As for the Drum Sticks, they too were "carved" from Red Fir Wood. Li Xiang had made a set of "Heavy Hammers," which were rather thick and large. They were about 60 centimeters long with handles about three centimeters in diameter. The "Hammer Heads" were shaped like rounded bullets, six centimeters in diameter at their thickest point. They were carved from a single piece of wood, and the Hammer Heads were then wrapped in bright red silk.

He tested the acoustics. The sound was sonorous and crisp. With a special striking technique, it could even produce its own reverb, a "stereo" effect. It was absolutely one-of-a-kind.

Li Xiang tried playing a rendition of "General’s Order," then followed it with "Qin King’s Battle Music." The great drum’s DONG DONG, DONG—an invigorating, passionate rhythm—resounded through the entire Li Family Village, attracting many villagers who came to watch.

"This is a great drum! It just looks so festive."

"Xiang Ya, when it’s time for the New Year ancestral rites, we should bring this drum to the Clan Ancestral Hall and play it." The village chief, Li Jinyu, had also arrived and couldn’t stop praising it.

Everyone loved such a fine drum. The only problem was the paint wasn’t dry yet, so no one dared to touch its body. But that didn’t apply to the drumhead or the Tiger Head Copper Rings, so everyone gave them a few good pats.

Li Family Village had an annual custom of ancestor worship, as well as a tradition known as the "Ding Banquet." Both events were held in the large, open area in front of the Clan Ancestral Hall.

However, Li Family Village was poor, and the Clan Ancestral Hall had fallen into such disrepair over the years that it was a wreck. But that didn’t diminish its standing in the hearts of the villagers.

The "Ding Banquet" in Li Family Village was rather unique. It didn’t refer to a feast thrown by a family to celebrate the birth of a son. Instead, it was an event where, on a chosen day during the New Year, all the villagers would gather for a large communal feast.

The "Ding" originally referred to adult males aged sixteen and older. But as times changed, the event was no longer restricted to men. Everyone in the village, including the elderly, women, and children, was welcome to participate.

It wasn’t limited to those with the Li surname. Other families—well, nowadays, that’s mainly the Jiang Family—could participate as well.

In short, it was a chance for the entire village to get together, share a big meal, and reconnect.

This was an especially rare occasion in modern society.

Most of the young people had left to work in other places and were gone year-round, only returning for the New Year.

Since almost everyone was present, the "Ding Banquet" was also typically the day of the village election. Li Jinyu’s five-year term was coming to an end. He was getting old and felt he couldn’t keep up with the work anymore, so he was thinking about finding a successor.

If Li Xiang hadn’t returned, he would have been stressing over it and probably would have had to keep the position for a few more years. But now, that was no longer a concern.

Li Family Village was quite poor and remote, and government subsidies were meager. There wasn’t much money to be made, so the young people didn’t stick around.

The people of Li Family Village weren’t native Ancient Ba Shu People; their ancestors had migrated from other regions during the historical event known as "Hu-Guang Filling Sichuan."

It was a massive migration during the Kangxi Emperor’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, with people arriving from over a dozen different provinces. The main reason for this was that years of incessant warfare had caused the population of Sichuan Province to plummet. According to the *Sichuan Province General History*: "Since the Han and Tang dynasties, Shu [an old name for Sichuan] had been densely populated, the smoke from one village’s chimneys visible to the next. Yet after the wars at the end of the Ming dynasty, its people became as sparse as the morning stars."

This was what prompted the massive wave of migration. The largest group of migrants came from Hu-Guang Province, with the Hakka people forming the second-largest group.

Take Rongcheng for example. A late-Qing Dynasty text, *A Complete Guide to Rongcheng*, described the situation: "The Rong People of today all originate from other provinces."

Because there were so many immigrants from other regions, as well as numerous ethnic minorities, the customs that were preserved were a colorful variety.

The villagers took turns coming up to beat the drum. A few of the younger children wanted to try as well, but the Drum Sticks Li Xiang had made were too heavy. Some preschoolers couldn’t even lift them, so they had to content themselves with patting the drumhead gently with their little hands.

With the help of adults, other children climbed right on top of the great drum and started stomping on it.

Li Xiang, of course, didn’t mind. The drum was incredibly sturdy. The children couldn’t damage it by stomping on it—hell, it could support the weight of several adults.

Everyone praised its fine quality.

Li Xiang thought it over for a moment, then went and made several more pairs of Drum Sticks. They came in all shapes and sizes: bent-head sticks, "big-bellied fish" sticks, cartoonish round-headed sticks, and simple straight sticks. Their different sizes made them suitable for everyone.

’The reason I wanted to make this drum wasn’t just for a video or for fun,’ Li Xiang thought. ’It’s because, in the future, if this drum is remade with the hide of a Demon Beast, with Drum Sticks carved from Demon Beast bones, and inscribed with unique Inscriptions... its sun-bolstering sound will be able to exorcise evil and ward off wicked Demon Fiends during an invasion.’

’Furthermore, great drums have been used to rally troops on the battlefield since ancient times. During a base Defense, the deafening beat can boost morale and ignite the fighting spirit of the warriors.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’In the Apocalypse, with the invasion of Demon Fiends and the emergence of Extraordinary Particles, firearms will often be useless. Victory will often require close-quarters, bloody combat.’