Yun Jin tilted her head slightly and spotted someone waving both arms at her, her brows lifting a little.
Xiangling was quick. In no time, she had happily thrown herself into Yun Jin's arms. "This is wonderful! We're all together again."
"I didn't expect them to celebrate the Lantern Rite here too. Getting to perform somewhere new and winning over so many people has made me very happy."
Yun Jin patted Xiangling's back, then took her hand and gave it an affectionate little swing. Smiling, she said, "Of course, there's one more thing that makes me happiest of all: I get to spend the festival here with you, Xiangling."
That made Xiangling even happier, her face practically overflowing with smiles. "Oh, Yun Jin, you always know just what to say. You're making me a little embarrassed!"
Xingqiu withdrew his gaze from behind Xiangling, a flicker passing through his eyes.
"Xiangling, if I remember correctly, Chongyun arrived here after you did. I was so absorbed in the opera just now that I didn't think to look..."
"Oh! Chongyun? He's upstairs!"
Xiangling linked arms with Yun Jin and led the two of them forward.
"He was perfectly fine before dinner. I don't know if he's been doing too much exorcism work lately, but I took a look before coming out just now, and he was slumped over the table. He seemed to be asleep."
"You've arrived at just the right time. I put a lot of effort into making several whole tables' worth of dishes today, including a few new recipes I've just developed. So many of our friends and the Traveler's friends came today. It would be a real shame if he missed out."
"Ah, new dishes..."
Xingqiu's expression stiffened for a moment before returning to normal. "It seems you've found