Chapter 489: Pear Blossoms Like Snow Behind the Wall, Yet Exquisite (Finale)

Before the sky had darkened, every household had already hung up lanterns at their doors; by the time night fell, the entire Guyang City was immersed in a sea of lights, looking from afar like a fairyland.

The common folk had finished their evening meal early and walked out of their homes in high spirits, their laughter and chatter filling the bustling city.

The lantern festival hosted by the City Lord Mansion was about to begin; the people greeted one another and walked in groups toward the Guyang River, their faces all wreathed in smiles.

The banks of the Guyang River had been prepared well in advance, with stages and stalls set up everywhere, and the peddlers and hawkers were running about shouting their wares—it was incredibly lively.

Long Qi had been waiting by the river for a long time, and watching the government officials busy themselves back and forth, a wave of warmth welled up in his heart.

He could no longer remember how long it had been since he had felt this kind of worldly atmosphere; looking at the Guyang River reflecting the lights, he was momentarily lost in thought, reminded of his parents and elder brother.

Though somewhat blurry, in his memories of the Shangyuan Festival, his elder brother would always make him all sorts of lanterns, and in the evening, his father would let him ride on his shoulders, taking the whole family to the town to visit the lantern festival.

And his mother's bowl of sweet rice dumplings, soft and fragrant, was a taste Long Qi would never forget for the rest of his life.

With the brilliant lights reflected in his eyes, Long Qi recalled the beauty of the past and could not help but curl the corners of his mouth.

Just as Long Qi was lost in his thoughts, a child bumped into him carelessly, staggered back two steps, and fell straight onto the ground, the lantern in the child's hand rolling to the side.

The child seemed to have been frightened, remaining motionless for a long time, and Long Qi did not react either; the two of them just stared blankly at each other like that for a long while.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward for a moment, until the child let out a "waa" and started crying, at which point Long Qi hurriedly picked the child up to comfort them.

Although he was a bit flustered, children are children; after a few funny faces, the child was all smiles again.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Hearing the child's thanks, Long Qi's mouth twitched, and he was momentarily caught between laughter and tears—did he really look that old?

But then, thinking of his own head of silver hair, he felt relieved and let out a long sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted—at least he had managed to coax this little ancestor, so there was no need to fuss over minor details.

After soothing the child, Long Qi turned to pick up the lantern, but the moment he saw it, his chest suddenly tightened, and his mind went blank.

It was a lotus lantern, with a red thread tied to it, drifting with the gentle evening breeze as if guiding toward something.

A tear slid from the corner of his eye; Long Qi wiped his cheek, looking at the crystal drop on his hand in disbelief, as sorrow instantly flooded his heart.

He did not know why he was sad, only that a piece of his heart seemed to be missing, and that sense of loss was like losing a precious treasure, leaving him incredibly flustered.

Looking at the familiar-looking lotus lantern, Long Qi was speechless for a moment; after a long while, he asked the child in front of him with a trembling voice.

"This lantern... where did you buy it?"

The child took the lotus lantern and turned to point behind them: "There is an old grandpa selling lanterns at the bridgehead..."

Before the child could finish, they heard Long Qi offer his thanks and run off in the direction the finger pointed without looking back, leaving the child to mutter with dissatisfaction:

"In such a rush, not even waiting for people to finish speaking; I really don't know what the old official Ziwei saw in him..." As the child said this, they turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished into thin air amidst the crowd, without attracting anyone's attention.

Long Qi stumbled all the way, finally pushing through the complaining crowd, and at last saw the lantern stall the child had mentioned.

The old man behind the stall was shouting his wares energetically, but business was unusually cold; not a single person had come to inquire for a long time, making him appear particularly out of place in the moving crowd.

The old man saw Long Qi at a glance and hurriedly reached out to greet him, smiling so hard the wrinkles on his face could hide money.

"Does the elder recognize this junior?"

"I recognize you, I certainly do." The lantern-selling old man's eyes narrowed into slits. "I remember every customer who has bought a lantern from me clearly."

Bought a lantern?

Long Qi was puzzled; if he remembered correctly, this was his first time seeing this old man.

"Five years ago, you bought a pair of Prayer Lotus Lanterns from me, and there was a pretty girl with you," the old man said, looking left and right. "What? Did that girl not come?"

"A girl?"

Long Qi suddenly grew tense; his intuition told him that the "girl" the old man spoke of must be someone of utmost importance to him.

Perhaps...

It was related to the girl in his dreams...

"What girl? Does the elder still remember what she looked like?"

"Oh! What a question to ask!" the old man teased. "Wasn't she your sweetheart? Why are you asking me?"

Long Qi's eyes dimmed, his expression forlorn.

So...

Was she his sweetheart?

But...

"I have forgotten her, forgotten her voice, forgotten her appearance; I can only see her in my dreams, yet I do not know who she is..."

"To be haunted by dreams, it must be because she left something in your heart." The old man smiled and pointed at Long Qi's chest. "Some things are not forgotten, just temporarily out of reach; take your time, and you will remember eventually."

A brilliant light was injected, and Long Qi was instantly enveloped in a strong radiance; he hurriedly raised his sleeve to cover his face, and a voice, loving yet dignified, reached his ears:

"Child, go quickly and find her..."

The voice faded until it disappeared, and Long Qi still did not remember who it was; when the light dissipated and he came to his senses, he found himself already at the entrance of an alley.

Looking left and right, it was the same alley he had passed during the day, and when he looked up again, the three characters "Youran Abode" on the plaque were very striking.

Only, this plaque was different from what he had seen during the day; there were no gilded characters, but rather green engraved ones, and the size of the plaque was much smaller, looking very inconspicuous and extremely plain.

Long Qi did not understand why he had come to this place again; everything felt as unreal as a dream, or perhaps what he had just encountered was the dream.

The sound of water droplets came again, continuous and rhythmic, as if inviting Long Qi.

Long Qi sighed helplessly and lifted his feet to walk into the house.

The furnishings inside were as before, only there was an extra incense burner on the table, with green smoke curling and the scent of sandalwood filling the air.

Circling around the screen, Long Qi stepped out of the door, and what met his eyes was still that small courtyard.

Only this time, the courtyard seemed much brighter than what he had seen before.

A gust of wind rose, and falling petals drifted like snow.

Long Qi reached out to catch a petal, then looked at the wooden frame under the tree; on the hammock swaying in the wind, something seemed to be missing.

A feeling of loss welled up; he walked to the hammock, lay down, and closed his eyes to feel the warm sun.

The spring light was faint, the years were quiet and good, and time seemed to stand still at this moment.

Not until the sound of water reached him did Long Qi hurriedly sit up, and at a glance, he saw a woman in white sitting sideways on the rim of the vat.

The woman had her back to Long Qi, her dark hair cascading like a waterfall; she looked thin, frail, and solitary, as if she had been here for a very long time, her desolate appearance heart-wrenching.

Fearing he would miss his chance again, Long Qi hurriedly chased after her and tugged at the hem of her sleeve, but just as he was about to speak, he hesitated.

He did not know what he was hesitating about; perhaps he was afraid of seeing a faceless visage once more, or perhaps he was afraid that this time, too, it would all be in vain.

After struggling for a long while, Long Qi's gaze steadied.