Roadmap to the Bound Chapter 121: Ceremony

Chapter 121: Ceremony

Chen Chuan saw Luo Kaiyuan coming out of his room as well. From those in Area One, the two of them were chosen for the goodwill exchange.

Feng Xiaoqi was quite strong and really enthusiastic about such events, but there was likely one more standard to be picked for such an event—looks. Feng Xiaoqi was on the average side in the looks departnt and a little short, which was why he was excluded from the event.

Zhuang Zhi and Feng Sheng walked out from Area Two, but they made no attempt to talk to Chen Chuan and Luo Kaiyuan. They did not initiate a conversation when they got into the elevator, but kept so distance between them.

When they got out of the elevator and left the dormitory, quite a number of students were already gathered outside.

As ti passed, more students arrived. There were about twenty of them, and most of them were freshn. Only a handful were upperclassn. All of them had decent-looking faces and were neither bulky nor skinny.

Chen Chuan also noted that a lot of female students were picked.

Among them, Chen Chuan recognized Guan Xinyin, who also saw him. She waved at him, and he nodded in return.

The rkarian students ca out of their dorms with Douma leading them.

Chen Chuan had not been around over the past few days, so he did not have much of an impression of them. This was the first ti he saw so of them.

Martial artists could get a general idea of a person’s strength based on their body shape and gait. He gave only a passing glance to the rkarian students. The only ones who made him pause were Nali and Shanan, but he looked away from them soon after as well.

These students are weaker than our average level despite being the elites of rka. Their martial arts really aren’t that advanced, Chen Chuan thought.

The only exception was Douma. He was a lecturer, so Chen Chuan could not gauge the level of his strength, but he was certain that the man was past the First Limit.

A little while longer, a female lecturer led the female rka students over.

Their group had the sa amount of people as the male group. They wore brilliant rkarian shawls that resembled a knee-length cloak. It slanted a little to show their sturdy calves.

The lecturers from the Operations Departnt led the students from the Martial Valor University. The person in charge was Mr. Han, a man who seed less than fifty years old, but had a stern expression on his square face.

When everyone had arrived, the lecturers took out a na list to do a roll call. All the students answered when their nas were called. When the roll call ended, two buses ca in and stopped in front of the dormitory.

Mr. Han told them the rules they needed to obey and beckoned all of them to board the bus in order.

The rkarians and Douma had a bus all to themselves, while the Martial Valor University students and lecturers took the other one. Once the buses started moving, a lecturer patiently reminded them of the rules again.

The Foreign Affairs Departnt was a low-ranking departnt in the Departnt of Administrative Affairs. This was evident from where it was located—far from the administrative building where the other governntal departnts resided in the downtown area. Instead, it was in the south due to only having a few official activities in a year.

The two buses drove for a little over ten minutes before they reached the Foreign Affairs Departnt.

The building was next to an old museum. It had a large square in front of it, though the museum was not usually open to the public. Common people were only allowed access to it for a few days during the holidays. While Chen Chuan was a Yangzhi City local, he had only been to the museum a few tis.

At around 8:30 a.m., the two buses stopped in front of the museum’s square. By then, so of the officials from the Foreign Affairs Departnt had arrived and used barrier ropes to set up a stage. They had also laid out so carpets on the ground and hung balloons and ribbons by the side as a symbol of welco.

A band was waiting nearby holding traditional rkarian instrunts. Most of them were leather drums, tin whistles, flutes, jaw harps, and the like.

A number of security guards of the Foreign Affairs Departnt stood around the periter. All of them carried handguns and batons, but they looked relaxed. After all, they had welcod rkarians for exchange programs before and were used to their presence.

This ti, aside from the officials from the Foreign Affairs Departnt, a council mber from the City Advisory Board had also joined the event. Since the two countries had a long tradition of friendship, attending a safe event like this and showing their face did no harm.

Once the students got off the bus, the rkarians stepped aside to wait. They stood next to the barrier ropes, while further back were the security guards.

The Martial Valor University students stood in two rows in front of the podium set before the building’s entrance.

Chen Chuan was assigned to the far right and was quite close to the rkarian students. Coincidentally, Qiu Chengzheng was standing almost directly across from him. When their eyes t, they exchanged nods of acknowledgent, and he noticed a hint of nervousness in Qiu Chengzheng’s eyes.

Chen Chuan did not think much about it. There was nothing surprising about Qiu Chengzheng being nervous about an event of this type.

He looked up. The sun was bright today, a little blinding, even. Based on the procedure, the ceremony would start at 10 a.m., so there was still so ti until then.

Douma and the rkarian students all waited silently. Even though this was supposed to be a goodwill exchange, the atmosphere was a little cold.

Despite the dreariness, no one thought anything about the situation. They just brushed it aside as the rkarians being nervous. Since this was the first ti many of them were visiting the Great Shun Republic, they were strangers in an unfamiliar place.

The square faced the main road, which had plenty of cars and people. When the rkarians and Martial Valor University showed up in the square, a lot of people stopped by to watch.

