Deafening gongs and drums suddenly sounded along Suzaku Avenue in Chang'an. Huwa rode a wooden cart decorated to look like an ox, dashing recklessly through the street. The cart was hung with bamboo tubes that sprayed garlic-scented mist, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Attention everyone! The epidemic-prevention carnival parade has begun! Even dysentery bacteria would call for their mothers upon hearing this!"
The street instantly transformed into a giant amusement park. An apprentice from Tibet led a yak team wearing sunglasses, carrying disinfection speakers that played Tibetan rap on a loop, while the horns blasted, "Om mani padme hum, spitting everywhere is strictly forbidden!" A Silla apprentice held up a glowing lantern shaped like *The Nine Chapters on Mathematical Art*, where all the equations had been changed into epidemic-prevention chants, such as "Two plus three equals five, wash your hands often to stay alive." Best of all was the "Garlic Steamed Bun Phalanx" from Xiaotao Eatery, where dozens of workers hoisted three-meter-tall bun models with glowing eyes and mouths that could shoot out slips of paper reading, "Eat me to ward off disease!"
Street interactions were filled with endless laughter. At the "Epidemic-Prevention Ring Toss" booth set up by Huwa, the townsfolk didn't toss rings at toys; they specifically aimed for the bamboo tubes inscribed with chants from *Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold*. A staggering drunkard threw a ring cas…
Chapter 522