Baptism
1226 Words
Early in the morning, the young children of the Wu clan gathered around the ancestral plaza.
The ancestral plaza is the area of the Wu residence where trainings and sparing matches are held.
Today, since it is a special day, those said activities are postponed because of the annual baptism of the young children of the Wu Clan. Baptization is a special requirement and a child must be exactly five years old. The special event is witnessed by all clan members, including the seniors and officials of the family.
More children under the age of five gathered around the plaza. They arranged themselves accordingly by the time they entered the square. After several minutes pass by, Wu Chengyu arrive together with Bai Cihui and Aunt Shuie. Together they escorted Wu Chengyu towards the center of the plaza. Wu Chengyu smiled at the two women and indicated that he was alright on his own. Bai Cihui smiled gently and patted Wu Chengyu on the head. Before walking away, she gave Wu Chengyu some encouragement. She then turned around and walked towards the spectators area together with Aunt Shuie.
Wu Chengyu felt warm inside because of his mother’s encouragement. He scanned his surroundings and noticed his grandfather smiling at him. Wu Chengyu also cast a smile and moved his gaze away. Upon moving, he saw his father’s indifferent expression towards him. Wu Chengyu felt puzzled by his father’s expression. He then moved his gaze to the right and saw his mother and Aunt Shuie. He also saw the mocking expressions of his father’s wives towards his mother and him.
Wu Chengyu really wanted to go over and slap those witches, but thinking about the current situation he was in, that would be too illogical. What can he do? If those witches acted against him? Wouldn’t it be funny if he really slapped them? A five-year-old child slapping the wife of his father?.
Wu Chengyu smiled awkwardly.
Erasing those thoughts, he moved closer and walked towards the right. He found a line of male children and stood at the back of the line. He waited and started small conversations with the other children. Since this was a gathering of five years old, he was able to form conversations with other clan members from the main and branch families.
Wu Chengyu interacted happily with the other kids as he waited for the baptism to start. Without knowing, two hours had passed. The bell located at the upper portion of the plaza started to ring. “Clang” “Clang.”
Wu Chengyu jolted, and he immediately put his attention intensely around his surroundings. The huge bell stopped ringing and then Wu Chengyu saw a middle-aged man coming towards the stage in front. The middle-aged man had a stern look on his face as he scanned the children below. After some time, his gaze softened as he nodded towards the patriarch.
The middle-aged man then waved his hand and ordered the nearby clan guards to go. The clan guards immediately scurried away as if instantly understanding the intentions of the middle-aged man. Wu Chengyu was amazed by the scene. He paid more attention to where the guard had left and then when the guards came back he was surprised to see the guards come back with a large barrel.
The barrel has a decorated design all over its sides. The symbols of mystic beasts were on its surface. The mystic beast looks lifelike, as one can see the aura each mystic beast carved on the barrel's surface emanating.
“What a great treasure”, someone blurted.
The middle-aged man smirked and said, “It is indeed a good treasure. It is one of our clan’s most valuable treasures because not only can it seal and refine objects, it can also determine other people’s talent and potential. I expect the children of our Wu clan are smart. Just by seeing this barrel, I believe that you already know what the baptism is going to be."
Wu Chengyu was quite surprised by the middle-aged man’s statement. He looked around his surroundings and saw his fellow clansmen’s calm expressions despite their age. He already had a slight idea about baptism, and it seemed it would not be ordinary. He now perfectly understood the difference between his past world and this world. The children in this world mature more rapidly than the children in their previous lives. If based on mental age. Wu Chengyu would be the oldest among his peers, so it is only natural for him to be composed just like them.
The middle-aged man nodded with a smile and flipped his hand. A black bottle appeared in his palm. The middle-aged man then uncorked the bottle and poured the contents within. Something worth mentioning. When Wu Chengyu saw the scene, he was surprised to see the contents of the bottle come out like a rushing river. The small bottle actually contained a massive amount of water. Inspecting the water that was pouring out from the black bottle, Wu Chengyu could see its purity and clearness. The water was pure transparent, and it sparkled as it went inside the barrel. Wu Chengyu couldn’t believe what he saw. However, he immediately retracted his awe and calmed down. He reiterated in his mind that the current world he was in is different from his previous life. Here, magic and incredible phenomenons occur like flies.
Wu Chengyu trained himself to control his actions and a few breaths later, he calmly waited for the baptism. After some time, the barrel was full, so the middle-aged man corked the black bottle and turned his gaze towards the children below the stage. Without further Ado, he ordered the guards to come forward and said to the children, “Once I call your name, step forward and come here on stage.”
The middle-aged man quickly flipped the scroll and read a name, “Shi Bai!.”
From the crowd, a slight chubby child stepped forward. He was then escorted by the guards and went onstage. After he arrived at the stage, the middle-aged man simply waved his hand and the chubby child was tossed into the barrel. The chubby child got flustered, but soon he calmed down as mist started to sip into his pores upon his contact with the water inside the barrel. Soon cries of surprise were heard from the spectating clan members. After the mist infiltrated inside the chubby child, it came out and released five colored-mist around the surrounding edges of the barrel. Many were elated by the result and heated discussions erupted. Soon the chubby child got out of the barrel and went to his parents. By the time he arrived in front of his family, he was showered with the praises of his relatives.
Upon seeing this, Wu Chengyu gave a faint smile. He was confident in himself and deduced that his result would be more stunning than the rest. Soon, more children came to be baptized. Just like the first child, more got good results and clamors from the spectators never stop. This clearly means how important the baptism for the clan was. It is an event to determine the future geniuses of the clan. The more genius children the clan has, the more it will become powerful in the future.
- Writer