As ti passed, more officials arrived. The council mber was among them. More people gathered to watch and ford a huge crowd, but they were warded off by the barrier ropes and security guards. Even so, that did not stop more people gathering to watch.

At around 9:30 a.m., Chen Chuan saw three black cars and an armored car driving into the square. A few security guards got out of the armored car and checked the surroundings before opening the door of the black car in the middle.

Mr. Liu, director of the Foreign Affairs Departnt, got out. He was a man in his fifties. Even though he had a potbelly, his face was well-proportioned, and he had an elegant deanor.

With the security guards around him, he shook hands with the rkarian official who ca for the exchange and shared a few friendly words with him before shaking hands with the council mber and the Departnt of Administrative Affairs officials who ca to attend the ceremony. Then, he went to the stage at the center of the square and gave a speech, praising the friendship between the two countries, his wish to maintain it, and other stuff like that.

He had a loud voice and spoke clearly, so the citizens behind the barrier ropes could hear him clearly. With the Foreign Affairs Departnt staff leading them, they clapped at appropriate parts of his speech.

The speech lasted for around twenty minutes, though Mr. Liu looked like he had more to say.

This signaled the main event of the day.

The museum door opened, and the curator, along with a few masters of ceremony, asked the museum staff to bring out the tribute the rkarians had given to the Great Shun Republic.

The Martial Valor University students perked up. After this ceremony, the event would be near its end.

Even though the weather was nice, standing in the background listening to the officials speak was boring. They were not even allowed to talk to each other.

Chen Chuan observed the box the curator held in his hands. Cheng Zitong had told him that it contained the Evergreen Oak Leaf.

When the rkarians offered it to the Great Shun Republic, it beca the symbol of the two countries’ friendship. They claid that this leaf could heal the body and refresh the mind, but only when it was used with the herbs and spices the rkarians brought along after a special ceremony.

The officials who always attended the ceremony could sense that the leaf did sothing, though they could not put it to words. They could only tell that after each ceremony, their spirits would feel a little better, which was why they always ca again. At that mont, the citizens beyond the barrier ropes craned their necks to get closer so they could see what the leaf looked like.

The curator asked the mistress of ceremony to hold the box while he opened it with a key. Then, he slowly removed the lid and showed a golden-green oak leaf with clear veins. The mont he revealed it, a refreshing, natural breeze blew past everyone.

Chen Chuan cast it a cursory glance. The leaf was only around ten centiters long. Aside from having a unique color, he couldn’t see anything special about it, but the rkarians had given it to the Great Shun Republic over fifty years ago. Since it managed to stay fresh for so long, there had to be sothing unique about it.

Douma clenched his fists to control his excitent when he saw the leaf. So of his students were unable to control themselves and leaned forward. They had co to the Great Shun Republic to reclaim the oak leaf, so even if they died for the cause, they would not object.

Their reactions were a little overboard, since the rkarians were the ones who had offered the leaf as tribute, but it held a great significance to their people, so their reactions were not all that shocking.

Mr. Liu was surprised, but motioned for the mistress of ceremony to show the leaf to the people for a little longer before taking two steps back so that the rkarian official could take his place. He motioned for them to go forward.

The rkarian official gave Mr. Liu rka’s traditional salute before he reached out and carefully took the leaf in his hands.

The rkarian ceremony was about to start. The rkarian official beckoned Douma and the students he picked beforehand to co forward.

By then, Douma had cald down. He walked forward and took the oak leaf from the rkarian official before turning around and lifting it up high. He radiated a fervent spirit, as if he had transcended to a higher state. Excitent shone in the rkarian students’ eyes.

Douma looked ahead with grim determination and started walking forward while humming a long note. At the sa ti, the rkarian band started playing. The song was ancient and seemingly tiless, carrying with it a simple, primal air.

The rkarian students started harmonizing. They were full of emotion, and their eyes shone with resolution. They threw themselves into the song as if they wanted to complete an important, sacred mission.

The crowd was affected by their zeal and watched attentively.

Just then, a gunshot echoed. It was almost drowned out by the drums.

Mr. Liu trembled. His security guards imdiately registered what had happened and rushed to cover him. The second gunshot ca after the first, but it hit a security guard.

Not too far away, the security guard next to the council mber grabbed him, and he stumbled toward him. A bullet flew past the spot where he stood earlier.

Almost at the sa ti, a few cylindrical items flew into the square from the crowd. Soon, copious amounts of black smoke gushed out. Many people started coughing and tearing up once the smoke reached them.

Douma’s gaze sharpened when he saw that Mr. Liu had been hit. Even though the resistance group had said that they would create a chance for them, they forgot to ntion that they would do it by trying to assassinate governnt officials. But he had no ti to care about that. Once chaos descended onto the area, he shut the box and started running.

The rkarian students ran with him. Then, as if they had received so sort of order, the rkarian students in the audience charged at the Martial Valor University students who stood in Douma’s way.