Misty Rain of the Old Times

The beast tide had receded for some time, and Chen Xuan had not seen any powerful members of the giant race appear from beginning to end. He guessed that it was related to the tremors deep underground, and that they were probably too busy to come and provide support for some special reason. The departure of the beast tide was also likely related to this.

Not understanding why, he didn't dwell on it for the time being.

Looking in the direction Remo pointed, there was a magnificent stone hall, ancient and mottled, revealing the weight and vicissitudes of history.

The main hall, which is over a hundred feet tall, has only two floors and covers a large area. It is supported by huge stone pillars, making it look like a mountain sitting there.

There were no buildings within a radius of several kilometers around the main hall, which was guarded by numerous giants. It seemed to be the center of power for the giant race, or the place where they held their faith. All who looked there were filled with awe and piety.

At the top of the main hall, flames rose dozens of meters high, resembling a volcano, fueled by an unknown substance, and seemed to have never been extinguished.

That was just an ordinary flame. Chen Xuan guessed that it was probably the giants' 'sacred fire,' more symbolic than practical. If it went out, it probably meant that the giants were truly facing a life-or-death situation.

Outside the main hall, a huge animal skin carpet had been laid out in the direction of Chen Xuan and his group. Giants wearing bone armor lined up on both sides, some holding horns and others holding drums. They were clearly preparing to welcome Chen Xuan and his group, because they had seen them approach before setting up this formation.

It was so formal, the scale was quite high, which made Chen Xuan a little embarrassed. But they hadn't said it was to welcome them, so he couldn't just 'presume' to say it wasn't necessary, in case there was a misunderstanding.

On the steps at the entrance of the main hall, an old giant stood quietly. He was about ten feet tall, with a hunched back, wearing a fur cloak and holding a huge scepter. He had no fancy decorations and looked at Chen Xuan and his companions with a kind smile. They nodded slightly when their eyes met.

The old giant's deep gaze made him seem wiser than any of the giants Chen Xuan and his companions had ever encountered; he must be the wise man they were talking about.

As expected, Remo immediately said, "Chen Xuan, the Wise One already knew of your arrival and was waiting for you."

His tone was extremely respectful, a respect that came from the bottom of his heart. No matter how Chen Xuan looked at him, he was just an ordinary old giant. Perhaps giants worship strength, but they respect wisdom even more.

"I hope this large-scale mobilization has not disturbed you, especially since the wise man is getting on in years. I feel very bad about it," Chen Xuan said somewhat embarrassedly.

Remo laughed and said, "Chen Xuan, what are you saying? This is what we should do."

Soon they stepped onto the beast carpet, where giants on both sides blew melodious horns and beat deep drums, a joyful yet solemn sound, quite different from the rhythm of encountering a beast tide, so as not to cause panic.

Clearly, they attached great importance to the arrival of Chen Xuan and his group.

As the old giant sage walked towards the outside of the main hall, Remo and the others followed. During the process, Chen Xuan secretly noticed that there were many giants around the main hall similar to Loke. A strange power was lurking in their hearts, which was very subtle. They must also be giants who had mastered the power of their bloodline, the so-called warrior reserves.

However, there are subtle differences in the power hidden in the hearts of these giants, which are not yet clear. Chen Xuan guesses that these minor differences will bring different enhancements and fighting styles.

In fact, the warriors and reserve giants who came to greet them had almost all participated in the previous battles against the beast tide. Some of them had not yet had time to treat their injuries, so they must have come from other directions to quickly bypass them.

Upon arriving outside the main hall, out of courtesy, Chen Xuan and the young maidservants landed on the ground, bowed to the old giant, and said loudly, "Junior Chen Xuan greets the wise old gentleman. I am new here and do not know the etiquette of nobles. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

Although Du Juan and the others didn't understand what Chen Xuan said, they followed suit in this situation.

Upon seeing this, the old giant stepped forward, his gentle, aged voice smiling kindly, "Some juniors came to report earlier. Welcome to our arrival, guests from beyond the heavens. I am amazed that you have learned our language in such a short time. No need to be so polite, make yourselves at home. Stand on higher ground as before, otherwise it would be very impolite for me to look down on you."

"I only learned your language by a trick. The difference in size is not something I can control, so please don't worry about it, Mr. Wise. I hope our arrival has not disturbed you," Chen Xuan said politely with a smile.

He smiled gently and said, "You are guests, and the outside is not the place we agreed on. Please come in with me for a chat. A feast and drinks have been prepared, and I hope you will not be neglected."

