Chapter 276: New Year Fireworks

Life back in Bai City is also quite boring.

Chen Banxia did not tell their parents about her younger brother and the Spirit Sect; this was a tacit understanding between her and her brother. However, this woman began to be a bit unreasonable, actually attempting to use this as leverage to make Chen Shu cook her crawfish, and after discovering it was the wrong season, she changed it to spicy hot pot with tripe and duck intestines.

For the following two days, the siblings were busy purchasing New Year goods and making cured meats; sometimes Qingqing and Xiaoxiao would come over, and they would be roped in by Chen Shu to work for free.

It was indeed a bit late to start doing this so close to the New Year.

But thinking that after finishing, their parents, Chen Banxia, Chen Shu's entire Dormitory, and the sisters' entire Dormitory could all eat for a year, it didn't seem late anymore.

It wasn't until New Year's Eve that the four of them were free to go out shopping and eat snacks.

Chen Shu held a chicken wing stuffed with pork intestine and clutched a cup of piping hot milk tea, then turned his head and asked, "Chen Banxia, what day of the New Year are you heading back to Yujing?"

"The seventh day. Are there any ride-shares? If not, I'll take the high-speed rail."

"Sure, then I'll go on the seventh too."

"You're not going to the Spirit Sect?"

"The Spirit Sect isn't far from Yujing; I'll take you all to Yujing first."

"Sensible! My little brother has grown up!" Chen Banxia held a stalk of sugarcane, a trash bag dangling from her pinky, and as she gnawed, she wore a look of gratification. It wasn't until Chen Shu slapped the back of her head, causing the sugarcane to poke her lip, that she immediately turned her head and scolded him with dissatisfaction, "You hit your older sister again!!"

"What's wrong?"

"You're going to be struck by lightning!"

"..."

Chen Shu couldn't be bothered to pay her any mind; he walked over to Qingqing and said to her, "You'll be bored during the New Year too, how about I take you to my grandmother's place to play on the second day?"

"Okay."

Ning Qing was eating spicy octopus, her eyes devoid of any ripples.

"Wow!"

Chen Banxia's eyes widened, and she tried to wink at Xiaoxiao: "He's taking her to meet his grandmother!"

However, Xiaoxiao was focused on gnawing her sugarcane, her mouth chewing, eyes fixed straight ahead on the road, as if she couldn't hear the commotion beside her at all.

"What are you making such a fuss about?" Chen Shu rolled his eyes, "Haven't you been there before?"

"Oh, that's true..."

"Brain-dead."

"You're the one who's brain-dead."

"As brain-dead as Zhang Suannai."

"Chen Shu!" Chen Banxia shouted Chen Shu's name, her voice very coarse and her expression serious, attracting the gazes of passersby and even the nameless, emotionless sugarcane-gnawing machine beside her. She said righteously, "I warn you, you can scold me, but you cannot use Zhang Suannai to scold me!"

"Why?"

"This insult is too severe, I can't take it!" Chen Banxia's expression was serious, "I am, at the very least, an intelligence-type genius!"

"..."

So they are plastic sisters after all.

Chen Shu withdrew his gaze, ignored her again, and continued to lean in toward Qingqing: "Let me taste your octopus..."

Qingqing didn't answer, just handed the plastic container to him.

"?"

Chen Shu held a half-eaten chicken wing in his right hand and the milk tea in his left; with both hands full, he looked up at her.

Qingqing pursed her lips, used her chopsticks to pick through the plastic container, selected a small octopus she thought tasted best, swished it in the sauce again, and without forgetting to clip a bit of cilantro leaf and millet chili on top, fed it to Chen Shu.

"Mmm!!"

One bite at a time, soaked in sauce, sour, spicy, and crisp.

The flavor of lemon mixed with millet chili is always perfect for this kind of small seafood; no matter how it's made, it's delicious.

Chen Shu was very satisfied.

Chen Banxia, meanwhile, watched from behind in a daze.

Even though she had known Ning Qing since she was very young, even though she had watched them grow up, and even though she knew of their feelings, she still felt a tiny bit surprised. When she came to her senses, she hurriedly poked Xiaoxiao beside her, signaling her to look ahead quickly.

"?"

The little girl raised her head, but her eyes were filled with confusion.

"Did you see nothing at all?"

"??"

This person is strange.

The little girl frowned and continued gnawing on her sugarcane as she walked forward, but she didn't notice that her brother-in-law had suddenly stopped; caught off guard, she bumped right into him.

"Thump!"

Zhang Suannai's voice was clear and bright; she picked up a mahjong tile with a smile, rubbing her nose as she did so—she had inexplicably sneezed twice just now and felt a bit uncomfortable.

The Old Sword Master beside her was also laughing heartily.

The altitude of the Sword Sect's encampment was too high and the winter was too cold, but fortunately, the Sword Sect Disciples were made of iron and didn't care. At this moment, a crowd was gathered around the eight-immortal table; the Old Sword Master and his few Personal Disciples were basically all here.

As the youngest disciple, Zhang Suannai was the most doted upon by the Sword Master, so she sat with her master, peeling pistachios while offering advice to her master.

The others were also in groups of two or three, some responsible for paying, others acting as advisors.

The atmosphere of the New Year was captured perfectly.

"One Cylinder!"

"One Chicken!"

"Six Strips!"

"Seven Cylinders!"

Zhang Suannai and the Sword Master were aiming at the tiles on the table together.

Zhang Suannai had a handful of shelled pistachios, shared half with the Sword Master, stuffed the other half into her own mouth, and reached out to point at a tile.

