How many times the group portrait is spring

The Thousand Lantern Festival is actually a praying event for the New Year in the Gu calendar. It is a large-scale activity led by the high priest of the Gu tribe and all residents of southern Xinjiang will participate. They light the sky lanterns and dance festive dances when night falls to pray for good weather in the new year.

"But there are no gods in this world anymore. Who do they pray to, and who do they tell these wishes to?" Mo Lingyun asked a question. It is well known that reincarnation is incomplete and gods are extinct. Who can I pray to?

"They are not praying to anyone. This is a belief and an expectation for a better life in the new year. The New Year begins with the grand and unanimous unity of the Thousand Lantern Festival." Ning Qing explained, "Sometimes people need some things to live. It is something to support, and the hope for the new year is also a kind of belief."

"So that's how it is." Mo Lingyun was thoughtful.

As the twilight deepens, the first light lit at night gradually lights up the thousands of mountains and rivers. The people of the Gu tribe gather in the open ground, and the grand festival is matched with their own costumes. It can be seen that the smiles on the faces of the people are real. And warm.

Mo Lingyun also got a lamp, which was given to him by an old lady, and also gave him a booklet.

The surrounding people participating in the Thousand Lantern Festival have already formed a circle around the altar, and the silver tassels made a crisp sound as they walked and collided, and the laughter of the children was also a bright light at night.

When Mo Lingyun walked towards Jingrong with the sky lantern in his hands, Ning Qing who was on the side said, "Senior nephew, I still have some things to do. It's the Thousand Lantern Festival tonight, so please take care of senior brother."

"No problem." Mo Lingyun smiled, considering Jing Rong's social skills, he said that it was right to let him take care of him.

Jing Rong didn't stop Ning Qing, but quietly looked at the red-clothed priests standing on the altar. Southern Xinjiang is still red, and the priests are respected. It is common for them to wear red on such a festival.

It's just that the high priest hasn't come yet.

"Master! What do you think I got?" The surroundings were too noisy, and Mo Lingyun could only choose to speak louder if he wanted Jing Rong to hear him clearly.

"Sky lantern?" Jing Rong glanced at the lantern in Mo Lingyun's hand, and got Mo Lingyun's affirmation: "Yes! This lantern is so big, I think one is enough for the two of us."

As for Ning Qing in the other place, he searched for Yan Huai's trace in the crowded crowd, and in the crowd, he caught a glimpse of Yan Huai who didn't hide his face, but the red priestess beside him covered her face with red gauze.

A group of people walked side by side, and some ordinary Gu people came forward to present gifts and blessings. Yan Huai had an extra branch of the Gu family's blessing tree in his hand. This was the only thing he accepted, and it was also the best wishes of the Gu people for him.

He was really far away from Yan Huai, not to mention that before him, there were countless people who wanted to squeeze in front of Yan Huai and his group.

Ning Qing took a deep breath, and walked towards Yan Huai with a firm goal, while Yan Huai was talking to the priest, he didn't care about the noisy crowd at all, so naturally he wouldn't notice Ning Qing in the crowd.

The enthusiasm of the Gu people was hard to resist. Standing next to Yan Huai was their Gu clan leader, the High Priest. Some gave blessing tree branches, some gave lanterns, and some gave home-made pastries to eat. Yan Huai hadn't thought about it yet. No matter how I refused, I heard someone say: "He doesn't eat sweets."

When Yan Huai's eyes fell there, he met Ning Qing, even though the lights were not as bright as the stars in his eyes, there was a slight smile and full of expectations.

Ning Qing seemed to know him very well. Most people knew very little about him. He didn't like sweets in his handwriting. There were no more than one person who knew about it, but Ning Qing, who hadn't had much contact with him, knew all of them.

Yan Huai and the priest bid farewell, and walked towards Ningqing. When the two stood together, the excitement of the Thousand Lantern Festival became more real.

"Why do you know?" Yan Huai thought that his likes and dislikes had not been revealed to the point where everyone knew about them.

"If I said, I knew you before." Ning Qing stopped and turned to look at him, "Yes, you are not a Fujun, nor a ghost doctor, either."

He paused, "Earlier."

In his lost first half?Yan Huai was speechless for a while, he didn't have much thought about his empty past, he just forgot it when he felt it, maybe it was a good thing.

But tonight, someone told him that they were old acquaintances.

"I don't remember you." Yan Huai's eyes darkened. If he had something to do with Ning Qing, was he a righteous person?But for a person like him, there is no right or wrong.

Ning Qing's face froze, and she said as if to comfort herself: "It's good to know each other now."

"By the way, I don't think there is a suitable pendant for your flute. I made one recklessly, and it's a little bit of my heart..." Ning Qing thought about his words, but he panicked and spoke in a panic. The pendant lying quietly in his hand is of a simple style, but the jade used is the best jadeite.

Yan Huai glanced at the pendant in Ning Qing's palm, and momentarily lost his sight, "It's broken."

"what?"

"Flute." He didn't use the flute very often, and usually only took the simplest bamboo flute, and he didn't feel bad when a few were broken in the spring and autumn, and it was also the one that was shattered by Jing Rong's sword energy this time.

"Then, then I'll make you a new one? Can you take this flute pendant first?" Ning Qing asked some prayers. He knew that Yan Huai was indifferent, but he couldn't help but want to get closer to him. closer...

