Chapter 480: The Snow-white Pear on the Wall (Complete)
Before it gets dark, lanterns are hung on the doors of every household. When night falls, the entire Guyang city is immersed in lights, and from a distance, it looks like a fairyland.
Every household had dinner early and walked out of the house happily, and laughter filled the bustling city.
The lantern festival held by the City Lord's Mansion was about to begin. The people greeted each other and walked towards the Guyang River in groups, with smiles on everyone's faces.
The banks of the Guyang River were decorated early, with a stage and stalls, and hawkers were running around shouting, making it very lively.
Long Qi waited by the river early, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart as he watched the officials from the government office busying around.
He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had felt this kind of hustle and bustle. Looking at the Guyang River reflecting the lights, he suddenly thought of his parents and brothers.
Although the memory is a little vague, he still remembers that during the Lantern Festival, his brother would always make all kinds of lanterns for him. In the evening, his father would let him ride on his shoulders and take the whole family to the town to visit the lantern festival.
The bowl of glutinous rice balls made by his mother was soft, glutinous, sweet, and a taste that Long Qi would never forget.
There was a bright light in Long Qi's eyes, and he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth as he recalled the good times in the past.
Just as Long Qi was distracted, a child bumped into him recklessly. He staggered back two steps and fell straight to the ground, with the lantern in his hand rolling to the side.
The child seemed to be frightened and did not move for a long time. Long Qi did not react either. The two of them just stared at each other for a long time.
The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while, until the child cried out "wa", and Long Qi hurriedly picked him up and comforted him.
Although he was a little flustered, the child was smiling again after making a few faces.
"Thank you, uncle."
Listening to the child's thanks, Long Qi's mouth twitched, and he felt a little amused and helpless for a moment - does he look that old?
But when he thought of his own silver hair, he felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders - at least he had coaxed this little ancestor into submission, so there was no need to worry about the details.
After comforting the child, Long Qi turned around to pick up the lantern, but the moment he saw the lantern, his chest suddenly tightened and his mind went blank.
It was a lotus lantern with a red string tied to it, swaying in the gentle evening breeze, as if guiding something.
A tear rolled down from the corner of his eye. Long Qi wiped his cheek and looked at the crystal tear on his hand in disbelief. Sadness suddenly surged in his heart.
He didn't know why he was sad, he just felt like there was a void in his heart. That loss was like losing a treasure, making him extremely panicked.
Looking at the familiar lotus lantern, Long Qi was speechless for a moment. After a long pause, he asked the child in front of him with a trembling voice.
"Where did you buy this lantern?"
The child took the lotus lantern, turned around and pointed behind him: "There's an old man selling lanterns at the end of the bridge..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard Long Qi thank him and ran in the direction of his finger without looking back, leaving the child mumbling with dissatisfaction:
"You are so impatient that you don't even listen to what others say. I really don't know what the old official Ziwei sees in him..." As he said this, he turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the crowd without attracting anyone's attention.
Long Qi stumbled along the way, and finally pushed through the complaining crowd and saw the lantern stall that the child had mentioned.
The old man behind the stall was shouting hard, but business was unusually slow. No one came to inquire about him for a long time, and he seemed particularly out of place in the bustling crowd.
The old man spotted Long Qi immediately and quickly extended his hand to greet him, smiling so much that the wrinkles on his face could have hidden money.
"Does the old man know the younger generation?"
"Of course I know them." The old lantern seller narrowed his eyes and said, "I remember every customer who has bought a lantern clearly."
Bought a lantern?
Long Qi was puzzled. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time he met this old man.
"Five years ago, my brother bought a pair of wishing lotus lanterns from this old man. A pretty girl came with him," the old man said, looking around. "Why? Isn't the girl here?"
"girl?"
Long Qi suddenly became nervous. His intuition told him that the "girl" the old man was talking about must be someone very important to him.
perhaps……
It's about the girl in my dream...
"What girl? Do you still remember what she looks like?"
"Oh! That's a question!" the old man teased, "Isn't that your sweetheart? Why are you asking about me?"
