The rich aroma of roasted meat, fried dishes, and freshly prepared vegetables permeated the air.
Ziqian could feel the festive atmosphere just by looking around. Laughter and lively chatter filled the surroundings as everyone moved about, preparing for the feast. The sight stirred a warm feeling in his chest.
Back on Earth, anything considered leisure had been a luxury for him. Festivals were one of those rare occasions he could hardly afford to enjoy.
There had been times when he could only watch other people celebrate while he was busy with work or other responsibilities. Even when he did have the chance to join in, the moments were often brief before he had to return to his reality.
Despite acting nonchalant about it, deep down, he had always felt envious.
He had envied people who could put everything else aside for a while, gather with the people they cared about, laugh without worrying about tomorrow, and simply enjoy being together with their family or friends. Those moments were something he also wanted to experience for himself.
And now, seeing several people gathered around him, Ziqian realized just how much he had longed for moments like these.
He just never imagined that he would finally experience this kind of warmth and togetherness in another world, surrounded by the people he had chosen to cherish in his new life.
Ziqian looked at Xue beside him. Without saying anything, he reached for his hand and gently held it.
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"I'm happy," he whispered.
Xue looked at him and gently wiped the tear from his cheek.
Realizing that he had become so emotional that he even cried, Ziqian hurriedly covered his face, inwardly reprimanding himself.
Seriously, Ziqian? This isn't even an actual festival. It's just a feast. What are you crying for? Since arriving in Gaia, you've become so weak!
The guardians didn't react. They simply watched in silence, ready to take action at the slightest sign of Ziqian's emotions stirring.
Ziqian had chosen not to use the Memory Stone, and they would respect his decision. But ever since then, the guardians had remained on high alert whenever Ziqian started ruminating about his past, prepared to intervene the moment they sensed something was wrong.
Except Ero.
Since he didn't sense any negative emotions from Ah-Zi and wasn't as reserved as Gae, Ero saw the situation as the perfect opportunity to tease him.
"Don't worry, crybaby. You have Daddy Xue to comfort you," Ero said teasingly as he rubbed his soft red fur against Ziqian's neck.
Ziqian's neck quickly turned red as Ero's soft fur tickled his skin.
Ahh, stop it! He silently scolded the fluffball as he gave Ero a gentle swat.
This gave Gae the chance to give Ero a hard bump, sending him tumbling away from Ziqian. He was afraid that Ero's next words might worsen Ziqian's emotional state.
For Ero, their Ah-Zi was strong enough that he wouldn't be easily swayed by those old memories. Despite his playful personality, Ero was actually a keen observer. He had noticed something the other guardians didn't.
Ziqian often became emotional over small things, like he was now. But ever since he arrived in this world, there were only two instances when his emotions truly stirred, and both times, the twins had been involved.
Ero didn't know why yet, but he was determined to find out, because if they wanted to help Ziqian, they first needed to understand what was really triggering his emotional turbulence.
Of course, Ero understood Gae and the others' concerns.
Ziqian might look perfectly normal, but the four guardians knew better.
His divinity was almost completely gone, and his soul had become extremely fragile. One strong emotional turbulence could be enough to push his already weakened soul beyond its limit and shatter it completely.
If that happened, not only one world would surely be sent to oblivion.
Ero bounced from one person's head to another, the impact sending him farther and farther away as he continued observing Ziqian and Xue while thinking about how to solve the problem of Ziqian's emotional turbulence.
Ziqian, oblivious to the guardians' predicament, turned even redder when Xue hugged him and whispered in his ears, "Let's have a feast anytime you want." Xue's voice was deep, and his warm breath tickled Ziqian's skin, sending shivers down his spine.
Xue didn't mean anything else by it. He simply thought Ziqian was so happy about the feast that he even cried, so he hugged him to reassure him that this wouldn't be the last.
But Ziqian's mind started wandering somewhere else as his body began to heat up. Being enveloped by Xue's strong arms, cool body temperature, and refreshing scent awakened something within him. At the same time, his embarrassment grew as he could feel everyone's attention on them. He even heard someone comment about how close they were.
Unable to face the others, Ziqian buried his face in Xue's chest, secretly reprimanding the man for being too clingy.
Tss. He knows how to seduce me now. He's learning too fast.
They remained like that until they heard someone cough beside them.
"Father, Mother," Xue greeted, without letting Ziqian go. He even continued caressing the sub-beast's long black hair, not caring about what others thought.
Of course, Ziqian wasn't shameless enough to continue flirting in front of the parents. He gently backed away from Xue before turning to greet Bei and Lia. "Patriarch, High Priest."
Bei just nodded, while Lia smiled knowingly. "All the preparations are done. We can start the feast now. Just say the word," he said to Ziqian.
Hearing this, Ziqian suddenly felt nervous.
Lia had already explained what he needed to do.
First, he had to strike the gong three times. Once its resonance faded completely, he could then offer his prayer to the Beast God.
They believed that this would allow the Beast God to hear every prayer. There is also a belief that if the Beast God liked the offering, he would accept it and grant the person a blessing in return.
That was the purpose of the large stone table, which was covered in beautiful white fur in front of the gong. During Eulogia, anyone could place any kind of offering for the Beast God on it, but right now the table was only filled with large bowls of dishes that the entire tribe had worked together to prepare.
Ziqian didn't believe in gods, or rather, he had already lost his faith a long time ago.
When he was a child, he used to pray often. His wishes had never been grand. He sometimes prayed for a thick blanket to keep him warm, a good meal when there wasn't enough food, or for his grandmother to get better.
Back then, he believed that if he prayed hard enough, God would hear him.
But none of those prayers was answered. His grandmother remained sick, and there had been many nights when he could do nothing but watch her suffer.
Eventually, Ziqian stopped praying. Not because he stopped wanting those things, but because he slowly stopped believing that anyone was listening.
But ever since arriving in Gaia and meeting the four guardians, Ziqian learned that there were many gods and that each world was ruled by one.
That made him wonder if perhaps his prayers were never answered because he had been praying to the wrong God all along.
Well, there was no point dwelling on it now.
This time, he would pray to the Beast God, Cernunnos. He sincerely hoped that his prayer would be finally heard.
Ziqian solemnly nodded to Lia.
He was about to step onto the slightly elevated platform when he saw Huo approaching while being supported by Cai and Ren.
"Huo, what are you doing here?" Ziqian hurriedly asked, worry evident in his voice.
"I'm fine now, and I wanted to attend the feast," Huo said reassuringly.
Huo's face was still pale. His body was covered with large leaves being used as bandages, and the strong scent of medicinal herbs clung to him.
Even Lia and Bei were surprised to see Huo.
Xue frowned but said nothing.
But the crowd began buzzing with murmurs.
Many of them had witnessed Huo go berserk and attack Xue last night. That was why, even when Lia announced earlier that Huo was already fine with Ziqian's help, not many believed him. Everyone knew that going berserk was practically a death sentence.
But Huo was standing before them now. He was wounded and still weak, but his eyes were clear, and he was not suffering from the agonizing pain that had afflicted other beasts after they went berserk.
Their gazes slowly shifted toward Ziqian, and the reverence in their eyes deepened.
The Beast God's Messenger truly possessed powers beyond their understanding.
Ziqian was unaware of what the crowd was thinking.
Together with Lia, he checked Huo's condition. Only after making sure that Huo wasn't in pain did he feel relieved. Even then, he repeatedly reminded Huo not to hide it if he started feeling any pain before finally stepping onto the platform.
With slightly trembling hands, Ziqian lifted the wooden mallet and struck the metallic gong three times, the clear sound echoing through the whole tribe as hundreds of eyes watched him.