Fantasy Library.

Chapter 476 "Spring Festival"

After a bit of playful banter, the slight awkwardness that had arisen from not seeing each other for so many years disappeared between Aize and Ma Tingluhua.

The two seemed to have rekindled their childhood friendship after many years, and began chatting and laughing together.

"So, Sister Luhua, you only knew I was returning to Suizhi Town today because my mother called you in advance, and that's why you deliberately came here to wait for me?"

Walking down the main street of Suizhi, Aize dragged his suitcase and talked to Ma Tingluhua.

“Yes.” Ma Tingluhua hummed twice, and said somewhat proudly, “After all, I have a very good relationship with my aunt. This time she couldn’t come back, so she called me and asked me to come and pick you up, Aze.”

Unlike Aize, who hadn't visited Suizhi Town for several years, Aize's mother still comes back every year to stay for a while.

From the beginning, Aize's mother had a fondness for Ma Tingluhua. The reason the two developed into childhood sweethearts was because that unreliable mother invited Ma Tingluhua over to play every day, which gradually made Aize and Ma Tingluhua become familiar with each other.

Generally speaking, if the children of two families become childhood sweethearts, it's either because the parents of the two families have a close relationship or because the two families live very close to each other. But Aize and Ma Tingluhua are different. It was because his mother acted as matchmaker that they became childhood sweethearts.

"I've always wanted to have a lovely daughter, but unfortunately, I ended up having a precocious and withdrawn son."

This is what the mother of the Aize family said most often.

In other words, in Aize's mother's eyes, Ma Tingluhua was the ideal daughter she had always longed for.

Unfortunately, Roka Maten's family runs a Japanese-style confectionery shop, so Roka Maten started helping out at the shop when she was very young. Her well-behaved and hardworking appearance was indeed very endearing.

On the other hand, Aize is indeed precocious and withdrawn. He often can't play with his peers and doesn't know how to act cute, so it's normal for his parents to dislike him.

Who told him to awaken his innate wisdom in infancy and remember that he came from another world and was a time traveler?
He's completely incapable of being precocious and acting spoiled with his parents, right?
It's normal for him to be aloof. You can't expect a transmigrator with an adult soul to play hide-and-seek with other kids, can you?

Anyway, he's not cut out for it.

Now that I think about it carefully, I guess my mother would bring him to her parents' home so often and insist that he play with other children his age like Ma Tingluhua. She would also make connections for him. I guess she was worried about her son.
Although his mother sent him to Suizhi Town alone this time, the fact that she contacted Ma Tingluhua in advance to pick him up also proved that she was not without worry.

Ma Tingluhua probably learned the whole story from Aize's mother, so she told the story naturally.

"You came back this time to help out in Zhinadu Village, right?"

The Shina-do-sou mentioned by Ma Tinglu-hua refers to the inn run by Aize's maternal grandfather, Kurama Genjuro.

It is a hotel that is popular with foreign tourists for its hospitality, delicious food and ancient-style architecture. During the peak tourist season, it often has to hire staff from outside the hotel due to a severe shortage of manpower.

Aize's mother often returns to Suizhi Town, largely because her grandfather is getting old and she doesn't want to see him overworked, so she comes back to help during the peak tourist season every year.

But this time, his mother quit.

"She said that she occasionally wants to travel during the peak tourist season, so this time she dragged my dad away and sent me here, saying that I should come and see my grandfather's face, and also do some work to earn some pocket money, instead of hiding at home all day and sponging off my parents."

The mere mention of this makes Aize feel a little uneasy.

"The couple went on vacation by themselves, leaving their son back at the wife's parents' house to work. Can you believe there are parents like that in the world?"

Aize's words made Ma Tingluhua burst out laughing.

"Who told you to stay home and do nothing during the holidays? Your aunt told me that you don't even have any friends to go out with. Instead of staying at home playing games, you should come over and show your face after so long."

Speaking of this, Ma Tingluhua's face puffed up again.

"If Auntie hadn't asked you to come over this time, you might not even remember Suizhi."

It seems that this childhood sweetheart still harbors some resentment towards Aize for not coming for so many years.

