889: Chapter 6: Sowing Festival 889: Chapter 6: Sowing Festival May in the Holy City was the best season of the year.
Spring was nearing its end.
Yet, a warm breeze still gently blew across the world, the colorful petals clung to the branches, unwilling to scatter.
However, as ti passed, various plants had already grown small fruits under the cover of the petals, quietly spreading the scent of sumr all around.
The people of the City of Knowledge loved spring because it was the first season of the year, symbolizing the revitalization of all things and new beginnings.
Every spring, an abundance of poetry, paintings, dances, and music erged from the art hall in the northern district, spreading through the streets and alleys of the Holy City.
In this city, floating with the fragrance of books, even the workshop workers possessed outstanding artistic abilities, able to sing the great masters’ renditions of their love for spring.
Of course, the residents of the City of Knowledge also enjoyed sumr, and perhaps autumn and winter too.
Optimistic citizens of the Holy City could find the unique beauty of any season and record it in their own ways.
Actually, all they did was to express gratitude for the blissful life that the world brought to them.
Every year, at the beginning of May when the official spring season was about to end and the early-season wheat was about to be sown, every household would hang a small, brightly-colored cloth bag on their door, filled with various agricultural seeds and so candies and cakes.
This tradition had been passed on for thousands of years, using this act to pray for a successful year with a pleasing harvest.
Originally, this unique custom stemd from farrs, but over thousands of years, as the boundaries of town and city shifted, the custom gradually spread throughout the Yarran World.
Most agricultural nations and races had adopted this practice and grown accustod to hanging what was called “blessing bags” before late spring sowing.
As for the presence of cakes, if soone’s bag went missing one day, it ant that the family’s deity had sensed their sincere faith and accepted their offerings.
Yet clearly the deity couldn’t personally co to take a bag, so they would influence so birds, small animals, or naive children to do it instead.
Therefore, the secretly placed candies and cakes in the bags were just to strengthen the deity’s influence on animals or children—at least, that was the explanation given when spoken about.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp,” a series of birdcalls broke out on a certain street, noisy and clamorous as if a flock of birds was fighting over sothing.
The people inside the house heard the birdsong getting closer, hovering at the door for a while before gradually fading away and finally disappearing.
Then, a little girl ran out from a residence, and seeing the now empty doorfra, she happily said, “Grandpa, Grandpa, see, I wasn’t wrong.
Putting more candies and treats in the bag, and less bird feed, really did lead to it being harvested by the deity quickly.”
“How strange,” the old man with a head full of white hair also ca out, scratching his head in confusion.
“Could it be that the taste of these birds has changed this year?
No, it was the sa last year.
How did you know?”
“Because lately the birds near our house have beco greedier,” the little girl said with a grin, her eyes squinting with pride.
“I noticed it quite a while ago.
Hehe, look, our house is the first to have our offering harvested by the deity.
This year will definitely be as smooth as last year, and in a few years, we’ll be able to live even better.”
“Yes, yes,” the old man kindly smiled, touching the little girl’s head.
“Then you won’t have to get up so early to deliver newspapers anymore.
You can sleep a little longer every day, which is good for your health.”
“Actually, getting up every day to deliver newspapers isn’t that bad,” the little girl said, licking her lips and reflecting.
“At least it tastes good.
Ah, I don’t an the newspapers.”
Leaving this grandfather and granddaughter dreaming about the new year’s future, the previous birdcalls swept down the street, continuing forward and crossing several more streets.
Shortly after entering Fox Street, it was suddenly interrupted by a suppressed, angry roar.
Accompanying the roar was a massive Falcon Shield, spinning with a whistling sound, and forcefully hitting its target, which, along with the target, crashed to the ground with a thud.
“Pannis!” the owner of Falcon Shield gritted his teeth, his fists cracking as he clenched them, glaring at Pannis who had just been scampering on the roof like a monkey, ceaselessly mimicking various bird calls.
He skillfully and sneakily opened the bags hanging on other people’s doorfras, inspected them, tied back those he found unsatisfactory, and took the ones he liked into his arms.
Unable to resist, she sent her shield flying, knocking him off the roof, and rushed to his side with the speed of the Charge of Fearlessness.
Towering over him, she growled, “Can you be any more ridiculous?
You’re even imitating bird calls to steal offerings made to the Deities.
Do you realize that since last year, you’ve beco the laughingstock of the entire street?
And this year you’ve even moved on to other streets.
Do you know people nearby are placing bets on how many streets you’ll visit this year?
Even when we step outside, the neighbors mock us.
Do you have any clue?”
“Uh, I know…” Pannis rubbed his nose, which had been hit by the shield, and casually pulled out a piece of candy from a bag to offer her, “Do you want a piece?”
“I… you… I…” Catherine ground her teeth, already bending down to search for her one-handed sword.
Freya, leaning against the mansion’s main gate, nonchalantly added, “Actually, so are betting on how many streets you’ll sweep through before big sis takes you down.
Looks like quite a few people are going to lose money.”
“Actually, I’m doing this for their own good,” Pannis sheepishly withdrew his hand holding the candy and stuffed it into his mouth, his words muffled, “Having soone take their offerings ans they’ll have good luck for the coming year.
They should be happy about that, and I get sothing to eat, haha, I’m indeed smart.”
“Those offerings were ant for the children, you jerk—half of Holy City’s children are cursing you.
What on Earth are you thinking?” Catherine roared furiously.
“Also, you know today is the day the delegation is welcod into the city, so why are you so leisurely stealing and eating offerings?”
“Uh, I don’t need to attend the welcoming ceremony,” Pannis said lazily, “I’ll just go over after they finish putting on their show.”
“This is an international event, you at least need to dress properly, otherwise it’s too disrespectful.” Catherine, already resigned, grabbed Pannis by the collar and dragged him toward the mansion, “Go change your clothes now.”
“Help, I’m being kidnapped!” Pannis’s wail echoed, as usual, across Fox Street.
(To be continued.
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