Entangled in love
Yan Dan was actually very curious about what the two people behind the wall were talking about, but compared to the eunuch pacing anxiously in the room, muttering to himself, "What should I do? A man and a woman alone in a room, it's not proper, not to mention what if, what if that person has ulterior motives, this, this...", she was far too composed.
She slowly took a sip of tea: "Father-in-law, please rest assured, my young master has never had a penchant for force."
"What do you know? What kind of 'good deeds' were you two up to in the room just now?"
"If we had really done something good just now, my young master would be even less inclined to exert himself..."
"You...you...you..."
Seeing that the eunuch was about to shout "Guards, tie him up and drag him out!", Tang Zhou reached out and pulled Yan Dan up: "It seems they still have room for negotiation. Why don't we go for a walk outside?"
Yan Dan let him pull her along, and after a moment she said softly, "Young Master Liu probably won't be coming back, will he?"
Tang Zhou paused for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "Didn't you say that the Purple Void Emperor in the Nine Heavens is very powerful? He will come back."
“Lord Ketu must have also used this method to sneak into the Underworld Palace, but when I got his jade pendant, I could feel that his soul had been scattered and his immortal essence had been shattered, and he would never be reborn.”
Tang Zhou stopped, put his hand on her shoulder, and said in a low voice, "I don't know what kind of person Jidu Xingjun is, but Brother Liu is pursuing something very pure. He didn't enter the Underworld Palace to rule the Six Realms, but for the secrets inside, the long-lost magic techniques."
Yan Dan nodded.
After a moment, Tang Zhou asked softly, "Are you so concerned about Brother Liu because you like him?"
Yan Dan didn't even think about it: "How could that be? I respect him as much as I respect my master. Young Master Liu is even more approachable than my master. Besides, although we haven't had any contact before, I've long heard that Emperor Zixu is an immortal lord who doesn't fall in love. I'm not going to ask for trouble."
The two walked down the stairs of the inn and ran into the inn's waiter. The waiter smiled at them and said, "You two are going out? Today is Buddha's Birthday, there's no curfew. There will be fireworks, lanterns, and a temple fair later. Why don't you two go out and have some fun?"
Yan Dan's hair stood on end: "Buddha's Birthday...?"
It seems today is indeed not a good day to travel; everything will go wrong.
Tang Zhou, however, became interested: "Buddha's birthday is fine, anyway, you still have some cultivation, so nothing will happen to you."
Yan Dan was still uninterested, and at this moment, the age gap between the two of them truly became apparent. If she and Tang Zhou went to the temple fair hand in hand, wouldn't it look like a great-grandmother taking her grandson out to play? Even if it were Yu Mo, they would probably be of the same generation as aunt and nephew.
She told Tang Zhou about her idea, and Tang Tianshi expressionlessly took out a talisman: "This is a three-step restriction. It seems you really want to use it."
Yan Dan immediately changed her tune and said sincerely, "No, no, actually I prefer to follow you closely, Senior Brother. These three steps seem too impersonal."
Tang Zhou then put the talisman away with satisfaction.
A sharp sound rang out, and several fireworks suddenly burst open in the dim night sky, leaving bright, extremely long tails that instantly illuminated the hazy darkness as if it were daytime. Immediately afterward, large swathes of colorful fireworks bloomed in the dark night sky, the explosions drowning out the cheers and laughter below.
Yan Dan stood under the tree, looked up for a while, and when she turned her head, she found that Tang Zhou had disappeared. She looked around for a while and saw Tang Zhou standing under the dazzling fireworks in the sky. He was holding a lantern in his hand, and a child was squatting next to him, trying to light the fuse of the firecracker with a tinderbox, but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't get it to light.
Tang Zhou bent down and, using the child's hand, brought the tinder close to the firecracker's fuse. A tiny glimmer of light wriggled and swayed like a snake in the night. He lifted the child a few steps away, just as the fireworks above suddenly burst open, spreading countless rays of light and casting a faint glow around him.
Yan Dan couldn't help but smile slightly, but after thinking for a moment, she couldn't quite put her finger on what she was smiling about.
A spark fell from the firework in front of her, and Yan Dan subconsciously took a step back, only to feel someone bump into her from behind. She turned around and saw a woman bending down to pick up the incense sticks and candles that had fallen to the ground. Yan Dan quickly squatted down, picked up the incense sticks from the ground, and put them into the basket next to the woman.
After she finished doing all this, she suddenly saw the woman slowly raise her head. The bright yet lonely light of the fireworks reflected on her face, revealing a sorrowful yet beautiful countenance. Yan Dan's heart skipped a beat, and she involuntarily called out, "You... Lantern Fairy...?" The woman also stared at her intently. When she came to her senses, she grabbed the bamboo basket and left, her steps hurried and unsteady.
Long-forgotten memories resurfaced, and Yan Dan grabbed her arm: "You're the Lantern Fairy, aren't you? How come you're here? Don't you recognize me?" With each question, the other only shook her head, making muffled sounds, her face showing both fear and panic.
