The middle-aged man, who was carrying a bag and a long sword, turned to look at the four men who were riding across the bridge, and sat down on a stone on the side of the road, intending to take a rest.
"It's so impressive to ride a horse..."
"Sigh... This journey has been really tiring, but I'm lucky to be able to return home alive after doing the corvee... I guess I'm lucky." He gestured casually and wiped his head with his sleeves.
of sweat.
By May, the weather has become noticeably hotter.
"By the way..." The middle-aged man looked towards the south and then at the sky, "Can we still walk to the next village today... If we are traveling at night...
...Tsk.”
It's about ten o'clock in the morning. He got up before dawn and started on his way. He has been walking from the north until now.
"Forget it, let's go to the village on the north side of the river first. But that mountain is quite high. Do we have such a high mountain here in Pei...?"
After taking a sip of water, the middle-aged man wiped the corners of his mouth, stuffed his water bottle back into his bag, and stood up.
Anyway, I don’t want to eat dry biscuits at noon. Besides, if I am appointed as the pavilion chief in Surabaya, then the several villages here will also be my territory. Go and have a look in advance!
After making up his mind, the man stepped onto the bridge again and walked from south to north towards Zijia Village at the foot of Pangshan Mountain.
...
In Zijia Village, the Hujun Wine Festival, which has lasted for hundreds of years, has begun.
The first part of the Tiger Lord Wine Festival is the Tiger Lord Dance.
There were eight people from each of the three villages, a total of twenty-four people. All twenty-four people wore tiger masks and formed two circles, one inside and one outside, dancing in the traditional Tiger Dance.
In addition to the twenty-four "Tiger Attendants" dancing in the field, there are also thirty-six other drummers holding musical instruments, forming a larger circle at the outermost edge.
The whole scene was so lively and noisy.
Contrary to the bustle in the center of the village, there is silence outside the village.
"Is this village holding some event?" Xiang Liang reined in the reins and looked at the noisy center of the village. The hand on the bronze sword rubbed the hilt slightly.
"It should be the Tiger King Wine Festival. The villages here rarely hold such a grand event for the whole village." Zishu can naturally ride a horse, but there was a little hesitation on his face, "But what I found out
According to the information, the Tiger King Wine Festival should be held in June, and it is only mid-May..."
"Is this Tiger Lord Wine Festival to worship the Tiger Lord?" Xiang Liang turned around and asked.
"Yes." Zishu nodded, "This Tiger Lord Wine Festival is held every year to worship the tiger and pray for its protection."
"Uncle, let's go in and take a look first." Xiang An patted the neck of the horse he was riding, "It's not a big deal to stay at the entrance of the village. Aren't we here to end the cause and effect of Nao Shizi?
."
"But...Mr. Zishu, what is the cause and effect? It is true that Xiang An and I have never been to Pangshan. How can it be related to Pangshan?" Xiang Yu asked with a frown.
"I don't know, but what I saw tells me that it is indeed your cause and effect. Lord Xiang Liang and I were just implicated." Shaking his head, Zishu sighed.
"But what will happen to the horses when we enter the village? Just leave them here?" Zishu raised his head and asked again.
"My Xiang family has raised this horse since childhood. Today I just went to the village to have a look and let it go. They will go to the river to graze." Xiang Liang got off the horse and said, "You can find it by the river then.
arrive."
"That's...ok." Zishu hesitated for a moment, then dismounted and let go of the reins.
Patting the horse's belly, Xiang An pinched his wrist: "Let's go in!"
"I just don't know if this village is willing to accept outsiders like us when we are worshiping the Tiger Lord." Xiang Liang's eyes flashed and he walked at the front, towards the center of the village, where the Tiger Lord Wine Festival was held, and the other three
People were following behind him.
The four horses stayed in place for a while, seemingly confirming that Xiang Liang and others had temporarily left them behind. Then, under the leadership of one of the horses, they started galloping towards the tributary of the Huai River in the south.
.
"Wow wow wow——" In the path of several horses, the man with the sword was almost hit and startled, "What's going on?"
"Is this... the horse of those people just now?" He turned to look at the horse running towards the river, murmured to himself, and slapped his face.
"Forget it, what does it have to do with me." Shaking his head, the middle-aged man continued walking towards Zijia Village.
The four of them, Xiang Liang, had almost arrived at the scene of the Tiger Lord Wine Festival.
"It's so lively!" Xiang An was excited by the atmosphere.
"Hey, fellow villagers, what are you doing?" Zishu, under Xiang Liang's instruction, approached a villager who was walking around the scene and showed no interest.
"Huh? Are you... from somewhere else?" The man was a young man. He looked about the same age as Xiang Yu and Xiang An, but his body was skinny and incomparable to the stout brothers. Moreover,
At this age, it's almost time to go into corvee service.
The young man glanced at Xiang Liang indifferently, said hello, and then caught a glimpse of the bronze sword on Xiang Liang's waist who was standing aside.
"Hey!" He was so frightened that he took a step back.
"Um - please don't be afraid." Zishu quickly pressed his hands, "We are not evil people, we are just passing through this place. We just want to go to the village to have a look, but are you at the Tiger Lord Wine Festival?"
"Huh? Ah...yes, it's the Tiger Lord Wine Festival, how did you know?" The young man took a second look at Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu and Xiang An behind Xiang Liang, took back his defensive posture, and calmed down.
He nodded and asked again doubtfully.
"I don't live too far from here. I've heard of the custom of worshiping the tiger, but I've never come here to do so." Zishu shook his head, and what he said was indeed the truth.
"Then take a look. Our village doesn't say that outsiders can't watch the Tiger Worship." The young man pointed to the middle, "You can watch it if you want."
The twenty-four tiger attendants in the middle were still singing and dancing.
I have been dancing for a while.
In the middle, Zijia Laozheng was already sweating profusely from dancing, but he still did not stop his dancing steps. He just gritted his teeth and persisted.
This Tiger King's wine festival will last for hundreds of years, and it is impossible for the descendants to make mistakes.
Xiang Yu and Xiang An both fell silent while watching the Tiger Lord dance during the Tiger Lord Wine Festival.
"...This feeling is very familiar." Xiang An frowned, holding his hand on the hilt of the sword, frowning, and looked at Xiang Yu, "Brother? Do you feel anything?"
Xiang Yu pursed his lips, and the expression on his face was exactly the same as that of his younger brother.
After glancing at Xiang An, Xiang Yu nodded slowly.