Celebration, Part Two

At this moment, Sean and the others had just arrived at the entrance to the square where the celebration was being held. Naturally, officials from the Lord's Mansion were there to welcome the nobles attending the celebration. Sean smiled and bid Sir Hall and Miss Amy farewell. "Sir Hall, look, the officials from the Lord's Mansion have come to receive you..." As he spoke, Sean pointed at the officials walking toward their group.

Then Sean bowed slightly from atop his horse and continued, "I should return to my post as well. It was a pleasure meeting you and Miss Amy. Please allow me to take my leave now..."

"Thank you very much. May you have a safe journey." Seeing Sean's respectful manner, Sir Hall replied with a smile. At the same time, Amy's voice came from inside the carriage. "Brother Sean, goodbye..."

"I wish you and Miss Amy all the best today as well. Goodbye..." After speaking, Sean waved toward Amy inside the carriage.

With that, Sean tugged hard on the reins and guided his horse away from Sir Hall's convoy. Thor also turned his squad around, leading the soldiers back to the checkpoint behind Sean.

Everything at the checkpoint was running normally under Sergeant Donnie's command, and the commoners coming to attend the celebration passed through the checkpoint in an orderly manner. As the crowds continued to stream by, another hour passed. Then Sean suddenly heard, from the direction of the square, the distant sounds announcing the start of the celebration.

Seeing the expectant look on Thor's face behind him, Sean could not help but shake his head with an amused smile. Still, after briefly giving Sergeant Donnie a few instructions, he turned and led Thor and his squad toward the celebration square once more.

Before long, Sean and his group arrived at the edge of the square. The square was already packed with people. They were now at the western exit, and from afar they could see a two-tiered wooden viewing platform erected in the center of the northern side of the square, facing the crowd, for nobles and officials to watch the festivities and rest.

Sean gazed toward the central platform and saw that it was already densely packed with people. At the center of the upper tier stood a middle-aged-looking man dressed in magnificent robes. Since he was still far away, Sean could only vaguely see him delivering a speech to the crowd below. Whenever the man finished a sentence, several soldiers standing before him would shout it out again to the commoners attending the celebration. This continued intermittently for more than half an hour without ending.

Sean could not help but guess that the middle-aged man was likely the City Lord of Linshui City. He led Thor and the others closer to the central platform, not because he wanted to catch a glimpse of the legendary City Lord, but because he wanted to know whether his uncle Baron Horton's family had also attended the ceremony today.

Soon, Sean and his men reached a spot only around fifty meters from the platform. He carefully examined the faces of the nobles above and quickly found what he was looking for. As expected, he spotted his cousin Jim as well.

As the richly dressed middle-aged man announced the start of the celebration, the nobles and officials on the platform politely applauded in reserved acknowledgment. At once, the River Sacrifice, for which they had long been waiting at the docks south of the square, officially began.

Dozens, even hundreds, of fishing boats sailed out from the docks and headed onto the Dorosun River to conduct the sacrifice. They would pour their prepared offerings into the river and complete certain rituals, praying for smooth sailing and full catches in the coming year. Only after all the rituals were completed would they return to the Dock Area of Linshui City.

Meanwhile, on the temporary stage at the center of the square, circus performers took the stage one after another. They performed for the gathered crowd, hoping to earn extra rewards.

To Sean, the performances on stage were truly nothing special. Several clowns constantly teased the commoners watching the show, while the main acts involved either breathing fire or throwing knives at people.

But to the commoners of this world, it was a rare and marvelous spectacle. Whenever a performer made a seemingly dangerous move, the crowd beneath the stage would involuntarily cry out in alarm. This made the already lively celebration square even more deafeningly noisy.

Sean could not help frowning, finding the surrounding clamor difficult to endure. Just as he was considering whether to leave, Torr beside him was completely absorbed in the performance. From time to time, he joined the crowd in gasping, then watched the stage with utter focus.

"Young Master, that man can breathe fire..." Thor said excitedly to Sean, pointing toward the stage.

"Idiot, he's spraying liquor..." Sean replied helplessly as he watched the excited Torr. Knowing it was Thor's first time seeing such acrobatic acts, Sean continued irritably, "Thor, keep watching. When it's over, return to the checkpoint and find me yourself. I'll head back first..."

Just as Thor hesitated, wanting to say something, Sean patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Keep watching... It's fine..."

After saying that, Sean turned and walked back, while Thor remained behind alone to watch the show. The squad of soldiers originally commanded by Thor followed Sean as well. They were not as lucky as Thor.