Yan Dan released her hand, and the woman immediately ran a few steps away without looking back, but suddenly stopped abruptly. Yan Dan squinted at her, noticing that her shoulders were trembling, as if she might collapse at any moment. Yan Dan followed her gaze and saw Tang Zhou bending down, gently lighting a cigarette for the child from before. The faint white light was weak and warm amidst the swirling fireworks.
Tang Zhou tilted his head, smiled, and said something; his profile appeared gentle in the dappled light. The child stood on tiptoe, holding a lit cigarette, his smile pure and innocent.
Anyone who saw this scene would surely smile. But the woman seemed to have been whipped; she rushed forward, snatched the fireworks from the child's hand, threw them on the ground, stomped on them twice, and then dragged him into the crowd, quickly disappearing from sight.
Tang Zhou straightened up, seemingly unconcerned, and walked towards Yan Dan with the lantern in his hand: "Let's go, it's time to release the lanterns."
Yan Dan thought for a moment and asked, "Don't you think that girl was really strange?"
"If you see your younger brother playing with a stranger, you'd probably feel nervous too."
Yan Dan raised a finger to her chin and murmured softly, "That's true, I probably mistook someone for someone else..."
Tang Zhou handed the lantern to her and smiled slightly, "According to our mortal customs, write your wish inside this lantern and put it in the river. As long as the wish reaches the heavens, it will be fulfilled."
Yan Dan held up the lantern and looked at it again and again, then pouted and said, "This is clearly a lie."
“This kind of thing is all about hoping for something,” Tang Zhou handed over a charcoal pencil. “Write down what you want most in the lamp, and maybe one day it will come true.”
"And what about you? If it were you, what would you write?"
"Of course, I hope that my parents can be healthy and live a long life."
Yan Danqi said, "Although it's good to be filial, I thought you would find the Divine Artifact sooner."
His eyes flickered, then he changed the subject: "What wish do you plan to make?"
Yan Dan held the charcoal pencil, frowning as she pondered deeply.
What she once wanted most is now impossible to have. So what is it that she wants now?
Yan Dan stood on the banks of the Zhangtai River, watching the fireworks light up and fade in the sky. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and looked at him warily: "You can't peek while I'm writing."
Tang Zhou immediately turned his head away and said coolly, "I don't have that weird fetish of prying into your thoughts."
The lanterns gradually left the riverbank, gently pushed away by the waves into the distance. The river, ablaze with lights, was exceptionally beautiful, its glow flickering softly.
Yan Dan bent down and placed the lantern in the water, then dusted off her sleeves: "Okay, all done."
In the end, she didn't write anything. Actually, now, there was nothing she couldn't have. Yelan Mountain was like her home; all the monsters there, big and small, were her family. If she could, she planned to stay there for the rest of her life.
As she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a flash of lightning streak across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. Soon after, a few raindrops the size of soybeans fell on her face.
The dazzling fireworks in the sky were extinguished by the sudden rain, and the banks of the Zhangtai River were shrouded in mist. The young people who had been watching the fireworks and lanterns together laughed and hid to the side, but they were not annoyed that their fun had been ruined.
Before Yan Dan could react, Tang Zhou pulled her towards the eaves of a nearby house. The raindrops grew larger and larger, gradually threatening to pour. Only the remnants of fireworks remained, silently emitting white smoke. Their clothes were slightly damp, and the night wind, carrying raindrops, made them feel a little chilly—after all, it was already autumn, and it wasn't as hot as in the height of summer.
As Yan Dan listened to the rumbling thunder, she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist. Tang Zhou had leaned over and embraced her. This was the first time he had ever done something so intimate. Yan Dan turned her head and stared intently at him, but instead of showing any shame, he held her even tighter.
"Hey, what do you mean by this? You don't mean you've got your eye on me, do you?"
Tang Zhou paused for a moment, then chuckled softly: "Why are you speaking so bluntly at a time like this? You really don't seem to have any interest in teaching me how to answer."
Yan Dan was overwhelmed with emotion. Her lotus, which had been unwanted for a thousand years, had finally found someone who appreciated its value. The difficulty of this was no less than that of an iron tree blooming.
Tang Zhou rested his chin on the top of her head and whispered, "I've always felt very sorry for my parents... They gave me life and raised me, but I can't be there to enjoy their company and fulfill my filial duties."
"Well, it's good that you think that way. Filial piety is a traditional virtue."
“Yan Dan, I used to have a lot of prejudice against you, and even now, I still can’t completely let go of that prejudice.”
Yan Dan was completely confused and couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. She just vaguely realized that she was probably just imagining things again.
A rumbling thunderclap echoed from the horizon, and amidst the thunder, she heard Tang Zhou whisper something in her ear.
It's very light.
She even doubted whether she had misheard.
Tang Zhou said, "I've thought it over. I won't go looking for the Divine Artifact anymore. I've given up."
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