"When in Rome, do as the host says, please," Chen Xuan nodded and reluctantly used his lightness skill to lead the little girl and the others up the steps to follow the old giant into the main hall. There was no other way; the steps that the giant could casually step on were too high for Chen Xuan and the others.

The old giant waited until they stepped onto the steps and came to him, then gestured for Chen Xuan to stand a little higher as before, before leading the way to the main hall and saying, "Guests from beyond the heavens, your name is Chen Xuan, right? And these two, are they your servants?"

“Replying to the wise man, my name is Chen Xuan, and they are Du Juan and Su Roujia. They are my family. They did not learn your language like I did,” Chen Xuan said.

Nodding, he said, "I see. I was being presumptuous. By the way, Chen Xuan, you can call me Shang."

"Shang? Is that a one-character name?" Chen Xuan nodded and said, "Junior Chen Xuan greets Elder Mr. Shang once again."

"Hmm, you are very polite, unlike our clansmen, who are all simple-minded and lack manners," Mr. Shang said with a smile.

Unlike other giants who would be startled upon seeing Chen Xuan and the others, he seemed to be able to take everything in stride.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group entered the main hall. They did not go upstairs but remained on the first floor, presumably in the living room or perhaps a place where they usually discussed matters.

The place is very spacious and forty or fifty feet high. Even giants are less than a third of the size here, let alone Chen Xuan and his group. There are not many furnishings, so it looks very simple.

Tables and cushions had already been set up in the hall, indicating that the giants still maintained the custom of kneeling and eating separately. It was also possible that this arrangement was intentional because of Chen Xuan and his group's arrival.

The old giant greeted them, "Chen Xuan, please take your seats. The banquet will be served soon..." He paused, slightly embarrassed, and said, "I'm sorry, I've never received guests from beyond the heavens like you before. I didn't think of that. Why don't you just sit down at the table?"

The size difference was indeed inconvenient in many ways, so upon hearing this, Chen Xuan thought for a moment and said, "If you don't mind, we'll do whatever is convenient for us."

"That would be perfect. Don't worry about us, please go ahead," Shang nodded casually.

This made things simple. Chen Xuan led Du Juan and the others to a huge table, then quickly retrieved a piece of wood from a distance outside the main hall and made a table that fit their size. Well, it was like 'sitting down to eat'.

After they were seated, Shang Kai laughed and said, "Chen Xuan, you really have some impressive skills. Our giant race doesn't have such abilities." "On the contrary, what you can do, we can't do either," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

He handed the scepter to the person beside him, sat down, clapped his hands, and nodded, saying, "Indeed, they are all different. Let's begin the banquet."

As soon as he finished speaking, giants filed in, bringing wine, dishes, and fruits. The portions that were perfectly normal for giants were far too extravagant for Chen Xuan and his companions. The huge tables at their feet were piled high, like a small mountain. It was clear that the person who prepared the banquet had not considered the size of Chen Xuan and his companions, which made Shang Lianfan apologize again.

Chen Xuan smiled and didn't care. He still had some wood left from remotely obtaining it to make a small table. He quickly made a set of tableware and asked Du Juan to fetch some of each type of food from their house. The problem was easily solved.

There are many things that need to be worked out when two different civilizations come into contact, but fortunately they are all minor issues.

After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Shang, who was at the head of the table, raised his enormous bone goblet and said, "Welcome again to Chen Xuan and your guests from Tianwaitian. Please drink to your hearts' content, and I hope you won't find the food too simple."

"Mr. Shang, you're too kind. Thank you for your generous hospitality. Please," Chen Xuan said, raising his disproportionately large wine glass. "If we used giant wine glasses, we could take a bath or swim in them."

After drinking a glass of cloudy liquor, I noticed it tasted sweet and sour, clearly a fruit wine with a low alcohol content. It also contained some herbs or similar ingredients.

It was clear that the giants present, including Shang and the many accompanying them, were all heavy drinkers, drinking with great gusto. The spilled wine soaked their chests and flowed down with a splashing sound like water being poured.

To put it bluntly, the little bit they spilled was enough to fill Chen Xuan's belly.

Even though both sides had a lot they wanted to know, they didn't start discussing it from the beginning. Even if the giants were simple-minded, there still had to be a process.

After a drink, the two became much closer, and with a hearty laugh, Shang said, "Chen Xuan, you've come from afar, so we've prepared two performances. We hope you'll enjoy them."

This was indeed the attitude of hospitality, and Chen Xuan was happy to see the 'exotic customs', so he nodded with anticipation.

