Lantern Festival Night: Hidden Warmth, Old Enmity Resurfaces

The training ground was still wet with morning dew when Master Yu Xiaogang stepped before the group with Flender, gently closing the Soul Master's Notes in his hands. "The results of this past half month of intensive training have been remarkable. Your Team Cooperation and control over your Soul Power have both improved. Today, you have the day off. Relax properly."

"A day off?" Ma Hongjun was the first to cheer, flames from the Evil Fire Phoenix leaping excitedly in his palm. "Great! I've been wanting to visit Suotuo City's Snack Street for ages!" Xiao Wu tugged on Tang San's sleeve as well, her eyes full of anticipation. "Tang San, shall we go have some fun? I still haven't seen what Suotuo City looks like during the day!"

"Why don't we go to the Lantern Festival?" Ning Rongrong suddenly suggested, shaking the Silver Bell Bracelet on her wrist. "Yesterday, I heard the inn attendant say that Suotuo City is holding its annual Lantern Festival tonight. There'll be lots of beautiful lanterns, and lantern riddles with prizes too. It'll be really lively!"

"A Lantern Festival? That sounds great!" Oscar immediately agreed, already calculating how many sausages he should bring for snacks. "We get to see lanterns and eat delicious food. Perfect!" Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance and nodded as well. Tang San looked toward Lin Zhixia. Though she said nothing, her fingers had loosened around the Starwood Arrow Shaft. He smiled. "Then it's settled. We'll go to the Lantern Festival together tonight."

At dusk, the eight of them entered Suotuo City together. Lanterns of every color had already been hung along both sides of the streets—Rabbit Lanterns, Lotus Lanterns, Rotating Lanterns... As the lights came on, the entire street was bathed in a warm yellow glow. The crowds bustled about, and hawkers' cries mingled with laughter.

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong pulled Lin Zhixia through the lanterns, marveling at Rabbit Lanterns one moment and stopping at lantern-riddle stalls the next. Someone had placed a delicate Lotus Lantern in Lin Zhixia's hands. Its warm flame reflected on her face, softening her usual chilliness. Tang San and Dai Mubai followed behind them, occasionally helping clear a path through the crowd. Oscar busied himself handing sausages to everyone, while Ma Hongjun had long since been drawn to a Sugar Painting stall in the distance, leaving only his retreating back in sight.

"Zhi Xia, look at this lantern riddle!" Xiao Wu pointed at the strip of paper on a Rotating Lantern. "'It has eyes but no pupils, an empty belly within. When lotus flowers emerge from water, they meet in joy. When parasol leaves fall, lovers part. Devoted couples do not last until winter.' Do you know the answer?"

Lin Zhixia studied the slip and thought for a moment. "It should be... a Bamboo Basket." As soon as she spoke, the stall owner smiled and handed her a Little Clay Figurine. "You got it right, little miss! This prize is yours!" Xiao Wu cheered, took the figurine, and stuffed it into Lin Zhixia's hands. "Zhi Xia, you're amazing! This little figurine is for you!"

Lin Zhixia held the warm figurine, and the feeling beneath her fingertips reminded her of the clay toys her parents had bought for her as a child. The corners of her lips curved up unconsciously. At that moment, a gaze fell upon her, carrying curiosity and amazement. On the Stone Bridge not far away, a young man in a white Brocade Robe was watching her. He was strikingly handsome, with a jade pendant engraved with the Spirit Hall insignia hanging at his waist. He was Ye Jin, son of Spirit Hall's Law Enforcement Elder.

Ye Jin had accompanied his father to Suotuo City to handle some affairs. Drawn in by the liveliness of the Lantern Festival, he had stopped the instant he saw Lin Zhixia. She stood beneath the warm yellow lantern light, cradling a Lotus Lantern in her hands. Her gentle side profile formed a strange contrast with the boisterous crowd around her, and he could not look away. He had never seen a girl like her—cool and aloof, yet carrying a fragility that seemed ready to shatter, like moonlight hidden amid the lanterns. A fondness stirred in his heart.

"Zhi Xia, what are you looking at?" Tang San noticed that Lin Zhixia's gaze had paused in the direction of the Stone Bridge. He followed her line of sight, but saw only a figure in white disappearing into the crowd. Lin Zhixia shook her head and hugged the Lotus Lantern a little tighter. That gaze had inexplicably made her heart pound, as though some danger were drawing near. Yet when she thought it over carefully, she found nothing unusual and assumed she was merely overthinking it.

Ye Jin hid behind the crowd, his heartbeat still racing. He had seen clearly just now that beside the Lotus Lantern in the girl's hands hung a quiver slung across her shoulder. The star pattern on it looked familiar, though he could not recall where he had seen it. He instructed the attendant beside him, "Find out who that girl in pale blue is, the one carrying the Star Pattern Quiver. I want to know her name and background."

After the attendant left, Ye Jin looked toward Lin Zhixia again. Xiao Wu was pulling her toward the lantern-riddle stalls, and when she smiled, tiny flecks of light seemed to shimmer in her eyes. A smile tugged at his lips as he began considering what excuse he could use to meet her again. He did not know that the girl who had stirred his heart was the Orphan of the Lin Family, whose household his father had exterminated years ago. The "moonlight" in his eyes had already been wrapped in the icy frost of hatred on the day her family was destroyed.

"Zhi Xia, hurry over here! I can't solve this riddle. Help me take a look!" Ning Rongrong called out. Lin Zhixia came back to herself, burying the unease in her heart as she hurried toward the stall. Tang San watched her back with a thoughtful frown. The gaze that had fallen on Lin Zhixia just now carried a trace of a Spirit Power Fluctuation he recognized. It was faint, but somewhat similar to that of Spirit Hall's people. He quietly made note of it, deciding to pay closer attention to their surroundings and protect his companions.

As the night deepened, the Lantern Festival grew more and more lively. The prizes in Lin Zhixia's hands gradually piled up: Little Clay Figurines, Sachets, and a Rabbit Lantern from Ning Rongrong. Looking at her laughing companions and feeling the warmth of the lights, she temporarily forgot her hatred and loneliness. But she did not know that the awestruck gaze from the Stone Bridge had already planted the seeds of a new crisis for her, while the shadow of old enmity was quietly drawing closer.

When the group prepared to head back, Lin Zhixia turned to look once more at the brightly lit street. By chance, she saw Ye Jin standing beneath a lantern not far away, watching in her direction. Her heart tightened, and she instinctively clenched the Rabbit Lantern in her hand until Tang San gently patted her shoulder. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Nothing." Lin Zhixia shook her head, withdrew her gaze, and left with the others. She did not see Ye Jin watching her retreating figure, tightly gripping a Lotus Lantern he had just bought. His eyes shone with determination. He would find her, no matter who she was.