Liuli skipped and hopped forward, her jewels jingling all over her. She would occasionally look up at the bare branches above her head, or cast curious glances at the people in front of the shops along the street.
At that moment, everyone was looking at her with suspicion. It was the dead of winter, and she was dressed far too thinly, not even covering half of her arms and calves. Moreover, she was wearing a lot of jewelry, which, together with the cloud-shaped shoulder ornament and her clothes, made her look rather incongruous.
Liuli didn't care about the questioning looks. She hummed a little tune and turned her gaze forward. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure at the other end of the long street.
A surge of joy welled up in Liuli's heart, but her eyes darted around, glancing behind her. After a moment's thought, she bent down and placed Ahua on the ground, whispering, "Ahua, find a way to keep Li Molin and the others occupied. I'll be right back!"
"Okay." Ah Hua replied and ran towards Li Molin.
Liuli turned her head and glanced at Ji Jue, who was about a mile away from her. Li Molin and Yu Ke were even further away, and they were talking quietly as they walked, completely unaware of her presence. She smiled and silently flew to the other end of the long street.
The people on both sides of the street who had been curiously observing her suddenly realized that the strange girl had vanished. A commotion broke out among them, and they began to whisper among themselves, all looking puzzled and asking each other if they had seen wrong.
Liuli was completely oblivious to the commotion she had caused. She quickly flew to the front of a tall figure, then stepped onto the ground, hurriedly grabbed the young monk, and pulled him away into a side alley without saying a word.
The monk was walking quietly along one side of the long street when suddenly a white light appeared before him. When the light dissipated, a smiling woman appeared before him. The familiar fragrance, like orchids and musk, instantly stirred up a strange feeling that would occasionally appear in his heart. He had never known what that feeling was, only that whenever it arose, he would feel uneasy and almost unable to control his urge to see the woman.
"Little monk!" Liuli called out with an eager smile as soon as she had helped the monk to his feet.
Shi Chan barely suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, a joyful smile appeared on his lips, he put his palms together in a Buddhist gesture, and said gently, "It's been a long time, Miss Liuli, how have you been?"
"I'm doing great!" Liuli smiled. "And you, little monk, how have you been lately?"
"This humble monk is very well." As he spoke, Shi Chan couldn't help but glance around at Liu Li's jeweled jewelry, then looked puzzled, but hesitated for a moment before not asking.
Liuli noticed Shichan's gaze. She chuckled, a hint of smugness in her eyes, and twirled around, shaking her head so that her many ornaments jingled. She looked down at the jade pendant hanging from her head and smiled, "Little monk, do you think these things I bought are pretty? I love them so much, they're so sparkly."
Looking at the childlike joy on Liuli's face, Shi Chan smiled gently and said, "Very beautiful."
“Right?” Receiving the agreement, Liuli became even more smug. She fumbled in her hair for a while, then picked off a pearl flower and handed it to Shichan, smiling as she said, “If you like it, this is for you… This is my favorite.”
Shi Chan's gaze shifted from Liuli's smiling face to the beaded flower in her hand. The beaded flower was about the size of a baby's fist, cut from pink silk into the shape of a peach blossom. A circle of rice-grain-sized pearls was sewn around the center of the peach blossom. The pearls were translucent and round, clearly not ordinary.
Liuli grew impatient as Shichan did not come to take the pearl flower, and said unhappily, "Little monk, do you want it or not?"
Shi Chan hesitated for a long time before finally reaching out and taking the pearl flower from Liuli's hand. He held the pearl flower tightly in his hand and said gently, "Thank you, young lady."
"You're welcome!" Liuli waved her hand and asked curiously, "Little monk, what brings you to Yingyang City?"
Shi Chan replied with a smile, "I received a message from my fellow disciples and came to Yingyang City to meet with them, but I don't know what has happened yet."
"oh."
Liuli nodded, about to say something, when suddenly Li Molin's voice came from the distant street, sounding anxious: "Liuli! Where are you?!"
Liuli was startled and instinctively turned her head to look, only to see a wall. She quickly turned back to Shichan and said urgently, "Little monk, you should run! Li Molin and the others are coming soon. If they see you, you'll be in danger!"
"Yes, thank you, young lady." Shi Chan knew that he was no match for Li Molin and his two companions on his own. Although he was not afraid, he might implicate Liu Li in the end.
After a moment of silence, he tried to suppress the faint reluctance in his heart, held the beaded flower, put his hands together, bowed in a Buddhist gesture, and said gently, "Then this humble monk will take his leave. Please take care, young lady. We will meet again another day."
"Okay, okay." Liuli replied casually to Shichan while constantly turning her head to look outside the alley.
Shi Chan glanced at Liu Li, then turned and walked towards another exit of the alley. Seeing him leave, Liu Li became timid and stealthy, walking towards the main street like a thief. After walking quite a distance, Shi Chan couldn't help but turn back to look at her. What he saw was her slightly comical back view. Shi Chan's eyes warmed, and he shook his head and chuckled.
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