"I'm just too busy with my studies," Aize scratched his face, looking a little awkward. "You have no idea how insane the academic pressure is in China. Everyone is working themselves to the bone. After the middle school entrance exam, there's the college entrance exam. How can I possibly go abroad often, especially to such a remote place like Suizhi?"

"Don't give me that." Ma Tinglu Hua didn't believe it at all, and squinted her eyes and said, "Don't think I don't know. You've loved swords and spears since you were a child. You even learned kendo from Mr. Genjuro. You came to Japan to participate in kendo competitions during junior high and high school. Not long ago, you won the national kendo championship and were hailed as the strongest high school student."

"You have time to compete, but not even time to go back to your parents' home for a quick visit?"

"Come on, tell me, Aze."

Ma Tingluhua grabbed Aize's cheek again, looking dangerous.

"...You even know about this? My mom's been incredibly blabbering!"

Aize was truly numb.

Even his schools back home didn't know he was in Japan for a kendo competition. He never expected that Ma Tinglu, who lived in a remote town, would find out. He absolutely didn't believe it; it wasn't his mother who told him.

Mom, your relationship with my childhood sweetheart is way too good! It's even better than mine!
"Forget it, I don't blame you. After all, this place is really remote and the transportation is inconvenient. No one would be willing to come here unless they were really free." Ma Tinglu sighed, released Aize's cheek, and said, "I didn't expect that you, Aize, would be so amazing. You even won the national kendo championship."

Speaking of this, Ma Tingluhua was also very surprised.

She knew that her childhood friend had always loved playing with bamboo swords, but she never expected him to be so skilled. He even won a national kendo championship and earned the title of the strongest high school student. Things had really changed.

"I'm just playing around."

Aize shrugged, his tone indifferent, showing no pride whatsoever.

He wasn't pretending; he genuinely didn't care.

Because he had almost expected this result before participating in the kendo competition.

Perhaps it was because of the time travel, but in this life, Aize discovered that he had always been very good at tinkering with various tools. Whether it was a knife or a stick, from a kitchen knife at home to a small twig by the roadside, to real swords and knives in his grandfather's collection, as long as he held them in his hands, he could master their use in a very short time, and even play with them in various ways.

When he was three years old, he could perform knife tricks with his family's fruit knife. When cutting an apple, he could cut the skin without breaking it in three seconds, and not a single piece of fruit would stick to the skin. The apple he cut was so round that it looked like a work of art, which amazed his parents.

When he was five years old, he dared to kill chickens and fish with a kitchen knife, and his knife skills were so crisp and clean. When he was seven years old, he even thought about going to the slaughterhouse to kill pigs and cows, but his parents stopped him.

When he was ten years old, he encountered a rabid dog that bit people downstairs in his building. He managed to drive the dog away with just a tree branch, which amazed his neighbors.

At the age of twelve, he was playing with a kitchen knife in a supermarket, and his knife skills were so smooth that he caught the eye of a famous chef who insisted on taking him on as an apprentice, teaching him knife skills and cooking. The chef even went to his home to discuss the matter with his parents.

As for swordsmanship, it was taught to him by Aize's maternal grandfather.

Aize's maternal grandfather, Genjuro Kurama, had been practicing kendo since childhood and was extremely skilled in swordsmanship. For health reasons, he strictly instructed his grandson Aize and his biological grandson in kendo from a young age.

Aize learned very quickly. In just one holiday, he had mastered almost all of Kurama Genjuro's swordsmanship. He even used a bamboo sword to hunt wild boars in the mountains, which amazed his grandfather.

For this reason, Kurama Genjuro valued Aizawa highly, believing that his swordsmanship talent was ridiculously high. He had been constantly instructing Aizawa to learn swordsmanship well and had also arranged a physical training plan for him, so that Aizawa had an extremely exquisite swordsmanship and a body with extremely high quality among his peers from a young age.

Therefore, when he was in junior high school, Ai Ze came to Japan to participate in a kendo competition and easily won the junior high school group championship. In his first year of high school, he also came to participate in the high school group kendo competition and easily won the national kendo championship.

He earned the title of the strongest high school student because he won so easily.

