Rabbit Must Die-Chapter 364 - 359: Grand Ceremony of Heaven_1

"Looking for a topic, didn’t you come over when it first snowed?" Qin Shou said.

Dog Xiaotian grinned and sidled up mysteriously, "Don’t you think the snow is falling strangely?"

Qin Shou nodded, "It is indeed strange. It’s said that this place never sees snow the whole year round, and suddenly it snowed for a few days..."

Dog Xiaotian slapped his palm, "That’s the point! Right when it began to snow, the Second Master said something was odd, and with a leap, he vanished without a trace."

Qin Shou’s heart stirred, "Did he find anything?"

Dog Xiaotian shook his head, "The Second Master didn’t say, but he went out several times every day. And when he left, he made me squat in the inn to watch over an old green-skinned oil lamp. He said if the lamp went out, I should go to the Heavenly Court for help. I couldn’t leave my post guarding that lamp; otherwise, I would have come over to mooch some food...cough cough, I mean early to chat with you."

Qin Shou also chose to ignore Dog Xiaotian’s little scheme and asked, "What happened after that?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "Afterward, the Second Master took me out once, and we followed the trail all the way to the outskirts of Shunyuan Peak. And then guess what we found?"

Qin Shou asked, "What did you find?"

Dog Xiaotian spoke with caution, stressing each word, "We found nothing!"

Qin Shou’s face instantly darkened! Just as he was about to lose his temper...

Dog Xiaotian quickly said, "Don’t rush to curse; this damn weather and snow definitely have a reason. If there’s a reason, there must be clues. But if my Second Master with all his skills found nothing, isn’t that the greatest discovery?"

Qin Shou, hearing this, found it made sense!

Right then, Dog Xiaotian leaned in and whispered, "The Second Master didn’t find the issue, but I discovered something."

Qin Shou exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

Dog Xiaotian took out a Shadow Printing Stone and activated it, revealing only darkness.

After Qin Shou adjusted for a few seconds, he could see clearly that the Shadow Printing Stone showed a bamboo forest at night where a tall man with a girl on his shoulders moved slowly through the forest, then vanished into the darkness.

Qin Shou cried out, "Yishan and Yishui?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "Yeah! But this is not what the Second Master and I saw. It’s because I couldn’t sleep at night... you know, I still like to take a midnight leak, that refreshing feeling. I took a stroll, caught a bit of the night breeze, and that’s when I saw Yishan and Yishui heading into the mountains. Tell me, why would those two sneak into the mountain instead of waiting for the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony?"

Qin Shou was just as confused and asked, "Could it be they were grave robbing? No, that’s not right... Didn’t Yishui say they were, cough cough, assassins?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "You believe the words of a kid? Have you ever seen assassins running around, shouting about being assassins?"

Qin Shou was at a loss for words...

Dog Xiaotian said, "I haven’t told anyone about this, not even the Second Master. Otherwise, with the Second Master’s temper, he might’ve already chased them down, and what if they killed them without a word? That’d be a pity. I don’t think those two are bad people."

Qin Shou said, "I don’t think so either, let’s not worry unnecessarily. If the sky falls, there’ll be a tall one to hold it up, why should we bother?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "Exactly... but let me tell you, this snow covers a vast area. I flew over it on my way here, looked down, and everything was white! This climate anomaly doesn’t seem like the Heavenly Court’s style. But all the rain and snow in the world are arranged by the Heavenly Court, who would dare cause trouble before the Heavenly Sacrifice? Aren’t they afraid of dying?"

Qin Shou was also completely baffled, unable to figure anything out, and repeated the same old saying, "If the sky falls, there’ll be a tall one to hold it up, what’s there to be afraid of!"

Dog Xiaotian smacked his lips, "Forget it, let’s not think about it. Hey, how about we get something to eat? I see there’s a hot pot restaurant across the street, how about something warm?"

With nothing else to do, Qin Shou simply followed Dog Xiaotian to eat hot pot.

The night passed by.

The next day, the day of the Heavenly Sacrifice, finally arrived.

With the crowing of a rooster, followed by the melancholic sound of cow horn trumpets throughout the city, the low and somber tones weighed heavy on everyone’s hearts, like a massive stone preventing sleep, forcing all to wake up.

Qin Shou leapt out of bed, looked at himself in the mirror, and noticed his fur had grown out enough, so there was no need to wear a sweater anymore.

