Chapter 9

The location for the welcoming of the Wu Zu was by the pond that Wu Mian had seen before arriving at the Miao village. When Wu Mian and the other two arrived, the place was already packed with people. It seemed as if a grand gathering was taking place, with thousands of Miao men surrounding the pond and hundreds of Miao women sitting on the outer perimeter, pointing and laughing at the men in front.

Lin Hu had considerable prestige among these people. When he arrived, several Miao men sitting by the pond stood up and, after a brief conversation in Miao, they all gave up their seats. Lin Hu tried to refuse a few times, but was eventually pushed down by the other Miao men, who moved to the back.

Wu Mian, Lin Hu, and Lin Hu's nephew Yang Xiao sat together. Lin Hu, fearing that Wu Mian might feel constrained because he didn't understand Miao, chatted with him intermittently. However, the more he did this, the more bored Wu Mian felt.

Before long, the sky gradually darkened. The originally noisy voices became quiet, and only the sound of the waterfall could be heard. The surroundings were pitch black, and no one lit any candles. After a while, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd, and then the waterfall, which was flowing down, began to emit a faint glow.

After the waterfall fell into the pond, the entire pond was covered with a faint fluorescence. As the glowing waterfall continued to flow into the pond, the fluorescence became more and more obvious, illuminating the faces of the people in the front row. Everyone except Wu Mian had seen this scene before, so no one expressed any surprise.

As the light from the pond grew brighter, the previously calm water in the center of the pond suddenly rippled. Slowly, water flowers began to emerge from the center of the ripples, and then the water started to bubble like a boiling pot. At this moment, a person slowly emerged from the water, first his head, then his body. A moment later, he stood on the water's surface and shouted something in Miao to the people by the pond.

This shout ignited the emotions of all the Miao people. Everyone, except Wu Mian, who was looking at the person emerging from the water with a sideways glance, including Lin Hu and Yang Xiao, jumped up from the ground and shouted at the person standing on the water.

At this point, Wu Mian could see clearly that the person standing on the water was in his sixties or seventies, his body drenched and emitting the same fluorescence as the pond. The old man standing on the water must be the Wu Zu of the night. He extended his hands and made a few pressing gestures, and the crowd's shouting immediately stopped.

The Wu Zu spoke a few words in Miao, and the faces of the Miao people on the outer perimeter of the pond changed. Wu Mian couldn't understand what was happening, and when he asked Lin Hu, Lin Hu was standing there like a wooden statue, completely ignoring Wu Mian's question, just repeating what the Wu Zu had said. It was Yang Xiao, who could speak a few words of Mandarin, who answered Wu Mian's question: "The Wu Zu is choosing a successor..."

No wonder the Miao people were so excited. Just as Wu Mian was feeling bored and was about to leave, the Wu Zu on the water spoke a few more words. When he finished, about twenty to thirty old men emerged from the back of the crowd. Each of these old men held a hundred or so incense sticks and began to distribute them to the Miao men.

After a while, every Miao man, including Wu Mian, had an incense stick in his hand. The people in the back started to move closer to the pond, and as more and more people gathered, the front row was already partially submerged in the pond.

The Wu Zu on the water clasped his hands together and, after a moment, opened them to reveal a blue flame in his palms. He slowly walked towards the crowd, and the people who had been pushed into the pond moved aside to make way for the old man.

After the Wu Zu left the pond, he said something. The Miao people around him began to form a line, and in turn, they approached the Wu Zu and used the blue flame in his hands to light their incense sticks.

"What does this mean?" Wu Mian didn't understand the situation, and he couldn't rely on Lin Hu to answer. Without noticing, Lin Hu had already joined the line with his incense stick. Yang Xiao, again, answered for his uncle: "They are using the Wu Zu's holy fire to light their incense sticks. The one whose incense burns the longest will be the next Wu Zu."

Wu Mian smiled wryly and muttered to himself, "Does the Wu Zu even need to choose? The one who stands at the end will be the next Wu Zu." Fortunately, no one around him understood what he said. Yang Xiao pretended not to hear and joined the line to light his incense stick.

Wu Mian had originally intended to throw away his incense stick and leave, but seeing the long line of people lighting incense, he changed his mind and walked to the end of the line, slowly moving forward.

The Miao people who had lit their incense sticks stood or sat around, carefully watching the tips of their incense sticks, not even daring to breathe heavily, for fear that their breath would speed up the burning process. After a long while, it was finally Wu Mian's turn.

When the Wu Zu saw Wu Mian up close, he was momentarily stunned. As Wu Mian lit his incense stick, the Wu Zu whispered something in Miao, but Wu Mian didn't understand. He nodded casually at the Wu Zu and then turned to leave.

However, he had only taken a few steps when the incense stick in his hand suddenly burst into flames, burning up completely in an instant, like a dry fuse. As Wu Mian was stunned, the old man who had distributed the incense sticks came over, pointing outside the pond and saying something. Without translation, it was clear that he was telling Wu Mian to leave. Among the thousands of people choosing the next Wu Zu, Wu Mian was the first to be eliminated. Amidst the laughter of the Miao people, Wu Mian left the pond, leaving behind a Wu Zu who was looking at the back of the white-haired young man with an incredulous expression.

Wu Mian hadn't expected such a result. He thought that with his abilities, even if he didn't become the next Wu Zu, he would at least attract the Wu Zu's attention. The Wu Zu had been passed down through countless generations, and getting information about the map from him shouldn't have been difficult. But who would have thought that he would be the first to be eliminated...

Back in his bamboo house, Wu Mian couldn't understand why he had been eliminated first. Could it be because he wasn't of Miao descent? Or was it because his Daoist techniques conflicted with the Wu Zu's magic? As Wu Mian was lost in thought, a commotion came from outside. Looking out the window, he saw that the village was brightly lit, and Lin Hu was being escorted back to the village by a crowd, his face beaming. Wu Mian already knew who the next Wu Zu would be.

Although it was already midnight, no one was thinking about resting. The village elders organized the slaughtering of pigs and the making of steamed buns, starting the preparations for the next Wu Zu in the middle of the night. With the light of the torches, the people set up tables in the village square, and the long table feast began. At this moment, no one remembered Wu Mian, who had been eliminated first.

The village was celebrating the first Wu Zu, and such a grand event couldn't end without everyone getting drunk. The feast continued until dawn, and by then, no one could stand up from the table. Taking this opportunity, Wu Mian came out of his bamboo house and approached Lin Hu, who was drunk like a cat, to take his pulse.

After a moment, Wu Mian's expression turned to surprise. He released Lin Hu's hand and looked at his flushed face, saying, "I didn't expect you to be so much like me..." As he spoke, a small porcelain bottle appeared in Wu Mian's hand. He played with the bottle while looking at the heavily drunk Lin Hu, muttering to himself, "Would you dare to take this risk?"

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