Long Qi's eyes were dim and he looked lonely.
turn out to be……
Is that his sweetheart?
But……
"I forgot her, her voice, her appearance. I can only see her in my dreams, but I don't know who she is..."
"She's haunting you, it must be because she left something in your heart." The old man smiled and pointed a finger at Long Qi's heart. "Some things aren't forgotten, they're just temporarily forgotten. Gradually, you'll remember them."
A brilliant light poured in, and Long Qi was instantly enveloped by a strong light. He quickly raised his sleeves to cover his face. A kind yet majestic voice came into his ears:
"Tong'er, go find her quickly..."
The voice gradually faded away until it disappeared. Long Qi couldn't remember who it was. When the bright light faded and he came to his senses, he found himself at the entrance of the alley.
Looking around, I saw the alley I passed by during the day. Looking up again, the three words "You'ran Ju" on the plaque were very eye-catching.
However, this plaque was different from the one seen during the day. It did not have large gold-painted characters, but dark green engravings. The plaque was also much smaller, and looked inconspicuous and plain.
Long Qi didn't understand why he came to this place again. Everything seemed unreal like a dream, or maybe what he had just experienced was just a dream.
The sound of dripping water came again, continuously and rhythmically, as if inviting Long Qi.
Long Qi sighed helplessly and walked into the house.
The furnishings in the room remained the same, except that there was an incense burner on the table, with smoke rising from it and the aroma of sandalwood filling the air.
Walking around the screen, Long Qi stepped out of the door, and what came into view was still the small courtyard.
But this time, the courtyard seemed much brighter than before.
A gust of wind blew, and the petals fell like snow.
Long Qi reached out and caught a petal, then looked at the wooden frame under the tree. It seemed that something was missing from the hammock swaying in the wind.
A feeling of loss came over him, and he walked to the hammock and lay down on it, closing his eyes and feeling the warm sun.
The spring light is bright, the years are quiet, and time seems to stand still at this moment.
Until a sound of water was heard, Long Qi quickly sat up and saw the woman in white sitting on the edge of the tank.
The woman had her back to Long Qi, her long black hair flowing down, and she looked thin and weak. She was alone, as if she had been here for a very long time, and her lonely look was heartbreaking.
Afraid of missing her again, Long Qi quickly chased forward and grabbed the woman's sleeve, but just as he was about to speak, he hesitated.
He didn't know why he was hesitating. Perhaps he was afraid of seeing a faceless face again, or maybe he was afraid that this time it would be in vain.
After struggling for a long time, Long Qi's eyes were determined.
What if it was a face without a face? This was the person he was obsessed with. He wanted to remember her and also remember her.
So what if he failed again and again? Even if he failed again, he would still persevere in pursuing it.
"Who... are you..." Long Qi's voice was hoarse, as if it had accumulated endless vicissitudes of life.
The woman turned her head, like an unfinished painting of a lady, without outlining the exquisiteness of her face.
But this time, Long Qi didn't let go. Instead, he stepped forward and asked anxiously, "Tell me, who are you?!"
A sigh expressed all the grievances, but there were no words. Only a tear slipped down, creating ripples in the water tank.
The mirror-like surface of the water suddenly became turbulent, and the scenes in the water were chaotic and intertwined.
A gust of wind blew, blowing down a pear blossom from the tree. A petal fluttered in and fell into the jar, spinning around.
The chaotic water surface gradually calmed down under the soothing effect of the undulating petals.
But the petals were reluctant to leave, lingering on the woman's face, concealing a throbbing sensation, until a breeze passed by, rippling the surface of the water and tearing away that piece of stubbornness.
Peace arrived as promised, and the woman's face gradually became clear in the reflection on the water.
There was mist in Long Qi's eyes, and memories suddenly flooded in, causing pain to his heart.
He finally saw her clearly and finally remembered her.
She is Lingxiang!
But Lingxiang looked sad: "You shouldn't remember..."
Long Qi embraced Lingxiang in his arms, his eyes finally unable to bear the heaviness, tears rolled down his cheeks like a dam breaking.
