Chapter 107: The Enemy Feints in the East but Strikes in the West
“There are Turks…”
“Where are the Turks!”
“Is it an enemy attack? Have the enemy forces reached Luoyang?”
Great Wei had been in conflict with the Turks for many years, but the flames of war mostly burned at the border passes.
Luoyang, because of Yuan Xizai, became one of the few inner cities affected by the Turks.
Upon hearing of the appearance of Turks, the crowd suddenly panicked.
Panic spread like vines.
People stopped looking at the lanterns flickering and changing in the sky, and instead instinctively sought a way out amidst the surging crowd, only to find the entire street already too congested.
Wei Wanlan shrank back nervously.
Su Jingzhi’s gaze fell on the messenger, his brows unmoving as he explained to Wei Wanlan: “I had arranged for soldiers to guard against Turks, anticipating that the Imperial Villa hadn’t been completely cleared.”
The Big Bad Guy always had an inherent calmness and composure.
Hearing this, Wei Wanlan blinked his doe-like eyes. Su Jingzhi could anticipate many things in advance, which gave him a sense of security.
Sure enough, after that abrupt announcement, the messenger hurriedly continued in a breathless voice:
“Those Turks… the Turks have all been, been wiped out by the garrison at the North Gate.”
“They probably intended to seize the gate and return to the grasslands, but failed. The Regent King was prepared, everyone please don’t panic.”
Only then did the citizens in the city steady their steps.
Someone shouted:
“Hey! Don’t gasp so much when you talk!”
“Exactly, exactly, panting louder than an ox, there’s no messenger like you…”
The citizens seemed to restart after the pause button was pressed, and Wei Wanlan also breathed a slow sigh of relief.
The burly messenger scratched his head, his face flushed red, and apologized in a rough voice: “Sorry, sorry, really sorry everyone, I just came from where the Turks appeared, seeing the city patrols heading that way, I got excited and misspoke a bit.”
Under such circumstances, no one would blame him.
That feeling of a close call eventually turned into trust in the imperial court. Cheers from the citizens began to rise in the market, and this small accident transformed into a side entertainment for the Luoyang Grand Pu:
“As expected of the Regent King!”
“If the Regent King can drive Ashina Shali back to herd horses in the royal court, what fear is there of a few rogue bandits in the city?”
“His Majesty is benevolent and wise, the Prince is victorious in every battle, Great Wei is fortunate…”
Thus, the fireworks in the sky gradually dimmed, but the citizens’ interest in the festivities grew even stronger.
From the main street came the sound of rumbling carriage wheels drawing nearer, along with singing. Wei Wanlan followed the sound and saw many massive objects with wheels approaching slowly like mountains. Each “mountain” was lit with lanterns, making them bright as day.
—Those were floats.
The float parade was the final performance of the Grand Pu.
Each float had a different theme. The floats were decorated around the theme, and actors sang or danced on them. This basic design principle was roughly the same as the performances Wei Wanlan had seen in modern ancient-style theme parks, though modern lighting was still brighter.
But there were also areas surpassing the modern era, most notably the demeanor of the actors. Their level of dedication simply stunned Wei Wanlan; it was as if once dressed as Chang’e holding the Jade Rabbit, they might instantly fly back to the Moon Palace with the clear breeze…
Ancient cosplayers were so dedicated too!
Wei Wanlan nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Unconsciously, he followed the floats.
Su Jingzhi beside him, as well as other citizens of Luoyang, also followed the float parade around the city. More and more people gathered around the floats, and the themes of the passing floats became increasingly rich.
“Seven Fairies float, you’re missing a Dong Yong. Little ladies, see if I’m suitable???” Someone chased and shouted from below the float.
“Ooh. Nezha and Erlang Shen are the real deal, both have great skills!”
“Hahahaha, the Classic of Mountains and Seas float is still the easiest to dress up for, weird is the way to go. Which divine beast are you, sir…”
Suddenly, a cloud of mist rose on the main street.
The gaze of the onlookers followed the rising mist, and amidst the swirling clouds, they saw the grandest finale float of all. The mist was created by a smoke-producing prop, with white smoke but no open flame.
With this mist, the float immediately appeared even more magnificent than just large, as if a celestial mountain had been directly pulled from the Penglai cloud sea to the mortal world.
