Mirror Flower Water Moon (3)

Li Zhaoyue brought Xu Xing to Qingfengyuan.

This time, Qingfeng Courtyard was no longer filled with dangerous sword energy. It was like an ordinary courtyard, exuding a peaceful atmosphere.

Xu Xing walked while observing his surroundings.

There are many maple trees planted in Qingfeng Courtyard. In spring, these trees are lush and leafy, and when matched with the huge pear tree in the courtyard, the green with white creates a unique charm.

As you turn the corner along the corridor, the scenery in the courtyard changes as well. Clusters of bamboo stretch out, and when the night wind blows, the green leaves fall down with a rustling sound. A few of them float onto Xu Xing's shoulders. The fragrance of bamboo accompanied by the fragrance of flowers is really refreshing.

As we walked, we came to another bend. The small courtyard with red lanterns standing in the boundless night gave people a sense of belonging for no reason.

Li Zhaoyue pulled Xu Xing into her yard.

A burst of floral fragrance hits you in the face. There is a huge pear tree in the yard. The blooming pear blossoms are like clouds, dotted in the sky. When the cool breeze blows, some of the withered petals fall down, and it seems like a quiet snow has fallen.

There were two wooden tables under the tree, one filled with food and the other piled with paper and ink. Zhu Ming stood in front of the table, rolled up his sleeves, and wrote something with a pen.

Xie Feng stood at another table, holding a wine pot, carefully adjusting the fire and warming the wine.

The lake blue gown he wore made his temperament even more cold and outstanding, but the candlelight placed on the table softened his eyebrows and made him look somewhat gentle.

Perhaps Li Zhaoyue had told them in advance that Xu Xing was coming, so the two were not very surprised when they saw him.

Xu Xing stepped forward and bowed to Zhu Ming, "Elder Zhu, I'm sorry to bother you."

Zhu Ming had no expression on his face. He just nodded and motioned Li Zhaoyue to take him to sit down, and continued writing and drawing on the paper.

Xie Feng's eyes swept across the two people's clasped hands, then he patted the seat to his left and said to Xu Xing, "Junior brother, please sit here."

After saying that, he looked at Li Zhaoyue and patted the seat on the right: "Ayue, sit here."

Li Zhaoyue didn't think too much and walked over happily. Xu Xing glanced at Xie Feng, smiled, and didn't respond. He walked straight to Li Zhaoyue and sat down.

Xie Feng's cold eyes shot straight at him. Xu Xing smiled, pretending not to see him, and started talking to Li Zhaoyue.

Zhu Ming wrote the blessing, washed his hands, and sat down.

"These are all made by your senior brother. They are all your favorite foods. Come and try them." Zhu Ming smiled, picked up a piece of meat and put it in Li Zhaoyue's bowl.

The sword immortal, who always keeps a serious expression in front of outsiders, now has a deep and unbreakable warmth in his eyes.

Li Zhaoyue took it with a smile, took a bite, and seemed to think it was delicious. His round eyes were full of joy: "It's worthy of Afeng's craftsmanship. It's delicious!"

Xie Feng's cold expression melted away, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at Li Zhaoyue.

Xu Xing picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

"Try it now, this is my favorite dish."

Li Zhaoyue picked up a piece of meat, put it in Xu Xing's bowl, and said excitedly.

Xie Feng's gaze followed, like a needle, scraping across Xu Xing's whole body.

Xu Xing was stunned for a moment, then he put on an interested smile, put the piece of meat to his lips, took a bite, looked at him half-provokingly and said, "Thank you, Ah Yue, I like it very much."

"That's good. I was worried that these wouldn't suit your taste." Li Zhaoyue smiled.

Xu Xing chewed the meat and smiled: "How can it not suit your taste? You're worrying too much."

After saying that, he glanced at Xie Feng, and seeing that he looked unhappy, he felt relieved again.

Xie Feng snorted coldly and gave Li Zhaoyue a piece of meat. After that, he never gave him a look again.

The meal was finished in a fairly harmonious atmosphere, and the next step was to make and release Kongming lanterns.

Li Zhaoyue remembered that Xu Xing's handwriting was very beautiful, so she asked him to help write the blessing.

