Otherworld Advance Team -
Chapter 1455 - 1448: The Rite of the Witch
Chapter 1455: Chapter 1448: The Rite of the Witch
Under Zisu’s indication, the group one by one took off their hoods and masks, revealing their true appearances. It wasn’t a big deal for Baiyue and Zisu to remove their masks, as they both were from the Demon Clan. However, when Cheng Ziang and Feng removed their masks and hoods the problem became rather serious.
Because in the Ghost Race’s impression, they looked exactly like the standard appearance of the Kyushu population. As mentioned before, although the Ghost Race did interact with the people of Kyushu, it was mostly limited to a few port cities.
Other areas of Aximiya Island harbored a certain hostility and fear towards the people of Kyushu due to the invasion by the Kyushu Empire, and instinctively kept their distance from them.
At such a solemn occasion, which was meant to entertain their most honored guests, if the guests were known to be from Kyushu, the Ghost Race would show an attitude of difficulty in acceptance.
It was precisely for this reason that as soon as the two of them removed their masks, the surrounding Ghost Race immediately let out surprised whispers. The tray-carrying Ghost Race women even stepped back vigilantly, widening the distance from them.
Fortunately, they had the diplomatic expert Zisu by their side. With her soothing persuasion, the Ghost Race then let go of their reservations and started to look at Cheng Ziang and Feng with curious eyes.
Baiyue asked about it and learned that Zisu had told the Ghost Race people that Cheng Ziang and Feng may look like people from Kyushu. However, they were honored guests from another world; it just so happened that the people in that world resembled those from Kyushu.
However, Zisu still deceived these Ghost Race people because Feng was a thoroughbred citizen of Kyushu, not someone from another world. Of course, this was understandable, given the hostility the Ghost Race held towards Kyushu people, and a little lie could avoid a lot of trouble.
Moreover, the most important thing was that, after completing this ceremony, they could keep wearing masks on the island without worrying about the Ghost Race recognizing Cheng Ziang and Feng’s identities.
Although there were some doubts, the Ghost Race elder still showed respect for the guests, so the entire ceremony restarted, and the group began to choose the masks they desired to wear.
Choosing a mask was actually quite particular; the Ghost Race was tolerant of guests and did not impose restrictions on them, such as men only being able to choose ghoul masks, and women being able to choose beast masks, and so forth.
But as mentioned earlier, men wearing bird and beast masks were seen by the Ghost Race as comparable to wearing women’s clothing. Therefore, while there were no explicit rules, if they knew which men chose bird and beast masks, they would still give them a peculiar look.
This was why Cheng Ziang did not intend to be unconventional in this regard, and he appropriately chose a Yaksha-like mask. On the other hand, Feng appeared somewhat nonconformist, instantly taking a liking to a mask of a Yaksha as well, then picked it up under the astonished gaze of the Ghost Race.
Cheng Ziang examined the mask in his hands; it was carved from a single piece of wood, very finely crafted, with a thin layer of wax on the surface, giving it an exceptionally smooth appearance.
The inside of the mask was also well-crafted, fitting the face perfectly. Cheng Ziang tried it on, and the mask adhered completely to his face, but there was space left below the cheekbones to the chin, which seemed to be designed to accommodate facial movements.
The mask was secured with three very elastic strings, two fixed above and below the ears of the mask, and the last one at the top to prevent the mask from sliding off.
At the other end of the strings was an oval wooden pad, which would fit against the back of the wearer’s head, preventing the head from being marked by the strings.
After choosing masks, Zisu naturally put hers on; she seemed no stranger to such places and knew the procedure well.
When Cheng Ziang put on his mask, the eye openings of the mask were relatively large, a whole circle bigger than his actual eyes.
It’s likely because the eyes of the Ghost Race are inherently larger, allowing him to see the surroundings fairly clearly even with a mask on, though his field of view was somewhat limited.
After putting on the mask, he did not feel any discomfort, as there were small holes around the nose and mouth area to facilitate breathing. Plus, there was ample space below the cheekbones of the mask, making breathing unimpeded a non-issue.
With the mask on, he turned his head to look at Feng. It must be said that, with a mask on, Feng appeared even more valiant, as the fierce Yaksha mask obscured her originally cute features, making Cheng Ziang take more note of the inherent fierceness she exuded.
Once everyone had donned their masks, the women of the Ghost Race holding the wooden platters retreated, and the ceremony proceeded to its second phase.
At this time, an aged old woman of the Ghost Race approached, with two children accompanying her, one holding a basin of clear water, and the other cradling a round, concave stone dish containing a thick layer of transparent fat.
Seeing the old woman’s arrival, Zisu immediately knelt on one knee, bowing her head before her. The old woman came before Zisu, chanting under her breath as she swept her hand in the basin, flicking droplets of water onto Zisu’s body.
This seemed to be a kind of blessing ceremony. While the Ghost Race old woman performed the ritual, the spectators from the Ghost Race were silent as tombstones, all watching quietly, with no one daring to make a peep.
Next, the old woman took a bunch of grass that looked like sheaves of wheat, dipping the tips into the fat, and then had one of the children next to her light it on fire. Witnessing this, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but be taken aback, worried if this could be a ceremony that could harm one’s body.
However, his fears did not come to pass. Once the "wheat sheaf" ignited, it began to burn vigorously, puffing out black smoke. As the black smoke cleared a bit, followed by blue smoke, the old woman gave a gentle shake, extinguishing the flames, and the entire bunch of grass started to emit thick blue smoke.
Cheng Ziang noticed a unique scent in the air, mixed with the familiar smell of smoke and another kind of fragrance, which surprisingly was not off-putting.
The old woman of the Ghost Race continued her intonations, waving the smoking bunch of grass around the silhouette of Zisu, quickly infusing her with the thick fragrance of the smoke.
The entire ceremony lasted roughly five minutes. In the end, the old woman casually discarded the still-smoking bunch of herbs, and the child beside her quickly set it aflame to burn it completely. Meanwhile, she turned to face Zisu, stretching her left hand out, palm up, towards her.
This action was one Cheng Ziang had just recently observed, appearing to resemble a handshake as a form of etiquette. But unlike before, where Zisu had rested her chin on her own hand’s back, this time it was the old woman of the Ghost Race who extended her hand.
The situation was just as Cheng Ziang had envisioned—Zisu slightly extended her neck, resting her chin on the old woman’s wrinkled hand. In reality, because she was wearing a mask, her chin did not touch the old woman’s hand, instead, the lower part of her mask rested on it.
Seeing Zisu’s action, the old woman of the Ghost Race revealed a satisfied smile, her facial wrinkles becoming more pronounced. Cheng Ziang guessed that this must be a gesture of respect from Zisu towards the old woman.
With Zisu leading by example, Cheng Ziang and the other three also imitated her action, each likewise accepting the "purification" from the Ghost Race old woman.
When it was Cheng Ziang’s turn, he particularly sniffed the scent of the fat. To his surprise, instead of reeking of something greasy and unpleasant, it emitted a peculiar fragrance, likely the resin of some tree.
Through the old woman’s mask, he could see her serene and profound eyes, those of wisdom only possessed by the aged. Clearly, this old woman held no small position in the village, most likely being the head witch of the entire village.
Here, ’witch’ did not denote any malevolent sorcery but rather a relatively primal set of rites. These rites entail reverence for both gods and guests, and the head witch is the executor of these ceremonies.
If one were to find a comparison, she would be akin to the village elder in charge of rites, responsible for handling all formalities, whether for worshiping deities or receiving guests.
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