Under Sergeant Donnie's command, the checkpoint remained orderly. Sean took off his knight armor and handed it to a soldier for safekeeping, then found a place to bask in the sun. The sunlight was warm against his body, making him feel sleepy.

Another two hours passed without him noticing. Today's celebration performances would end before lunch. In the afternoon, large numbers of merchants would occupy the entire square. They would simply spread a piece of linen on the ground, lay out their goods, and wait for customers to come and buy them. It was not only merchants who did this; many commoners of Linshui City would also take the opportunity to sell handicrafts.

Sean slowly strolled back to the checkpoint, called over Thor, who had just returned, and Sergeant Donnie, who had been steadfastly holding his post. The three of them entered an ordinary restaurant near the checkpoint together.

Under the waiter's guidance, Sean and the others went straight to the restaurant's second floor. They chose a table by the window overlooking the street and sat down together. Afterward, each of them ordered several dishes and leisurely enjoyed lunch. After the meal, Sean had the restaurant prepare lunches for the other soldiers and deliver them to the checkpoint so that the soldiers on duty could eat in shifts.

After all the soldiers had finished lunch, Sean handed the duty assignment back to Sergeant Donnie. He then brought Thor and his squad back to the celebration square. He was quite interested in the afternoon market and wanted to see whether there were any goods to his liking.

The nobles attending the celebration did not leave immediately after the performances. Behind the platform, the Dock Office hosted a simple reception where the nobles could dine and socialize. Many young nobles also came in groups to visit the afternoon market. Even if they did not find anything they liked, they could at least relax.

At the market, Sean ran into his two friends, Jim and Ben. After meeting up, the three of them began browsing the various stalls together. There were not many stalls in the square yet, but most of the desirable spots had already been claimed by merchants and commoners who had finished lunch early.

"Cousin, has the Garrison's intensive training ended?" Jim casually asked as he looked over the goods at the stalls beside Sean.

"Mm, it's over. From now on, I only need to show my face at the Barracks every day. I won't have to spend all my time there." Sean smiled and nodded at Jim. Over the past month, aside from returning to the Baron's Mansion at night to rest, he had spent most of his time at the Barracks familiarizing himself with the army.

That had left Sean with no time to try the things he had long planned to attempt. He had only managed to commission some parts in advance. Naturally, he had done so at different blacksmiths' and carpenters' shops. The parts that had been completed one after another were now piled up in the house he had bought earlier, with Thor temporarily keeping watch over them.

"Ben, how was your New Year... I believe your perseverance will definitely bear fruit..." Seeing the envious expression on Ben's face fade into gloom, Sean could not bear to see his friend lose confidence and offered some encouragement.

"Thank you, Sean. I'll definitely keep persevering." After hearing Sean's encouragement, Ben forced a smile. After pausing for a moment, he continued with a strained grin, "After I join the army... I'll still need you to look after me..."

"Ben, you haven't forgotten about me, have you?" Jim put on an angry expression and shouted, though the hint of amusement in his eyes gave him away. Then he turned to Sean and said ingratiatingly, "Cousin, you'll have to look after me too..."

"Jim..." Ben took the bait, anxiously preparing to explain himself to Jim. But after turning around and seeing Jim's eyes, then hearing what he said next, Ben glared at Jim angrily and turned away.

"What is wrong with you two? Do you expect me to marry you..." Before Sean could finish, he darted aside to avoid Jim and Ben's retaliatory attack. Facing his two indignant friends, he continued with a serious expression, "A person must know himself... Find the place that truly belongs to you, and you can shine brilliantly there as well..."

After hearing Sean's words, Jim and Ben both silently fell into thought. Sean did not interrupt his two friends' reflections. The more a person strove to improve, the stronger he became. Some principles were useless no matter how often they were spoken; only when one truly understood them could they become one's own.

As time passed, the market in the square grew larger and larger. More and more goods were laid out on street stalls, drawing ever more people to weave among the vendors in search of items they liked.

The three of them were excitedly approaching a stall selling wood carvings when they suddenly heard an argument not far ahead. A young girl's somewhat familiar voice said angrily, "I saw you steal someone else's money pouch..." Then Sean heard a timid young man answer, "Esteemed young lady, you saw wrong. Really, I didn't steal anyone else's money pouch..."

Sean could not help exchanging looks with his two friends. Then he immediately led the soldiers forward and pushed through the crowd of onlookers.

Only after arriving at the scene did Sean realize that it was Amy Hall, Sir Hall's daughter, whom he had met that morning. At this moment, she was glaring furiously with her large eyes at a commoner boy of sixteen or seventeen.