Chapter 245 Lantern Riddles, Lantern Festival

It’s a wonderful night on Lantern Festival.

It was early spring, winter not far behind, and the wind was still chilly. Xie Lian, carrying a large bag, walked slowly along the roadside, his face slightly flushed by the wind.

The bag contained a bunch of random things he had just collected, and he didn't know if they were useful or not. Anyway, whether they were useful or not, he would have to rely on them to make a living from now on.

After a while, he passed by a street stall.

The stall was called "He Ji Snacks," selling snacks. The owner and his family of three seemed to be sitting at a small table in the back. A slender, attractive woman was busy among the tables. The owner called out to her to stop and sit down, but she ignored him, saying, "I'll be right there," in a voice as succinct as a nightingale. Other tables were occupied by a few customers, but they seemed to have come just for the young woman. They sat and chatted for a while before heading home. After all, today was the Lantern Festival.

There was a small pot in front of the stall, and a bunch of white, round, steaming little creatures in the pot made him slow down.

Xie Lian thought to himself, “Lantern Festival.”

When he was a child, every Lantern Festival, the King and Queen of Xianle Kingdom would share a meal with him. Xie Lian was a very picky eater and disliked Yuanxiao. Even when a famous chef presented him with exquisite morsels of food in golden bowls and jade cups, he wouldn't eat them, finding them too sweet. He'd eat anything with this filling, and then he'd eat them in two bites.

Later, when he grew up, he went to Taicang Mountain to practice, and sometimes he didn't come back for the Lantern Festival, so he didn't eat much. Now thinking about it, he couldn't even remember what Yuanxiao tasted like.

Xie Lian glanced cautiously at the stall for a few times, then carefully lowered the ugly big bag from his shoulder, and finally, stepped in cautiously.

He took off his bamboo hat, held it in his hand and said, "Boss, please give me a bowl of Yuanxiao. Do you have any?"

The boss, who looked quite elderly, glanced at him, but before he could reply, the slender woman smiled and said, "Yes, please come in and sit down!" She then got up and began to get ready. Xie Lian sat down, but saw the boss shake his head, which made him feel strange. He wondered if he had gotten dirty somewhere and that was why he was displeased. He glanced down at his sleeves, confirming that they were not dirty. Feeling a little relieved, he asked, "What's wrong?"

He thought if the boss didn't like him bringing the bag in, he could just leave it outside. But the boss looked at him again, shook his head and said, "That's miserable. That's really miserable."

Xie Lian asked, “Ah? What did you say?”

The boss said, "It's too miserable for a person to eat Yuanxiao in the cold weather outside at a stall during the Lantern Festival."

“…” Xie Lian said, “You can’t do this. Are you still doing business…”

The boss didn't speak to him and went to get his bowl. After sitting for a while, Xie Lian felt that people were looking at him. Or rather, they were looking at him and the unusually large bag next to him.

The boss's daughter also slinked over, squatting on the ground and prodding at the bag with her fingers, seemingly curious about what was bulging inside. She was called back several times by her mother before she went back. Xie Lian, who hadn't yet developed the impenetrable thick skin he would later develop, couldn't help but kick the large bag under the table, trying to tuck it away where no one could see it. Unfortunately, the stall was small, and the tables, chairs, and benches were also small; there was no way to hide anything. Xie Lian could only cough softly, trying to ignore the gazes of others.

You'll get used to it. It's no big deal.

Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly reached into his chest to feel around. His face suddenly changed as he thought, "This is even worse! Not only do I have to eat Yuanxiao dumplings alone in the freezing cold on Lantern Festival, but I still don't have enough money!!!"

He wanted to leave quickly, but at that moment, the boss came over with a large porcelain bowl, put it on the table, and said, "Five cents."

“…”

Xie Lian felt a little suffocated and said, "Uh... I..."

He coughed several times, put his fist to his mouth, and listened to the boss say, "Is there nothing?"

