In winter, it snows heavily.
It was warm as usual inside the Xundu Academy. A fire pit was built underground for heating, which allowed more people to gather inside the Xundu Academy, and it even felt a little hot.
This was built by Fang Xiu, who mobilized all the students in the academy as a practical lesson. A heated kang was also built at the same time.
This method of heating quickly became popular throughout the capital of Xun. Many aristocratic families began to use it, and the kang (hard-heated brick bed) even entered every household of the common people.
Inside the Xundu Academy, as the bell rang to signal the end of the teacher's lecture, the students and the Dahuan people who were listening to the lecture bowed to the teacher at the top, and then gradually withdrew.
Fang Xiu walked out of the gate and looked at the snow-covered courtyard and the white maple trees. He also saw the busy pedestrians on the street outside. The snow on the street had been shoveled clean and piled on both sides. Walking along the avenue, he could see that the witch sacrifice altar in front of the palace had been built.
The tall altar appears to be divided into several layers, all constructed of wood, and is more than thirty meters high.
“Winter goes and spring comes, a new season begins!”
According to their customs, at the beginning of each year, they hold a grand witch god ceremony to worship the sky and the witch god.
They prayed to the witch god to grant them good weather and good harvests this year, and to bless them, the Huan people, to continue their rule forever.
Once the snow melts and spring arrives and flowers bloom, this grand witch god ceremony will begin.
At that time, not only the 50,000 Huan people in the entire Xundu city will participate, but also the hundreds of thousands of people in the entire royal capital outside the city will go to Xundu to worship the witch gods they believe in.
At this time, most of the population did not live in the city. Common people lived outside the city. More people gathered in villages and towns outside the city. That was the world that truly belonged to the Huan people.
The princes and governors who came from afar also came to participate in this witch-god sacrifice and express their loyalty to King Huan.
Therefore, this year's witch god sacrifice is different from previous years. It is particularly important and cautious. It will be related to the stability of the entire Dahuan and the handover of the new and old royal power.
In the next few days, people came to Xundu Academy one after another to visit Mr. Fang Xiu, the teacher.
There came shamans and wizards from Xundu. The shamans talked to Fuzifeng about the mysteries of shamanic techniques, while the wizards talked to him about the magical power of bloodline abilities. Occasionally, they mentioned the mysterious beasts like the black birds in the mountains and rivers, and the mysterious sea creatures in the sea, which were similar to their bloodline abilities.
There were also officials from the inner court of Dahuan who came and talked with Fufeng about state governance, the geography of mountains and seas, and the scene of the Li Chi banquet. They said that a historian had recorded that scene and let King Huan know about it. After hearing it, King Huan was also very curious about this extraordinary man, Fufeng of Xundu Academy.
Of course, the four people who came more frequently were Qingyang, Jia Yi, Che Shao and Tengsheng. Most of them came because of the matter of Taoist Qingyun. They had seen Taoist Qingyun in the palace during the night court meetings. There had been fierce quarrels and accusations between the two sides. In the past few months, many conflicts had broken out.
This caused a lot of uproar in the entire Xun City. Fang Xiu didn't pay much attention to it, but from listening to the conversations between the students and disciples, he could tell that it was quite a big deal.
But this is within Xundu, and among those who are in the Foundation Establishment Stage alone are King Huan, and the two witches He and Zhu who were once defeated by Taoist Qingyun. It's not just Taoist Qingyun alone, even the Great Witch Priest cannot kill people at will in Xundu, and they are the most powerful group of southern princes.
There are also some other extraordinary people in the world hiding in Xundu. Most of them are planning to establish a vassal state, or want to join the witch sacrifice to obtain the witch sacrifice inheritance of Dahuan, and there are even those who want to obtain the blood of the witch god.
Of course, there are also people who want to obtain the nautical chart to Nanzhou from Fang Xiu and want to leave Dongzhou and go to Nanzhou.
Inside the Xundu Academy, the lights were bright, while the streets outside were silent.
In the side room, Fang Xiu, Qingyang and Jia Yi were all drunk, and many books were scattered on the ground. The books at that time did not have many words, so most of them were in the form of scrolls, and there were not many in the form of books.
"Fengdu! Tell me, what does that Taoist Qingyun want to do?" Jia Yi looked a little confused. He was a little scared when he saw Taoist Qingyun. However, the two sides were fighting back and forth. The so-called Great Witch Jiyun seemed to be on the verge of a fight. He tried his best to exclude and suppress the southern princes group, but in fact, he did not take any real big action.
Fang Xiu leaned against the pillar, looking a little lazy, and let out a laugh.
"perhaps?"
"He's just trying to divert everyone's attention."
Qingyang's face was a little serious. They had already guessed it, but they were not sure: "You mean he has another purpose? What is it? Fengdu, do you know?"
Fang Xiu waved his hand: "I just said~"
"Who knows?"
Fang Xiu looked a little drunk. "Besides, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Whatever Taoist Qingyun is planning, King Huan, Wuji He, Zhu and many other Wuji priests, as well as so many extremely powerful sorcerers who can tear spirit beasts apart alive, it's your turn to worry about them!"
Fang Xiu looked at Qingyang and Jia Yi, with a teasing look on his face: "Do you really want to fight a life-and-death duel with Taoist Qingyun here?"
Qingyang shook his head: "After the Wu Shen Festival is over, Che Shao is not going to intervene in the fight for the next King Huan. After consideration, he believes that it is safest to develop the power of the southern vassal states."
"With our current power, we are not enough to influence and control the Dahuan Dynasty. Decades have passed, and Dahuan has become more powerful than before."
Jia Yi also nodded and smiled at Fang Xiu, "I no longer want to be the Marquis of Jia State. I've sold it to them. Qingyang doesn't want his Marquis of Qing State anymore."
"After all, if I leave again, I won't be like them. I can't run things slowly and steadily like them. What's more, what we want is different from what they want."
"They want control and influence in the Mountain and Sea Realm. What we want is..."
"It's just the Great Dao and longevity!"
"We have decided to each establish a cultivation sect and leave a legacy in the mountains and seas. This is more reliable than doing this!"
After chatting all night and drinking a lot, Fang Xiu saw them off.
"Yohoo!"
At this moment, a strange and shrill roar suddenly came from the street in the distance. At this midnight, in Xundu where ghosts are rampant, perhaps only monks dare to travel at night.
As the snow gradually melts, the trees sprout new buds, and the weather turns warmer, the entire Xun city begins to enter its most lively season.
Dahuan did not have the custom of celebrating the New Year or the Spring Festival. This witch god sacrifice could be said to be the most important festival in Dahuan.