Arc 4
Ten Years Lanterns (5)
A bonus chapter thanks to WillieCoyote!
The river lantern drifted down with the water and the stars. Shen Jingfeng stood by the river with his sword in his hand. As if he could see, his focus fell on the river, like he was observing the river lantern float away.
That name wasn’t a name that should have been mentioned to this girl, who he had only known for a few months. It was an impulse on his side. Myriads of thoughts crowded his mind. Perhaps because this day was a special day; Perhaps because she gave him a sense of familiarity, the name that had been hidden by the Wulin for so many years escaped his lips. He noticed his slip by then and stayed silent. Fortunately, the girl didn’t ask more about the story behind it, she just asked, “Your Mother must be a very gentle person, right?”
“Yes.” Shen Jingfeng smiled with nostalgia in his eyes. “She is an especially good person.”
Ye Chen didn’t speak. From the steps, she studied the young man in moonlight standing by the water.
The river lanterns were lit and the wind caressed his hair. Ye Chen quietly gazed at him. She got the feeling that at this very moment, his eyes crossed thousands of rivers and mountains and landed in one particular place.
She lifted her hand and gently set it on his shoulder, “She must hope for you to live well.”
Shen Jingfeng was taken aback and looked up at Ye Chen.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he shut his lips and said nothing.
Ye Chen led him on the way back. Not long after walking, someone bumped into Ye Chen. Ye Chen was about to swear when she noticed something missing. She touched her waist and exclaimed, “My purse!”
“Guniang, stay still. I’ll catch him.” Shen Jingfeng spoke and Ye Chen before he could stop him, Shen Jingfeng had stepped over the eaves and pursued the thief.
With his condition, his hearing had become better and he could discern the thief’s footsteps. Ye Chen wanted him not to chase, but the other party was a step faster than her. She didn’t dare to move around so she stood aside. After a while, a voice came from behind her, “Guniang, is this your purse?”
Ye Chen tilted her head and saw a young man in light purple.
Purple was not a particularly easy color to suit. But, worn by this young man, these light purple clothes suit him to fit. The fair complexion of the young man created an illusion of femininity within his handsomeness.
He carried a purse in one hand and his other hand was on his back. He smiled like a cunning fox.
Ye Chen froze in place.
Good looking! This face, she liked it!
The other party seemed to be accustomed to this kind of reaction and didn’t consider Ye Chen to be rude. He smiled and asked again, “Guniang, is this yours?”
“Yes, yes,” Ye Chen responded. She stepped forward and received the purse in her hands. She looked up and smiled, “Thank you.”
“Only a thank you?”
The other party grinned. Ye Chen was caught off guard. The other party raised his fan and pointed to the wonton[1] stall next to them, “How about a bowl of wonton? His wonton is good. The boss is from Suzhou[2], so the taste is very authentic.”
“Okay.” His way of recommending the wonton made Ye Chen regard him as a fellow foodie. She said, “As a fellow who shares the same appreciation of food, we met by fate today. Let me treat you to a bowl of wonton.”
“Very well,” the other party nodded, “Actually, in addition to wonton, there are many delicious snacks and pastries in this street which I am very familiar with…”
“Lead the way!” Ye Chen said at once, “I’ll treat you!”
Accompanied by beauty and food, Ye Chen believed that her life was complete.
Thus, the two sat on the wonton stall and began to share a heart-to-heart conversation about foods and their location. They deemed that the other party was remarkably good and cited them as confidants.
Ye Chen invited him to eat the tofu by the stone bridge tomorrow. In return, the other party invited Ye Chen to eat roast duck in the future.
They chattered while they ate. Seconds passed for an unknown time and a figure appeared beside their table.
On the side stood a handsome young man with a disposition like the orchid and moon. His hand was set on his sword. He wore a smile on his face and called out, “Guniang.”
Ye Chen jolted and spun around. She caught sight of Shen Jingfeng and sensed a cold aura exuding from him.
She remembered that Shen Jingfeng had asked her to stay still… Em, she seemed to have moved more than ten steps. Luckily Shen Jingfeng had good hearing even though he was currently blind. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to find her.
Remorse poured to Ye Chen’s heart and she hurriedly said, “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just, this young man found my purse, so I invited him to eat wonton. The wonton here is very delicious. Would you like to have a bowl?”
“It would be disrespectful for Jingfeng to refuse.” Shen Jingfeng had no other expression on his face except for his smile. Ye Chen quickly clasped his hand and tugged. He followed Ye Chen’s hand and sat down next to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen ordered another bowl of wonton to the boss. She expressed to Shen Jingfeng, “It’s really delicious! Come on, have a try.”
“Mn.” Shen Jingfeng replied. His vision darted to the young man opposite them. With a smile always on his face, he asked, “Is this the Gongzi that helped Guniang with her purse?”
