Chapter 65
Gong Yuchen and Yi Luoyue held Xiaoyue'er's hand, followed by the sisters Liefeng and Baidie. They strolled down the street in their usual attire. Although Yi Luoyue and Xiaoyue'er were dressed casually like ordinary women, their lovely, beautiful, and stunning faces attracted most people's attention. Furthermore, with a handsome and tall man beside them, such a pleasing sight naturally attracted people to stop and watch. Some even stopped looking at the lanterns to stare at them.
"It's so annoying! Why are there so many people here? Can't they just look at the lanterns properly? Why are they looking at us? I can't even look at the lanterns properly!" Xiaoyue pouted and complained, playing with the rattle in her hand.
"You!" Yi Luoyue tapped her forehead.
"I asked you to wear a mask, but you felt uncomfortable. You hate being stared at, but you still go to crowded places. Anyway, our Xiaoyue has been stared at for a long time. Just play your own game and ignore them."
"Mom, you should take a look at Daddy's expression first!" The little guy said mischievously, let go of Gong Yuchen and Yi Luoyue's hands, pulled Bai Shuang and ran to the snack stand in front, calling out in a delicate voice.
"I want some sugar painting! I want one in the shape of a unicorn!"
Since Xiaoyue had abandoned them, Yiluoyue simply took Gong Yuchen's hand, raised it with a smile for Gong Yuchen to see, and advised others that the beauty had someone. Gong Yuchen, who had been sullen all the time, finally softened his expression.
"Daddy, Mommy, come quickly." Xiaoyue waved to them and greeted them.
"Let's go. Didn't you promise to buy a candy man for this little guy?"
At this time, many children had already gathered in front of the sugar painting stall, and several ready-made Qilin sugar figures were inserted into the bamboo tubes on the stall table.
"Daddy, can I have six?" Xiaoyue planned to give one to each person.
"Boss, give me four." Gong Yuchen bought one for each girl present. He and Liefeng, two grown men, would not eat this stuff.
"Alright! Sir, please wait a moment?"
The vendor sat in front of a smooth bluestone slab, holding a copper spoon in his hand. The spoon was filled with melted malt sugar. The golden liquid sugar shone attractively under the light. The liquid sugar fell on the bluestone slab. His fingers were nimble, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. In just a few moments, several unicorns with their heads held high and chests puffed out were formed.
"Come, ladies, take your sugar figures."
"Thank you." Xiaoyueer thanked happily after taking the candy man.
After taking only two steps with the candy, Xiaoyue suddenly pointed to the place not far away where riddles were to be guessed.
"Mom, I want to guess the lantern riddles! I just saw a child guess it correctly and won a small Qilin lantern!"
"Okay." No matter what Xiaoyueer asked for today, he would grant her request.
The wooden racks of the lantern riddle stalls are filled with lanterns painted with unicorns. Under each lantern is a slip of paper with a riddle written on it. Many people gather around the lanterns, pondering and discussing the riddle. From time to time, someone cheers after guessing correctly, and the stall owner smiles and hands out small prizes, such as small lanterns and clay figurines.
Xiaoyue'er turned around under the lantern, and finally stopped in front of a piece of paper at the bottom layer, picked it up and read it.
"It looks like a deer but it's not a deer, it looks like a horse but it's not a horse, it has horns but it's not a dragon, it has hooves that can fly into the clouds. Mother, do you know what it is?" The smart little boy still wanted to test Yi Luoyue.
Yi Luoyue said with a frown as if pretending to think.
"What is this? Why can't mother figure it out? Does Xiaoyue know?"
"I know this! It's a Qilin, the one that brings good luck to everyone!"
The stall owner came over and handed over a cute little lantern with a cute little Qilin painted on it.
"You are such a smart girl. This little lantern is for you." Xiaoyue took the lantern and jumped up happily.
"Thank you! Daddy! Mommy! I have a little lantern now!"
"Wow! Our Xiaoyue is so smart." Yi Luoyue smiled and touched her head.
After just a moment, Xiaoyue was attracted by the cheers of the acrobatics not far away.
"Daddy, Daddy. Shall we go to the vaudeville?"
A few people accompanied her into the crowd watching the acrobatics. They saw a sturdy man performing a fire-eating show. He held a wooden stick with a cloth wrapped around its tip. When it was lit, the flame shot up half a foot high. The man took a deep breath and swallowed the flame directly into his mouth. A moment later, he spat it out, leaving the flame still burning. He took another sip of wine and sprayed it towards the flame, which immediately extended several meters, causing the onlookers to exclaim in surprise.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Xiaoyue clapped her hands vigorously.
At the same time, another artist began to perform a ball juggling show. He held six colorful balls in his hands and threw them into the air. The balls drew arcs in the air, but none of them fell. Xiaoyue'er was so stunned that she clapped and cheered along with everyone else.
After the acrobatic performances were over, the artists came over with trays to ask for rewards. Xiaoyue looked at Gong Yuchen.
"Daddy?"
Gong Yuchen put the one or two taels of silver he had prepared into her hand.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you, Daddy."
Yi Luoyue looked at the sky and saw that the moon was already very high, so he said to the father and daughter.
"It's time to prepare to release lanterns. Shall we go to the foot of the mountain and release them?"
"good."
The group came to the open space at the foot of the Four Gods Temple, and Xiaoyue pointed at the night sky and exclaimed.
"Wow! How beautiful! Daddy! Mommy! Look! There are so many shiny things in the sky!"
