Chapter 121: Ceremony

Chen Chuan saw Luo Kaiyuan coming out of his room as well. From those in Area One, the two of them were chosen for the goodwill exchange.

Feng Xiaoqi was quite strong and really enthusiastic about such events, but there was likely one more standard to be picked for such an event—looks. Feng Xiaoqi was on the average side in the looks department and a little short, which was why he was excluded from the event.

Zhuang Zhi and Feng Sheng walked out from Area Two, but they made no attempt to talk to Chen Chuan and Luo Kaiyuan. They did not initiate a conversation when they got into the elevator, but kept some distance between them.

When they got out of the elevator and left the dormitory, quite a number of students were already gathered outside.

As time passed, more students arrived. There were about twenty of them, and most of them were freshmen. Only a handful were upperclassmen. All of them had decent-looking faces and were neither bulky nor skinny.

Chen Chuan also noted that a lot of female students were picked.

Among them, Chen Chuan recognized Guan Xinyin, who also saw him. She waved at him, and he nodded in return.

The Merkarian students came out of their dorms with Douma leading them.

Chen Chuan had not been around over the past few days, so he did not have much of an impression of them. This was the first time he saw some of them.

Martial artists could get a general idea of a person’s strength based on their body shape and gait. He gave only a passing glance to the Merkarian students. The only ones who made him pause were Nali and Shanan, but he looked away from them soon after as well.

These students are weaker than our average level despite being the elites of Merka. Their martial arts really aren’t that advanced,

Chen Chuan thought.

The only exception was Douma. He was a lecturer, so Chen Chuan could not gauge the level of his strength, but he was certain that the man was past the First Limit.

A little while longer, a female lecturer led the female Merka students over.

Their group had the same amount of people as the male group. They wore brilliant Merkarian shawls that resembled a knee-length cloak. It slanted a little to show their sturdy calves.

The lecturers from the Operations Department led the students from the Martial Valor University. The person in charge was Mr. Han, a man who seemed less than fifty years old, but had a stern expression on his square face.

When everyone had arrived, the lecturers took out a name list to do a roll call. All the students answered when their names were called. When the roll call ended, two buses came in and stopped in front of the dormitory.

Mr. Han told them the rules they needed to obey and beckoned all of them to board the bus in order.

The Merkarians and Douma had a bus all to themselves, while the Martial Valor University students and lecturers took the other one. Once the buses started moving, a lecturer patiently reminded them of the rules again.

The Foreign Affairs Department was a low-ranking department in the Department of Administrative Affairs. This was evident from where it was located—far from the administrative building where the other governmental departments resided in the downtown area. Instead, it was in the south due to only having a few official activities in a year.

The two buses drove for a little over ten minutes before they reached the Foreign Affairs Department.

The building was next to an old museum. It had a large square in front of it, though the museum was not usually open to the public. Common people were only allowed access to it for a few days during the holidays. While Chen Chuan was a Yangzhi City local, he had only been to the museum a few times.

At around 8:30 a.m., the two buses stopped in front of the museum’s square. By then, some of the officials from the Foreign Affairs Department had arrived and used barrier ropes to set up a stage. They had also laid out some carpets on the ground and hung balloons and ribbons by the side as a symbol of welcome.

A band was waiting nearby holding traditional Merkarian instruments. Most of them were leather drums, tin whistles, flutes, jaw harps, and the like.

A number of security guards of the Foreign Affairs Department stood around the perimeter. All of them carried handguns and batons, but they looked relaxed. After all, they had welcomed Merkarians for exchange programs before and were used to their presence.

This time, aside from the officials from the Foreign Affairs Department, a council member from the City Advisory Board had also joined the event. Since the two countries had a long tradition of friendship, attending a safe event like this and showing their face did no harm.

Once the students got off the bus, the Merkarians stepped aside to wait. They stood next to the barrier ropes, while further back were the security guards.

The Martial Valor University students stood in two rows in front of the podium set before the building’s entrance.

Chen Chuan was assigned to the far right and was quite close to the Merkarian students. Coincidentally, Qiu Chengzheng was standing almost directly across from him. When their eyes met, they exchanged nods of acknowledgement, and he noticed a hint of nervousness in Qiu Chengzheng’s eyes.

Chen Chuan did not think much about it. There was nothing surprising about Qiu Chengzheng being nervous about an event of this type.

He looked up. The sun was bright today, a little blinding, even. Based on the procedure, the ceremony would start at 10 a.m., so there was still some time until then.

Douma and the Merkarian students all waited silently. Even though this was supposed to be a goodwill exchange, the atmosphere was a little cold.

Despite the dreariness, no one thought anything about the situation. They just brushed it aside as the Merkarians being nervous. Since this was the first time many of them were visiting the Great Shun Republic, they were strangers in an unfamiliar place.

The square faced the main road, which had plenty of cars and people. When the Merkarians and Martial Valor University showed up in the square, a lot of people stopped by to watch.

