Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it was to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
The enormous Christmas Tree, its trunk requiring several people to encircle it, sat quietly and serenely in a corner of the ballroom like a small mountain. Countless tiny lights dotted its crown, while beautiful gift boxes hung from the tips of its spreading branches, swaying slowly in the night breeze like ripe pinecones. Every guest at the ball could pluck one from it.
Most of the leaves and twigs had been shaved from the thickest branches at the front, exposing several rows of dark green boughs, like the knobby ribs of an old Tree, lined up neatly—the singing little wizards sat on those branches, wearing antler hats and blue noses, red scarves, and oversized gray plaid robes, each dressed like a deer-headed person from the Silent Forest.
They danced and sang merrily, colorful magical sparks scattering behind them and making the night even more dazzling.
"Li Meng?!"
Zheng Qing spotted the little witch bouncing about on the Tree at a glance, unable to hide the surprise and unease in his voice. "Why was she attending this ball too... Was she the person you just mentioned? Did she come alone?"
He addressed the latter two questions to Dylan.
Mr. Vampire Werewolf seemed even more surprised than Zheng Qing. "Li Meng came too? Where? Huh? It really does seem to be her... She just looks a little smaller than usual... What did you just say? No! Of course not! I mean, I didn't know Li Meng was coming either. Look, who's beside Li Meng?"
Zheng Qing patiently turned his gaze back to the Christmas Tree.
This time, he checked each of the cheerful little faces on the Tree one by one.