I saw dozens of Kongming lanterns slowly floating up into the night sky, with orange flames flickering like flying stars, which were particularly warm in the dark night.
"That's a Kongming lantern. As long as we write our wishes on the lantern and let it fly to the sky with our wishes, the Qilin God will be able to see it." Yi Luoyue explained with a smile.
"Shall we light one too?"
Xiaoyue nodded vigorously, the light in her eyes brighter than the sky lanterns.
"Liefeng, go get two Kongming lanterns and give one to Baidie and the others."
"yes."
Liefeng took the Kongming lantern from the stall owner, and several people walked to the long table where pens and ink were placed.
"Come, Xiaoyue, let's write our wishes on the lantern." Gong Yuchen picked up a pen and handed it to Xiaoyue.
"Daddy? Can I write down any wish I want? If Xiaoyueer makes a wish, will the Qilin God fulfill Xiaoyueer's wish?" Xiaoyueer raised her head and looked at him eagerly.
"Sincerity is the key to success. As long as Xiaoyue sincerely wishes, Qilin God will definitely fulfill her wish."
"Mom, how do I write this?"
"Come, let me write it for you first, and then you can just follow what I write, okay?"
"good."
Yiluoyue took the pen first and wrote "May your loved ones be safe and healthy" on one side of the lamp. Gong Yuchen took the pen and wrote "May the country be peaceful and the people be safe, and may the weather be good" on the other side.
"Do you understand?" Gong Yuchen asked Xiaoyue'er.
"Yeah, I understand." She stood on tiptoe, holding the brush, and carefully drew a cute little Qilin in the corner of the lamp, making Yi Luoyue and Gong Yuchen laugh. Finally, she wrote crookedly, "Forever and ever, with Daddy and Mommy."
Gong Yuchen opened the Kongming lantern, and Yi Luoyue lit the fire stick and handed it to Xiaoyueer.
"Come, let's light the candles inside."
In just a moment, the warm yellow candlelight quickly filled the lamp bag.
"Xiao Yue'er, let's let go of each other later. Remember to keep your wish in mind."
"Okay, mother." Xiaoyue nodded repeatedly.
"Three, two, one!" The moment she let go of her hand, the Kongming lantern slowly floated upwards. Xiaoyue looked at the Kongming lantern that was getting farther and farther away, muttering softly.
"Kongming lantern, you must bring Xiaoyue'er's wish to the Qilin God!" Turning around and seeing Gong Yuchen and Yi Luoyue standing behind him, he took their hands with a smile.
"Daddy, Mommy, and the Qilin God will definitely see our lights, right?" Gong Yuchen squatted down and picked up Xiaoyue'er.
"Yes, our Xiaoyue also drew a little Qilin. Qilin God will definitely see it at a glance." Yi Luoyue stood aside, looking at the figures of the father and daughter, with a gentle smile on her face.
"It's getting late, we should go back." Yi Luoyue said softly, reaching out to tidy up Xiaoyue'er's hair that was messed up by the wind.
"good."
They walked back to their residence along the same route they had come. The evening breeze carried the lingering aroma of fireworks from the festival, and people were walking in groups of three or four. Xiaoyue lay on Gong Yuchen's shoulder, nodding her little head, still tightly clutching the small Qilin lantern in her hand.
"Xiaoyue, if you're sleepy, take a nap." Gong Yuchen patted her back gently, his voice low and gentle. Xiaoyue slumbered and responded, her arms around his neck tightening again, and she leaned her face against his shoulder and fell asleep.
As soon as he entered the town, Gong Yuchen sensed an unusual atmosphere. He quietly surveyed his surroundings and discovered that many of the street vendors were no longer the same group he had come from. Their faces were filled with a solemn and murderous air. Furthermore, there were very few pedestrians on the street. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell they weren't real vendors, but rather impersonators.
"Fire wind, white butterfly."
"Yes, Your Highness." Liefeng was in front, Baidie was behind, Baishuang was guarding on Yi Luoyue's left, Gong Yuchen was holding Xiaoyue'er and hugging Yi Luoyue's shoulders.
"Gong Yuchen..." Seeing this scene, Yi Luoyue seemed to understand what had happened. She frowned and grabbed Gong Yuchen's arm tightly.
"It's okay," Gong Yuchen said, his cold eyes sweeping over everyone one by one. It seemed that danger was lurking everywhere at the moment. The scene before him was just the calm before the storm.
Suddenly, a group of masked men in black emerged from the darkness, wielding gleaming long knives. A killer disguised as a street vendor also pulled out a long knife from under a table, blocking their path.
"Hold Xiaoyue'er tight, don't worry, I have made arrangements." Gong Yuchen reached out and stroked her cheek, then handed Xiaoyue'er in his arms to Yi Luoyue's arms. He took off his coat and put it on Xiaoyue'er, covering her eyes, and placed the two of them in the corner of a street shop, observing all directions with his sharp eyes.
"Bai Shuang, take good care of the princess and Xiao Yue'er."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Liefeng." Gong Yuchen pointed at Liefeng.
Liefeng returned Gong Yuchen's sword to him, took out a flare from his belt and pulled it.
With a long "squeak" sound, the specially made flares exploded in the night sky, and the killers launched their attacks almost at the same time as the flares sounded.
Liefeng and Baidie looked at Gong Yuchen who was standing in front of the princess and Xiaoyue'er, only to see Gong Yuchen slowly utter a word.
"kill."
Liefeng and the others nodded, indicating that they would obey the order.
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