Whoosh—
Boom—!!!
Fireworks in every color burst across the sky, painting the night with a brilliant rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. Countless lanterns blazed with dazzling light, turning night into day. Cheers, clamor, and music rang out as several wildly different sounds mingled together, swelling into a vast tide of noise that carried the festival's passion and frenzy to every corner of the city.
After days of preparation, Winter Arrival City's annual grand celebration—the Winter Ancestor Worship and Auspicious Joy Grand Ceremony, commonly known as the Barbecue Festival—officially began tonight!
The huge factory buildings, usually cold and lifeless, were draped in colorful streamers and banners, decorated like wedding palanquins. The streets were lined with ornaments of every shape, and enormous decorations carved from spirit stones transformed the otherwise unremarkable roads into something out of a fairy tale. That was just the industrial district on the edge of the city; the downtown was even more extravagant! The city government had spent a fortune on hundreds of the recently popular spirit-light display boards—the equivalent of dynamic advertising screens on Earth—and placed them at every prominent spot downtown. Their lights shimmered as slogans, pictures, and simple animations changed across the screens, making the night even more dazzling.
More than a dozen enormous floats formed a long procession, slowly rolling down the main road. The performers aboard, dressed in splendid costumes, sang and danced, and every difficult stunt drew cheers and applause from the crowd. Winter Arrival City's residents, young and old, rich and poor, had all put on their finest clothes. They cast aside their usual reserve, shouting and laughing in the streets, letting the festival's wild revelry loosen the tension they had carried all year.
But the true stars of the festival were neither the residents nor the floats, and certainly not the decorations of every kind.
They were—
"Come and get it! Freshly grilled Phoenix Chicken, going cheap!" "Top-grade Rock Swallowing Python, just brought in today! Ten in all, first come, first served! Once they're gone, they're gone!" "Grilled Ramon Rabbit offal, buy one get one free! Don't miss out!" "Rare demonic beasts of every kind—come get a taste! A hundred-year-old shop, fair to young and old!" "Grilled Gray Wolves, flame-roasted Hunter Lizards, all kinds available—rock-bottom prices!" ...
—Barbecue!
The tradition of eating grilled demonic beast meat had been preserved better than any other. One glance showed stalls everywhere: in the square, beneath the eaves, and along the streets. Smoke rose and drifted all around, the charcoal fires burned as brightly as the lanterns, and the primal, savory aroma wafted straight into your nose. Every stall had mountains of strange demonic beasts, some ordinary and some decidedly exotic. They were chopped into chunks, skewered on iron sticks, sprinkled with seasoning, and roasted over the fire.
Most stalls sold relatively common demonic beasts. Only shops with generations of experience sold high-grade ones, because the higher a beast's rank, the more difficult it was to prepare. Ramon Rabbits and Phoenix Chickens only needed to be plucked and skinned, while Spike Serpents and Arrow Frogs had to have their venom glands removed. Rock Swallowing Pythons and Spiny Skin Apes had to be cut with special cleavers, and Water Spirit Salamanders and Silver Fish would melt if the charcoal burned too hot... In short, the rules were enough to scare you half to death.
As for the Si Nan Family, after the mutation during their last investigation, they had grown extremely vigilant and sent a large number of people to keep watch over the whole city. I'd thought they wouldn't take part in the festival, but...
"Bone Armor Lion, Cloud Swallowing Sparrow, Giant Worm, Blood Tooth Fish King—all free, while supplies last."
"""""Oh yeah!"""""
...I was too naive.
The square in front of the Winter Arrival Hotel was more lively than ever. All the demonic beasts they'd caught on their recent trips into the mountains had been brought out and piled into a mountain of meat. Every chef at the hotel had come out to serve the public. In the blink of an eye, fierce-looking beasts of every kind became mouthwatering barbecue, covered in some kind of high-grade seasoning. Their intoxicating aroma went straight up your nose, and even the fires were handled by fire-element ability users... What kind of style, what kind of flaunting wealth, could a roadside stall possibly compare?
With seven or eight skewers of charcoal-grilled Cloud Swallowing Sparrow in one hand and a small flask of liquor in the other, I quietly slipped away from the hotel. The lights outside were shifting and flickering, and the smoke from the charcoal fires hung everywhere, making it difficult to see people's faces. So, for once, I lowered my hood and felt a lot more comfortable.
