Bang! Crack!
Clusters of fireworks bloomed one after another in the sky, their resplendent light illuminating the entire night.
It also cast its glow over the city below.
Huai Shan County Town blazed with lights. Its streets and alleys teemed with crowds, every shop flung wide open, and clerks in short jackets stood at the entrances, shouting enthusiastic invitations.
Their faces were all flushed with excitement, no different from the customers streaming in and out.
Though it was not yet a holiday, this little border city of Central Continent had already plunged into festive revelry!
Even sheltered young ladies who rarely went out had come to the streets in groups to join the spectacle.
Not to mention the other common folk.
For a long time in the past, everyone in Huai Shan City had lived beneath the terrifying shadow of Evil Spirits. Once night fell, people hid in their homes, even taking shelter in underground chambers, not daring to step outside at all.
All manner of true and false rumors spread among the populace, deepening their fear.
More and more refugees had fled in from the towns and villages. Not only had this greatly increased the burden on the county town, it had also made it difficult for everyone to hold any hope for the future.
Some capable people had quietly fled the city.
But now the clouds had parted, the mist had scattered, and after reaching the depths of misfortune, fortune had returned. The Garrison Headquarters had announced that the chief culprit behind the Evil Spirits' rampage had been slain, and all the towns beneath the county town had been reclaimed.
The emotions that had been dammed up in people's hearts now burst forth all at once.
So much so that this carnival celebrating victory carried a touch of