Chapter 422: Mooncake Family

Soon the ceremony reached its end—or rather, the end of the old version of the ceremony. This time, Xia Duo added an extra segment: offering sacrifices to the moon. However, unlike the previous ceremony which involved Holy Power, this segment lacked any such participation, as Xia Duo simply could not find a Priest of the Moon Goddess to preside over it. Thus, he had to let Laidun fill in. Since it is rumored among the Netherese folk that the Moon Goddess is the daughter of the Lord of Radiance, it did not seem too excessive for the father's Priest to preside over the ceremony in place of the daughter's.

Without the participation of Holy Power, it was purely formalistic. Yet, this kind of form was exactly what Xia Duo needed to change customs and habits. There was no need for it to be too complicated in the first year; he only heard Laidun speaking loudly at the front:

"Citizens of Daxia Territory, while remembering the departed, we must not forget the living. Please look up at the moon and think of the person you most wish to see in your hearts. Perhaps you really will see that person on the moon!"

Next, the performance began. Xia Duo quietly cast a Spell specially designed for tonight—the 3rd-circle 【Star-Moon Dome】.

The effect of the Spell was just as its name suggested: it used a massive Illusion dome, large enough to cover the entire cemetery area, to replace the current starry sky. What the citizens below saw was no longer the normal starry sky, but the one Xia Duo presented to them.

This artificially modified starry sky did not differ much from the normal one, as Xia Duo did not want to make it too jarring. He simply "drew" a blurry human figure on the moon. With Laidun's verbal suggestion from earlier, the citizens might believe it was the person they were thinking of when they saw this blurry figure.

"Sending thoughts of longing across a thousand miles" and "sharing the beauty of the moon from a thousand miles away" were both beautiful expectations of life held by the people of Xia Duo's hometown. Although Xia Duo could not replicate an identical Mid-Autumn Festival, he could transplant this concept onto the existing Moon Festival.

Letting the atmosphere of culture permeate, gradually forming an environment familiar to Xia Duo.

This is the convergence of human hearts, the meeting of spirits, and the shaping of civilization.

Having traveled through time, Xia Duo was determined to accomplish something earth-shattering. When one's strength is great, changing the world is not difficult, but changes in culture, spirit, and even the core of civilization are quite difficult. They cannot be forced through by strength alone; there is a process of convergence, assimilation, and evolution involved.

The road is long and the burden is heavy.

Before long, the Illusion Spell shifted, and the blurry figure in the moon gradually became clearer. But no matter how clear it became, it could not be like a real person; it was just that the traces were more distinct. Soon, citizens began to exclaim: "I see my son!"

"I see my wife too!"

"I see my late father!"

It was nothing when one or two people called out, but as more and more people did, even those who hadn't seen anything felt compelled to act as if they had. Before long, voices rose and fell throughout the cemetery.

At some point, Laidun quietly came to Xia Duo's side and whispered, "My Lord, it is about time."

Xia Duo needed to remain focused to maintain the Illusion and could not spare the attention to observe the citizens' reactions, so he had arranged for Laidun to remind him at the appropriate moment. This moment was clearly it.

After reminding Xia Duo, Laidun returned to the ceremonial site and spoke loudly to attract the citizens' attention. At this moment, Xia Duo took the opportunity to dispel the Illusion, as if it had never happened.

After the ceremony, Laidun arranged for the citizens to leave in order, while Xia Duo teleported away directly.

Daxia Territory, Canteen.

The citizens who had just returned from the cemetery did not go home, but instead came here. This was, of course, not because it was mealtime, but because Xia Duo had prepared mooncakes for them. Netheril also had various kinds of cakes, generally used as dry rations for long journeys, and they did not deliberately pursue a perfectly round shape.

There was basically no technical difficulty, just time-consuming. Xia Duo had Kuke prepare them a few days in advance. The mooncakes with fresh meat fillings were a bit hard, but they tasted quite good.

