The Peacock Dance; Visiting the True Spirit Lineages of Four Counties
A banquet to reminisce about the past and appreciate the present, with several elders laughing and crying, displaying a rare moment of unbridled behavior.
During the banquet, upon learning that the Prefectural Government had bestowed upon Kong Wenxuan the "Peacock County Magistrate's Official Seal" and that Kong Wenxuan had been appointed as the "Magistrate of Peacock County," everyone asked Kong Wenxuan to take out the official seal. The group passed it around, looking at it and touching it, and their smiles became even brighter.
As the shout reached the high place, the eldest brother, Kong Wenzhang, made a hand Hand Seals, summoning the power of the "Peacock True Spirit Star" to fall down and sprinkle into the courtyard, covering everyone in a layer of starlight gauze.
Second Aunt Kong Yujin even stood up from the banquet and, amidst the starlight in the courtyard, started Peacock Dance.
Kong Wenxuan could tell that this Peacock Dance was very similar to the dance performed by his clan in mid-August each year when they worshipped the moon in order to pray for "the Emperor's Flowing Essence" to awaken the bloodline of their people.
However, the dance during the moon worship ceremony is more solemn, while the Peacock Dance performed by the second aunt is more graceful, joyful, and dazzling.
When the second aunt got excited, she pulled the second elder, the eldest uncle, and the eldest brother away from the table, and they all danced the Peacock Dance in the courtyard.
The Peacock Dance performed by my uncle and elder brother undoubtedly displayed a different kind of powerful beauty.
At this moment, the clan chief Kong Changgeng took out a bamboo Law Artifact from his Storage Bag and began to play it, accompanying the Peacock Dance of the group. The atmosphere in the courtyard immediately became even more lively.
Kong Wenxuan was also surprised that the clan chief Kong Changgeng had this skill. He had never seen the clan chief play the bamboo flute before. Now, listening to the flute music and watching his second aunt, eldest uncle and others dance, he was greatly amazed.
Unfortunately, he had no artistic talent; he couldn't dance the Peacock Dance or play any music. He could only clap along to the rhythm and cheer for them.
Finally, the banquet, filled with laughter, tears, flute music, and dance, continued late into the night.
The next day, Kong Wenxuan could clearly see that the energy, appearance, and temperament of the clan leader, the second elder, the eldest uncle, the second aunt, the eldest brother, and others had all changed considerably.
Clearly, yesterday's lively banquet helped them resolve many of their inner conflicts and let go of many burdens from the past. It was as if they had undergone a baptism, and their mental outlook became more positive, relaxed, and lively.
The group greeted each other with smiles, and after discussing it for a while, clan leader Kong Changgeng, accompanied by Kong Wenxuan, went to visit the Ya Household's residence in the county town. Their purpose was twofold: firstly, to formally thank the Ya Household for bringing them to the county town; and secondly, to inquire when the Ya Household Ya Household would return to Cuckoo Town, as they wished to arrange a trip back together.
At the Ya Household residence, it was Ya Zhaoying who received the two of them again. The two members of the Kong Household presented gifts to thank Ya Zhaoying the way. Ya Zhaoying also smiled and congratulated the Kong Household on the Golden Crow Imperial Dynasty and being granted the position of "Magistrate of Peacock County".
Clearly, although the Kong Household only obtained the "Peacock County Magistrate's Official Seal" yesterday, the Ya Household already knew about it today, or even yesterday, demonstrating their excellent information network.
As for the request to return together, Ya Zhaoying agreed, but it would take a few days. The Ya Household still had some businesses and social affairs in the county town that needed to be handled by the other party, so they would have to stay in the county town for a few more days.
If the Kong Household wanted to return to Cuckoo Town with Ya Zhaoying and the others, they would need to wait a few more days in the county town.
Kong Wenxuan and clan chief Kong Changgeng readily agreed. Their intention to return to Cuckoo Town with Ya Zhaoying was for safety reasons, and they naturally wanted to follow Ya Zhaoying's schedule.
Seeing that the two members of the Kong Household had agreed, Ya Zhaoying smiled and gave them a tip: The True Spirit Lineage of the other three counties in Bifang Commandery all have their own courtyards and residences in this county town.
Kong Wenxuan and the other person immediately understood what the other meant and quickly bowed to thank them for their guidance.
After leaving the Ya Household's residence and returning to the courtyard of the rented inn, the two sorted out their belongings and prepared three gifts. In the following days, they visited the residences of the other three True Spirit Lineage in the county town.
They are the Jiao Household family, Eighth-Grade True Spirit Lineage known as "Wildebeest"; the He Household, Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage known as "Mysterious Black Crane"; and the Fu family, Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage Fu Household "Pit Viper".
The Kong Household is now Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage and has been granted the title of "Magistrate of Peacock County". Although the Peacock County is still just a concept, in terms of power and status, the Kong Household is already on the same level as the True Spirit Lineage of other counties.
From then on, the main people the Kong Household interacted with, clashed with, and traded with were no longer ordinary Bloodline Lineage who could only serve as servants, but True Spirit Lineage at the same level.
Therefore, the True Spirit Lineage in the other counties under the jurisdiction of Bifang Commandery will undoubtedly be the main targets of the Kong Household's future interactions and confrontations.
As a newcomer, the Kong Household naturally needed to take the initiative to visit these senior True Spirit Lineage, present some gifts, introduce themselves, and indicate that their "Peacock" Kong Household would join the power and interest game among the True Spirit Lineage in the counties under Bifang Commandery.
In particular, after they had already paid a visit to the Ya Household's residence in the county town, it was only natural that they couldn't leave out the other families.
Otherwise, not only would the Kong Household be impolite, but they would also offend the other three families. With only a few enemies under the white tree, it would be even more difficult for the Kong Household to integrate into the circle of Bifang Commandery in the future.
Kong Wenxuan and his companion did not believe that the other three True Spirit Lineage in the other three counties would be completely unaware of their Kong Household's newly promoted Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage and the newly added Lineage of the Peacock County Magistrate.
From the information revealed in Ya Zhaoying's words alone, it is clear that these True Spirit Lineage from various counties not only have Lineage residences and businesses in this county town, but also their own networks of connections, sources of information, and even intelligence networks.
It's likely that the moment the Kong Household arrived in the prefectural city and presented their visiting card to the prefectural government, some of Kong Household information and data had already been placed on the desks of some members of these True Spirit Lineage, who were examining and studying them.
In the following days, Kong Wenxuan and his companion visited the residences of the other three True Spirit Lineage in the county town. During their polite exchanges with the heads of each family, it was clear that they understood the Kong Household, and even the two of them.
Of course, since everyone was just getting to know each other, and the Kong Household completely adopted the attitude of being the younger generation, they showed great respect to the Jiao Household, He Household, and Fu Household, and even took the initiative to visit them.
Therefore, apart from intentionally or unintentionally showing off their knowledge of the Kong Household during their conversation to demonstrate their methods and strength, these three families did not deliberately make things difficult for the two members of the Kong Household, nor did they intend to intimidate them.
After all, the Kong Household currently has no conflict of interest with them, nor any power struggle, so they are naturally not foolish enough to make enemies for themselves.
As for how the relationship between everyone will develop in the future, whether it will be good or bad, we'll have to wait and see how things unfold.
Anyway, we'll all be in the same circle in the future, so there's plenty of time and opportunities to get to know each other.