The Lantern Festival in Xindu City was in full swing. The miles-long street was lit as bright as day, with fish and dragon lanterns weaving through the crowd.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd.
“Ouch! Who pushed me?”
“My lantern! My lantern was stolen!”
“Waaah—”
“Mom, he stole my candied hawthorns!”
A little boy in a red padded jacket sat on the ground, sticky, shiny sugar coating half his face. His chubby finger pointed trembling ahead as tears fell pattering down.
A dusty little shadow was darting through the gaps in the crowd, running incredibly fast.
It was a child who looked to be about eight or nine years old. In his left hand, he clutched a lotus lantern, while his right hand held at least three skewers of candied hawthorns. On his head sat a mask he had snatched from somewhere. He grinned widely, showing a row of tiny white teeth.
The child looked back, pulling down his lower eyelid with a finger to make a face at the wailing boy. “What do you mean, yours? Since it's in this spirit... in my hands, it's mine!”
Seeing the little boy cry even harder, he raised his chin triumphantly, then ducked into the crowd, swiping a revolving lantern hanging from a vendor's stall along the way.
This series of antics threw the festival into utter chaos.
The screams echoing from the chaotic street naturally caught the attention of Yun Shu and the other two on the bridge.
Neither Shen Yu nor Pei Wanning had expected such a disruption during their first time inviting the Divine Lady to enjoy a mortal festival.
Not daring to delay for a second, Shen Yu cupped his hands and said, “Divine Lady, it must be someone's misbehaved child. I will go find his parents immediately. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“No need.” The Divine Lady sighed softly. “That child is no mortal. Your efforts would only be in vain.”
Saying this, she shook her head gently. “I have indulged it too much, allowing it to grow so mischievous. Since it is my oversight, I shall be the one to settle this.”
Before her voice could fade, her light blue sleeves swept over the bridge railing.
Shen Yu's pupils contracted. He instinctively reached out to grab her, but only caught a wisp of the night wind stirred by the hem of the Divine Lady's skirt.
“Divine Lady!” he cried out in surprise.
The light blue figure leapt down from the bridge, like a falling autumn leaf, weightless and ethereal.
A gentle breeze blew.
It blew away the plain veil covering the Divine Lady's face.
Beneath the veil.
An extraordinarily stunning face was revealed.
Her eyebrows were like distant, mist-shrouded mountains, and her skin was like fair jade reflecting the snow. Her narrow eyes held a brilliant galaxy, as calm as autumn waters, radiating a celestial coldness and compassion that did not belong to the mortal world.
Then, the wind grew stronger.
As the Divine Lady floated in mid-air, the light blue ruqun she wore began to transform.
As her sleeves fluttered, the blue color gradually faded as if washed away by water. In its place, a soft pink hue began to spread downward, inch by inch, starting from the edge of her collar.
The wind blew harder and harder.
Her loose silver hair danced in the wind, and her soft pink celestial robes shimmered with radiant light under the glow of the festival lamps.
Countless flower petals drifted down, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.
With such a grand spectacle, it was impossible not to draw attention.
Along the riverbanks, the citizens looked up one after another.
As the dreamlike scene unfolded before their eyes, they didn't even notice the lanterns slipping from their hands and falling to the ground.
“That... That is...”
“It's the Divine Lady! It really is the Divine Lady!”
“The Divine Lady actually came to the festival!”
Someone was the first to fall to their knees, shouting toward the sky with eyes full of tears, “We welcome the Divine Lady!”
Immediately after.
The crowds on both sides of the river bowed down row after row, like waves of wheat rippling in the wind.
“We welcome the descent of the Divine Lady!”
【Shen Yu Shock Value +100】
【Pei Wanning Shock Value +100】
【Zhang San Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 535,200】
The Divine Lady hovered three feet above the river. The hem of her skirt hung less than half a foot from the water's surface, yet not a single drop touched it.
The river lanterns drifted slowly beneath her feet, their lights reflecting on the water in shimmering, brilliant ripples.
Ignoring the kneeling mortals, her gaze remained locked onto the small, frozen figure.
The child had long stopped smiling.
He held the candied hawthorns in his left hand and the lotus lantern in his right, with a mouthful of osmanthus cake he hadn't even had time to swallow.
The Divine Lady landed in front of him, her toes hovering three inches above the ground. Her skirt fluttered without any wind, and flower petals swirled around her.
“Spirit fox,” her voice was as cold as frost. “You have cultivated under my seat for three hundred years. When did I ever teach you that you could act willfully and disrupt the mortal world upon descending?”
The child shrank back, wishing he could bury his head in his chest. His eyes darted around as he tried to come up with an excuse.
But with sugar stains on his face and the stolen goods in his hands, he was caught red-handed. Anything he said would just be an excuse.
After stammering for a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out, “Divine Lady... I... I was just being playful for a moment...”
The Divine Lady suddenly raised her hand and tapped the air with her fingertip.
The child shuddered as if struck by lightning, and his body began to shrink rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, only a snow-white Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox remained in his place.
Its round, amber eyes were wet and watery as it looked innocently at the Divine Lady, its ears pinned back like airplane wings.
The entire fox was trembling slightly.
Rushing over from the stone bridge, Shen Yu and Pei Wanning understood what had happened when they saw the shivering spirit fox on the ground.
No wonder they hadn't seen the spirit fox earlier.
It turned out it had just wanted to play.
But then again, although the spirit fox under the Divine Lady was already three hundred years old, its voice was childish, and its human form was that of a young child. It was likely still in its infancy among spirit beasts, so it was only natural for it to be playful and greedy for treats.
The Divine Lady lowered her eyelids slightly and said calmly, “Spirit fox, considering you did not harm any mortals, I will not punish you severely. I sentence you to seven days of confinement. Follow me back to the Ninth Heaven.”
“Yes, Divine Lady...”
The spirit fox hung its head in dejection.
Catching sight of the stolen mask, lotus lantern, and candied hawthorns on the ground out of the corner of its eye, a trace of embarrassment flickered in its eyes. It asked cautiously, “Divine Lady, may I return the stolen items to their rightful owners before returning to the Ninth Heaven with you?”
“You may,” the Divine Lady replied.
The spirit fox lowered its head, picked up the items one by one, returned them to their owners, and apologized.
The last lantern belonged to a little girl. The spirit fox returned it to her and, just like before, muttered an apology.
It expected to be met with silence once again, but instead, a soft, sweet voice sounded by its ear.
“It's okay.” The little girl stared with big, round eyes. Looking at the spirit fox, she mumbled a bit unclearly, “My daddy taught me that acknowledging one's mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue. If you like this lantern, I can give it to you.”
The spirit fox froze slightly, a faint ache of warmth in its heart.
No wonder its Host liked helping these paper people. They really did seem a bit cute.
No, wait, this little paper person was clearly trying to win it over with a lousy lantern!
Humph, cunning paper person. It wouldn't fall for that.
Rate on N.U.