The Sword Master ate a pistachio without much thought, picked up that tile, and just as he was about to throw it, he suddenly pulled it back: "No, my Spiritual Sense tells me that if I play this tile, there might be danger; let me change to another one..."

Zhang Suannai nodded, deep in thought.

The few people beside them had complicated expressions.

Damn, using Spiritual Sense to play mahjong, how truly shameless.

"This one?"

"Hmm..."

The Old Sword Master nodded.

So Zhang Suannai giggled and picked up this Five of Dots.

"Um... I have something to tell you all." The Sixth Senior Sister turned her head and spat out a sugarcane husk, very calmly, "The Seventh and I plan to get married after the New Year. See if you have time to come for the wedding banquet; I guarantee there will be one, and only one, serving of Huangmen Chicken Rice on the table."

"?"

Everyone was instantly stunned.

The Five of Dots in Zhang Suannai's hand also dropped to the ground.

"Boom!"

The first firework of Yujing rose from the Imperial Palace, climbing very high, and exploded in the sky into a brilliant cluster of fireworks, extremely magnificent.

The night of the entire Capital was illuminated.

Most of the Imperial Family members in the Imperial Palace gathered together, preparing to celebrate the New Year in a lively atmosphere.

On a long corridor lit by lanterns in the distance, two figures walked one after the other.

The person in front wore a long robe, with a handsome face and a gentle demeanor. The person behind had a tall figure, wearing black tights in the middle of this winter, with leather pants outlining a pair of conspicuous long legs, but the most conspicuous thing was the Metal Mask on her face, covering the entire face and conforming to the contours of her cheeks; one eye was a round hole emitting white light, and the other was a long vertical slit revealing blue light.

"Why did you come? Not spending the New Year at the Wangting Sword Sect?"

"Are you going to Puluo?"

"Yes," Meng Haoran said calmly, "Puluo is becoming increasingly chaotic. The day before yesterday, several more of the power-holders we cultivated were assassinated. The country has already decided to intervene militarily in this turmoil in Puluo again after the New Year."

"Why are you going?"

"I am a member of the Imperial Family, a direct descendant. Since ancient times, no descendants of Meng Yi have grown up in a greenhouse," Meng Haoran said, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat emotional, "After the New Year begins, I will be twenty-eight. Time passes so quickly."

"I will go with you."

"What? Nüxia, can't you make it in the country anymore?"

"The country is ultimately too stable." The Metal Mask, which fit the cheeks perfectly, outlined the exquisite contours of the woman's face, and her voice was also very calm, "The Royal Court Sword Dao is the ultimate killing Dao; such an environment cannot give birth to a top-tier Sword Cultivator."

"You wouldn't happen to be anxious because you heard Zhang Suannai reached the Sixth Stage, would you?"

"It has indeed put a certain amount of pressure on me."

"Sigh..."

Meng Haoran felt amused and helpless about their sect disputes, but he didn't say anything about Zhang Suannai having luck or the like, only saying: "Actually, I don't think you need to be too anxious about this. The Fifth Stage and Sixth Stage are only a few years apart. By the Ninth Stage, especially after reaching the peak, there is almost no gap."

"I will go with you."

"If the Sword King agrees, that will do."

"He agreed. I told him I want to be your close-protection guard," the woman's voice was slightly distorted through the mask, "Master said the prediction from the seniors of the Secret Sect is that this trip of yours has a certain amount of danger."

"Yes."

Meng Haoran remained very calm.

A certain amount of danger is acceptable.

The ancestors of the Meng Family built this empire amidst a sea of corpses and blood, through a life-and-death struggle. This Imperial Family is the result of defying the heavens and changing fate. As a descendant, if one doesn't even dare to attempt a certain amount of danger, and doesn't even dare to challenge a prophecy, how can one take over this eight-hundred-year-old imperial dynasty founded on martial arts in the future?

"Whew..."

Another firework flew into the sky, like a point of light soaring upwards.

"Boom..."

The entire sky was almost illuminated.

Meng Haoran couldn't help but stop his steps and look up at the sky.

The fireworks were launched from the Chang'an Gate, and the Imperial Palace was the perfect viewing angle. The perfectly shaped fireworks bloomed in Meng Haoran's eyes. By the time the scattered colorful light reached the ground, it had already mixed into a mass, reflecting on the Metal Mask of the person behind him, the colors of the light having become complex.

"So beautiful."

The sweet-looking girl sat on the ground, not afraid of dirtying her clothes, her two hands naturally supporting her on both sides of her body, her body leaning slightly back, looking up at the sky.

The city lights in the distance were dim, and fireworks rose one after another in the sky above, blooming and then fading.

Beside her was a huge beast, lying on the ground, also looking up at the fireworks below the mountain, its bright yellow eyes calm and indifferent, not knowing what it was pondering.

"I invited you here this time not to fight, but just to ask you to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks. This is our grandest festival of the year. After today passes, the planet will have revolved around the star for another cycle, and tomorrow will be a new week.

"I learned a new song again.

"It was taught to me by that senior brother I met that one time. He said the lyrics were written by a senior named Li Shutong, and the music was composed by later generations. The song isn't long. He told me not to sing it to anyone else, acting all mysterious. You can consider yourself lucky to hear it."

No sound came from beside her.

Then, the little girl's singing voice echoed in the mountains, like a clear spring flowing; the melody was simple and beautiful, with a long-lasting meaning.

"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road..."

The gaze of the giant beast beside her could not help but become gentle, revealing a bit of intoxication.

Tonight, the fireworks of the prosperous age cover the entire country.