that he could clearly see.

Qin Wangchuan had not intended to go over.

But remembering her eyes when they had met before, which seemed to have so much to say, he ultimately changed his mind.

It would be better to clarify some things sooner.

After pondering for a moment, he lifted his feet and walked toward Miss Zhong.

However, this scene, in the eyes of others, was a completely different sight.

The most prominent handsome youth of the night was actually walking toward a young lady at a time when declaring love was the trend.

The answer seemed self-evident.

In an instant, countless gazes converged on them.

"Oh, he's finally figured it out!"

"Go for it, go for it!"

Whistles, teasing, and applause immediately merged into one.

Not far away, Jiang Zhuo, along with several acquaintances, looked over with a smile, his eyes full of mischief, waiting for that expected scene to unfold.

However.

Their expectations were destined to be disappointed.

A figure almost rushed out from the crowd, quickly stepped forward, and blocked Qin Wangchuan.

It was Qin Zhaoer.

She didn't know from which corner of the crowd she had rushed out; her hair bun was disheveled, and she hadn't caught her breath.

Her usually flamboyant little face was now panicked and at a loss, her eyes red and filled with tears.

As if she would lose something if she were a step too late.

"You... where are you going?"

There was a tremor in that voice.