Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 137: Departure

He pushed open the door and felt his way down the dark, narrow staircase to the abandoned, deep, and gloomy prison.

The cell was silent, without a single lamp, so dark that you could not see your fingers. It was like the large open mouth of a giant beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour its prey.

Bisha grew up afraid of this cell. The further he entered, the more frightened he was, unable to help himself from shuddering.

A ray of light flashed from the dark corner. A leopard stepped out of the darkness, its phosphorescent eyes glowing.

Bisha screamed out in fear, backing up to avoid the leopard, causing him to pull his wound. He grimaced in pain.

The leopard looked at him with contempt and turned to walk away.

Bisha could not care less about the pain, and followed the leopard through the long narrow winding passage, around a narrow stone crevice until they entered a wide clearing. The skylight shone into the secret tunnel, illuminating the general outline of the cave. The stone floor was shrouded in shadows, hazy due to the mist.

The vapor rose in curls and spirals. An upright figure clad in black stood with his back to Bisha. His tall and slender body was well-proportioned and chiseled.

Bisha sighed and knelt down on one knee.

"King, do you really need to personally escort Princess Wenzhao to Gaochang?"

The man looked back, his face streaked with ugly scars. Meeting his eyes through the mist, his turquoise eyes were like he was looking through the water of the Three Lifetime Ponds, magnificent but uncorrupted and distant.

"My mind is made up."

He said softly.

Each word was very gentle, but with a thunderous momentum, like the pressure of an entire lofty mountain range.

Bisha's words of persuasion were all blocked in his throat. After a long stretch of silence, he bowed and said, "This subordinate understands."

...

It was nearly early autumn. It was still hot during the day, but the night was abruptly cold. The wind was so strong that the leaves of the grapevines fell all over the courtyard, making the steps messy.

The next day when she woke up early, Yaoying found that a thin layer of cold frost had formed on the ground.

The soldiers who had risen early to practice martial arts gathered in front of the thin frost, all indescribably bewildered.

Seeing this, the Royal Court attendant laughed and explained: "Don't be fooled by how hot it is during the day. Once it gets cold, frost will form at night. When the wind starts blowing in earnest, you may have to wear a fur coat! Every year, the snow starts to fall before the leaves on the trees are gone. Everyone says that there is no autumn in the Royal Court; summer is followed by winter."

He continued, rubbing his hands excitedly, "The regent has issued the decree that in a few days, the Begging Winter Festival will be held. After our victory in the war this year, the Begging Winter Festival will be even grander and livelier than last year's!"

Yaoying was stunned, "The Begging Winter Festival is coming?"

The Royal Court could be considered an oasis nation. Summers were dry and rain was infrequent. It was common for an entire month to go by without a drop of rain. The water source for irrigating farmland and nourishing the soil mainly came from the seasonal rivers formed by the ice and snow melt water from the Tianshan Mountains. Thus, they would hold a grand celebration before winter came, begging for a colder winter, for more snow, to ensure abundant water in the coming year.

Yaoying had heard Bisha mention that the Begging Winter Festival was one of the grandest festivals in the Royal Court. Sultan Gu was also from the Royal Court, so why didn't he wait until after the festival before they departed?

The attendant nodded cheerfully: "This year's summer is longer than previous years. Everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time!"

Yaoying laughed softly.

It was no wonder the attendant was so excited. The Begging Winter Festival usually spanned seven days. Not only were there splendid music and dance performances but also ceremonial rituals where they prayed for blessings and to avoid disasters. When the time comes, the people of the city would come out in full force, festively celebrating. On the last day, men, women, young and old alike dressed in their best attire and wearing masks, splashed water on one another to pray for blessings, which was festive and auspicious.

She asked the attendant, "Did the Regent attend the Begging Festival last year?"

The attendant thought back for a moment before shaking his head.

Yaoying then asked, "What about Buddha's son?"

The attendant laughed: "You don't know, Princess, but Buddha's son is a monk. Monks have to observe the precept of renouncing singing and dancing, so they cannot see such merry celebrations. Buddha's son has never participated in the Begging Winter Festival."

Yaoying turned thoughtful.

The Xingxiang Festival was a Buddhist festival; Tumoraga held a puja. The Begging Winter Festival was a secular festival, and he has never attended... but why was Sultan Gu also not participating in the Begging Winter Festival?

Could it be that he was a secular disciple like Yuanjue and Banruo?

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Three Lifetime Ponds - Red water of the Pond of Greed. The deeper the greed, the greater the damage. The Pond of Unfeeling is blue. The deeper the emotion, the greater the hurt. Finally, the Pool of Desire is green. The heavier the desire, the greater the damage.