Chapter 94. A time of utter silence.
The wind slipped through my sleeves, like water flowing over a bluestone slab.
Meng Chiwan lowered her head, and saw a pair of small hands on her sleeve. Then she moved her gaze from the hands to the small face of the person.
It was a face that was both youthful and innocent. His skin was dark, but he was very clean. His eyes were full of intelligence, and when he looked up at her and smiled, two small dimples appeared on his cheeks.
The moment Meng Chiwan lowered her head and her gaze fell on his cheek, the veil on her face was blown by the wind, revealing half of her delicate face.
In just a brief moment, Meng Chiwan keenly sensed a burning gaze.
But she ignored it, squatted down, took the child's hand, and with a gentle smile, asked, "Little one, what's wrong?"
The wind blew away, and her veil fell, blocking the view and also obscuring her delicate profile.
"Sister, my kite landed on the roof, can you help me?" The child's voice was soft and sweet, like freshly steamed glutinous rice cake, with an unconscious slight lingering at the end.
He pointed in one direction.
Meng Chiwan looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a kite landed on the roof.
She turned around, looked at the child, gently shook his hand, and asked, "Why did you come looking for me out of all the adults on the street? Do I look like someone who can climb rooftops?"
She asked the child in a half-joking tone, but was actually already preparing to go and get him the kite.
The child answered almost without hesitation, "Because the older sister looks ethereal, like a fairy from legends. Fairies can not only fly but are also beautiful and kind-hearted. She will definitely be able to help me take down the kite!"
Caught off guard by the flattery, Meng Chiwan smiled broadly and, without a word, leaped onto the roof.
She easily picked up the volunteer by bending down, and just as she turned to jump down, she was met with a refreshing breeze. She looked up and saw people flowing through the long street, laughing and joking. Their lively emotions became the rising smoke of life, and thousands of lights stretched into the distance, stretching endlessly.
The wind lifted her veil again, this time as if to allow her to see the lights of thousands of homes more clearly.
At this moment, the world seemed to be right beneath her feet, in front of her, and in her eyes.
A burning gaze still lingered on her. She looked around, but as she looked down, she met the child's expectant eyes, which seemed to be filled with stars, so fervent that it was as if she were truly a fairy who had saved his world.
Meng Chiwan leaped down, and several rounds of applause rang out from the surroundings. Then someone praised her without reservation, "What skill you have, young lady!"
"Sister is a fairy from heaven, beautiful inside and out!" The child clapped his hands and took two steps forward, seemingly wanting to greet her.
Meng Chiwan's smile never faded, like the moon hanging high on the branch.
She handed him the kite and nodded slightly to him. "Next time it lands on the roof, you can look for your sister again, but it may not be me. There are many, many beautiful and kind-hearted sisters in this world."
The child took the kite, but didn't look at it; he still gazed at her with adoration.
Seeing that he seemed to have nothing more to help with, Meng Chiwan was about to leave when the child suddenly asked, "Sister, where are you going?"
Meng Chiwan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either, I guess I was just taking a walk."
The child said, "The city will be setting off fireworks soon. Shouldn't you find a good spot to watch them, sister?"
Meng Chiwan became interested and asked, "Then where do you think is a good place?"
"That's naturally the Hanging Moon Pavilion!" When the child mentioned the Hanging Moon Pavilion, his eyes were filled with longing that almost overflowed.
Meng Chiwan asked, "Then why don't you go?"
The child lowered his head, raised one foot and stomped the ground with the tip of his shoe, and said, "My mother said that only high-ranking officials and nobles can go there."
After he said that, Meng Chiwan suddenly remembered that, logically speaking, her first reaction upon seeing the child should have been to ask where his parents were and whether he had been separated from them. However, she hadn't been involved in normal life for so long that she couldn't remember.
Meng Chiwan squatted down again, took his hand, and asked him, "Where did your parents go? Did you get separated from them?"
The child said, "My mother sells sugar paintings at the sugar painting stall up ahead. Her sugar paintings are so beautiful! If you don't mind, sister, I'll ask my mother to paint one for you too!"
Meng Chiwan's hair blew past her cheek as she tucked it behind her ear, then nodded with a smile in her eyes: "Okay."
When talking to children, adults seem to unconsciously soften their tone of voice, making their voices sound more pleasant.