So, Qin Shou decisively packed his sweater and rushed out. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As soon as he left his house, Qin Shou was bewildered by the fact that... there were no people in the city!

While Qin Shou was dazed, Dog Xiaotian had already run towards him from afar. Before Dog Xiaotian even arrived, his loud voice could be heard shouting, "Rabbit, hurry up! Let’s go watch the excitement!"

Out of curiosity, Qin Shou asked, "What excitement?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "The heavenly sacrifice ceremony for Emperor Shun, of course!"

Qin Shou looked around and asked, "Where are the people here?"

Dog Xiaotian said matter-of-factly, "This is a heavenly sacrifice! The Jade Emperor himself will be paying homage to Emperor Shun from afar! Do you think such a huge event could be managed by just the few members of the Yu Clan?"

Qin Shou asked, "Then?"

Dog Xiaotian said, "The entire city must come together for it to be successful... Come on, all the men, women, and children have gone up the mountain."

"To that Shunyuan Peak?" Qin Shou asked, pointing at the towering peak.

Dog Xiaotian confirmed, "That’s right, Shunyuan Peak."

Qin Shou was awestruck as he observed the huge mountain peak. He couldn’t estimate how many people were in the Lingling Ancient City—it would have to be counted in billions!

This is the Earthly Immortal Realm. Its land is vast and abundant with resources, mountains are high, rivers wide.

As long as people can settle down peacefully, living to a thousand years is nothing... the population here is hardly less than that of mice...

Lingling Ancient City is under the protection of Emperor Shun; it attracts the hearts of the world, is stable and peaceful, making it the most suitable place for human life. Therefore, the population here is by no means less than that of any country on Earth. How vast the city was, Qin Shou found hard to depict.

As for the city-wide heavenly sacrifice, Qin Shou couldn’t even begin to imagine its immense scale!

Walking towards the inner part of the city and having exited the inner city gates, Qin Shou could see some cultivators, immortals, and Heavenly Gods from other places. Some familiar faces even sped up their pace after glancing at him...

For this, Qin Shou could only silently note them down, planning to visit their homes later to eat their fruits and ask why they were in such a hurry.

Following the crowd to the base of Shunyuan Peak, before even entering, he saw countless children dressed in white student attire, lined up in two rows all the way down into the depths of Shunyuan Peak!

At the same time, these children were holding a scripture in their hands, held out in front of them, and were reciting the "Emperor Shun Filial Piety Sutra" in unison.

The voices of these children were clear and pleasant, and when combined, they were incredibly moving!

Just by hearing them, Qin Shou immediately stood up straight, filled with reverence.

The other cultivators, immortals, and demons did similarly, setting aside their playfulness and walking with solemnity.

After walking for a while, Qin Shou saw Yishui and Yishan. The two immediately joined Qin Shou and Dog Xiaotian, and the group headed up the mountain alongside the aisle of schoolchildren, listening to their loud reading as if their souls were being cleansed.

After walking for an unknown distance, as the schoolchildren became fewer, a group of young men and women appeared, also donning students’ garb, reciting the "Emperor Shun Filial Piety Sutra" with powerful voices that echoed between the peaks, adding an even more profound and awe-inspiring quality to the atmosphere that instilled fear and respect.

Further up, Qin Shou saw a group of elderly performing lion and dragon dances and ancient war dances in olden attire.

Without even reaching the summit, halfway up the mountain, everyone stopped. There was a gigantic platform, and near the mountain there stood a majestic palace supported by thirty-six pillars that reached for the skies!

From a distance, Qin Shou could see the golden statues in the palace, standing there. The palace was empty inside, but outside, there were already many people gathered.

To the left and right sides of the palace were soldiers armored in ancient Yu Clan battle gear, shield in one hand and ancient sword in the other. Stationed there, they were like two mountains, giving off an impression of being unshakable by external forces.

"Those are the warriors who followed Emperor Shun back in the day, they have been guarding Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum here ever since," Dog Xiaotian whispered.

Qin Shou nodded slightly, indicating he understood. However, he was a bit curious and asked, "This mountain has the presence of an emperor; climbing up to the top to pay homage doesn’t seem right, does it?"

Dog Xiaotian laughed and said, "Why don’t you do your homework before you speak? This mountain is Shunyuan Peak, not Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum. They say that after Emperor Shun died during his southern expedition at Cangwu Mountain and became Shungong Stone, that became his true mausoleum. This grand palace before us is actually a place for worship."