Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 429 - 55: Carnival_1

Chapter 429: Chapter 55: Carnival_1

"Raise high the bull’s horn filled with fine wines, dance your waist wrapped in colored silk, I will present you the flowers on my hand. Your sweet, charming voice resonates through my heart, I’d mount up a white horse and follow the wind across the prairie, your soft smile intoxicates me like wine..." By the fire under the night sky, a young, sturdy-looking wolf beastman held a bull’s horn full of strong liquor, his face flushed. Surrounded by a group of equally young friends, he bashfully yet resolutely circled a shy fox clan girl, raising his horn while singing a love song.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh", from the group of single brothers behind the male beastman to the cluster of unmarried girls giggling near the female beastman, both sides encouragingly cheered. With hands holding hands and forming a circle, they surrounded the blushing duo and began passionately singing and dancing. The shy young beastwoman, after a few moments of shyness, finally, blushing, took the bull’s horn and took a big sip before forcefully handing it back to the beastman, who was sent into ecstasy. In one breath he finished the strong liquor, yelling out loud, pulling the girl’s hand and joining in on the dance.

"Hmm, so this is the promise of the bull’s horn." Lina, unlike her daytime demeanor, curiously peeked over Catherine’s shoulder, looking at the group of youth unaware of troubles and worries, impressed: "Many a novel has mentioned this ritual. Today, I finally got to see it with my own eyes. The love that forms in this way is said to receive the blessings of the beastman ancestors..."

"Indeed." A stranger’s voice echoed beside them. Including the two undead wrapped in puppet costumes, nine people sat by a small fire pit, attending the nighttime fire festival as a part of the Horse Herding Festival. Although it was called a festival, there weren’t any real set activities or rites. Everyone just gathered on a spacious field, occupying their scattered fire pits and shared food. Those who were interested could sing and dance whilst enjoying their wine with their neighbors, regardless of acquaintance. For beastmen, sharing a meal with someone makes them good friends. The adventurer girls were not quite accustomed to this custom; with the indulgent and passionate among them especially reluctant to interact with strangers, they simply grouped together, observing from afar, experiencing a slice of local, unique customs. However, in just a short time, a stranger approached them.

The visitor was a beastman, but unlike the others who were generally young people who loved festivities, roaming around drinking, singing, and making friends, this visitor was mostly middle-aged or older. This group of people, although older, were still as lively as the youngsters, swigging their drinks and shouting while heading over, leaving a trail of victims of alcohol in their wake.

"Indeed," the lead visitor, a middle-aged bear-man, was bare-chested. He filled the night’s breeze with authority and power. Ensconcing himself next to the fire, he said in a low voice: "Our ancestors’ spirits will forever protect these brave kids, these children who dare to love and hate, they are worthy of happiness."

As soon as the bearman sat down, ten of the lively young ones who came with him also sat down, along with our adventurer team, forming a circle around the fire pit. The others, also young, each sat behind their respective elders, an obvious team. With a wave of his hand came two huge mugs bigger than the average human face. He accepted the mugs. With a bang, he set it down, raised a mug, and downed it one go. He wiped his mouth crudely, loudly saying, "You are Nellie’s adventurer team, right? We’ve all heard that you solved the problem in the southern tribe’s sacred mountain. They did ask for our help previously, but we couldn’t find a solution due to a lack of strength. The ancestors worshipped in the sacred mountain may not be of our tribes, but they are ancestors of the beastman nonetheless. Saving them makes you all our benefactors. Now that you’re here, we must welcome you. If we don’t, we will lose face when meeting our southern brothers. Now, I will drink this."

Finally understanding what was happening, Catherine sighed in resignation, not avoiding the issue, raised her mug with both hands, tilted her head back, and poured it into her mouth. The crystal-clear liquor cascaded down the corner of her mouth, gathered at her dewy chin and dripped onto her silvery breastplate, giving her a sense of beauty and valiance as she drank.

"Huh." Finishing the liquor in the bowl, Catherine set it down heavily on the grass field, exhaling a breath of discomfort from her chest. The drink was strong, ranking among the top three on the Beastman Prairie and was the Beastman’s favorite. The alcohol felt like a block of ice upon entering, the icy drink took away all the warmth, making the mouth more sensitive after initial numbness. Then like a knife, it sliced into the throat, producing pain but also a sense of liberation, filling the drinker with power.

"Such strong liquor," Catherine said brightly, her cheeks blushed, and she said, "Helping others with their difficulties is the duty of a knight and an adventurer, it’s nothing worth praising. A cup of great wine as a gesture of gratitude is more than enough."

"Good, good, good," the bearman laughed heartily and clapped, "Over the years, I have met many human professionals, but you are the first to be this straightforward. Your friends are worth making. Boys, sing, dance, today we will drink heartily with our human friends."

