Chapter 46
The Matching Couple's Festival was a very important occasion for the Danmu tribe.
On this day, every families in the tribe would hang red flowers at their doors, creating a festive atmosphere. At the center of the tribe, where they usually distributed hunted prey, a stone stage was set up, surrounded by flowers and plants gathered by the beastmen from outside.
Around the stage, there were many small stalls. Some sold porridge for the gers and roasted meat, while others displayed small trinkets that families no longer needed, offering them to those who showed interest.
The entire tribe resembled a small marketplace.
On this day, whether married or unmarried, beastmen and gers had to move separately. Early in the morning, Wang Jin was dragged by Mu ger to browse the stalls.
The roasted meat at the stalls was prepared for the beastmen, it was too tough for the gers to eat. As for the porridge, Wang Jin took a sip and found it unappetizing.
Most of the trinkets were things like animal hides or ceramic bowls, which Wang Jin already had at home, so nothing caught his eye. However when he saw the flowers around the stage, he found their vibrant red color was particularly striking.
Seeing these flowers, two things came to his mind - rouge and dye.
The abilities given to him by the old man told him that these bright red flowers could be turned into rouge and dye.
During festivals or important occasions, the gers here would smear red mud on their faces. This red mud was essentially a type of red soil, slightly finer than ordinary soil but still soil.
No matter how thinly the mud was applied, it looked unnatural, didn’t allow the skin to breathe, and was quite uncomfortable. If it was rouge, it would be different…
As for dye, the cloth they wove now was white, so all the clothes were uniformly white. If he could make dye, they could color the clothes in various shades, which would be much more appealing than plain white.
Wang Jin thought that after the festival, he would gather these flowers and take them home, asking Yuan Heng to help him process them according to his methods.
While he was lost in thought, the festival had already begun.
The opening act featured some beastmen performing a strange dance, which seemed like a ritual. Some gers were interspersed among them, beating the stone stage with wooden sticks, creating rhythmic music.
Mu ger explained to him that this was a traditional dance of the Danmu tribe, performed only on significant occasions. The beastmen and gers performing it had been practicing since childhood.
After the dance, the gers took the stage to perform.
In this primitive tribe, the performances were limited. Some sang a few lines, while others simply danced a little. Overall, they couldn’t really be called proper performances.
However, as long as an unmarried ger took the stage, there was always an audience.
Gers were rare, and almost every ger in the tribe had suitors. No matter how poorly they performed, their suitors would cheer them on.
Some gers, who were interested in their suitors, would act shy, while some bold beastmen would even propose on the spot. At such moments, the crowd would erupt in cheers.
In the end, whether the performances were good or not didn’t matter much. What mattered was the lively and harmonious atmosphere, which felt like a New Year celebration.
Wang Jin watched with great interest, feeling as though he hadn’t experienced such excitement in a long time.
In his previous life, he would visit night markets regularly, buying things from every stall on the street…
Unfortunately, there were no night markets here, nor any buying and selling…
He couldn’t experience the thrill of shopping anymore.
Yuan Heng, meanwhile, was wandering around with Lai Yuan and others, but his gaze never left the little ger in the distance.
The little ger looked very excited. Although he didn't apply any red mud to his face, his cheeks were flushed pink, making him exceptionally beautiful.
Wherever he went, several beastmen had already noticed him, their eyes lingering on him. Yet, he seemed completely unaware, darting through the crowd like a lively rabbit… and, as luck would have it, bumping into a few beastmen who had intentionally positioned themselves in his path.
Yuan Heng’s fingers twitched, and he wished he could grab the little ger, take him home, and hide him away so no one else could see him.
Today was the matching couple Festival, and the purpose of having beastmen and gers move separately was to allow the married ones to reminisce about their single days.
But Yuan Heng felt no desire to reminisce. He only wanted to tie the little ger to his side and declare to the world that the little ger was already taken.
Just as he was lost in thought, Lai Yuan tugged at Yuan Heng’s sleeve.
Yuan Heng turned to look, and Lai Yuan gestured for him to look ahead. When he did, he realized that the noisy chatter around him had died down, and the scene had grown quiet. Many people were looking in his direction.
Behind them, on the stage, stood Yue ger.
Beside Yue ger was the tribe leader, whose face was ashen like iron. The leader glared at Yuan Heng with a fierce expression, as if Yuan Heng had stolen his wife.
[面色铁青 (miàn sè tiě qīng): Face ashen like iron, it describes someone whose face is pale or dark with anger or shock]
In contrast, Yue ger’s gaze toward Yuan Heng was unusually gentle…
Yuan Heng’s heart sank, and a sense of foreboding washed over him. He urgently turned to look for the little ger.
Sure enough, the little ger’s face had darkened.
The earlier pink flush had faded, replaced by a mix of pale and dark hues on his fair skin. His body was tense, as if he were seething with anger, glaring at Yuan Heng with gritted teeth.
Sensing that Yuan Heng was out of the loop, Lai Yuan whispered a reminder, “Brother Heng, just now… Yue ger confessed his feelings to you.”
“Ridiculous!” Yuan Heng muttered under his breath, a cold aura emanating from him, dampening the festive atmosphere around them.
His brows furrowed, and his expression turned grim.
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