The child led Meng Chiwan through the crowd, and the sounds of laughter and chatter reached her ears through the air. Suddenly, she felt much better, as if she hadn't just gone through a life-or-death ordeal.
She passed several sugar painting stalls along the way, but the children led her through them one by one without lingering.
Meng Chiwan cleared her mind, looking left and right repeatedly. She entrusted all the people who were supposed to lead the way to this small child with complete trust, as if she was not afraid of bumping into anyone or that the child would lead her astray.
Rather than being a real fairy, she would rather be a carefree child at this moment.
"arrive!"
The child finally led her to a stop. She looked up, but saw no sugar paintings, no stalls, and no mother figure, only a long queue...
There were quite a few people selling sugar paintings. Meng Chiwan was thinking this when she suddenly noticed someone running towards her from the front of the line, holding two lifelike sugar paintings in their hands.
"Miss! The sugar painting you wanted!" The girl with her hair in two buns ran up to her, waving and calling out to her, while protecting the sugar painting in her hand with her sleeve.
Meng Chiwan understood immediately; this must be her maid in this play. And her identity seemed to be that of a young lady from a noble family.
The girl ran up to her in a few quick steps, looking quite lively. She was even happier to see Meng Chiwan than when she ate the sugar painting herself.
Meng Chiwan said, "Slow down, I won't run away."
A child standing nearby saw the sugar painting in her hand and exclaimed, "My mom made this! Look, sister!"
He reached out and grabbed Meng Chiwan's sleeve, then began to sway her left and right.
As Meng Chiwan swayed, she looked at the sugar paintings. One was a lively little rabbit, and the other looked like a person.
Meng Chiwan examined the sugar painting in human form carefully, and then looked down at her own outfit.
This... looks like a picture of her.
The little girl with her hair in two buns knew from her actions that she had guessed, and quickly said, "Miss, you found it! I asked everyone on the street, and they all said that this sugar painting shop makes the most beautiful portraits. I queued for ages and finally got to buy some! Miss, eat up!"
Meng Chiwan reached out and took the sugar painting. Then, seeing the little girl hand another sugar painting of a rabbit to the child, she paused and asked, "Didn't you buy one for yourself?"
The little girl stuck out her tongue, put her hands behind her back, and smiled a little shyly, saying, "I ate mine while the stall owner was making these two..."
Meng Chiwan chuckled softly, her veil unable to conceal her helplessness. She held the sugar painting up to her face, the lines seemingly framing the merriment of the street. She unconsciously tilted her head, then raised it above her head, facing the moon, framing the stars and moon within the skirt of the sugar painting figure.
She squinted at the stars and moon and said, "Child, your mother's sugar painting is so beautiful. I have never seen such a beautiful sugar painting before."
The child, beaming with pride, said, "Of course!"
Meng Chiwan lowered her head and asked him, "Little boy, what's your name?"
Just as the child opened his mouth to speak, he heard a soft, clear voice behind him: "Yanqiu! Come here quickly, your mother has prepared your favorite sesame cakes!"
A smile brighter than fireworks immediately spread across the child's face. He tugged at Meng Chiwan's sleeve, leaned close to her ear, and said, "Yes, sister, my name is Chen Yanqiu."
Meng Chiwan nodded: "Okay, I've got it."
The child turned and ran back, throwing himself into his mother's arms. He pointed at Meng Chiwan from a short distance away and said something to his mother.
Meng Chiwan withdrew her gaze and heard the little girl beside her say, "Let's hurry up and go, the patriarch is waiting for us at Xuanyue Tower."
"Xuanyue Tower?" Meng Chiwan immediately heard a child's dejected voice. Then she beckoned to the little girl and whispered a few words in her ear.
The next moment, the little girl went towards the child.
The child and her mother immediately looked at her. Meng Chiwan nodded with a smile. She seemed like a reliable and good person no matter how you looked at her.
The next moment, the little girl ran towards her with the child.
...
Upon entering the Suspended Moon Pavilion for the first time, Chen Yanqiu was still somewhat nervous. After all, in his young mind, this place was a high-class place only for high-ranking officials and nobles.
Meng Chiwan squeezed his hand and said, "Don't be afraid. This is just a place to eat. What's there to be afraid of? They eat the same grains and vegetables as others."
