On the second day, the blessing procession headed in the opposite direction from the first day, toward town, starting with neighboring West Mountain Village.
The villagers from all around had seen yesterday's grand spectacle. Although the procession had yet to visit many villages, most people had already heard the news and come to join the excitement yesterday.
Even so, the crowds lining both sides of the road showed no sign of thinning today. There were people everywhere, and it was livelier than a market day. Some places might have been farther away, and a few villages had only heard about it yesterday, so their people had hurried over early this morning. That happened too.
However, when their procession entered the villages to the beating of gongs and drums, the villagers were not as frenzied as yesterday. After all, they had already had their excitement and knelt in worship yesterday. Today, they simply lined the road to welcome them and enjoy the spectacle.
Once again, everywhere the procession passed rang with voices. From morning until night, every village welcomed them warmly.
Even during their midday break, villagers from nearby brought them water and eggs, filling everyone in the procession with warmth.
They had originally planned to work a little harder on this second day, walking from their village to town, making a circuit of the main street, then returning. But plans could not keep up with changes.
The enthusiasm of the nearby villagers on the first day had made it clear that everyone wanted Mazu's blessing procession to stay in their village a little longer. The second day was no exception.
As a result, even though they deliberately shortened their stops and quickened their pace on the main road, they had only reached a village on the outskirts of town by