Nightwatcher

# 96. The Ancestor Worship Ceremony

At the time, dawn was still enveloping the skies, and it was not yet daybreak.

The cold wind of the early morning cut his face like a knife. Xu Qi'an inhaled the icy morning air, rousing his spirit.

Separated by ten or so meters, Song Tingfeng said, "After the ancestor worship is over, let's go to Jiaofang Si to play that Russian Roulette."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guangxiao on the other side showed a sign of movement.

Xu Qi'an had already taught his two colleagues the basic rules of Russian Roulette. These ancients hadn't ever heard of such a fancy game, which went against public decency.

The taciturn Zhu Guangxiao couldn't take it at first and angrily reprimanded Xu Qi'an for his immorality.

But in hindsight, The more he thought about the game, the more exciting it felt, and the more he thought of it, the more excited he became.

"Let's talk about this later." Xu Qi'an said.

Since silky and thin jimmy hats didn't exist in this era, He was a little resistant to the matter.

"You're acting boring now." Song Tingfeng said, disgruntled. *Why would you provoke someone's interest but not satisfy it?*

"I can be a coach and teach you how to play the game." Xu Qi'an said.

"No way. We have to play together to prove our deep relationship." Song Tingfeng refused.

"He wants you to call Miss Fuxiang." Zhu Guangxiao said, exposing the dirty thoughts of his long-time friend.

While talking, Song Tingfeng frowned, and asked, "Why do you keep looking at the lake?"

Xu Qi'an replied, truthfully, "I always feel that Sangpo Lake looks gloomy, and this makes me uncomfortable."

"Shut up!" Song Tingfeng said in a low voice, "You must have been standing in the cold too long. Sangpo is a holy place for worship, the place where the founding emperor proved his way. Don't talk nonsense here."

Zhu Guangxiao then warned, "A high-grade martial artist has improved senses. You'd be punished if your words were heard by them."

Xu Qi'an fell silent after that.

At the same time, The heavy resonant sound of bells and drums sounded, echoing in everyone's ears as solemnity burst through them.

The Nightwatchers, who were chatting freely before immediately became silent and showed serious expressions.

While the sacrificial music played, a majestic procession left the imperial city for Sangpo Lake.

They didn't use any horses or even carriages, all traveling on foot instead.

The team consisted of hundreds of people, consisting of members of the royal family, the imperial clan, and major civil and military officials.

This team had almost assembled the entirety of the heads of power of the Great Feng.

The leader, Emperor Yuanjing was dressed in a simple Daoist Robe, his black hair tied with a wooden hairpin. He looked over fifty, with a long beard and a handsome appearance.

Behind him, on the side were the graceful Empress and the plump Imperial Concubine.

Following them were the imperial princes and the imperial princesses.

Emperor Yuanjing had many heirs; he had 12 sons, but only had four daughters, and the eldest princess was only 25 this year, nearly 10 years younger than the eldest son of the emperor.

The eldest princess, who was famous in the capital for her talent and beauty, had eyes as clear as a pool, and her face was as white as silk, She appeared cold. Silently, she followed the procession.

Amidst the sacrificial music, the Ancestor Worship Procession came to a bright yellow tent, where Emperor Yuanjing, with a daoist aura, led two eunuchs inside.

The rest waited outside.

The ministers in charge of offering sacrifices got busy with inviting god after god and arranging formation after formation to prepare for the Emperor's subsequent ancestor worship.

Xu Qi'an didn't move, but he turned his head as far as he could, peeping at the scene of the sacrifice from the corner of his eye.

He saw a squadron holding spirit tablets covered with yellow silk moving along the winding corridor to board the high platform, after which they placed the spirit tablets on the large table in front of the temple.

After this squadron returned, another squadron, under the guidance of the Minister of Imperial Ceremony, brought offering vessels and sacrificial vessels of various types, there were at least 200-300 pieces there.

When everything was ready, the Minister of Imperial Sacrifice loudly spoke outside the imperial tent, while bowing, "The time for resting has ended, I respectfully invite your Majesty to come out."

The Imperial Princes, the Imperial Princesses, along with the civil and military officials, bowed down at the same time.

The eunuch lifted the curtain, after which Emperor Yuanjing, who had already changed to a bright yellow uniform, appeared in front of everyone with a solemn expression.

At that time, he had lost the faint aura of a Daoist, and only showed a majestic aura that could only be linked to an Emperor.

*This posture feels even more solemn than the Central Committee meetings in my previous life... This trip was worthwhile... This trip was worthwhile..* Xu Qi'an enjoyed watching the fun before he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and he knew that someone in the Dishu Chat Group was talking.