As time passed, more officials arrived. The council member was among them. More people gathered to watch and formed a huge crowd, but they were warded off by the barrier ropes and security guards. Even so, that did not stop more people gathering to watch.

At around 9:30 a.m., Chen Chuan saw three black cars and an armored car driving into the square. A few security guards got out of the armored car and checked the surroundings before opening the door of the black car in the middle.

Mr. Liu, director of the Foreign Affairs Department, got out. He was a man in his fifties. Even though he had a potbelly, his face was well-proportioned, and he had an elegant demeanor.

With the security guards around him, he shook hands with the Merkarian official who came for the exchange and shared a few friendly words with him before shaking hands with the council member and the Department of Administrative Affairs officials who came to attend the ceremony. Then, he went to the stage at the center of the square and gave a speech, praising the friendship between the two countries, his wish to maintain it, and other stuff like that.

He had a loud voice and spoke clearly, so the citizens behind the barrier ropes could hear him clearly. With the Foreign Affairs Department staff leading them, they clapped at appropriate parts of his speech.

The speech lasted for around twenty minutes, though Mr. Liu looked like he had more to say.

This signaled the main event of the day.

The museum door opened, and the curator, along with a few masters of ceremony, asked the museum staff to bring out the tribute the Merkarians had given to the Great Shun Republic.

The Martial Valor University students perked up. After this ceremony, the event would be near its end.

Even though the weather was nice, standing in the background listening to the officials speak was boring. They were not even allowed to talk to each other.

Chen Chuan observed the box the curator held in his hands. Cheng Zitong had told him that it contained the Evergreen Oak Leaf.

When the Merkarians offered it to the Great Shun Republic, it became the symbol of the two countries’ friendship. They claimed that this leaf could heal the body and refresh the mind, but only when it was used with the herbs and spices the Merkarians brought along after a special ceremony.

The officials who always attended the ceremony could sense that the leaf did something, though they could not put it to words. They could only tell that after each ceremony, their spirits would feel a little better, which was why they always came again. At that moment, the citizens beyond the barrier ropes craned their necks to get closer so they could see what the leaf looked like.

The curator asked the mistress of ceremony to hold the box while he opened it with a key. Then, he slowly removed the lid and showed a golden-green oak leaf with clear veins. The moment he revealed it, a refreshing, natural breeze blew past everyone.

Chen Chuan cast it a cursory glance. The leaf was only around ten centimeters long. Aside from having a unique color, he couldn’t see anything special about it, but the Merkarians had given it to the Great Shun Republic over fifty years ago. Since it managed to stay fresh for so long, there had to be something unique about it.

Douma clenched his fists to control his excitement when he saw the leaf. Some of his students were unable to control themselves and leaned forward. They had come to the Great Shun Republic to reclaim the oak leaf, so even if they died for the cause, they would not object.

Their reactions were a little overboard, since the Merkarians were the ones who had offered the leaf as tribute, but it held a great significance to their people, so their reactions were not all that shocking.

Mr. Liu was surprised, but motioned for the mistress of ceremony to show the leaf to the people for a little longer before taking two steps back so that the Merkarian official could take his place. He motioned for them to go forward.

The Merkarian official gave Mr. Liu Merka’s traditional salute before he reached out and carefully took the leaf in his hands.

The Merkarian ceremony was about to start. The Merkarian official beckoned Douma and the students he picked beforehand to come forward.

By then, Douma had calmed down. He walked forward and took the oak leaf from the Merkarian official before turning around and lifting it up high. He radiated a fervent spirit, as if he had transcended to a higher state. Excitement shone in the Merkarian students’ eyes.

Douma looked ahead with grim determination and started walking forward while humming a long note. At the same time, the Merkarian band started playing. The song was ancient and seemingly timeless, carrying with it a simple, primal air.

The Merkarian students started harmonizing. They were full of emotion, and their eyes shone with resolution. They threw themselves into the song as if they wanted to complete an important, sacred mission.

The crowd was affected by their zeal and watched attentively.

Just then, a gunshot echoed. It was almost drowned out by the drums.

Mr. Liu trembled. His security guards immediately registered what had happened and rushed to cover him. The second gunshot came after the first, but it hit a security guard.

Not too far away, the security guard next to the council member grabbed him, and he stumbled toward him. A bullet flew past the spot where he stood earlier.

Almost at the same time, a few cylindrical items flew into the square from the crowd. Soon, copious amounts of black smoke gushed out. Many people started coughing and tearing up once the smoke reached them.

Douma’s gaze sharpened when he saw that Mr. Liu had been hit. Even though the resistance group had said that they would create a chance for them, they forgot to mention that they would do it by trying to assassinate government officials. But he had no time to care about that. Once chaos descended onto the area, he shut the box and started running.

The Merkarian students ran with him. Then, as if they had received some sort of order, the Merkarian students in the audience charged at the Martial Valor University students who stood in Douma’s way.