Others were amazed by it, but he himself found it very relaxing and boring, which is why he has this attitude now, thinking it was just for fun.

"Remember to send me a picture of the trophy next time, okay?" Ma Tingluhua said with a smile, then added, "What are you planning to do now? Shall we go to my family's dessert shop first? Or should we go to Zhinadu Village first?"

"Let's go to Zhinadu Village first," Aize said after thinking for a moment. "I still have luggage here, and it's inconvenient to keep dragging it along. Let's put the luggage away first."

Ma Tingluhua smiled and nodded, then followed Aize towards Zhinadu Village.

But as they walked, suddenly a large group of people appeared on the other side of the street, along with lively music and the sounds of various musical instruments. The noise of the crowd shouting together made it exceptionally noisy.

"What's going on here?"

Aize stopped in his tracks, stunned.

"Ah, the parade must be coming soon, right?" Ma Tingluhua quickly realized something and said, "After all, it's the Spring Festival."

"Spring Festival?" Aize raised an eyebrow and muttered, "So it's already this time of year."

The so-called Spring Festival is an annual festival held in Suiori Town to celebrate the victory of a war during the Sengoku period.

It is said that during the Warring States period, hundreds of years ago, there was a woman who was skilled at getting close to the local rulers and winning their favor, driving men crazy and causing many wars.

This woman traveled among those in power, deliberately sowing discord among the lords of various regions, inciting their ambitions, leading to the invasion of Suizhi and the persecution of the people.

This woman also used sorcery, causing Suizhi immense suffering during the war, and in the end, the city almost fell.

At the critical moment, the people prayed to the local gods of Suizhi, asking for their protection. To their surprise, the gods responded and bestowed upon them a divine sword capable of slaying demons and monsters.

With this sacred sword, Suiori defeated the invaders and killed the woman who used sorcery. In the end, she discovered that the woman was actually a demon, so she enshrined the sacred sword in the shrine and worshipped it for generations.

This legend is the origin of the Kasuga Festival.

During the Spring Festival, the men of Hoori would imitate triumphant soldiers, wearing armor and riding horses through the streets, while the shrine maidens would perform Kagura dances and make offerings in the Kagura Hall of the shrine.

This is a story that even local children know. Aize often spent time here when he was a child, so naturally he would know this legend and the Spring Festival.

Unexpectedly, I ran into it again this time I came back.

"How about it? Want to go take a look?" Ma Tingluhua suggested to Aize, "You haven't seen a spring festival in many years, have you?"

"To be more precise, I've never really participated in the Spring Festival before," Aize said, spreading his hands. "After all, when I come here, it's not necessarily during the Spring Festival's time."

“Then we should definitely check it out.” Ma Tinglu Hua suddenly perked up and pushed Aize’s back, saying, “Let’s go, the procession is just coming by and will be at the shrine soon. If we follow them now, we might be able to catch the shrine maiden’s Kagura dance.”

"Wait, I still have luggage," Aize said, half-laughing and half-crying. "Why are you suddenly so excited?"

“Because Auntie asked me to take care of you,” Ma Tingluhua said matter-of-factly. “She said she didn’t want to see her mentally challenged son staying at home like an autistic person, so she asked me to take you around often when you come over.”

"...I really thank her."

"Auntie is just worried about you. Give me your luggage. There's a shop owned by someone I know nearby. I can ask them to keep an eye on it for you!"

"Fine, fine, I'll leave, okay?"

Aize had no choice but to follow the force of Ma Tingluhua and be pushed along with the parade.

It must be said that the parade was quite lively. Not only did the men from Suige imitate triumphant soldiers, wearing armor and riding horses through the streets, but there were also a large number of foreign tourists taking photos with their mobile phones, especially foreigners, who made up a particularly large number of them.

Aize and Ma Tingluhua mingled in the crowd and followed the procession all the way to the most important place in the town—Kenji Shrine.

"咚咚-"

Suddenly, Aize felt a strange heartbeat, which made him instinctively clutch his chest.

His gaze involuntarily drifted towards the shrine, as if he could penetrate it and see inside; his eyes gleamed.

(End of this chapter)