Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

Volume 1: Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs, Chapter 16: Of Course I'm Happy. So, when the first-rank Venerable directed him and several other boys and girls to stand at the eye of the formation with a gentle and pleasant expression, he feigned a look of innocence and ignorance, asking, "Uncle Venerable, why do we have to stand like this? I see the other uncles standing in two rows along the Great Dao."

"Now, the Heaven Worship Ceremony begins. I announce..." However, he did not know that among the two hundred boys and girls below, there was one little boy whose face held a smile even brighter than his own.

Walking out of the Venerable Mansion, a long line of carriages had already formed on the Great Dao in front of the mansion, escorted by the cavalry of the Shangxuan Kingdom. The two hundred boys and girls were led by the Venerables onto the carriages, and then the massive procession set off ahead of the Emperor, arriving at the Imperial Mausoleum in advance.

"Your Highness the Princess, please remain calm." Looking from afar, the procession outside the Imperial Mausoleum, topped with bright yellow tents and banners, stretched like a long dragon for two or three miles.

Tang Ruowei lowered her head in silence, while Tang Zhouxie smiled even more happily.

The Grand Princess looked solemn today, her eyes flickering; she seemed to be in a bad mood and appeared to be calculating or worrying about something. Led by Sima Yingbo, she followed the Shangxuan Emperor and the Imperial Advisor, bypassing the array formed by the boys and girls, and arrived at the altar.

After saying this, the Emperor paused for a moment. He took the three sticks of incense handed to him by the Imperial Advisor, bowed toward the Imperial Mausoleum, and then inserted them into the large tripod in front of the tomb.

He did not know where those officials had found so many children, but it could only be said that under the pressure of the Emperor and the Imperial Advisor, these fellows who usually sat in their positions and did nothing were surprisingly efficient when it came to getting things done.

Acting as an accomplice to a tyrant—since they felt guilty in their hearts, why did they have to do such things in the first place?

"What is going on here?" After arriving at the prepared altar, the Imperial Advisor lit three sticks of incense, the blue smoke curling, while the Shangxuan Emperor turned to face the officials and soldiers below the altar.

"Take fresh blood to comfort the ancestral spirits."

But no one paid her any mind. Tang Ruowei looked left and right, only to find that her Father Emperor, the Imperial Advisor, her younger brother, as well as the generals, soldiers, and officials below the stage, all wore expressions of dull stagnation.

Bai Qiuran pretended to be obedient, standing in place, turning his head away, and then a cold sneer appeared on his face.

There were many other children in the courtyard. Bai Qiuran counted them; there were exactly one hundred boys and one hundred girls, totaling two hundred children.

Standing to the side, Tang Ruowei exclaimed in shock, "Father Emperor, Imperial Advisor, what are you saying?!"

Returning all the way to the Venerable Mansion and swapping back with his physical clone, Bai Qiuran lay on the bed and fell asleep. The night passed without incident. When the next morning arrived and the sky was just beginning to brighten, two Shangxuan Kingdom Venerables at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage walked in and brought him into the main courtyard of the Venerable Mansion.

"Don't speak for a while; the ceremony will be over soon." The Shangxuan Emperor suddenly paused strangely, then continued, "Soldiers, take the fresh blood of two hundred boys and girls to respectfully invite our ancestor to emerge from the tomb!"

Sima Yingbo and the other Venerables buried their heads even lower, while Tang Ruowei stared at this young man, frozen in place.

"Are you happy to see me?"

A dark cloud drifted over, obscuring part of the sunlight and making the sky somewhat gloomy, but the Shangxuan Emperor and the Imperial Advisor did not care and continued to ascend the stage to perform the ritual.

"Alright."

"Wait!" Sima Yingbo avoided answering and pushed Bai Qiuran to the designated position to stand.

"Shangxuan! I have returned!"

She compared him to the portrait she had seen in the ancestral hall, swallowed hard, and said with difficulty, "Martial Emperor Tang Zhouxie."

