Chapter 162: Life is like a dream, how much joy is there?

A starry night.

The three of them walked quickly out of the Bingxin Caotang, and Yan Chixia said:

"Daughter, that brat must be somewhere in Nanguo Town. Let's split up and search. If we find any trace of him, use the 'Heart-Reflecting Spirit Talisman' to send a message."

"Alright."

Yan Hongye set off first, gradually disappearing into the bustling street.

"See, I told you this method would be very effective. It's guaranteed to get Hongye to go out," Yan Chixia said happily.

Sima Sanniang said with a hint of helplessness:

"No matter what, the closer we get to the end, the more we need to relax. It's good to let Hongye come out for a walk. I'm deeply afraid that she, too, will fall into a demonic frenzy."

Half an hour later.

Yan Hongye walked into the Yuelao Temple, which she had never visited before, and saw that the temple was bustling with incense and had many pilgrims.

She looked around and suddenly noticed a person with striking silver hair. She couldn't help but walk over.

She saw the temple keeper saying to a very familiar-looking silver-haired young man:

"I told you that my Yuelao plaque is very effective and can make lovers eventually become spouses. If it weren't effective, how could the incense be so prosperous?"

"For more than a month, you, young man, have come every day. Haven't you thought about buying a Yuelao plaque, writing your beloved's name on it, and letting Yuelao bless you so that you can get what you wish for?"

As the temple keeper spoke, he gestured with his hand:

"My rack for hanging Yuelao plaques is almost full. Do you really not want to try?"

"Old sir, after so many days, I have always had a question I wanted to ask you," the silver-haired young man smiled:

"If the rack is full of Yuelao plaques, and another pilgrim wants to hang one, what should be done?"

"Many pilgrims have asked this question. There is a Marriage Tree in the backyard. Whenever the rack is full of Yuelao plaques, they will be hung on the Marriage Tree."

The temple keeper held a wooden plaque and said:

"Young man, do you want a Yuelao plaque?"

Zhuang Buran spread his hands:

"No money."

The temple keeper was speechless, but he eventually handed the wooden plaque in his hand to the silver-haired young man:

"Considering that you have come here often these past few days, I will give you one for free."

"Old sir is truly worthy of being the temple keeper of the Yuelao Temple," Zhuang Buran changed the subject:

"One plaque doesn't seem to be enough. Can you give me seven?"

The temple keeper's eyes widened, shocked by the silver-haired young man's shamelessness.

At this moment, Yan Hongye walked closer:

"I will pay for his seven Yuelao plaques. Give me another Yuelao plaque."

Upon hearing this, the temple keeper handed the seven wooden plaques to the silver-haired young man with a complicated expression. When he handed the wooden plaque to Yan Hongye, he couldn't help but whisper:

"Young lady, you must be cautious of a guy who is gold and jade on the outside but rotten on the inside!"

Zhuang Buran smiled and said:

"Old sir, we can be considered old acquaintances. They say it is better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. It's a pity you are the temple keeper of the Yuelao Temple."

"I am helping Yuelao sever evil ties, so he doesn't have to tie every red thread he dares to," the temple keeper said righteously.

"Old sir, you should go and entertain other pilgrims. I am going to start writing down my beloved's name."

Zhuang Buran picked up the pen beside the rack and began to write stroke by stroke on a wooden plaque.

"This boy doesn't look like a good match. Young lady, please be cautious!" After the temple keeper finished speaking, he walked away.

Yan Hongye said calmly:

"Seven Yuelao plaques, you certainly have many beloveds. No wonder you wanted to break off the engagement."

"How should I put it? You can consider me a person who likes to dream," Zhuang Buran said slowly:

"I dreamed of such a woman who was true to her feelings. Just when she was suffering from heartbreak, I happened to meet her."

"I didn't expect that a few meetings would lead her to become a nun and enter the Dao. By a stroke of luck, I also settled down on the mountain where she lived, and so we were neighbors for more than twenty years."

"I didn't expect that one day, her feelings of friendship for me would suddenly turn sour."

"Then in the end of this dream, did you and her end up together?" Yan Hongye listened intently and couldn't help but ask.