"Why don't you let Master help me write this year?" Zhu Ming picked up a rabbit-shaped Kongming lantern and said helplessly.

A sly glint flashed in Li Zhaoyue's eyes. "Usually, it's Master who writes for me, but today it's Xu Feng. Have you forgotten the customs of the Floating Island?"

Zhu Ming immediately understood her plan and was amused. He immediately picked up the pen and began to write on the lamp helplessly.

"What are the customs on the floating island?" Xu Xing asked.

"Kongming lanterns are messages from humans to the gods. In ancient times, when the gods still existed, they placed special importance on birthdays. The more people there were, the more favored the gods were. So, they established that for every additional person who helped with a birthday, one more wish could be granted. And only if the newcomer wrote the wish personally would it come true."

Li Zhaoyue said.

"This year, three people are celebrating my birthday with me, so I have three wishes to make. I wonder if this lantern can write them all." She looked at Xie Feng, her bright eyes like a pool of spring water, which made him unable to help but smile.

In this way, the three lamps were quickly made.

Li Zhaoyue couldn't hold three lanterns in her two hands, so she gathered them all in her arms, which looked a bit funny. Xu Xing stepped over and helped her pick up one, which happened to be Li Zhaoyue's.

"I wish you peace every year, peace and happiness to those around you, and good health." He couldn't help but laugh, looking up and asking, "Why don't you wish for more of your own wishes on your birthday?"

Li Zhaoyue looked at the writing on the other lamp and burst out laughing: "Look at this."

Xu Xing looked in the direction of her hand and saw a few big words written on the white paper - May all of A Yue's wishes come true.

"You can tell from the handwriting that Ah Feng wrote this. He always does this." She said, a hint of tenderness in her eyes. "Every year on his birthday, Ah Feng would write this on his lantern."

"Can I see yours?" she asked.

Xu Xing subconsciously tightened the Kongming lantern in his right hand and handed it to her awkwardly: "I don't have many wishes, so I simply didn't write any."

Just as he said, the paper was blank. Li Zhaoyue couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but she quickly adjusted herself and smiled at him, "This means you will get everything. Having nothing to ask for is the best thing to ask for."

Xu Xing was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "I've never heard of such a statement before."

"It doesn't matter, because you will hear a lot in the future, and your days will be smooth." Li Zhaoyue smiled, the light in her eyes like a meteor flashing in the sky.

He couldn't help but smile and hummed softly.

In the dark courtyard, the Kongming lantern slowly rises into the sky, and the swaying candlelight is like a meteor falling into the clouds, carrying the purest blessings in the world, flying into the sky, perhaps reaching the residence of the gods and winning a glimpse of the gods.

Xu Xing looked at Li Zhaoyue, saw her bright smile, and saw her looking at Xie Feng.

The smile on the boy's face quickly faded, and his light brown eyes were as cold as the snow in December.

*

"Master, master, you promised me that you would go with me." Li Zhaoyue took Zhu Ming's hand and said coquettishly in a soft voice.

The three of them had agreed to go out of the mountain gate together to celebrate the Lantern Festival, but Zhu Ming had something urgent to do and had to leave first.

"Master also wants to accompany you, but this matter really cannot be turned away." Zhu Ming was also distressed, pinching his nose and patiently explaining to her.

Li Zhaoyue nodded sensibly, but still couldn't help asking, "What is it that requires you, Master, to go?"

Zhu Ming's expression turned serious: "It's about the dream beast."

Dream beast? Li Zhaoyue was stunned.

It seemed like something really big had happened. Zhu Ming left quickly after he finished speaking.

Although Li Zhaoyue felt a little disappointed, there was nothing she could do about it, so she quickly composed herself and left the mountain gate with Xie Feng and Xu Xing.

*

"The dream beast was imprisoned in the Linshui Prison of Jinxiantai. How could it escape?!" He Shuyu asked as his eyes scanned the reporting disciple's body inch by inch.

Linshui Prison is the most heavily guarded place on the entire floating island, and it can't even keep out a low-level monster.

She had a hunch that something big was going to happen, and with a gloomy face, she ordered her disciples to inform the elders. Then she picked up the Li Ci Sword on the table, left the Jinxiantai, and headed towards Yiziyuan.

