Chapter 295: Lanterns Reflect Feelings, Hard to Suppress

The streets and alleys were brightly lit; Lingxiang walked ahead on her own, while Long Qi followed cautiously behind.

Long Qi could not gauge whether Lingxiang was truly angry or not. Back at Liuyunxuan, her tone and expression had clearly been those of someone angry, but looking at her now, it did not seem so at all; it was as if she were out for a stroll.

The streets were bustling with people. Lingxiang wandered along at her leisure; she did not look like she was returning to the inn, yet she had not said where she was going. In any case, Long Qi dared not ask, only rubbing his hands together with a look of wanting to speak but holding back.

As they walked, they arrived at the riverside. At this moment, the river was already filled with river lanterns. Men and women were all here, either pouring out their hearts or making wishes. Although it looked brightly lit, it was extremely quiet, and the sound of the murmuring water was clearly audible.

Perhaps tired from walking, Lingxiang stepped onto the covered bridge and, with a light leap, sat upon the wooden railing.

This startled Long Qi. Thinking Lingxiang was about to do something, he hurriedly stepped forward to support her, only to find that she was already sitting steadily upon it.

His outstretched hand was neither here nor there, and he felt truly awkward.

Fortunately, Lingxiang did not seem to notice. She only gazed at the river lanterns drifting with the current and patted the railing beside her, signaling for Long Qi to sit up as well.

Long Qi leaped up and, like Lingxiang, looked at the river lanterns in the water. Those lanterns were scattered nearby, but further away they gathered into a cluster, like a glowing ribbon drifting along the river toward the distance, until they vanished into the dark of night.

It was indeed a beautiful sight, but Long Qi's mind was not on it. The faint scent of medicine beside him made Long Qi feel restless; his hands were clasped behind his back, rubbing incessantly, as if he were hesitating over something.

After a long while, Long Qi seemed to have made up his mind. One hand slowly lifted, cautiously circling behind Lingxiang, and quietly reached toward her shoulder.

"You said..."

Just as Long Qi was secretly delighted that he was about to embrace Lingxiang, she suddenly spoke up, startling Long Qi so much that he nearly lost his balance; he hurriedly retracted his hand to steady himself.

This interruption caught Lingxiang off guard. She looked at Long Qi with a face full of surprise, and seeing him trying to act calm while his eyes darted away, she began to laugh.

Long Qi looked at Lingxiang. The lights from afar shone from behind her, making even her hair glow. Long Qi's gaze was dazed, staring blankly at Lingxiang; he felt his mouth go dry and swallowed several times in succession.

Seeing Long Qi staring at her unblinkingly, Lingxiang thought there was something on her face, so she asked while wiping her cheek.

Just as Lingxiang lowered her head to wipe, two moist impressions were planted on her cheek, leaving her momentarily at a loss. It was also at this moment that a sharp whistle sounded from afar, and flowers of fire suddenly bloomed in mid-air.

What a magnificent display of fireworks, what a perfect match made in heaven.

Amidst the dappled light and shadow, following the sound of firecrackers, Long Qi finally came to his senses from his stupor. He hurriedly sat up straight, head bowed, looking like someone who had done something wrong, cursing himself inwardly for being reckless.

But Lingxiang had not yet recovered. With her large, sparkling eyes wide open, her heart was in a state of chaos, and she had even forgotten what she wanted to say earlier.

"I... I didn't mean to..." Long Qi stammered for a long time, only managing to say this much.

It was true, he really hadn't meant to!

Hearing him say this, Lingxiang laughed instead: "What is it? Did I press you to do that? Or did you lose your balance and bump into my face? Could it be that it's my fault?"

This... how could this person twist things like this...

"No... no, no, no..." Long Qi said "no" several times in a row, waving his hands with a flushed face, looking as if he were trying desperately to explain, "That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?" Lingxiang suddenly felt playful, turned her face, and glanced at Long Qi sideways.

"I just... couldn't help myself... so..." Long Qi kept his head down, not daring to look at Lingxiang, speaking haltingly, but then he suddenly realized that Lingxiang did not seem to be angry.

"You... you did it on purpose!"

"What did I do on purpose?" Lingxiang tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, yet the corners of her mouth remained smiling, "I'm the one who was offended, and I'm the one who suffered a loss, so what about me?"

Long Qi did not know how to respond. Seeing Lingxiang's arrogant expression, he decided to go all the way; he cupped the back of Lingxiang's neck and kissed those cherry-red lips.

Since it couldn't be explained either way, then so be it!

The city was brightly lit, reflecting the shimmering waves of the river. The river lanterns drifted with the current, spreading and gathering, as if the Milky Way from the heavens had fallen into the mortal world. A bridge over the river, two people on the bridge, eyes meeting—the years were peaceful and quiet.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

As if unable to bear the sight of the two of them like this, or perhaps feeling it was awkward, a dry cough sounded, startling Lingxiang into quickly pushing Long Qi away.

It was Liu Xia and Banxia.

At this moment, Liu Xia's face was flushed red, as if he were the one who had been caught in the act, while Banxia looked completely indifferent, holding a river lantern in her left hand and a candied hawthorn skewer in her right, eating with a "crunch, crunch" sound, as if she were watching a play.

Seeing Lingxiang and Long Qi interrupted, Banxia could not help but gasp, looking at Liu Xia with displeasure, as if blaming him for disturbing her show.

"You... why are you here..."

Only then did Lingxiang feel embarrassed and hurriedly asked to cover it up, while Long Qi was very dissatisfied, pouting at Liu Xia, as if blaming them for coming at the wrong time.

Seeing this, Liu Xia understood everything. Muttering something about "just passing by," he pulled Banxia away amidst her complaints.

Yet even so, an inexplicable awkwardness remained between Lingxiang and Long Qi. They sat separately, either twisting their hair, rubbing their hands, talking about how pretty the lanterns were, or how gentle the breeze was, avoiding the subject while refusing to look at each other.

Perhaps feeling that this was too coy, Lingxiang suddenly turned serious and asked Long Qi: "Tell me, if you knew that something bad would happen to the mortal world in a hundred days, what would you do?"

A hundred days? What could happen in a hundred days?

Long Qi did not know how to answer.

Nowadays, the mortal world was enjoying favorable weather and peace, and although they had encountered some bad things recently, they had all been resolved one by one. What else could happen?

Long Qi looked at Lingxiang with an inquisitive expression. Lingxiang hurriedly explained: "It's just a hypothesis. This is also a way to explore the Dao, isn't it? You are already at Foundation Establishment; I imagine it won't be long before you enter the Dao, so it is time to face such questions."

Hearing this, Long Qi began to think seriously.

Strictly speaking, seeking the Dao was not something he had deliberately pursued, and even revenge, as it seemed now, was not that important anymore. Based on his current state of mind, what tribulations the mortal world would endure had nothing to do with him; as long as the one he loved could live in peace for a lifetime, that would be enough.

"The one I love can live in peace for a lifetime..." Lingxiang repeated what Long Qi had said, as if savoring his words.

After a long while, Lingxiang sighed.

If the world were to fall into chaos, how could there be a pair living in peace!