"I'm not the person you remember. I'm just a wisp of consciousness left behind by the Hanging Thread Technique," Lingxiang sighed. "You remember me because of me, but she will forget you forever..."
Long Qi shook his head, unwilling to let go of his obsession, and Lingxiang let him hold her without any resistance.
The breeze picked up again, ruffling the hair of the two people, entangled the blue and white hair, but ultimately it could not resist the fate.
Lingxiang's figure began to dissipate, turning into petals in the wind, swirling around Long Qidui.
His arms suddenly felt empty, but Long Qi's arms tightened even more. He wanted to imprint this long-lost hug firmly in his heart.
"She will think of me. Even if she can't remember me now, one day, she will 'remember' me."
Murmuring, like a determination, like a promise.
More and more petals covered Long Qi's body, until they wrapped him up completely, and then suddenly flew away and disappeared.
When he opened his eyes again, Long Qi was back at the Guyang River, but the old man selling lanterns was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed like a long time had passed. Many stalls had already packed up and closed, and there were fewer people visiting the Lantern Festival. Only a few scholars were still drinking and reciting poems.
Long Qi was still immersed in his previous feeling of loss until a voice came from afar and he came back to his senses.
"Master is so amazing! He actually won this piano!"
It’s Adao!
That……
Long Qi's chest was beating like a drum. He didn't dare to move, fearing that it was all a dream and everything would be in vain when he woke up.
"Of course! Who am I? I'm Yuan Qing's ninth great-uncle! I own a mountain all to myself!"
Spiritual fragrance!
Long Qi suddenly turned around and saw Lingxiang's figure flash by and turn the corner at the end of the road.
…
I don’t know who bought the courtyard next door. After a few days of banging and hammering, it finally became quiet.
After all, they are neighbors, and Lingxiang originally wanted to visit them. However, Hanyang sent news that the old pear tree in Qingwei Peak was sick, and she didn't know what to do.
Upon hearing the news, Lingxiang hurried back to the sect, and the visit was shelved.
Oddly enough, there is also a pear tree planted next door, with strong branches and looks very lush.
It looked somewhat similar to the old pear tree on Qingwei Peak. Its branches extended over the wall and into the courtyard of Youran Residence, just in time to provide a roof for Lingxiang's hammock.
As the days passed, Lingxiang never saw this new neighbor again for various reasons.
Until one day, a flute sound came from next door, and overnight, the pear blossoms bloomed and the green leaves were lush.
Since then, no matter summer or winter, the pear tree has never withered and has been lush and green all year round.
This was a technique that Long Qi had specially learned from Han Yang. The pear tree was also a branch cut from Qingwei Peak. Long Qi had spent a lot of energy to nourish it, so that it could flourish.
When Xinyi came down the mountain to visit Long Qi, she asked, "Is it worth it?"
Long Qi said with absolute determination.
"It's worth it! Because he's the most important person."
Then he asked again: "Aren't you the same?"
Xinyi laughed.
"Yes, because he is the most important person."
After draining the wine cup, Xinyi stood up and said, "Come to Siguo Cliff to see me often." Then she jumped onto the wall and added, "Remember to bring some wine."
Long Qi didn't look back, but just raised the wine cup in his hand.
…
Outside the courtyard of You Ran Residence, there is a pear tree that is always in bloom. A gentle breeze blows through, and the petals fall in a riot of color, flitting over the wall like wandering butterflies. On moonlit nights, they are even more spectacular.
I love Lingxiang so much that I stop to admire it.
Every night, you can often see a white-haired man sitting with his back against a high wall, saying nothing, drinking alone from a pot of clear wine, even if pear blossoms fall into the wine, he drinks without paying any attention.
The fragrance was very strange, so he stood up and asked about it.
The white-haired man did not answer, but took out a green flute and played it in a sobful voice, the tune becoming louder and louder.
Although Xiang did not understand the song, she was moved by Liu Zheng's meaning and played the zither to accompany him.
Glazed tiles and white walls, the moon is on the top of the pear tree.
The flute plays clear music, the piano harmonizes with each other, the fallen petals dance like snow in the wind, I just hope that this life will not be in vain.
(End of full text)
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