Tonight is the Lantern Festival, and there are a lot of people there, making it the perfect place to nurture nightmares.

He Shuyu held the Li Ci sword and quickly moved through the crowd. Passersby only felt something tapping their shoulders. When they wanted to look, they only saw a purple figure flash by.

A familiar burst of laughter came from the front. He Shuyu suddenly stopped and met the eyes of Li Zhaoyue, who was holding a candied haws in his hand.

"Hi." Li Zhaoyue greeted her awkwardly. He Shuyu snorted coldly, pretending not to see her, and walked away.

Xu Xing poked his head out from behind Li Zhaoyue and happened to see He Shuyu leaving, so he asked, "Why is Senior Sister He here?"

"I just met her by chance. Maybe there are too many people here tonight and Jinxiantai is afraid of accidents, so they sent her to maintain order?" Li Zhaoyue took a bite of candied haws and said vaguely.

Although the Jinxiantai was responsible for adjudicating cases, it was absolutely impossible for them to send their disciples to maintain order on the streets. Zhu Ming also hurried away, and He Shuyu also hurried away.

I'm afraid something big happened tonight.

Xu Xing looked at Li Zhaoyue, who was looking confused, and suddenly showed his right little canine tooth, smiling brightly: "Ayue, can you wait here for me for a while? I have something to do."

Xie Feng went to help Li Zhaoyue buy drinks. Now there were only the two of them left. Li Zhaoyue was worried about his strange physique and shook his head unsteadily.

"Afeng is not here, I..."

"Ayue, I really have something urgent to do. Just wait for me here, okay? I will come back to find you." Xu Xing insisted, put his hand on her shoulder and said seriously.

Seeing that he looked nervous, as if something really urgent happened, Li Zhaoyue nodded helplessly.

It would only be a short while anyway, and Xie Feng would be back soon. Moreover, she had the talisman paper given by her master in her bag, so no matter what, nothing would go wrong.

Didn’t she also use the talisman given by her master to protect herself that day?

Thinking of this, Li Zhaoyue's fear and depression disappeared, and she could even wave to Xu Xing with a smile.

"Then hurry up, I'll be waiting for you here!"

Xu Xing quickly followed the direction He Shuyu left.

Dark alley

He Shuyu was covered in blood. She stared at the black shadow that was approaching her and clenched the Li Ci sword in her hand.

"Who are you and what do you want to do?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

The shadow didn't say anything, but just grabbed her neck hard.

He Shuyu soon became breathless and stared at the charred fingers exposed by the black shadow with wide eyes.

"Spirit man...how could it be...what do you want to do?"

The black shadow increased its strength, and it seemed that it wanted to kill her.

Another breath came from outside the alley. The black shadow sensed the danger and hurriedly put He Shuyu in front of him, trying to stop the person.

The person who came was Xu Xing.

He held the milky white sword and pierced through He Shuyu and the black shadow together.

Bright red blood gushed out immediately. He Shuyu looked at him in disbelief and spat out a mouthful of blood.

At this moment, Xu Xing was completely different from the gentle and smiling boy he usually was. His face was gloomy and his eyes were fierce, like an evil ghost crawling out of hell to take his life.

The black shadow screamed and tried to escape, but was nailed to the ground by the sword and could not move.

"Xu--Xing--" He Shuyu's eyes widened in anger as he cursed at Xu Xing: "You are truly vicious. Seeing this dark shadow blocking me, you still stabbed me. Do you want to kill me?"

Xu Xing glanced at her indifferently, ignoring her anger, but slowly took out a piece of talisman paper, wanting to collect the black shadow. At this moment, something unexpected happened.

A sword light with an unknown aura knocked the sword out of his hand. Without the restraint of the sword, the black shadow quickly moved and disappeared in almost an instant.

He Shuyu, who was originally leaning against the wall, was swallowed by a black vortex that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared.

Her expression finally froze in shock, and Xu Xing, after all this happened, turned around and looked behind him.

Zhu Ming and a group of Jinxiantai disciples stood at the exit of the alley with serious expressions.

The sword in her hand had been unsheathed, and the cold white light happened to fall on Xu Xing's eyes, bringing an indescribable pain.