Chapter 1263: Reminiscence
The alcohol tribe was naturally very pleased to have the Door tribe working for them and paying off the debts they had incurred—both for the fact that Zhang Lie had saved the alcohol tribe in the past, and for dealing with their troubles now.
Before Zhang Lie left, the alcohol tribe presented him with a princely gift—a hundred casks of alcohol.
Zhang Lie accepted the gift with a smile. He wouldn't have to purchase alcohol for his comrades as planned, then.
He and Li Qianlin continued to explore the territory of the Lie kingdom.
They headed to the royal farm. Zhang Lie introduced, "Every so often, the royal family has a hunt in this region. The Lie king once took advantage of his authority as king of the realm to speed up time in the vicinity of this area, and the lifeforms' rate of reproduction increased as well."
"There are fewer lifeforms than I would have expected... is it because a hunt has just finished?"
Zhang Lie shrugged. "No. It's because the majority of the superior- and peak-grade lifeforms have been transported to the genetic farm in the draconian kingdom."
Li Qianlin gaped. "So this is just an offshoot of that farm?!"
"You can understand it that way."
After Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin toured the kingdom, they finally had the chance to witness one of the Lie kingdom's specialties—their funerals.
"He lay there, as though he were—a fallen leaf, floating in the wind—to his soul we pay our respects, our tears!"
A few youths danced about the town with a coffin in tow, their actions spry and vivacious. The coffin was sent flying into the air.
Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin, amidst the crowd, began to clap following the rhythm.
"As though you had—dreamt a marvelous dream—never to wake up again—your smile as gentle as a breeze. All things change in time—even the stars will move—but our love will remain here, here where you spilled blood—in passion and glory!"
Li Qianlin had to force herself to remain calm and avoid laughing. "What an unusual custom!"
Zhang Lie gave her a thumbs up. "Well? You think it interesting too, don't you?"
"Please, depart with ease—leave your earthly roots behind!" the son of the dead cried out, tears filling his eyes.
The citizens of the town began to sing the familiar song. "A river of tears we might swallow—but tomorrow will be, it will be, a better day! Strive—strive to persevere, to live without giving up! And when our love and hope face the sun—our tears of yesterday shall evaporate."
The singing, dancing youths paraded through the streets with the coffin in tow, their actions filled with remarkable grace.
"Do not give up on the morrow—dream your dreams, wish your wishes, fill yourself with strength and courage—let your love and hope shine by the moonlight!"
They placed the coffin in the center of the town.
Li Qianlin covered her mouth to avoid revealing a smile. "The Lie kingdom's funerals are far more joyous, far more interesting an affair than even the royal dances..."
"Turn back and take a look at your homeland—the future lies in wait, a myriad paths to travel—I opened the window and basked in the welcoming dawn!"
Once the coffin had been placed on the ground, the youth and his family circled the coffin as though they were around a campfire. As they clapped their hands, they sang and danced around it.
Those attending the funeral placed a bouquet of fresh flowers in front of the coffin. Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin did the same, then departed.
Li Qianlin clasped her hands behind her back. As the skies turned dark and the sun set, she raised her head to look at the stars, her steps light.
"How happy I am."
Zhang Lie smiled. "What? How could you be happy after attending someone's funeral?"
Li Qianlin kicked Zhang Lie's foot.
"You were the one who took me to see it!"
Zhang Lie laughed.
Li Qianlin continued, "I feel like I've had far too much fun the last few days. If only they could all continue in this manner..."
Zhang Lie knew that that would be impossible. He would eventually have to leave the third realm and ascend to the fourth.
"Let me bring you back to the Zongming kingdom," he suggested. "The Zongming kingdom's founding ceremony is about to begin, and your father told me to bring you back in advance to prepare."
Li Qianlin turned to him. "I'd love to accompany you out again in the future if there's an opportunity."
"Very well."
"Then it's settled."
Li Qianlin stuck out her pinkie finger.
Zhang Lie smiled. "Is this a custom in the Zongming kingdom too?"
Li Qianlin replied, "I learned it from Sun Mengmeng and the others. You better not renege on your promise!"
Zhang Lie curled his pinkie with hers. With his other hand, he shattered space and brought Li Qianlin toward the Zongming kingdom.
By then, the Zongming kingdom had already reached the last legs of its preparation for its founding ceremony. As Zhang Lie brought Li Qianlin back, Li Zongming waved to him and had the master of ceremonies lead him and Li Qianlin away. The master of ceremonies gave Zhang Lie a change of clothes and informed him as to the details of the upcoming ceremony.
That night, Li Zongming had dinner with Zhang Lie.
"Sorry for the trouble. I hope learning our customs hasn't been too difficult."
Zhang Lie replied, "Actually, nothing would go wrong even if I didn't attend..."
Li Zongming looked at him in astonishment. "How could we do that? You're the reason all this has happened to us, and one of the cornerstones of the Zongming kingdom! You're a hero and the husband-to-be of the princess of the kingdom. No matter what, I'd like you to be present."
Zhang Lie smiled. "All for Qianlin, then."
The founding ceremony occurred two days later.
Just as when the worlds of east and west were combined, the road to the capital had been festooned with flowers in red and blue. The red flowers were a specialty of the west, and the blue ones that of the east.
The trees were arrayed with traditional folk attire of the two worlds. The east favored elegance and subtlety; the west, extravagance and lordliness. The trees were arrayed alternatingly in the two worlds' outfits, as though they represented citizens from the two worlds holding hands, all the way for ten miles.
This was the founding ceremony for the kingdom, and Li Zongming wanted to express that he had never forgotten the friendship that had existed between the kingdoms of east and west. Without that initial merger, there wouldn't have been the superior Zongming world, or subsequently the current Zongming kingdom.
The Zongming kingdom had been built on the joint cooperation of the citizens of east and west.
The ground had been swept clean, without even a speck of dirt.
Strong citizens had dispelled the clouds in the air, making the sky shine as brightly as a gemstone. Rays of light from the morning sun struck the mountain in its entirety.
Outside the cordon, quite a few citizens had gathered.
"Today marks the day the Zongming kingdom is founded. A few years ago, we went from the world of the east to the Zongming world; now, we go from the Zongming world to the Zongming kingdom. Everything feels as though it has happened in the blink of an eye."
"It really does feel like no time at all..."
"I hear that there'll even be a performance by the east and the west."
"This is a historical moment—and we've seen two of them in our lifetime!"
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