"Since the Nuo rites conclude on the sixteenth, there won't be much point staying until the eighteenth. I'll leave Nantong on the sixteenth," Li Ping'an said.
Zhao Ling'er nodded slightly.
Knowing her teacher as she did, she had expected those words.
"Let's get down to business," Li Ping'an said. "Have you cleared things up?"
Zhao Ling'er sipped her tea. "The first thing Prefect Li did after taking office was go to the treasury to inspect the accounts.
"He discovered an enormous shortfall. To keep the matter from coming to light,
"Chunyan's administrative assistant, assistant prefect, and former prefect took a desperate gamble and killed him, deliberately making it look like an accident.
"I've had them detained. Now all that remains is to try and convict them."
Li Ping'an nodded. "A pity about Li Maocai, though."
"Everyone has their own fate. Please don't grieve over this, sir.
"Fortunately, one of his sons survived, and he has immediate family in Capital City.
"I'll send someone to escort him back to Capital City in a few days."
"That's good, then," Li Ping'an said.
And so the next day arrived, and the Nuo Dance Festival officially began.
All of Nantong was steeped in a joyful atmosphere.
Even the roadside vendors wore somewhat frightening masks.
Li Ping'an, however, was probably the first to put a mask on his ox.
Thus, people kept turning to look all along the way.
There were many kinds of masks: folk deities, Buddhist and Daoist immortals, legendary heroes, worldly figures, and more.
People performing Nuo dances could be seen everywhere in the streets.
The Nuo dances varied in style. Some used shamans' steps and hand seals, their movements eerie and mysterious.
Others blended strength with softness in delicate performances.
Some larger Nuo troupes interspersed their performances with feats of skill