The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 155 - Festival of the Goddess of the Wind
At night in the Diqiu Imperial Palace, thousands of colorful lanterns were installed in every corner of the city. The lights were hung above the street, under the trees, and even in the river that flowed in the middle of the city. Everyone was getting ready to celebrate the Wind Goddess Birth Festival, a festival held to commemorate the birth of the Wind Goddess, the protector.
Along with the closer the night, the atmosphere gets more lively. In the town square, there are art performances from the best wushu artists in the city. The audience fell silent as they watched the beautiful movements and the incredible power displayed by the artists. Some children even try to imitate the movements they see.
Not far from there, a ceremony was performed at the city's largest temple. Monks gathered inside the temple, while the people of the Diqiu Empire flocked to gather outside to await the ceremony. No less than a thousand people watched the magnificent event.
After a while, a bright light appeared from inside the temple then then, the Wind Goddess appeared at the door of the temple. She was Li Jia Xing-yang despite only being glimpsed at a glance, the beauty on her face remained clearly visible. The public exclaimed hysterically as they looked at the beautiful and graceful Goddess of the Wind.
The Wind Goddess led the procession outside the temple, followed by monks and other important people. They all carried flowers and incense as a sign of their reverence for their patron goddess.
The local people welcomed happily while throwing flowers at them.
As they walked towards the square, the lanterns that adorned the city grew brighter and more vibrant. The local people danced and sang under the lights of the lanterns, while the Wind Goddess, the envoy from the Feng Empire and the monks sat on the main stage.
That night, there was plenty of entertainment provided, from music and dance performances to wushu matches. People enjoy delicious food and drinks while enjoying the beautiful view of the city.
After that the Goddess of Wind returned to the main stage to lead the final ceremony, the release of lanterns. The local people took the lanterns they had prepared beforehand and lit them with candle flames. Then threw the lantern into the air and flew it away. Lanterns fly high in the night sky, making the night sky very beautiful.
Some people shouted hysterically and clapped as the lanterns flew higher and higher. They considered that the lanterns were prayers that were lifted to heaven. They begged the Wind Goddess to protect and bring happiness and peace to their city.
Xue Zhan looked around with a sense of admiration. The Wind Goddess Birth Festival in Diqiu Imperial Palace was indeed a highly anticipated event this year. At night like this, the entire city was decorated by thousands of lanterns. There are Phoenix bird-shaped lanterns, goldfish lanterns, flower lanterns, and various other shapes.
As Xue Zhan was still holding the lantern and had yet to let go, he looked at his Master Xiang Yi Bai and Fenghuang. He pondered for a moment about how everything had passed so quickly and now he could celebrate the Wind Goddess Birth Festival with them and no longer feel as lonely as he used to be. He looked at the lantern he was holding for a moment while closing his eyes and praying inwardly.
Suddenly Xue Zhan saw something shining from the other side of Diqiu city. Although the hustle and excitement of the festival made many people not notice, Xue Zhan was able to sense it clearly.
He watched closely and realized that the light was coming from an old building located far from the festival site. Xue Zhan felt that something was amiss and smelled an extremely strong smell of bloodshed.
Without a second thought, he decided to investigate the suspicious incident and left the crowd and walked towards the old building. Each step brought him closer to the light source and the smell of blood grew stronger. Every second Xue Zhan grew more and more convinced that something was wrong inside the building.
However, on the way to the building, Xue Zhan was separated from his Master Xiang Yi Bai amid an increasingly crowded crowd. Xiang Yi Bai who had searched for Xue Zhan but did not manage to find him. Meanwhile, Xue Zhan continued walking until he finally arrived in front of the old building which was filled with dark aura.
Xue Zhan decided to enter and check the situation inside the building secretly. As it entered, the atmosphere became increasingly gripping and the smell of blood grew stronger.
A moment Xue Zhan was shocked and astonished at the terrifying sight. He saw six decapitated corpses all around him with some body parts torn apart. Then came a person who stood by stepping on the head of one of them. The man looked creepy with his all-white clothes and the devil mask covering his face. A strong negative aura emanated from his body, and Xue Zhan could feel an extremely strong desire to kill from him.
Xue Zhan could not resist the tremors emanating from his enemy. That person looked the same age as him but had a murderous desire like a monster that had lived for centuries. Xue Zhan looked at the red sword worn by his enemy, which was emitting a white light. The bright shining tattoo on his left arm was clearly visible, making Xue Zhan even more convinced that the person was not an indiscriminate enemy.
However, Xue Zhan could not retreat.
He prepared himself by drawing out his sword, ready to fight at any moment. Xue Zhan stood before his enemy, not intending to let that fellow off after killing six innocent soldiers.
There was tension between the two of them. In an alert position Xue Zhan saw the intricacies of the enemy from top to bottom. He seemed to remember something in his subconscious but it all just drowned. It seemed like Xue Zhan had seen that figure, either in his dream realm, in the real world or just his hallucination. The more he remembered it, the more his head hurt.
The enemy began to pull the sword, seemingly unwilling to mince words and directly aimed at his head. Judging from the corpse that the figure had killed, Xue Zhan seemed to have to be careful with the typical wild fighting style and also had heavy strength. Xue Zhan took a wary stance, he pulled the sword to the side, looking at the enemy's movements first before moving.