Jin Shu checked the Demon Worshiper's body to see if he could find anything useful.
"Neigh?"
(Translation: Why'd you kill him?)
"Haa... I didn't mean to kill him. I was trying to get information from him. I just didn't expect the bullet to pierce into his heart."
He finished checking the Demon Worshiper's body. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything amazing like another Space Ring. What he did find was the sword the Demon Worshiper stabbed at Jin Shu with, a bag of coins, and a map. Jin Shu pulled out his own map to compare them. This new map was smaller than his and only depicted the forest they were in and further to the east, whereas Jin Shu's map stopped when it reached the eastern border.
"Well, at least we got a useful map out of all of this."
Jin Shu and company rested after they left the forest, as they hadn't slept the previous night due to the wolves.
---
"We've finally made it to the Eastern Region!" Jin Shu exclaimed as they passed through the border separating the Eastern and Western Regions.
He leaned back and stretched on top of Galaxy's back. "It shouldn't be much farther until we reach our destination."
"Yay!" Whinny!
Yin'er and Star cheered happily as they ran around playing behind Galaxy and Sky.
"There should be a border town just up ahead. I remember traveling through it with my Grandfather when we traveled to the Western Region," said Su Bing as she rode up next to Jin Shu on Sky's back.
He turned and looked at Su Bing. "That's right, I had forgotten that you are meant to be our guide in the Eastern Region."
She nodded. "Yeah, I lived at the border area of the Eastern Region until I was eight years old, so I may not be the best guide, but I should suffice as our destination is just past the town I used to live in."
Jin Shu patted Galaxy's back. "Alright, let's speed up a bit and reach the town before nightfall."
---
The six of them traveled for two hours before seeing a town in the distance.
As they got closer to the town, they could hear what sounded like music and merrymaking.
Jin Shu turned to Su Bing and asked, "Is it some type of holiday in the Eastern Region?"
Su Bing shook her head. "Not around this time of year, at least none that I know of."
"Hm, I guess we'll find out when we reach the town."
Once they reached the town, they could see lanterns and streamers hung up around the entire town.
There was a guard at the gate into town. When the guard noticed the travelers, they were already at the entrance.
"Welcome... Hawk Tawn... Trablers!" The guard said, sounding drunk as he stood up unsteadily.
Jin Shu stepped down from Galaxy and asked the guard, "Is there a festival going on?"
The guard stared at Galaxy for a moment and uttered, "That ibs a big horse." He then fell over face-first and started to snore loudly.
Jin Shu stared in shock as the man passed out. After a moment, he picked the man up and leaned him against the town gate, shaking his head in wonder. "I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves."
As they entered the town, the festive atmosphere became even more apparent. The streets were filled with people laughing, dancing, and enjoying themselves. Stalls lined the streets, selling all kinds of food, drinks, and trinkets. Children ran around with small, colorful lanterns in their hands while musicians played lively tunes in the center of the town square.
Jin Shu glanced around, still puzzled by the celebration. "This place seems rather lively."
Su Bing nodded in agreement as she dismounted from Sky. "I wonder what's really going on?"
Just then, a cheerful man wearing a garland of flowers approached them with a wide grin. "Welcome, travelers! You're just in time for the Feast of the Harvest Moon! It's a celebration of our town's prosperity, thanks to the blessings of the land!"
"The Feast of the Harvest Moon?" Jin Shu repeated, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't heard of this festival before, but the name sounded innocent enough.
The man chuckled, seemingly noticing Jin Shu's confusion. "Ah, you must be from the Western Region. It's a tradition here in the East to celebrate after the harvest season. We offer thanks to the gods for a bountiful crop and share the prosperity with everyone. Please, join us in the festivities! There's plenty of food and drink for all!"
Jin Shu exchanged a glance with Su Bing and then looked back at the man. "Thank you for the invitation. We'll be happy to join."
"I thought you said there weren't any holidays around this time?" Jin Shu asked Su Bing after the man had left.
Su Bing thought for a moment before replying with a shrug. "I don't remember there ever being any harvest festivals when I lived in the Eastern Region... maybe it's a newer festival, or maybe it's only this town that celebrates this festival."
As they made their way deeper into the town, the festive air seemed to be infectious as Jin Shu began to feel more cheerful.
Yin'er shouted joyfully as she saw all of the tasty foods. "Yin'er wants to eat some of those! Oh, and that! Ooh! That looks tasty! Can Yin'er get some food, Daddy?"
Jin Shu forced a smile and patted her head. "Sure, let's go get some food for everyone."
They walked around the stalls and bought various tasty and colorful foods.
Yin'er and Star were running around with some candied hawthorns in their mouths.
Some of the children running around saw the little flying tiger and flaming horses and stared in shock. One of the kids was so shocked that their candied hawthorn fell out of their hands. When it hit the ground, the child looked down and burst into tears. "Waa! My candy!"
Yin'er saw the child crying and flew up to them. "Here, you can have Yin'er's candy." Yin'er handed over her candy to the crying child. When the child heard Yin'er speak, she was shocked.