Xia Duo did not need to be present for the distribution of the mooncakes; Kuke handed them out to the citizens, saying to each person, "Look, doesn't this mooncake look like the moon in the sky!"

Not long after, Aiwa came to Xia Duo's small tent.

"How is the situation?"

"I followed your instructions, ate the mooncake, then looked at the moon and pretended to be surprised at seeing a figure. Others quickly followed suit."

"That's good!"

It is not easy to fabricate a custom. It would be simplest if a god came forward, but even the Midsummer Festival was not ordained by a god; it was only designated as the holy day of the Lord of Radiance after humans discovered that this day had the longest daylight of the year.

The Moon Festival could barely be linked to the Moon Goddess, but as far as Xia Duo knew, almost no one could perceive the Holy Power of the Moon Goddess at present. In a sense, whether the Moon Goddess even exists is up for debate!

Of course, the Moon Goddess must exist; this is recognized by a group of Great Arcanists, but it is also obvious that the Moon Goddess has a very low presence.

Making the citizens associate mooncakes with the moon and longing is what Xia Duo wants to do now. A Moon Festival that combines the functions of the Qingming Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival is what Xia Duo wants to realize in the future. The current Moon Festival is still very simple and requires official organization; it is still quite a distance from the festival in Xia Duo's mind.

Seeing that Aiwa still had a serious expression, waiting for instructions, Xia Duo felt a touch of emotion. "Aiwa, in two days, you should return to Savile Town."

"My Lord, are you driving me away?" Aiwa knelt on the ground with a thud. "My Lord, the purpose of my existence is to serve you. I hope you will not drive me away!"

"..."

Xia Duo was caught between laughter and tears. Ever since he freed Aiwa from the curse and helped him escape the pursuit of the Eagle Chamber of Commerce, he had always been like this. Of course, he had always been taciturn and meticulous, but now it was even more so.

But to be honest, Xia Duo did not want him to become a pure tool who had lost his sense of self. There are too many ways to get tools, and for someone who once saved him, Xia Duo had other thoughts.

"You're overthinking it. I want you to find a woman in Savile Territory. You should start a family. Look at your brother Jibu; his son can already walk. Are you envious?"

"My Lord, I only wish to serve you; I have no other thoughts."

"..."

Human nature is sometimes complex and sometimes simple. Xia Duo looked at the determined eyes of Aiwa and felt deeply moved. "Consider it my order. I have already contacted Owen to come tomorrow, and you will return to Savile Town the day after."

If it weren't for the fact that there were too few people here in Linshui Village and the women all had husbands and children, Xia Duo would have been ready to arrange a blind date directly.

However, this matter with Aiwa also made Xia Duo realize that the current population ratio in the Territory is very skewed; there are too few women. Not only were the initial batch of citizens all men, but the 200 households that Niya transferred over later also had more men than women.

A family is absolutely the most stable social relationship in a territory and the cornerstone of the Territory's Stabilization. To some extent, a lone wolf like Aiwa is the one who should be tied down by a family.

With Xia Duo's direct order, Aiwa no longer resisted, though his expression was somewhat complex when he left.

Xia Duo also saw the change in Aiwa's expression, but he did not take it to heart. After Aiwa left, he sent a Sending to Jibu, telling him to return with Aiwa the day after tomorrow.

In Xia Duo's plan, there are two functions: Qingming and Mid-Autumn. Right now, the implication of reunion for the Moon Festival is not yet obvious in the minds of the citizens, but Xia Duo himself has this awareness.

Letting Jibu go back is also to let him reunite with his family. Of course, Xia Duo was prepared to let others who had family in Savile Territory go back to stay for a few days.

In the future, having them bring all their families to Daxia Territory is also Xia Duo's goal.

Likewise, when the Territory develops to a certain extent, encouraging childbirth and compulsory education can also be arranged.

(End of this chapter)