"The most important thing for the country is sacrifice and military service!"
"Chinese civilization, the most important thing is sacrifice, which began in ancient times!"
…
For the Fenggun tribe, every fire sacrifice is the most important day for the entire tribe.
Sacrifice is the name used by Fenggun to count time. The Fenggun tribe holds a fire sacrifice every 365 sunrises and moonsets, so the fire sacrifice is used as the node, and the duration of each fire sacrifice is the sacrifice.
Even in a primitive era when there was not enough food and clothing, and people had to face death all the time, fire sacrifices also occupied the supreme position in the hearts of tribal people.
The children of the tribe need to be supervised together at the beginning of the sacrifice to prevent ignorant and fearless children from blaspheming their gods.
Because on this day, they will invite the "divine fire" from the holy place on the top of the mountain.
And Feng Xi, the day he has been waiting for is finally coming!
…
this day.
Feng Xi woke up very early, lying on the turf, staring blankly at the dark roof of the cave with his eyes wide open, motionless as if he was absent-minded for a while.
Not long after, I saw him sitting up and taking a deep breath.
He reached out and clenched his fist.
Today he can finally participate in the fire festival!
The Twelve Sacrifice came to this life. Although they learned about the magic of the "divine fire" worshiped in the tribe through various channels, they had never seen it.
It's not that he hasn't thought about contacting the divine fire in advance, but the place where the divine fire is enshrined is always guarded by tribesmen.
Except for the leader Hua Xu, the time when the tribesmen can see the majesty of the divine fire is the annual Fire Sacrifice Day.
Fire sacrifices are sacred, and the tribesmen do not allow children to cause trouble, even if he is the leader's son.
This year’s fire festival was Feng Xi’s first time to participate!
Scenes of the Twelve Sacrifice Tribe passed through my mind. The ordinary tribesmen, Amhuashu, whose mysterious identity of his sister was suspected of being hidden from him, the fire-colored light curtain that protected the tribe, and the "divine fire" that had always been enshrined for the tribe. …
"Perhaps, today, I can begin to uncover a mysterious corner of the wilderness!"
Feng Xi took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions that were almost coming out of his chest.
What he once struggled to pursue is now only one step away from him.
As we approached the entrance of the cave, a gust of wind laden with moist water vapor blew in our head.
Feng Xi stood at the entrance of the cave and was shocked to find that it was raining heavily outside. The ground was covered by a dense rain curtain, and the water vapor was blown by the wind and kept drifting into the cave entrance.
"Sure enough, it's... raining... again!"
It seems that there is a mysterious force affecting it. Every fire sacrifice will be held in the pouring rain, and it has never changed.
"Rain... divine fire..."
Feng Xi whispered to himself silently, looking at the sky faintly,
"There may be some connection between the two!"
"Brother!"
Xi's voice suddenly sounded from beside him, interrupting Feng Xi's thoughts.
"My brother can finally participate in the fire festival today!"
I saw Xi running over with a big leaf on his head, and threw himself into Feng Xi's arms. He shook off the leaf above his head with his two small hands, hugged his neck, and said happily.
"finally……"
When Feng Xi heard this, all the expectations that had surged up suddenly disappeared. Looking at his sister who was almost clinging to him, he felt so sad that he could hardly complain.
"Why has my sister been able to participate in every sacrifice since she was born, but as the son of Hua Xu, I can only wait until now!"
Xi naturally didn't know the sadness in Feng Xi's heart. She was still happy that her brother could participate in the fire festival.
Who would have thought that her words would suddenly make my brother think of the completely different treatment between the two of them, and all the joy in his heart turned into sadness!
"Brother...brother! What's wrong with you?"
A small white hand waved in front of Feng Xi's eyes.
"fine!"
After coming back to his senses and wiping away the non-existent tears, Feng Xi gave his sister a forced smile, pulled off a big leaf from the entrance of the cave, then raised one hand above his head and walked down the mountain holding Xi with the other.
…
At this time, in a large open space at the foot of the mountain, a ten-foot-square altar was built with wood.
It's not so much an altar as it is a few large logs stacked together, with a large stone pot on top.
"This is the altar!"
Feng Xi looked at the extremely crude altar in front of him and was greatly disappointed.
Feng Xi was not unfamiliar with sacrificial altars, ranging from earthen platforms made of earthen wood, bricks and stones to large altars of heaven enshrined by dynasties.
The large stone pot with a few pieces of wood and a mouth in front of him completely subverted Feng Xi's fantasy.
"Fire, pot, indeed, this is the core obsession of human existence!"
Feng Xi secretly cursed in his heart, now that we have the shelf and the pot, and when the fire is ready, we will be short of meat!
Just when Feng Xi thought of this, he saw several tribesmen not far away carrying several huge beasts over here!
"I really plan to cook something to eat!"
Looking closely at the pig-like beasts, Feng Xi muttered,
"Pork bone soup? Big hoof?..."
"what are you saying?"
At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came to my ears,
"slim Shady!"
Feng Xi was trembling all over, turned his head, looked at Hua Xu who was walking over, and said quickly,
"Amu, I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to help you during the fire festival!"
At this time, Hua Xu was wearing a fiery red animal skin, with some kind of fiery bird feathers on his head. His whole person looked like a ball of flame.
"Brother, he is lying. He is hungry and wants to eat!"
Just as Feng Xi was praising his wit, Xi on the side pointed at the "pig" carried over by several tribesmen and said.
Feng Xi smiled, turned stiffly and glanced at his "smart" sister who had exposed him.
"How could I forget this little traitor!"
"Xi, this is the first big sacrifice you have participated in. You can't do what you did before. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Feng Xi, who was originally nervous, felt relieved. He was really afraid that Hua Xu would lock him up again and prevent him from participating in the big sacrifice!
Fortunately, Hua Xu didn't care too much this time, just a light warning.
"follow me!"
Hua Xu came over and took Xi's little hand and said to Feng Xi.
…
Next to the altar, there is a rectangular wooden platform.
At this time, Feng Xizheng and Xi were standing next to Hua Xu, looking down silently.
Around the altar, all the clan members got up and stood crowded together, but they all remained quiet without even glancing at each other.
Feng Xi took a quick look and found that the tribesmen were all dressed up carefully.
The original grass skirts or various animal skin clothing were all replaced by the same fire animal clothing as Hua Xu, and some of them had flame-like marks outlined on them.
He had also washed himself carefully, and his dirty hair was no longer visible. It was also covered with bone ornaments, and bells jingled whenever he moved around.
Although they couldn't say a word, everyone's expressions on their faces were very excited. They looked at the "stone pot" on the altar, their eyes full of reverence and faith.