Xie Lian was just about to bite the bullet and stand up to leave when he saw a large porcelain bowl slammed down on the table in front of him.

He was stunned, then heard the boss say, "Forget it, seeing how miserable you are, I'll give you a bowl. After you finish eating, I will also close the stall, so hurry back. Today is Lantern Festival, it's time to be together!"

“…”

Xie Lian sat back down. Although he was thinking that he had nowhere to go after finishing this bowl of Yuanxiao, he still whispered, "Thank you."

The boss put down his bowl and went back. He brought the small pot of leftover Yuanxiao in front of the stall to the small table. The little girl tilted her head and bit her spoon and said, "When will my brother come back? I want to wait until he comes back before eating."

The boss also said: "It's too late. It's really outrageous to come back so late on the Lantern Festival!"

The woman said, "He's worked hard, too. He'll be back soon. Don't scold him later. Miao'er, Miao'er, don't be so busy. I really feel bad for always asking you to come and help. Come and eat with us."

The young girl said, "I'm not busy!" Finally, she cleared a table and sat down to share the Yuanxiao with them.

The four of them seemed to be waiting for someone else to return home for a reunion, chatting and laughing. Xie Lian watched them, picked up his own bowl, scooped a piece of rice with his spoon, and took a sip of the sweet soup.

But I still don’t know what it feels like.

·

"Brother, brother?"

Xie Lian finally came to his senses. Hua Cheng was staring at him from the side. His red dress made his features appear even more vibrant, and the light from the lamp cast a soft hue on his pale, lifeless face. Xie Lian was slightly distracted by what he saw and asked, "What?"

Hua Cheng said, "Brother, are you tired? Or can't walk anymore?"

Xie Lian nodded casually. Hua Cheng said, "I'm sorry. I went too far last night."

After a while, Xie Lian finally realized what he meant and quickly waved his hands, "...What are you talking about? It's not like that at all! It's totally fine!"

Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? If that's completely okay, then that means I wasn't too extreme yesterday? So I can...?"

“…”

Xie Lian suddenly remembered that he was still in the Ghost Market. He looked around with a start. Sure enough, a multitude of misshapen creatures had suddenly filled the streets. Those with long ears pricked up, those with short ears stretched their necks out. Almost every one of them stared at them with their eyes wide open, stunned beyond words. Finally, they said, "Sanlang!"

Hua Cheng smiled slightly, put his hands behind his back and said, "Okay, okay. It's my fault, I won't talk about it anymore."

Xie Lian had already withdrawn his gaze from the Lantern Festival demon stalls along the street. Both sides of the Ghost Market were hung with bright red lanterns, each covered in riddles. The ghosts shouted, "Guess the riddles! Guess the riddles! Guess the prizes! Big prizes!!!"

Hua Cheng said to Xie Lian, "Brother, would you like to try? There are prizes."

Xie Lian walked up and said, “Want to try?”

The ghosts were all excited, pushing each other: "Shh! Shh! Dabogong is going to guess the lantern riddles! Dabogong is going to guess the lantern riddles!!!"

"..." The overwhelming shouting sounded as if he were about to perform a shamanic act. Xie Lian was both amused and annoyed. Just as he was about to pick one at random, a tentacle suddenly extended from nowhere and enthusiastically presented him with a lantern, saying, "Please come in! Please come in!"

To Xie Lian, they were all the same. So he took the light and took a look. The riddle was four words: "Find the white head."

Xie Lian didn't even think twice before saying, "'I'."

Hua Cheng clapped his hands and praised, "Brother, that's amazing." The ghosts joined him in applause, howling like ghosts and wolves, and somersaulting black, unidentified objects in the air. It was a bit too exaggerated. Xie Lian blushed and said, "Actually, this... is really simple."

The tentacle brought over a second lamp and said, "Please come in! Please come in!"

Xie Lian took the lantern. This time, the riddle was "Spring Festival Day."