The child stared at Yin'er for a moment, then asked, "You can talk? I thought animals couldn't speak?"
Yin'er puffed out her chest proudly and exclaimed, "Of course Yin'er can talk! Yin'er is a super smart Mystic Beast!"
The child exclaimed in awe and then asked another question. "Wow! That's so cool! But what's a Mystic Beast?"
"Daddy says Yin'er is a Mystic Beast because Yin'er doesn't like the sound of Demonic Beast."
"Oh! What's a Demonic Beast?"
"A Demonic Beast is a very strong animal!"
"Oh! So you're really strong?"
"Of course! Watch this! Hiya!"
Crack!
Yin'er struck a boulder that someone had carved into a sign at the front of their shop.
The shop owner saw Yin'er breaking the boulder and wanted to yell but was too scared by the little tiger's terrifying strength.
Jin Shu had looked away for a moment, and when he turned back, he saw Yin'er breaking the boulder. "Yin'er! Don't break things that don't belong to you!"
He walked over to the man standing outside of the shop in shock. "I'm very sorry, sir. Here, this should cover the cost of the boulder." He handed the man a small pouch of gold coins. The boulder would have probably only cost a silver coin at most; however, Jin Shu only had gold coins on him. When he set out on his journey, his father had given him enough gold coins to buy a whole town.
As they continued through the town, they came across a large bonfire in the center of the square. People danced around it, laughing and singing.
Just as they arrived, an elderly woman dressed in ornate robes appeared before them, her presence commanding attention. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, seemed to pierce through the crowd, and she smiled warmly at Jin Shu and his companions.
"Ah, new faces," she said in a soothing voice that belied the sharpness in her gaze. "Welcome to our humble town. I am Elder Hua, the keeper of our traditions. Please, enjoy the feast. But do be careful not to stray too far from the festivities. The night holds many secrets."
He nodded politely. "Thank you for the hospitality, Elder Hua. We'll make sure to enjoy the night."
Yin'er and Star now had a group of children following them as they ran around the bonfire. It seemed they were playing tag.
Galaxy and Sky were munching on some hay that one of the townspeople had given them at some point.
Ptui!
Galaxy spat out the hay and grabbed a candied hawthorn out of Su Bing's hand, who was holding them for the children as they ran around.
"Hey! Those are for the kids!"
Snort!
(Translation: It's mine now.)
Galaxy snorted mockingly.
Su Bing huffed in anger. "Agh!"
Jin Shu, infected with the joyous air of the festivities, laughed as he watched them playfully fighting. "Ahaha!"
Su Bing turned to Jin Shu when she heard him laughing and pouted angrily. "Humph!"
She asked Sky for help against them. "Sky, help! They're bullying me!"
Neigh!
(Translation: You two, please stop bullying Su Bing.)
Sky neighed ruefully.
Galaxy and Jin Shu glanced at each other, then they both said at the same time,
"Nope!" Snort!
(Translation: Nope!)
Su Bing shouted angrily, "Aah! You two!"
Jin Shu ran away laughing as he went off in search of Yin'er and Star to make sure they weren't causing any more trouble.
He found them on the other side of the bonfire. Star was giving rides to the children.
"Yin'er, take me flying!" one of the children asked Yin'er.
"No! No, no, no, there will be no flying with the children!" Jin Shu hurriedly shouted as Yin'er was about to try and grab the child.
"Aw, but Yin'er was going to be careful," she said, drooping her ears sadly.
"It doesn't matter how careful you were going to be; if you accidentally dropped one of the children, they could get seriously hurt. And Star, you be careful with the children as well, okay?"
Whinny!
(Translation: Okay!)
---
As the night deepened, the festivities only continued to get more joyous and merry. The townspeople continued dancing and singing.
When the night was drawing to a close, Elder Hua climbed onto a stage set in the middle of the town square and began giving a speech. "With the Feast of the Harvest Moon drawing to a close, it is now time to begin the ritual!"
As her voice ended, several children stepped onto the stage, a few of whom Jin Shu recognized as the children who had been playing with Star and Yin'er. The children stopped before Elder Hua and pulled the sleeves of their robes up to their forearms. Elder Hua took out a knife and slid it across the children's arms, making a small wound on both.
"Ah!" Su Bing gasped when she saw Elder Hua cut the children's arms.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" she whispered to Jin Shu.
Jin Shu thought about it, but he didn't sense any danger. "Hmm... let's wait. The children don't seem to be in any danger currently."
As they finished whispering, the children stepped over to a large ceremonial-looking bowl and placed their arms inside it. The bowl looked to be filled to the brim with seeds.
Elder Hua walked to the side of the ceremonial bowl and began chanting in a strange, incomprehensible language. "Shuka hakuju tewfa agba resk delafa toku fraba isno winja!"
When the chanting ended, a red glow came from the ceremonial bowl, and the children pulled their arms out.
Elder Hua pulled a handful of now-red seeds out of the bowl and held them above her head. "The blood of the children has pleased the gods! They have blessed our seeds! We will have another bountiful harvest season!"