The two looked at each other speechlessly for a while, until Yan Huai reached out to take the pendant in his palm, "There's no need for the flute, I'll take the pendant."

Seeing that he had accepted it, Ning Qing couldn't help but raised the corners of her lips, "You've given me the grace of solidifying my foundation, how can it be a pendant, a flute can still be cleared."

If possible, he even hoped that there would be more entanglement between them, and that Yan Huaiji would deepen it.

"Hey! Light up the lights!" With the sound of the signal, the crowd moved further towards the center, and Ning Qing and the others were also affected.

Yan Huai grabbed Ning Qingxiu and subconsciously pulled him into his arms to protect him, without any discomfort when in contact with others.

Ning Qing was squeezed, and his head was knocked on Yan Huai's shoulder. When he looked up, he felt that the distance between the two was too close. He could even see Yan Huai's eyelashes clearly, and the dark green under the thick black color.

It was Yan Huai who lost his sight first, and helped Ning Qing to stand up very lightly. Now they are squeezed to the outside, and the people of the Gu tribe formed a circle. The biggest lamp in the center has been lit, led by the high priest. A group of people surrounded him.

They are the thick and colorful reds hidden in the mountains and fields, and they are the fearless Gu clan who guard against thousands of border monsters. To welcome the Thousand Lantern Festival, the rainy days have been sunny for them.

On the sacrificial high platform, apart from the bright lights, there are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as their sacred tree leaves. On the high platform, the high priest is barefoot and dressed in a dark red priestly costume. When she looks at the audience, her eyes seem to deepen a little bit. .

The men in the audience beat the drums rhythmically, and Jiu occasionally shook the bell in his hand. , is a beautiful gesture of a woman.

The other Gu people holding the leaves of the sacred tree and standing under the stage were not idle. They sang ancient songs, which added a bit of solemnity to the sacrifice; Ask for good weather and a good harvest throughout the year.

The priests jumped, and the Gu people in costumes under the stage also danced around the hands of the people around them. When the drumbeat ended, the people stopped walking in unison, lit the sky lanterns in their hands, and silently prayed for it to be released into the sky.

Tens of thousands of bright lights were lit and rose to the silent and dark sky, illuminating the boundless darkness.

Ning Qing and Yan Huai watched quietly, while Mo Lingyun at the other place also lit a lamp, and looked at his flying sky lantern happily, shouting: "It's so beautiful!"

The scene that accompanied him to put the lamp was a pain in the eyebrows. He seemed to have seen such a scene a long time ago. It was a lofty posture, the supreme god that all people prayed to.

Jing Rong thought of one thing, the Gu people used to be servants of the gods, but later they rebelled against the gods and were exiled to the bitter land in southern Xinjiang; then, was this sacrifice originally to pray to the god Rongxie?

But why are the sacrificial costumes red?The ancient gods liked light and plain clothes, and red and black were incompatible with their preferences, but the descendants of the Gu tribe chose red as their costumes for important festivals in the clan, and they didn't like outsiders who were as noble and plain as Rongxie, so they were venting their anger ?Exile for thousands of years to vent your anger.

I don't know which generation of priests started this rebellion. Perhaps it started with the first generation of southward migrants.

It was already late at night when the Thousand Lantern Festival was over. Ning Qing brought them some glutinous food and put it all into Mo Lingyun's mouth. He said that the high priest of the Gu clan called Jiu was already waiting for them to pass by.

Jing Rongdao understood the purpose of coming here, Jiu didn't directly say whether this matter can be resolved or not, she was silent for a long time, communicating with them in a common language outside the frontier: "I know what you want, but I want to get one thing, There's always a price to pay."

"Then, what does the priest want us to exchange? As long as it is something within our capacity, we will try our best to prepare it." Ning Qing put his hand on his chest and lowered his head, giving it to the high priest according to the etiquette of the Gu tribe. A salute.

"Get rid of a monster in southern Xinjiang, an evil monster that has been entrenched underwater for hundreds of years and eats countless snakes and insects." The high priest's face seemed to be calm all the time. Only after careful observation could he discover her tiredness. Meaning, "As long as I can solve it, I will take you to see what you want."

What I want, something that can solve the problem of the Lingyun Meridian.Jing Rong focused his eyes, cupped his hands and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"Evil demon? Isn't there someone in the Wan Dao League that takes care of this?" Mo Lingyun's focus was different.

"Outsiders." The high priest looked at Mo Lingyun and seemed to smile, "These big families don't care about the life and death of people in exile like us."

"Why, aren't they all human?" Mo Lingyun was puzzled.

Probably, maybe, it should be Ning Qing and Jing Rong who were scolded a lot, and they couldn't explain this to Mo Lingyun here.

Following Mo Lingyun's question, the high priest's smile seemed to grow stronger, and she said: "Don't digress, this water monster has been entrenched in the deep pool for hundreds of years, our Gu clan can't solve it, and we don't know how it is cultivated. But if you want to deal with it, you must bring people with water spiritual roots, this is my warning to you."

"Water spirit root? Ready-made? Isn't it—Yan Huai?" Mo Lingyun glanced around, and heard the last words said by the priest tonight: "That is a kind person who came from a long way, and he is also willing to serve our family. Solve the demon trouble."