Wei Wanlan gazed intently in appreciation. Inside the float, figures could be seen vaguely: these immortals were both male and female, their ritual robes of various colors, and the magical artifacts they held were also different.
He saw swords, flutes, vertical bamboo flutes, fans… He vaguely felt this theme was somewhat familiar.
“Grandpa, Grandpa, what kind of immortals are they in this float?”
“The float carries the Eight Immortals.” An old man near them explained, “Look, that’s Lu Dongbin. Grandpa once told you about Lu Dongbin slaying the Yellow Dragon with a flying sword.”
“Oh, so that’s it. Is he the one bitten by a dog too?”
The old man burst out laughing, calling him a silly child.
The Eight Immortals float was at the end of the procession:
Leading, standing tall with a sword, was Lu Dongbin, and surrounded in the center was He Xiangu. The styling was realistic, the makeup solemn and dignified, and the float appeared even more ethereal under the backdrop of clouds and mist.
But compared to other floats, the actors on this largest float remained motionless, striking various poses. The entire float, like a celestial land moving horizontally in the mortal world, drifted into the denser crowd…
At first, everyone thought the immortals on this float were supposed to be motionless. The citizens thought this was the static beauty deliberately maintained by the actors of this final float, to distinguish it from the singing and dancing floats ahead, embodying a difference.
However, at this moment, He Xiangu moved!
Wei Wanlan’s eyelid twitched.
In the ethereal white mist, He Xiangu changed from carrying the basket to holding the flower basket in her arms, becoming the only immortal to change.
Is this a bonus Easter egg?
He hurried a few steps. Wanting to see what the other immortals would change into, he stared intently for a long time, but the other immortals remained motionless.
Wei Wanlan wondered: “Why did only one person move? Is there something special about her?”
He seemed unable to ask anyone else; only Su Jingzhi was beside him. He actually had a compliment for the Regent King he had never spoken, which was that he felt the Regent King knew a lot of things too.
So he asked Su Jingzhi: “Will the others move?”
Su Jingzhi scrutinized for a moment, his brow darkening, and suddenly pulled someone over, saying coldly: “You ask if the others on the float will move.”
The poor person pulled over by him was instantly confused. What kind of quirk is this?
But he dared not disobey. Regardless of whether he knew Su Jingzhi’s identity, that aura of authority was intimidating. He had to raise his voice as a megaphone, and his voice was quite loud: “Hey, He Xiangu changed, may I ask the other immortal elders if you will change too!”
This question resonated with the onlookers.
Then someone else asked:
“Daoist Lu, how about a sword dance?”
“Lan Caihe, play a celestial tune for us to hear—”
“Han Xiangzi! Han Xiangzi play the flute!”
The sound of heckling grew louder. The citizens meant no malice; watching the excitement naturally required a noisy crowd to be lively.
So following He Xiangu, the other seven immortals inevitably moved again; not moving would seem too unreasonable.
When the seven immortals moved, He Xiangu, who was originally surrounded inside, was exposed.
At this time, Wei Wanlan’s gaze fell on He Xiangu again. His pupils shrank abruptly. Through the gaps in the flower basket’s branches, he saw that He Xiangu seemed to be wearing her clothes wrong. Her front lapel was bulging.
Uh, sorry, Wei Wanlan apologized in his heart. He didn’t mean to look at her chest, just felt it was very strange. Her sash seemed tied wrong. Others had the left lapel over the right, but she seemed to have… the right lapel over the left.
Left lapel!
She wore it wrong!
Wei Wanlan had worn Hanfu countless times for location shoots. He knew the ancients revered the right lapel, and burial clothes distinguishing the living were left-lapelled. Barbarian customs also revered the left lapel. Theoretically, she absolutely shouldn’t wear clothes wrong on the occasion of a float parade, unless—
This person was not familiar with Great Wei culture at all, even less familiar than a modern person. She was not from Great Wei!
A Turk!
No wonder she held the flower basket in her arms; it was to cover herself.
This was a diversionary tactic. The Regent King set a trap to guard against Turks causing trouble, but his subordinates were deceived by the feint of the Turkic remnants in the city.
The Turks here were the main force.
Why would the Turks charge into the crowd? They knew they were covered by an inescapable net and destined not to escape Luoyang City, so they simply…
He Xiangu pulled a fire starter out of the flower basket.
Wei Wanlan: “Someone wants to create panic and destroy the city!!”
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