Most of the time, I was someone who liked peace and quiet. I wasn't fond of crowded, noisy places. Before crossing over, I'd even slipped out of karaoke rooms a few times. So now, I wanted to find somewhere quiet, drink, admire the moon, and eat barbecue in peace. At the same time... I wanted to look for Si Nan Ying.
Si Nan Ying wasn't at the hotel, so she had probably gone out for a walk. I didn't know the technical staff responsible for tracking the family members, and I couldn't find Si Nan Yuan, Rui Feng, or the others. With no other choice, if I wanted to see her, I had to leave it to luck.
Winter Arrival City faced the Grand Canal to the south, and several of its tributaries ran along the southern edge of the city, where a number of shipping companies operated. Cargo boats usually came and went all day, keeping the place bustling. Now, though, almost everyone had gathered downtown, leaving the area quiet. The docks were decorated with streamers and flowers, but rather than adding to the festive mood, they only made the place feel even more deserted.
I found a stone bench by the river and sat down, watching the clear water reflect the bright moonlight. The three Gold Silver Oranges complemented one another, each making the other two look even more beautiful. If poets on Earth saw this wondrous sight of three moons, they would probably weep with emotion... As I thought, I opened the flask and took a sip. Not bad—the alcohol content wasn't high, and its taste fell somewhere between beer and red wine, with a flavor all its own.
The evening breeze, a little wine, and a feast fit for the gods. What could be more pleasant?
...But how were things back on Earth now? My family and friends must still be worried sick over my disappearance.
At the thought, my decent mood turned gloomy. Right—now wasn't the time to enjoy life. Finding a way back had to come first.
Just as I was quietly trying to steady my mood...
"Xiao Ye?"
"Huh!?"
I turned around. Not far away, a beautiful girl sat atop a stack of wooden cargo crates. Delicate features, violet eyes and hair, a short dark-gray skirt—who else could it be but Si Nan Ying?
"Xiao Ye, did you... come looking for me?"
"Yeah, I did." Looking for her wasn't my only reason, but I didn't say that.
"I see... Thank you."
The two of us fell silent again.
...This is awkward.
Maybe it was because the blow of her ability going out of control had shaken her so badly, but Si Nan Ying had none of her usual energy. The smile on her face was a little forced, and she didn't cling to me and start chatting the moment she saw me.
The Si Nan Ying before me was so different from the one I remembered. Was it really just because she was in a bad mood? Or was this her true self?
Either way, I'd try talking to her first.
With that thought, I stood and walked over. Without asking her, I sat beside her and offered her a skewer of barbecue. "Here, want some?"
Si Nan Ying hesitated, then took the skewer and bit into it. The moment it touched her tongue, she let out a blissful "Mmm~~" After finishing the skewer, she seemed to be in a somewhat better mood.
"So..." I carefully weighed my words. "Could you tell me about yourself?"
"About me?"
"Yeah... I know the Si Nan Family is an extraordinary clan, but when I think about it, we're already friends, and yet I don't really know much about you as a person."
"...But I don't know anything about you, either. You tell me first."
There's an opening! I thought. The fact that she'd said that meant she was willing to talk to me; she was just still hesitating about whether to open her heart.
For now, I'd go along with what she said.
Half a day earlier, in the heart of the Winter Arrival Mountains.
The normally deserted wilderness was crowded with more than a dozen adult men today. In front of them stood a device about the size of a refrigerator, fitted with a thick antenna.
"Have all the Blood Tooth Fish in Blood Tooth River been cleared out?"
"Everything's ready. We're just waiting for the right moment!"
"Gentlemen," Sunny said, stepping forward and looking at them with utmost solemnity. "We've finally waited for this day. We may only be responsible for one small part of this vast plan, but that doesn't mean our mission is unimportant! After lying low for a whole month, the moment of harvest has finally arrived!"
"Well said. Then..." Olga walked up to the device and slammed down on a button. It roared deafeningly, and a strange, powerful wave burst from the antenna, spreading through the entire Winter Arrival Mountains at astonishing speed!
"Let's get started!"
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