Chapter 137: Ending and the Little People (3)
Before I knew it, it was midnight. Normally, every household would have turned off the lights and gone to sleep at this time, but today was different. Everyone was waiting for the ringing of the bell at midnight, symbolizing a blessing.
Shops and stalls lined the path up the mountain. The light from the red lanterns even penetrated the forest, illuminating Fuji Town below, casting a warm glow on the roof of the academy and casting a slanting shadow over the wall covered in yellow flowers. A faint fragrance wafted through the air, and a single spot glowed in the darkness: the end of the wall, where the main street met the academy road.
Luo Xuanyi emerged from the palace and immediately spotted a young girl standing beneath the flowers, immersed in a halo of orange light. She wasn't wearing her simple student uniform, but a new, bamboo-green dress. She leaned against the flower wall with her back to the palace, her exposed right hand holding a flying bird lantern.
Zhang Qiu seemed to hear something, looked back, and met Luo Xuanyi's eyes who was standing there in a daze.
"...Sorry, I didn't realize you were still waiting." Luo Xuanyi didn't know why, but she felt both awkward and happy. She felt a strong resemblance to the feeling she had when she emerged from the ancient illusionary world and saw the message left on the stone tablet by the Jade Spirit Crane. At the time, she hadn't quite grasped her feelings, but now they were much clearer.
Maybe this is touching? Or is this what friendship is?
Luo Xuanyi didn't think she could waste her time or even energy on anyone. If Zhang Qiu did anything that was not in her interests, she would never let him go.
She found that she still had emotions other than happiness towards Zhang Qiu, but she couldn't figure it out for a moment.
Zhang Qiu interrupted her self-analysis. Her face was a mixture of joy and anger. She turned and trotted over, ultimately not complaining. "It's okay. It wasn't a big deal. You said before that you didn't know if you could make it back in time. And I wasn't just sitting there waiting like an idiot, okay?"
Zhang Qiu gestured for Luo Xuanyi to look at her hand, and Luo Xuanyi noticed that Zhang Qiu also held a flying bird lantern in her left hand, though the lantern itself was unlit. Zhang Qiu raised his left hand, revealing the lantern in its entirety before Luo Xuanyi, his lips curled up proudly. "This is the Blue Bird Lantern, one of the flying bird lanterns. You can only get it if you win first place in the lantern riddle competition. It symbolizes soaring high and unfettered."
"That's amazing." Luo Xuanyi didn't know what a lantern riddle competition was, but with the word "competition" at the end, it must be some kind of competition. Imagining Zhang Qiu finally winning first place after all the blood and sweat, Luo Xuanyi sincerely admired him. "But why didn't you light the lanterns? Is there a reason for that?"
Zhang Qiu waved the lamp in her hand. Luo Xuanyi felt that it looked familiar. The scene of her waving the yellow croaker at her fellow apprentice was still fresh in her mind. She said, "I want you to light it for me."
"Xuanyi, should I be able to call you that?" Zhang Qiu suppressed his smile, and a hint of laughter flickered in his eyes after Luo Xuanyi nodded. "I want to apologize to you. I actually never thought you would actually keep the appointment because you're an immortal cultivator. My prejudice made me make this suggestion as a joke, but I didn't expect you to actually agree to it and even set a time."
Luo Xuanyi listened quietly.
"After you left, I kept thinking I'd done something wrong, so I went to ask the master for advice. He said I was prejudiced. I'd never interacted with any immortal cultivators, yet I believed they didn't treat mortals as human. It's undeniable that there are good and bad people in the world, and I shouldn't have wasted your sincerity with such preconceived notions."
"I'm a student. I want to be open and honest, to forge my own path, and to have a clear conscience. That's why I'm waiting for you here today. Thank you for letting me see another side of a cultivator."
"I apologize because, no matter what, my motives were far from pure. Actually, I've considered whether I'd feel more at peace if you didn't come. Now it seems like a childish thought. I'm truly sorry." Zhang Qiu said this, as if she had finally let go of a knot in her heart and breathed a sigh of relief. Bathed in the light, she looked at Luo Xuanyi with sincere eyes. Luo Xuanyi felt that gaze was too dazzling and couldn't help but look away.
Still, Luo Xuanyi held back. Unsure what to say, she simply remained silent. She reached out and touched the dim flame of the Bluebird Lamp, silently reciting the incantation for lighting it. With a whoosh, the flame began to ignite, emitting a warm orange light.
The first thing to illuminate was the bluebird's "heart." The dark copper petals of the lotus seat shimmered as if gilded. After the warm light filled the "heart," it began to blow into the bluebird's wings as it prepared to fly, painting each feather with a vivid emerald hue. Then, the light shone on Luo Xuanyi.
Luo Xuanyi was a little sad.
She finally understood why she couldn't be as relaxed with Zhang Qiu as she was with Yu Linghe. It was simply because she knew that Yu Linghe was dead.
She would not be hurt by Yu Linghe after giving her friendship, so she could say to herself with absolute certainty that Yu Linghe was her first friend. She looked at Zhang Qiu, and she knew that Zhang Qiu's feelings at the moment were absolutely not false, but she could not trust Zhang Qiu sincerely.
Because people change, and everyone has their own interests. Luo Xuanyi was born in the Zang Yao clan. Rather than trusting that others will not harm her, she believes that others will not conflict with her for the time being. However, as long as there is contact, there is the possibility of being betrayed, hurt, deceived, or even killed.
Rather than gamble on unnecessary feelings, Luo Xuanyi chose to protect herself and entrust her emotional needs to the dead.
However, these were not suitable to be discussed now. Luo Xuanyi had made up her mind that after visiting the bell-ringing meeting with Zhang Qiu today, she would never contact her again.
"This lantern is so beautiful. No wonder it's the reward for first place." Luo Xuanyi smiled and chose a topic.
Zhang Qiu nodded as a matter of course. "Even I find the questions a bit difficult this year. As expected of me." As Luo Xuanyi marveled at her confidence, she thrust the Bluebird Lantern into her hands. "Here, everyone has to hold a lantern at the bell-ringing ceremony. Let's walk along the Blessing Path. If we walk slowly, we should be able to hear the bells when we reach the top."
"Thank you, but you won this, didn't you? You should keep it."
"It's okay," Zhang Qiu blinked, "I take one every year."
The two smiled at each other and walked side by side towards Fu Ji Mountain.
First update~ For me, sister Yi's self-exploration is also a very important line, although it is not very dramatic hh
Also, this chapter says it's finally back to normal! Happy~
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