The snow and ice began to melt, and the land reawakened.
Lanterns hung and streamers fluttered. Dragons and lions danced.
Stilt-walkers and tusk performers.
They sang to the beat of drums and clapped as they danced, praying to Heaven and Earth for good fortune.
—The Shehuo Festival. (A scene of bustling festivity.)
...
The New Year had just passed.
The Shehuo festival performances, sponsored by the three great families, gradually roused the county town from its winter slumber.
Chen Nuo, however, was in no mood to join the festivities. He was heading toward An County's only Daoist Temple.
He had actually wanted to go for some time.
But he had always been apprehensive and only made up his mind after the New Year. His decision was also influenced by the report from Chen Chenli and the others he had sent to investigate.
Ping'an Temple.
A Daoist Temple with over two hundred years of history.
It had existed, one could say, since the very founding of the Yue Kingdom.
