title: “Chapter 16”
weight: 160
date: 2026-09-01T09:16:54.527344+00:00
Chapter 16#
The Lantern Festival#
The Northern Rong people call the first day of each year “Sui Chu” (Year’s Eve), which differs from the traditional Chinese New Year’s Eve. It is the first day of spring as calculated by the Grand Shaman in the Northern Rong royal city.
From this day onward, all things on the Chiwang Plains begin to revive.
On the eve of Sui Chu, the Grand Shaman would hold a fire-worshipping ceremony in the royal city. He would wave his sacred staff and dance around the ever-burning flame atop the central tower. At the conclusion of the dance, the fireworks released by the Grand Shaman served as the signal announcing the arrival of spring.
Spring did not arrive naturally; it was calculated by the shamans. If the Grand Shaman failed to predict the day of spring’s arrival, then even if tender grass had already sprouted on the Chiwang Plains pastures, it would not be considered the start of spring? Jin Yue asked Helan Feng, but Helan Feng could not give him an answer.
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That night, the Northern Capital was extremely lively. Hundar and the others brought Zhuozhuo and Ruan Buqi along as well. The group sat together on the rooftop, watching the Northern Capital’s lights burn through the night. Since Hundar contributed his own dried meat, the dried meat from the Helan family that Zhuozhuo brought went untouched, except by Jin Yue.
Helan Feng: “…You should eat something else.”
Jin Yue: “No need, my teeth are fine.”
Fireworks shot up one after another into the sky above the royal city. Amid the bright lights, Jin Yue suddenly noticed what seemed like a writhing mountain range hidden behind the royal city.
“That is the Fire Dragon,” Helan Feng explained to him. “Tomorrow night is the Lantern Festival of the Northern Capital. The Lantern Festival must have a Fire Dragon.”
Jin Yue blurted out in surprise: “The Northern Capital has a Lantern Festival too?!”
He had grown accustomed to celebrating the Lantern Festival in Liangjing. Every year before the New Year, preparations for the Lantern Festival would begin all over Liangjing. On the night of the sixteenth, when the fiery golden phoenix soared from the imperial palace to ignite the lantern pavilion atop Yufeng Tower, the three-day-and-three-night Lantern Festival officially commenced.
On the first day, one could admire the palace’s five-colored flower lanterns, seven-carriage jeweled dragons, and nine-color painted cranes, along with exotic lanterns tributed from various nations—a feast for the eyes. The General’s Manor would receive an invitation, which granted access to the side tower of Yufeng Tower for the best view. From the side tower, one could see the Imperial Pavilion where the emperor resided. It was rare for the emperor to appear before the common people once a year. People swarmed the streets outside the Vermilion Bird Gate, craning their necks to glimpse the imperial countenance—but from such a distance, one could barely make out the emperor’s face.
The second and third days were the folk lantern fairs in Liangjing’s streets, which were Jin Yue’s favorite moments. Commoners showcased their ingenuity, with all sorts of clever tricks and skills on display, and vendors peddled various fresh fruits along the roadside.
At such times, Jin Yue couldn’t bear to stay at home. Every Lantern Festival, as the weather began to warm, the mountains and fields south of Liangjing were already tinged with a light green. Jin Yue and his sister would always arrange to meet a few friends to ride horses into the countryside to welcome spring. As night fell, they would return home to change and freshen up before going out to enjoy the lanterns.
The streets were filled with a dazzling array of lanterns, and various folk performers competed to showcase their talents. Panlou Street was so crowded that people could only stand. Dong Ji’er Lane and Xi Ji’er Lane were brightly lit throughout the night. If not for his sister and brother-in-law keeping a strict eye on him, Jin Yue might have curiously ventured in to explore. If they missed the time for eating, drinking, and merrymaking and couldn’t return home, it didn’t matter. Around the fifth watch, vendors on the streets would sell hot water for washing faces and herbal tea. After a quick wash and tidying up, they would once again be presentable scholars and beauties.
On the last evening, there would also be the Fire Lantern Array performed by the imperial guard. Once the performance ended, the entire city of Liangjing would gradually fall silent. The fiery golden phoenix of Yufeng Tower would be retrieved by the imperial guard into the palace, waiting for the next year to spread its fiery wings again.
Helan Feng was so engrossed he couldn’t respond at first: “Is there really a fiery golden phoenix?”