He waited for the patrol team to pass by, and put his hand on his bosom. He didn't take out the entirety of the Jade Mirror, only exposing it halfway, and took a look.

【TWO: I remember that today is the day the royal family offers sacrifices to its ancestors. ONE, THREE, Am I right?】

【FOUR: Calculating the time, today is indeed the Ancestor Worship Ceremony. Back then, I had also participated in the royal ancestor worship ceremony.】

【TWO: Back then? Huh, FOUR, were you an official back then, and with quite a high status at that?】

【FOUR: Yes.】

Number Four had been an official before... Xu Qi'an was taken aback, *Didn't Number Four have some friendship with the Human Sect's female National Teacher...*

*Um, This makes some sense. They could have met the National Teacher due to being an official.*

*It seems that Number Four is a person with a story.*

Xu Qi'an found it very interesting. The holders of the fragments of the Earth Book weren't ordinary people. They all had mysterious identities and strong cultivation bases.

Interacting with them was like playing a game, uncovering their mysteries layer by layer.

【TWO: Interesting! ONE didn't reply. and neither did THREE.】

*Fuck, This L(ittle)YB...* The corners of Xu Qi'an twitched as he was caught off guard.

It's obvious that Number Two didn't send a message because he was concerned about the Royal Family's Ancestor Worship, but he did it as a probe.

A probe to test the identities of Number Three and Number One.

With the connection between the Earth Book fragments and their holders, you'd be awoken even if you were asleep. So, there was no chance of missing the chat due to rest.

People would be unable to reply only if they were in a real emergency.

However, Number One and Number Three couldn't have an emergency simultaneously. So, It meant that both of them were participating in the sacrificial ceremony and both couldn't take out the Earth Book fragment in full view to reply.

At the same time, Song Tingfeng became aware of Xu Qi'an's actions.

He let go of his hand calmly, causing the halfway exposed jade mirror to slide back into his pocket.

"Act seriously, Don't perform unnecessary actions." Song Tingfeng warned him while frowning.

"I know this." Xu Qi'an perfunctorily responded.

*Shit, I'm supposed to be a student of Cloud Deer Academy. I don't have any reason to get qualifications to participate in the Royal Family's Ancestor Worship... My identity has some flaws now... Damn it, These guys in the Heaven and Earth Society are all profound schemers.*

*However, Number One also didn't reply... Heh, If they are also present here, Who could they be?*

While Xu Qi'an's thoughts fluctuated, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society and the holders of the Earth Book fragments were also thinking about the same problem.

*Wasn't Number Three a student of the Cloud Deer Academy? And it's well known that Cloud Deer Academy students had almost cut off their chances for an official career.*

*Moreover, Number Three has given me the impression of a student of Cloud Deer Academy all this time. So, It's even more impossible for him to participate in the Ancestor Worship Ceremony.*

*Was Number Three, not a Cloud Deer Academy student?*

*No, it couldn't be. If it were, the events before couldn't be explained.*

*Maybe he is participating in the Royal family's Ancestor Worship in another capacity. Yeah, Does the Cloud Deer Academy have members in the various ministries in the court?*

*What office could he be in? What status does he have?*

On the contrary, they weren't surprised by Number One's identity since they knew that Number one was a member of the Court had had quite a high status.

【TWO: FOUR, You have been an official before. You come over and analyse THREE's situation.】

【FOUR: I do have a guess in mind. But, why should I tell you about it?】

【SIX: TWO, you aren't even in the capital. What good does it for you to know the identities of ONE and THREE?】

Number Four and Number Six were speaking for Number Three.

Xu Qi'an endured the connection and didn't check the information.

After watching the Ancestor Worship for a while, Xu Qi'an felt a strange feeling in his heart again.

He had always believed that Sangpo Lake was gloomy, and felt an inexplicable danger from the lake.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an heard a strange voice along the Sacrificial Music.

The voice was saying:

"Save me, save me..."

Xu Qi'an stiffened up and listened for the voice carefully, but it had disappeared.

"Tingfeng, Guangxiao, did you hear any strange voices?" Xu Qi'an asked his colleagues who were not far from him.

"Do you mean the Sacrificial Music? It's indeed a bit... a bit loud." Song Tingfeng’s desire to live changed his words midway through. He originally wanted to say that it was unpleasant.

Zhu Guangxiao shook his head.

Xu Qi'an was about to speak when that weird voice came again. This time, He heard it. The voice was coming from Sangpo Lake.

"Save me, save me..."

The voice was shrill and depressing, and also incomparably penetrating. It sounded like a ghost whispering in his ear.