A visible blood mist surged from the cracks in the Imperial Mausoleum. Immediately following, amidst a burst of wild, arrogant laughter, a figure dressed in the yellow robes of Shangxuan stepped out from the tomb.

"Happy, of course I'm happy."

This figure walked out of the blood mist to the outside of the tomb; it was actually a young, evil-looking boy with black hair. He paced his way to the middle of the two rows of Venerables.

During the arrangement process, Bai Qiuran had been observing Sima Yingbo's demeanor. Seeing that he did not appear to be under any control, Bai Qiuran understood in his heart.

The Imperial Advisor chimed in at this moment, "Your subject, Fu Qianqiu, respectfully invites... the former Emperor to emerge from the tomb!"

When the sun rose to the high sky, the Emperor's procession finally arrived.

Tang Ruowei was both shocked and furious. At this moment, the first-rank Venerable Sima Yingbo led a group of Venerables onto the altar, arrived in front of the Imperial Mausoleum, and said to Tang Ruowei, "The Heaven Worship Ceremony is about to begin. Please, come and see your ancestor."

According to the rules, the Shangxuan Emperor's Heaven Worship was supposed to depart at seven in the morning and arrive at the Imperial Mausoleum by nine, and the Venerable Mansion had to prepare the boys and girls and all matters of the sacrifice before then.

Tang Ruowei, as the Grand Princess, was also among them. At this moment, she was standing on the left and right of the Shangxuan Emperor along with her younger brother, the Crown Prince of Shangxuan, following the Emperor and the Imperial Advisor as they led the procession toward the Imperial Mausoleum.

The two hundred boys and girls, under the command of the first-rank Venerable Sima Yingbo, were arranged in a strange shape in front of the altar, which perfectly matched a certain formation of the Demonic Cultivator Blood God Sect.

"Ancestor True Ancestor."

"Respectfully inviting Master to emerge from the tomb!"

While speaking, he tried his best to make his demeanor appear even more childish and cute, looking up at Sima Yingbo from below.

After staying in the courtyard for a while, the first-rank Venerable Sima Yingbo appeared before the children with the other Venerables. This young and handsome Venerable spoke kindly to the children about their positions for the Heaven Worship Ceremony, instructed them not to run around, and after telling the other Venerables to keep a close watch, he directed everyone to set off for the Imperial Mausoleum.

"Sima Yingbo?"

"Uh..."

Not only that, but at these points, magic arrays were hidden to restrain these children, preventing them from running around.

Bai Qiuran continued to ask, "Is this what His Majesty the Emperor or the Imperial Advisor said?"

"You!"

As the words fell, dark clouds surged in the sky, completely obscuring the sunlight. A bolt of purple lightning struck down from the sky, splitting the Shangxuan Imperial Mausoleum directly in two.

A flash of hesitation seemed to cross Sima Yingbo's face, and then he revealed a kind smile. While patting Bai Qiuran's head, he laughed, "I don't know either. These are just the standing positions passed down from above; we all have to listen to them."

"That's right, my child."

"Since the founding of my Shangxuan Kingdom, one thousand two hundred years have passed. Thanks to the spirits of the former Emperors in heaven protecting the prosperity of our national destiny, we have flourished to this day. Now, our kingdom suffers from the chaos of Yao Mo, and the common people are suffering. As Emperor, I view the people as my own children, and seeing my children being devoured by Yao Mo, my heart is filled with unspeakable pain. Therefore, I ascend the tomb today to worship Heaven, hoping that the spirits of the former Emperors in heaven will protect Shangxuan for a thousand generations and a hundred eras of prosperity."

Bai Qiuran lowered his head, smiling to himself as he whispered, "I've finally caught you, you demonic heretic."

Sima Yingbo ignored her and, leading the group of Venerables, bowed to the Imperial Mausoleum, saying, "We, your disciples, respectfully invite you, Master, to emerge from the tomb!"

He narrowed his eyes. Seeing a few Venerables looking at him, he restrained his expression and focused his attention on waiting for the start of the Heaven Worship Ceremony.

The young man's face revealed a cold sneer.

"Do even you uncles have to listen?"