Jin Yue smiled: “That is a burning rocket, shot by the imperial guard member with the strongest arm and best archery skills. It directly ignites the oil-soaked fire cluster at the center of the lantern pavilion. The significance of that arrow is similar to the Northern Rong’s Golden Grain Arrow or the Wolf Arrow—it is carefully kept by the imperial guard and used only once a year.”
Helan Feng then told Jin Yue that the Northern Rong’s Lantern Festival had begun over twenty years ago with the arrival of a princess consort from Great Yu for a political marriage. The old Heavenly Lord was very fond of the Great Yu princess. He not only built a residence in the Great Yu style for her enjoyment but also arranged a lantern banquet on Sui Chu day, trying his best to recreate the various pleasures of Great Yu for her.
After the princess passed away, the lantern banquets did not cease. Over several years, the lantern banquets made the Northern Rong people grow fond of these beautiful, colorful lanterns and the lively atmosphere—a rare pastime during the dull, cold early spring. Thus, the lantern banquet evolved into the Lantern Festival, passed down year after year.
Zhuozhuo, full from the dried meat, had fallen asleep in Ruan Buqi’s arms, tired out. By then, the sky was half-light, and everyone dispersed, while the lively atmosphere in the streets grew ever stronger.
Jin Yue only slept for a while before being woken up by Balong Ge’er to work. Balong Ge’er didn’t dare ask Ruan Buqi, afraid of being scratched by Zhuozhuo, so he put Jin Yue to work quite forcefully. He arranged for several servants from the manor to help Jin Yue decorate the inner courtyard and the house. Jin Yue was somewhat confused: “The Grand Shaman calculates Sui Chu, but there are no signs? Waiting until he finishes calculating and announces it to the world before decorating the houses—isn’t that too late?”
Balong Ge’er: “What do you, a Great Yu person, know about the Grand Shaman’s magic!”
His face was full of flesh, his beard thick and dense. When he glared, it was quite intimidating. Jin Yue silently turned his head and hammered the large, heavy bear head onto the wall.
At noon, Balong Ge’er finally gave up supervising and went out with Hundar, Du Ze, and Helan Feng to the military office. That was the place in the Northern Capital where the army was managed.
A sense of heaviness settled in Jin Yue’s heart again: the defeat of Great Yu was already a foregone conclusion. He worried about his own safety and also about the fate of Great Yu. The Northern Rong’s Heavenly Lord, Zhe Weng, had shown rare cruelty in the war to reconquer the five major tribes. Jin Yue held a heavy heart: he feared that Zhe Weng would slaughter all the Great Yu people in the twelve cities north of the river.
He thought of Yue Lianlou and Chen Shuang, and behind them, the Mingye Hall.
Mingye Hall was a greatly renowned sect in the martial world. Though established only twenty or thirty years ago, it already held considerable weight. Besides the fact that everyone in the sect possessed peerless martial arts, this esteemed reputation and solid standing were due to two other major reasons:
First, the master of Mingye Hall was skilled in business and also adept at winning people’s hearts.
Most martial artists lived in poverty and took robbing the rich to aid the poor as their unshakable creed. The heroic ones had a touch of vanity; if they could drink wine worth three wen, they wouldn’t touch tea worth half a copper. Thus, when there was no rich to rob, martial artists often found themselves destitute. In the impoverished martial world, the people of Mingye Hall always wore fine silk, went out in style, yet never abused their power. From time to time, they would generously distribute wealth to help the world, calling it “Brothers in the martial world, branches of the same tree, a bit of money comes and goes like floating clouds.” This deeply won the hearts of all the poor heroes in the martial world.
The second reason was related to the tasks Mingye Hall excelled at.
Mingye Hall gathered many experts. As long as the money was right, and it didn’t conflict with the Mingye Hall’s Seven Non-Kill Orders, they could handle anything. From infiltrating the forbidden inner palace to steal a tea cup used by the sage himself, down to finding a pampered lapdog for a city guard’s thirteenth concubine, they did everything perfectly. They would never reveal a shred of the client’s identity, more reliable than the stones in the Liexing River.
Furthermore, any martial artist who joined Mingye Hall had to abolish their martial arts and learn from scratch the “Six Transformations of Spring.” This was Mingye Hall’s secret internal technique, with each transformation accompanied by different external martial moves. The miraculous snow-melting technique Yue Lianlou had used that day was the power of the fourth layer, “Lotus Strolling,” of the Six Transformations of Spring.
