Hey, the Yangzhou caravan has plunged right into the "sweet-as-can-be pile of international festival customs"! Huwan dancers at the Western Regions' "Flame Festival" are holding up smoking lion-patterned cloths and shouting: "Miss Xiao! Our 'stealing sweetness from the fire' roasted the lion into a 'caramel cat'!" Huwa crouches behind a brazier, giggling as a piece of peppermint candy drops "clack" into the fireproof powder. He has sewn a circle of "bursting flame-retardant sugar" into the dark blue lion pattern, and when tossed into the fire, it hisses out an ice mist smelling of cumin. The startled flames shrink down like little lamps, and the dancers spin across the ice mist, their hems scattering sesame-sugar sparks left behind by Huwa.
"Huwa! Quick, bring over the Ice and Fire Dual Heaven!" shouts the Protagonist. Huwa immediately pours a bucket of borax syrup into the loom, and the woven Arab astrological dance costume switches temperatures with a "clack-clack": glowing in warm ochre when near the fire, and turning to dark blue ice patterns when dancing. The girls of Ali wearing the astrological skirts spin out a peppermint breeze, startling a camel into smacking its lips: "By the Prophet! These 'face-changing stars' are even more magical than our sheepskin drums!" Huwa puts his hands on his hips and laughs: "Flames too hot? I call this 'sweet-fire compatibility art'!" The Abacus Bead displays an animation of someone tapping their head: "Actually, it's thermosensitive …
Chapter 422