Chen Yanqiu nodded, then handed the kite in her hand to Meng Chiwan, saying, "This is for my sister."
Meng Chiwan lowered her head and chuckled, "Why did you give me the kite?"
Chen Yanqiu took the initiative to step into the threshold of Xuanyue Tower and said, "Because my sister can ride the wind and fly away at any time, forever free."
Meng Chiwan said, "But a kite is always tethered by a string. How can it fly away at any time? How can it achieve true freedom?"
Chen Yanqiu lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "My mother said that if the person holding the kite is someone the kite trusts and likes, then it doesn't matter whether there is a string or not, because in that person's hands, the kite is free and happy. But if the person holding the kite is someone my sister doesn't like or trust, then the wind will break the string and take the kite wherever it wants to go."
Meng Chiwan said, "What if the wind is unwilling to help the kite? The kite can't place all its hopes on the wind."
Chen Yanqiu pondered for a long time, seemingly unable to come up with a suitable answer. Meng Chiwan chuckled, patted his head, and thought about saying forget it, but then heard him say, "Yanqiu thinks it's not about pinning your hopes on the wind, but rather that when it truly wants freedom, as long as there's wind, it can leave. If there's no wind once, it will try again, and again, until it truly breaks free from that line. The wind is an aid, but what truly gives it freedom is itself. It's its own soaring flight, every time it exerts all its strength."
Meng Chiwan smiled, reached out and took the kite, saying, "I'll remember this. How about I give you a gift too?"
Meng Chiwan took a token from her waist and handed it to Chen Yanqiu. Then she gently patted his head and said, "If you encounter any trouble, you can bring this to find me."
Chen Yanqiu reached out and took it, his eyes filled with joy.
On this stage, she turned out to be a member of the Meng family of Jingtai.
Who is that patriarch, her so-called father? Meng Chiwan couldn't wait to find out.
But when the little girl led her to the top floor of the Suspended Moon Tower, she learned that her father had left temporarily, leaving behind a table full of food and telling her to have fun by herself.
Disappointed, Meng Chiwan picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of food on Chen Yanqiu's plate, who looked on with longing.
Chen Yanqiu ate happily, as did the little girl with the double buns, Wantang. But Meng Chiwan showed no interest in the dishes on the table.
Before long, someone came to inform her that the fireworks were about to begin. Only then did the group put down their chopsticks, walk outside the attic, lean on the railing, and gaze at the magnificent sky.
Looking out from the top floor of the Suspended Moon Pavilion, everything on the ground seemed to have shrunkâpeople, objects, even pleasant and unpleasant things. The rows of lanterns hanging along the road now resembled fireflies that had changed color and were lined up in a queue; the shapes of the lanterns were no longer discernible.
The endless stream of people was like her spiritual veins, which had been depleted and broken countless times before finally being restored to their original state, constantly flowing with abundant spiritual energy.
Meng Chiwan leaned against the railing, the wind blowing from behind, fluttering her clothes and lifting the veil from her hat, much like the painting hanging on the first floor of the Xuanyue Tower. Meng Chiwan gazed ahead, her vision stretching far, far away, seemingly encompassing not only distance but also time itself.
Those eyes have spanned a long period of time.
It seemed like someone was watching her again. Meng Chiwan lowered her head, trying to find that gaze, but someone tugged at her sleeve.
Chen Yanqiu's voice was excited and infectious: "Sister, sister, look, look! The fireworks are here!"
Meng Chiwan looked up, and the wind suddenly picked up, making her heart feel full and swollen. It wasn't empty; it was filled with contentment.
The veil was blown off by the wind, heading towards the ends of the earth, and the colors of fireworks were reflected on Meng Chiwan's face, which was full of gentle smiles.
Light is the paintbrush of space.
In that instant, Meng Chiwan suddenly thought of Yun Xianqing's pale face.
Amidst the rustling sound of falling fireworks, that gaze grew even stronger. Meng Chiwan withdrew from the dazzling fireworks and looked down at the world. The first thing that caught her eye was the myriad lights of homes, then a person standing beneath a pavilion, and finally, a pair of gentle and soft eyes.
In those eyes, the entire sky became merely a backdrop.
Amidst the rustling of fireworks, she heard only the utter silence, just like the year he held up an umbrella for her, shielding her from all the filth.