"Hey~~Ah." The group of young people who accompanied the bearman jumped up at once. Among the people who came were young men and women. Under the command of the bearman, they quickly surrounded us and, even without music accompaniment, started to dance the ethnic dance of the beastmen. The dance, which represented the combination of strength and beauty, had a unique charm under the roaring firelight.

"We old-timers are all chiefs of tribes nearby," the bear-man pointed to the group of people who were qualified to sit in the front row and said, "They, having heard of your heroic deeds, couldn’t help but come to see for themselves. Hahaha, there are a lot of us, I hope you don’t mind. Come, let’s have another drink."

Catherine sat cross-legged on the ground, not showing a shred of fear. As she tilted her head back once more, the strong liquor vanished down her throat. After two drinks, Catherine’s eyes were even brighter, her spirits even higher, and her voice got slightly louder: "This is my first time venturing deep into the prairie. I have encountered many things I had never imagined before and experienced the passion and straight-forwardness of the Beastmen. If given the chance, we will definitely return to enjoy a few more happy drinks with everyone."

"Good, anytime, as long as I’m still alive," the Bearman chieftain laughed loudly. "As long as we old folks are alive for one more day, we will have the finest wine and the most tender food to entertain our friends."

With a wave of the chieftain’s hand, a few tribespeople hurried over from afar, bearing trays laden with food, quickly arranged before the adventuring party. Huge chunks of lamb, cooked tender and exuding the aroma of meat and spices, colorful wild vegetables mixed together, sprinkled with glossy fat, thumb-sized chunks of groundhog back meat roasted to a golden brown, and prime venison neatly partitioned — such tantalizing food could stir up the appetite of anyone, urging them to eat to their heart’s content.

"The third toast," the chieftain raised his glass again, his face filled with joy. "I wish all of you friends good health forever. May victory and glory always accompany you."

"In the customs of the Beastmen, when entertaining distinguished guests from the outside world, the chieftain would offer three large bowls of strong liquor," Pannis explained in a low voice to Lina and Vivian. "Of course, not all races are as fond of alcohol as the Beastmen, so many guests can’t possibly keep up with the chieftain in downing these three bowls. In those situations, it is not impolite for guests to just sip a bit from each bowl according to their drinking capacity. But even so, in the Beastmens’ mindset, the more the guest drinks from these three bowls, the more respect they show the host. Catherine finished the previous two bowls, which is why he is so delighted."

When she drank the first bowl, Catherine felt resigned. After the second bowl, she suddenly thought the liquor tasted not bad and was quite delicious. When she finished the third bowl, she felt more invigorated and believed she wouldn’t get drunk even if she drank more. Unfortunately, thereafter, whenever the chieftains of other tribes casually offered drinks, each cup was snatched away by Marcia and Pannis, making her somewhat unhappy.

"Hey, la, he, la," the atmosphere by the fire pit heated up even more. The tribal chieftains were influenced by the mood. A few already tossed away earlier formalities and joined the dancing crowd despite their age difference, twisting their bodies under the firelight and causing the other chieftains to roar with laughter. The Young men and women dancing around the fire pit also shed their inhibitions and danced more exuberantly. Many of the young Beastwomen twisted their waists, carrying bowls of alcohol, and made various provocative moves around Pannis. From time to time, they would feed him drinks from their own bowls. Some even held the liquor in their mouths and shyly brought their mouths close to Pannis’ as they were about to feed him. Some girls twisted around Pannis, inviting him to dance with them. In Beastmen culture, this invitation from a woman to a man had the same meaning as when a man presents a woman with a horn cup of wine.

Pannis’ eyes were squinting happily, his gaze darting from one Beastwoman beauty of different races to the next. Saliva dribbled from his mouth, which couldn’t close due to his excessive joy. He couldn’t resist wanting to shout, "This place is simply the happiest place ever."

"Bang." Just as Pannis was about to seize the hand of a Beastwoman girl, a punch from the sky landed on his head, knocking him to the ground. Catherine’s face was flushed, her eyes hazy, and her breath reeked of alcohol. She grabbed Pannis by the collar and pulled him up to her angrily and declared, "You... you useless fellow, becoming paralyzed at the sight of a beautiful woman. You want... want to dance, right? Fine, let’s... let’s... let’s go dance."

With that said, she staggered on her feet while gripping Pannis’ collar and dragged him into the throng of dancing people.

"Oh my, the big sister is drunk," the ladies said, their faces showing amusement as they watched Catherine’s actions. Suddenly, they looked at each other and got an idea, "Maybe we should..."

The next moment, they all rushed into the dance area to join the exuberant crowd. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)