Yue Lianlou had already reached the fourth layer; his martial arts were not to be underestimated. Jin Yue climbed down the ladder, secretly deciding to find an opportunity to return to the Huixin Courtyard. He would first apologize to Yue Lianlou, then discuss the matter of rescuing people.
Helan Feng and the others returned only in the evening. Hundar and Du Ze had happy expressions on their faces, but upon seeing Jin Yue, they quickly composed their expressions and greeted him stiffly.
Jin Yue had already vaguely guessed the truth. After dinner, while he was washing dishes in the backyard, Helan Feng came to find him. Jin Yue asked him, “Your brother was promoted to general in the war where Northern Rong attacked Great Yu?”
Helan Feng couldn’t hide it and nodded.
This was a fact Jin Yue had already guessed. He pretended to be shocked and bowed his head, dejectedly washing the dishes. Before he finished, Helan Feng pulled him up and said to Ruan Buqi, who was scrubbing the pot, “You finish the rest. Jin Yue and I are going out for a bit.”
Ruan Buqi shook his head, ran over, took Jin Yue’s arm, and gestured towards the door.
Jin Yue: “Take Ruan Buqi along.”
Helan Feng: “I just want to go see the lantern festival with you.”
They left Ruan Buqi, who was clanging away at the pot, and slipped out through the back door. The moment they stepped out of the residence, Jin Yue was startled by the sea of lights before his eyes.
For an instant, he thought he had returned to Liangjing. The various lanterns, performers, cries of vendors, and scents of food on the street were no different from the Liangjing lantern fair.
Helan Feng, afraid he might get lost, held his hand the entire time. Jin Yue followed him forward, brushing past the crowd, when suddenly a flash of fire overhead dazzled his eyes.
In the night sky illuminated by lanterns, a colossal dragon shimmering with golden fire glided slowly across the Northern Capital.
Jin Yue was so shocked he couldn’t speak, clutching Helan Feng tightly and pointing upward. Helan Feng smiled: “This is the Fire Dragon you saw last night.”
The Fire Dragon of the Northern Capital was the most special feature of this lantern festival. The Fire Dragon was actually a huge, thick, paper-maché dragon. Its tail was attached above the ever-burning flame atop the royal city’s central tower. The air currents generated by the burning flame flowed entirely into the dragon’s body, propelling the giant dragon to rise and sway.
The colossal dragon hovered over the Northern Capital. With the city’s lanterns burning all night, the air currents firmly supported the dragon’s body, preventing it from falling. If wind blew across the sky, the Fire Dragon would sway and move as if it were alive.
The firelight on the Fire Dragon was actually formed by countless extremely thin and light copper pieces. They acted like tiny mirrors, reflecting the lights of the Northern Capital, making the giant dragon appear as if it were engulfed in raging flames.
Jin Yue was utterly astonished. Helan Feng took him up onto the city wall, which was also crowded with Northern Rong people. Some danced around bonfires, some sold grilled meat, and some sang—it was extremely lively. Jin Yue stood on the wall, even closer to the giant dragon, and finally saw how the copper pieces on its body were connected with incredibly fine iron wire.
This required extremely exquisite craftsmanship and smelting skill. Jin Yue was swaying in the wind. Helan Feng had grabbed a fox fur cloak on his way out and now draped it over him.
“Who made this… Helan Feng?” Jin Yue turned around, but Helan Feng was not behind him.
Beside him was a stall selling grilled lamb. The stall owner spoke in a Northern Rong dialect Jin Yue didn’t understand, enthusiastically inviting him to try his cooking. Jin Yue looked gentle and refined. The stall owner looked left and right, then called others over to look at him, making Jin Yue blush red.
Helan Feng returned holding four pig pancreas oil cakes and, seeing Jin Yue in a predicament, hurriedly took him away.
The Northern Rong people behind them asked questions, which Helan Feng answered. Jin Yue didn’t understand a single word, only hearing a burst of laughter behind him. He looked suspiciously at Helan Feng, who was also laughing: “What did you say?”
Author’s Note:
Dong Ji’er Lane, Xi Ji’er Lane: The red-light districts of the Song Dynasty—the names explain everything, hahaha… These two streets still exist today in Kaifeng. Dong Ji’er Lane is now Shuanglong Lane, and Xi Ji’er Lane is Wenmiao Street.
Thinking about it carefully, Jin Yue seems to be deceiving little Helan in almost every chapter. Oh my, what a little rascal.
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Tonight’s late-night snack is pig pancreas oil cakes! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, crunchy and delicious!