Without even thinking, Xie Lian gave the answer, "Husband."

Hua Cheng was about to raise his hand and clap again, but Xie Lian said, "No need, this is also very simple."

Hua Cheng smiled and said, "Really? But I really think brother is amazing."

Xie Lian thought to himself, “No way. If you had written the riddle on the lantern yourself and I had solved it, that would have been truly impressive…”

At this time, the tentacle sent a third lamp and sang: "Please come! Please come!"

Xie Lian glanced at the result and frowned slightly. Everyone around him said, "Wow! This is going to be difficult!"

Xie Lian nodded. As expected, this time the riddle couldn't be solved at first glance: "Bow your head shyly to show your affection."

Still, it wasn't too difficult. After a while, Xie Lian said, "'Hanxiu' means mimosa, so we take the grass part; 'diutou' means the top of the character 'diu'; 'biaoqingxin' means the center of the character 'qing'. Putting these three parts together, we get... 'hua'. The answer is 'hua'."

He covered his ears after saying this. Sure enough, as soon as he announced the answer, the demons began to dance wildly around him again, praising him without any bottom line, exaggerating to the extreme, making people feel sick. Hua Cheng looked at him with a smile and said, "Brother, this time, you are really amazing."

The tentacle, holding the lamp, quietly reached over again. Xie Lian smiled and said, "There's something even more powerful. This time, I can guess the answer without even looking at the riddle. Believe it or not."

Hua Cheng opened his eyes wide and said, "Oh, really? Brother actually has this unique skill?"

Xie Lian took the lamp and said, "Of course. I guess the answer this time is 'city'. The city in Huacheng, right?"

Lifting the lantern and taking a look, he saw, as expected, "When weapons stir, the south will be settled." Xie Lian said, "When weapons stir, the reversed "god" becomes "earth"; the "god" remains; and the "south will be settled" character is "fang" (south), with the "south" in the center being "earth" and "god" as "city." This should be the most difficult riddle to solve, but what a pity..."

Unfortunately, he guessed the pattern first. What is the answer to the four puzzles together?

The ghosts, having been exposed, stopped cheering and instead began coughing and looking up at the sky. Hua Cheng's gaze swept over them slowly. The ghosts were terrified. Some hid in the lamps, some burrowed underground, each holding their heads and crying, "City Lord, calm down!!! It wasn't my idea!!!" "It wasn't me either!" "Bullshit! You were the one who agreed the loudest!!!"

Hua Cheng said calmly, "Get lost."

In an instant, the street was completely deserted, like a whirlwind of smoke. Xie Lian hung the lamp back on its stand and said with a smile, "Let's go back."

The two walked side by side towards Qiandeng Temple. On the way, Hua Cheng said seriously, "Brother, don't look at me like that. I really didn't ask them to do that."

Xie Lian smiled and said, “I know. If it were you, you wouldn’t set up a riddle like that.”

Hua Cheng said, "Oh? Then, brother, how do you think I would set up the riddle?"

Xie Lian said without any defense, “Of course, ‘my husband Sanlang’…”

At this point, he realized that "the mouth can cause trouble" and quickly stopped talking. However, it was too late. Hua Cheng laughed and said, "Brother, you've been fooled! Beautiful!"

"...cunning, cunning..."

At that moment, the two of them returned to Qiandeng Temple. Upon entering the main hall, Xie Lian noticed a table of food on the jade platform. Startled, he went up to take a look and saw two bowls of Yuanxiao (Chinese glutinous rice dumplings).

He turned around and saw Hua Cheng coming up. He said, "Isn't this what you saw on the road just now?"

Xie Lian nodded.

Hua Cheng said, "Sit down and eat together, brother."

“…”

Xie Lian didn't sit down, but suddenly threw himself into his arms, buried his face in his chest, and hugged Hua Cheng tightly, not letting go.

Huacheng also hugged him back.

After who knows how many years, he finally remembered what Yuanxiao tasted like.