Then a group of scantily clad giant girls came to the hall and sang and danced to the only drumbeats, captivating the surrounding giants, who were practically drooling.

Despite being described as dressed lightly, these giant girls were actually wearing grass skirts from head to toe, their skin covered with colorful patterns, and their movements were unrestrained and bold, showing no concern whatsoever about their private parts being seen.

Goodness, Chen Xuan and his group did see exotic customs, but they couldn't appreciate them at all. However, they maintained a smile and respected other cultures, which is a necessary basic quality.

However, it must be admitted that these singing and dancing girls are definitely young girls from among the Titans, as can be seen from the performances of the other Titans. But aesthetics are different, and Chen Xuan really couldn't empathize with them.

What really got on his nerves was that, among the giant girls singing and dancing, whether it was part of the show or intentional, they were actually making faces at Chen Xuan. That was terrifying.

Accompanied by singing and dancing, everyone ate and drank in harmony. After the dance ended, the dancing giant girls left, leaving the surrounding giants feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. They probably rarely had such an opportunity.
But what does this matter? Not long ago, a massive beast tide swept in, leaving Sun City in grave danger and causing huge casualties. Yet here they are, singing and dancing. Are they heartless or just used to it and content with the status quo, living for the moment?

Ultimately, they are different civilizations and cannot be measured by one's own standards.

After the song and dance, there was another performance: several giants carried in a cage containing a tiger-like creature that was about twenty feet long. One of the giants performed a spear-wielding hunt, and since the space was large enough, he was able to perform his act.

This performance seemed to attract the giants even more than the previous song and dance. After drinking, they were all as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and they couldn't wait to join in. The performer himself was also very skilled. He quickly and neatly approached the beast, which was met with cheers from the audience. The beast that was killed was carried away and would soon be cooked into food for this banquet.

Chen Xuan secretly thought he had learned something new. Is this how you treat guests? Performing a hunting demonstration in public without any safety measures? Aren't you afraid of hurting your guests?

After two performances, everyone was in high spirits when Shang raised his glass and said with a smile, "Chen Xuan, are you satisfied with the previous performances?"

At this moment, Chen Xuan began to doubt whether he was truly the wise man among the giants, because he had previously witnessed this old man blatantly touching the dancing female giant's buttocks. Was that acceptable? Was that reasonable? How could he possibly be considered a wise man?

On second thought, he wondered if he had placed too high expectations on the wise giant.
'I guess expectations were too high. A wise person isn't necessarily someone of high moral standing. If you remove the word "wise," they're not much different from ordinary people. They're probably just the tallest among the short?'

Thinking this, he raised his glass and smiled, "Satisfied, very satisfied. I witnessed a truly unique scene, very memorable."

"Haha, that's good," Shang nodded and smiled. Then, he put away his smile, stood up, raised his glass, and said, "Distinguished guest Chen Xuan from beyond the heavens, on behalf of the 300,000 people of Sun City, I thank you for your previous assistance. If it weren't for you, the casualties among our people during the beast tide would have been at least ten times greater. Countless people survived because of you, and we are deeply grateful. We also welcome you back again. Let's raise a glass to you and drink it all."

"Thank you for your help, Chen Xuan. Cheers!" At this moment, the other giants also stopped laughing and joking, stood up, raised their glasses, and said in unison.

Chen Xuan quickly stood up and said, "You all flatter me. I dare not take credit. The beast tide receded for other reasons..."

Before he could finish speaking, they downed their drinks. Helpless, Chen Xuan had no choice but to stop talking and drink with them.

Shang then gestured for him to sit down, and said thoughtfully, "We know, but it is also true that you, Chen Xuan, helped save many of our people. Even though Remo and the others have already said so, I promise you again that you will always be the most honored guest of our giant race. Please feel free to ask anything or want to know anything, and I will tell you everything I know."

The topic changed so quickly that Chen Xuan almost couldn't keep up. Are all giants this direct?

At this point, it can be considered a formal contact and exchange between different civilizations. Chen Xuan will not dwell on so much for the time being, as there are indeed many things he wants to understand by asking these natives.

So he put down his wine glass, thought for a moment, and said, "We've come to your world by some strange twist of fate, and there are so many things we don't understand, we don't know where to begin asking."

"It's alright, take your time to think about it, we have plenty of time," Shang said dismissively, his words and actions quite unlike those of a wise man.

After a moment's thought, Chen Xuan decided to start with what he wanted to know in the first place, so he asked curiously, "I want to know, does the world we live in have boundaries? Could you please answer that for me?"

...(End of chapter)