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Chapter 139: Chapter 127: Sea Festival
Early morning.
The thin mist hadn’t yet fully dissipated, with occasional gentle breezes.
A warm white ray of sunshine pierced through the gently swaying gaps between branches and leaves, scattering on the fluffy soft soil.
In the mottled halo, it cast shadows like sculptures of muscle lines, and the undulating beautiful bodies.
"Whew—"
Fang Cheng straightened his arms, took a leap, and easily stood up.
Looking at the Skill Experience Points that appeared before his eyes, he twisted his neck and swung his limbs.
Ending this brief morning exercise.
Due to time and location constraints, today’s training was only about one-third of the usual, barely sweating.
However, Fang Cheng didn’t plan on maintaining the status quo.
Being in such a strange and unknown place, it’s actually a good habit to keep your energy up at all times.
As for training, moderation is sufficient, the focus should still be on learning meditation.
Thinking this, Fang Cheng’s mind once again conjured the strange events he encountered last night.
After getting up in the morning, the pair of footprints found at the door were also very strange.
The imprints looked like the fins worn by divers.
From the smell of the water stains, Fang Cheng could distinguish a very unique fishy smell.
Like seawater that had soaked decayed fish and shrimp.
Could it be that someone got the urge last night to go diving for fish and only returned to base at midnight?
Fang Cheng shook his head, discarding this somewhat bizarre thought.
At least one thing can be confirmed now, that the scenes he saw and heard last night were not hallucinations caused by a high Spirit Attribute.
A breeze shuffled through the woods, branches and leaves rustled, and also carried over distant voices.
It seemed someone was approaching this way.
Fang Cheng’s gaze swept over the obstructive treetops, looking towards the faintly visible white building on the hillside.
He then left the quiet, dense forest, pretending to just have been out for a morning run, and ran back onto the concrete road.
After returning to the dormitory, Fang Cheng quickly took a shower, then went to the dining hall for breakfast.
Then he stood in the lobby downstairs, waiting for today’s group travel activity to start.
After 8 o’clock, many group members arrived late.
It seems everyone slept very sweetly last night, so much so that they couldn’t get out of bed in the morning.
Some group members even excitedly claimed they had cured their chronic insomnia here.
It was almost 8:30 by the time.
All members finally gathered, and then took a bus to Yong’an Town at the foot of the mountain.
Looking through the bus window glass towards the road ahead, the sky was cloudless and blue, seemingly merging with the sea.
Unlike the slightly mysterious and gloomy scene when they arrived yesterday evening.
Under the sunshine, the fishing town was filled with a warm and vibrant atmosphere.
The roads were lined with shaded green trees, blooming flowers, matching naturally with the old surrounding houses, brimming with a leisurely pastoral charm.
Several fishing boats were docked in the harbor, occasionally with motor and horn sounds, adding a bit of a busy atmosphere.
After disembarking, Fang Cheng quietly followed the group travel, strolling in the streets and alleys, as a way to relax his mind and body.
This small island town, although not very populated, had quite complete community facilities.
Not only hospitals, post offices, cinemas, primary and secondary schools, and department stores.
The Security Department has also set up a dedicated division here to combat smuggling and illegal immigration, as well as a police station staffed by a dozen people.
The only inconvenience is that there is no communication base station built yet, so mobile phones can’t receive any signals.
The only way to communicate with the outside world is through landline phones and letters.
During the sightseeing process, Fang Cheng also noticed that there were actually quite a few tourists from other places visiting here.
In front of some attractions, one could always see the presence of backpackers and other tour groups.
According to the tour guide, Yong’an Island’s annual "Sea Festival" was about to be held, during which there would be a grand procession to honor the deities and folklore celebration activities.
Therefore, this period belongs to the local tourist peak season, and many homestays and hotels are fully booked.
Luckily, the tour group had its own training camp base, so there was no need to worry about accommodation issues.
Pan Wendi happened to meet an acquaintance from East Capital, who seemed to be a gym customer; they greeted each other and chatted for a while.
In fact, other than the raw natural scenery and experiencing the local lifestyle, there weren’t many cultural attractions on the island worth visiting.
The slightly notable ones were a temple with folk beliefs and an island history museum.
The temple was the main venue for local sacrificial activities, where the deity worshiped was called "Empress of the Sea."
It is said that over two hundred years ago, an epidemic broke out on Yong’an Island, causing many people to contract strange diseases and die.
Some villagers dreamt of the Empress of the Sea’s will, hence gathered craftsmen to sculpt a statue of the deity, conduct repentance rituals for the unmoored souls of water and land, and even held a pacifying parade through the streets with the statue. Afterward, the epidemic indeed ceased.
Since then, the island residents collected funds to build this temple dedicated to the "Empress of the Sea," holding the grand Sea Festival yearly to thank the deity’s grace and perform rituals for the spirits, hoping to maintain peace in the area.
Now it’s January 16th, also the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, with just six days left until the festival.
Therefore, there were a lot of villagers and tourists coming here to offer incense and pray for peace, making the place very lively.
Inside the temple, a gentle smoke curled up, with large long-burning tower incense hanging, and the main deity, a benevolent and gentle looking woman, was enshrined in the center of the main hall.
Her facial features depicted kindness, and the wide, spread skirt was carved into wave patterns, as if her true body was hidden among the tumultuous waves.
Many people in the tour group bought incense and candles, following suit in worshiping.
Then, after leaving the temple of the Empress of the Sea, they came to the Yong’an Island History Museum.
There were far fewer people here, mostly consisting of group members like Fang Cheng acting as onlookers.
The tour guide pointed to the many cultural relics preserved in the display cases, introducing the related history and geographical features of Yong’an Island.
Millions of years ago, this area experienced very active volcanic activity. Over time, lava accumulated deep in the seabed crust, cooling and solidifying through long years, and eventually surfaced, forming what is now seen as Yong’an Island.
Because it is isolated at sea, far from the mainland, making transportation inconvenient, it has been rarely visited over time.
Historical records even mention a volcanic eruption that once occurred, devastating the only fishing village stronghold.
Thus, for a long time, it remained desolate, uninhabited, or turned into a hiding place for pirates and bandits.
It was only in the past two hundred years, with scientific and technological advancements, that this place truly started developing and gradually attracted people.
Plus, due to the influence of the volcano and the warm ocean currents, the climate on the island is more pleasant compared to the same latitude, and the natural resources are richer, allowing it to rely on fishing and tourism industries, forming the current town with nearly 20,000 residents, which has begun to take shape.
After visiting the entire museum, it was almost noon.
The tour group had booked a local specialty restaurant near the fishing port, finally enjoying a good seafood feast.
Afterwards, the group did not continue to the beach to admire the rarely seen pristine sandy beaches of East Capital, nor did they go to the legendary "Volcanic Hot Springs" for a bath.
Because there was an even more important activity planned for the afternoon, which was also the meditation session that the group members had been looking forward to for a long time.
After this sightseeing activity, everyone seemed to be in a much better mood, and there were more sounds of laughter as they took the car back to the training camp.
Fang Cheng and Pan Wendi returned to the dormitory together, tidied up a bit, and then headed to the Meditation Hall located in the east side annex.
Everyone followed the requirements of the True Thought Society, showered their bodies, changed into the uniformly issued white meditation clothes, and gathered here.
People stood together according to their closeness, whispering and gossiping.
Perhaps because it was their first meditation class, everyone inevitably felt a bit excited.
Fang Cheng also silently observed the environment of the Meditation Hall and prepared himself amidst the chatter of Pan Wendi.