In her heart, she thought: My heart flutters like snow falling in the dead of winter.
This concludes one act of the play.
The curtain falls.
...
Meng Chiwan pulled herself away from the stage, her mind momentarily dazed.
The beauty remained leaning on the ice bed, her gaze filled with tenderness.
Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she caught a glimpse of the light at the entrance through his shoulder and neck.
The vines and soul-devouring beasts had all disappeared, and she could now safely leave the cave.
She closed her eyes briefly and said, "I've been meaning to ask you, are you still in pain?"
She asked about the wounds on his body inflicted by the Soul-Stealing Beast. It seemed like that was all, yet it also seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Even she herself couldn't tell the difference.
Many things were intertwined, suffocating her for a long time, and then finally letting her go for a long time, and she didn't think about it for a long time.
Now, they're back. But this time, she didn't feel suffocated. Perhaps it was because of all the trials and tribulations she had faced, or perhaps it was because she was exhausted.
But it's not so painful anymore.
The puppet was unable to speak.
Meng Chiwan turned her head to look at the person on the ice bed and said, "Could you help him?"
The beauty looked at him with a puzzled expression, then turned her gaze to his seemingly calm face and said, "He is just a puppet. Even if he is poisoned by the Soul-Stealing Beast, he will only suffer physical pain, not torment in his soul. He can endure it. As long as he gets through it, his life will not be in danger. Why are you so worried about him and so anxious?"
Meng Chiwan lowered her head and remained silent.
The beauty continued, "I can sense your urgency. But he's just a puppet."
Meng Chiwan said, "Because he was injured while saving me, and he was also someone I brought into the Demon Realm, I should be responsible for him. No matter who he is, whether he is a puppet or not, whether he is a whole person or not, in my eyes, there is no difference."
The beautiful woman lowered her head, seemingly pondering her words. After a moment, she looked up again and said, "I can help him, but you will need to pay a price."
Yun Xianqing seemed to want to stop Meng Chiwan, gently squeezing her hand with one hand and tugging at her sleeve with the other.
But Meng Chiwan didn't look at him and asked, "What price?"
"After you emerge alive from the desolate abyss, you must come to see me again," the beauty said, enunciating each word clearly.
Meng Chiwan did not rush to agree, but instead asked, "How can I see you again?"
The beauty waved her hand, her face now displaying a warm smile: "You don't need to worry about that. You just need to make sure you get out of there alive."
Meng Chiwan nodded upon hearing this: "I will get out of here alive."
The beauty smiled with satisfaction, raised her hand, and a golden light flew from her fingertips, entering Yun Xianqing's forehead and then emerging from the back of his head, flying straight towards the cave entrance.
Where the golden light passed, all things grew, and flowers bloomed on the barren ground. They were not the most beautiful, but they were the most tenacious.
Meng Chiwan looked at Yun Xianqing and saw that his face was slowly regaining color and he was no longer frowning. She finally felt relieved.
She glanced at the hospital bed again, only to find it empty. A jade hairpin had appeared in her hand.
The jade hairpin. It was a gift she gave to her.
With no more danger in the cave, Meng Chiwan pulled Yun Xianqing along, step by step, towards the cave entrance and into the sunlight.
The road in was incredibly long, but the road out was almost unbelievably short.
Standing on the soft sand again, she saw the familiar boatman standing not far away, as if waiting for her.
Meng Chiwan took a deep breath of fresh air, then squinted slightly and walked towards the boatman.
Only after they got closer did she ask, "Boatman, have you found anything?"
The boatman laughed heartily and said, "I can't find anything anyway. Only the passengers on each boat can find what they want."
Meng Chiwan immediately retorted with a playful laugh, "You boatman, it's one thing if the boat is broken, but you don't even tell the truth! You're not honest at all! You really should learn from me what sincerity means!"
The boatman laughed and cursed, "You didn't even tell me you'd found it, did you? And you call yourself honest!"
After a few jokes, the ship set sail again.
Sitting on the boat, Meng Chiwan began to feel sleepy again.
"Why do you love to sleep so much, girl..."
I like it.
Author's Note: I wonder if anyone still remembers the chapter where my heart fluttered like falling snow in the dead of winter [Milk Tea]
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