Zhuang Buran put down the pen in his hand and hung the wooden plaque with 'Li Mochou' written on it on the rack:

"I am a person who is single-mindedly devoted to the Dao, so naturally, I ascended to the heavens in broad daylight at the first opportunity."

"As expected of you. What about the second one?" Yan Hongye glanced at the name on the Yuelao plaque.

"It's still this dream. Li Mochou has a junior sister named Xiaolongnu. She has lived in the sect since she was a child and has never been down the mountain. She also practices martial arts that require few thoughts, few desires, and few cravings."

"Seeing her looking as cold as an ice cube, I often liked to tease her. I even experimented: if you punch a beautiful young girl like her, she can cry and sob for half an incense stick's time."

"Between all the bickering, one day, her internal energy, which required a heart free of desires to practice, was broken for no reason. Only then did I realize that she had actually fallen in love."

Yan Hongye was silent for a long while and said:

"The third one wouldn't still be this dream, would it?"

"The third and fourth are both other dreams. Both are female demon heads who kill without restraint, but in the end, both wanted to turn over a new leaf for me. However, I resolutely rejected them, causing one to become a nun and enter the Dao, and the other to live in seclusion on a lonely island."

"What about the fifth and sixth?"

"A righteous saintess who cares for the common people of the world, and a peerless talented woman who single-mindedly lives in seclusion."

Yan Hongye raised her eyebrows:

"You rejected them too?"

The silver-haired young man said indifferently:

"One was killed by my own hands, and the other was sent by me to another world."

Yan Hongye's expression narrowed slightly, and she said slowly:

"The seventh one wouldn't be me, would it?"

"After Junior Sister re-practiced the 'Xuanxin Profound Mystery', you have become increasingly clever."

Zhuang Buran wrote the name 'Yan Hongye' on the last wooden plaque in his hand and hung it on the rack:

"I have always been a person who doesn't understand what emotion is; I only know how to write the word 'betray'."

"Junior Sister, on the Lantern Festival seven days from now, in the capital, if you don't hold the attitude of killing me, you will die, Master and Teacher's wife will die, and the common people of the world will also die. I hope you will take care of yourself."

After these words, the silver-haired young man vanished from the spot like a phantom, leaving Yan Hongye, with an indescribable expression, standing there.

She was in no hurry to search for anyone's whereabouts. She picked up the pen beside the rack and, with an expressionless face, wrote the silver-haired young man's name on the wooden plaque stroke by stroke, and then wrote her own name.

Seven days later, the capital.

After the Xuanxin Orthodox Sect divined that the capital was the place where the Heavenly Demon would strike the Seven Killings, they deployed in advance and temporarily relocated the people to a safe place.

At this moment, there was still half an incense stick's time until midnight, but the Xuanxin Sect members and the Yin Moon demons were seen hiding in the dark like they were facing a great enemy, seemingly ready to strike at any moment after sensing unusual movements.

"Life is like a dream, how much joy is there!"

A voice with a hint of laughter appeared above the capital:

"Since it is the Lantern Festival, how can it be so dead and silent? Let me give you all a great dream as a festival gift."

A strange force poured down, and everyone became like puppets or clay statues, involuntarily closing their eyes and making clear, long snoring sounds.

In the dark, everyone gathered in a dream that seemed both real and illusory, following the many people to watch the fireworks display.

"Watching the fireworks display should be accompanied by good wine."

Not far from Yan Hongye, Qiye, Jinguang, and others, a young man carrying a spear said with a smile:

"I have peach blossom wine that I brewed myself. Would you all like to have a few cups?"

"Liuyun, what is going on here?" Sima Sanniang hurriedly stepped forward.

"It's just a dream. There is no righteous path or demonic path here, and there is no saving or destroying the world. Everyone can enjoy the Lantern Festival to the fullest."

As Zhuang Buran spoke, he carried a jar of wine and poured out more than ten bowls:

"Hongye, Teacher's wife, Master, Uncle, Jinguang, Qiye, the Four Xuanxin Generals, the Four Sages of the Demon Palace, are you willing to drink with me?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 163 =====