“Mn.” The other party’s attitude toward Shen Jingfeng was not the same as toward Ye Chen. He wasn’t interested in talking with him. He admitted, “It’s me.”
“Then, I thank Gongzi on behalf of Guniang. May I have Gongzi name? I will visit Gongzi to express our thanks in the future.”
“My surname is Mo. My forename is Ming. The Ming of Mingtian.”
“Mo-gongzi.” Shen Jingfeng acknowledged, “I’m Shen Jingfeng, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Mn.” The man didn’t pay much attention to Shen Jingfeng. Instead, he set his gaze at Ye Chen and said with a smile, “I still don’t know the Guniang name?”
“I…”
“The Guniang has not left her boudoir yet[3]. It’s inconvenient for outsiders to know her name.” Shen Jingfeng cut in. Ye Chen was stunned. At this time, the wonton arrived. Shen Jingfeng took a spoon and bowed his head to eat.
Mo Ming propped his chin and scrutinized Ye Chen with interest, “I am not allowed to know her name, at least, I can know her family name, right?”
“I…”
“It’s delicious.” Ye Chen was interrupted again, Shen Jingfeng tilted his head and faced Ye Chen with a smile, “Guniang, it’s late. It’s time to go back.”
Shen Jingfeng rose to his feet and took the initiative to hold Ye Chen’s hand for the first time. He bid goodbye to Mo Ming: “Mo-gongzi, goodbye.”
“Byebye” Ye Chen and Mo Ming mouthed at each other and waved their hands at the same time.
Mo Ming couldn’t refrain from laughing, While he watched Ye Chen and Shen Jingfeng went back hand-in-hand, a man appeared behind Mo Ming, “Jiaozhu, shall Shen Jingfeng be killed?”
“Kill him for what?” Mo Ming knitted his brows, “Don’t mess around like Yue Sheng. I never wanted to unify the Wulin. Those who dare to collude with Yue Sheng again, throw them into the snake pit!”
“Understood.” The other party curtsied right away, “This subordinate will withdraw.”
“Wait wait!” Mo Ming opened his mouth and pointed in the direction of Shen Jingfeng and Ye Chen, “Go and find out who that Guniang is.”
“Jiaozhu?” The other party stared at him blankly. Mo Ming was at the age where the whole Demon Sect urged him to get married. He had always been romantic and affectionate to many, and his relationship with Yue Sheng was unclear. Still, the subordinates around him knew that their Sect Leader never invested his feelings in them, his actions were just perfunctory, even to the Saintess.
He never asked for a woman out of his volition, this was the first.
The bewilderment in his subordinate’s eyes created ripples on Mo Ming’s eyes, or now Mo Xingchen’s.
“That Guniang is suitable to be the Jiaozhu’s wife. Her face is really beautiful, way better than Yue Sheng. Don’t you think so?”
The Subordinate, “…”
A decision to take a wife out of nowhere? Jiaozhu?! Are you serious?! Not only that, you want to marry a wife, just marry, why do you ask for my opinion?!
Shen Jingfeng tugged Ye Chen away, Ye Chen was puzzled by his actions but she could sense her heart throbbing.
She indeed had held his hand so many times, but this was the first time he held her hand first. Ye Chen blushed and felt very shy (〃ω〃)[4]. She remained silent the whole way.
38 was shocked by Ye Chen’s womanly shyness. Its game console dropped to the ground, “The fuck is wrong with you? Isn’t it just holding hands?”
“It’s not the same. You won’t understand,” Ye Chen voiced shyly, “How can a single AI like you understand my mood.”
“You…!” 38 fumed, “If it weren’t for your slow completion of the task, which caused me to have no way to upgrade, I would have registered for the Blind Date System!”
“Alright, alright. I understand,” Ye Chen surrendered, “I’ll do my task. I’ll do it well this time, are we good?”
Ye Chen and 38 quarreled until their faces turned red. Shen Jingfeng mulled over things silently while walking and he only found out that Ye Chen’s hand was still in his hold. He quickly let go of his hand and apologized, “I stepped out of line.”
“Mn……” Ye Chen was left without words from her shyness. Shen Jingfeng pursed his lips. He didn’t know how to explain this.
He didn’t want Ye Chen to have deep feelings for him. After all, people like him……
Was doomed to not have anything beautiful in this world.
However, tonight, he returned and couldn’t find Ye Chen. Later, he heard Ye Chen chatting happily with a completely strange man and couldn’t resist the impulse to hold Ye Chen’s hand.
He understood clearly what he was doing at that stall. He was warning the man opposite them while also hinting at his relationship with Ye Chen. This person is not someone you should have an idea about! Back off!
But, when all was said and done, he regretted it and became embarrassed. He didn’t know what he should say at this point.
Ye Chen broke the silence and held his hand, “Let’s return. I’ll bring you to eat delicious food another day.”
Shen Jingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head, “As Guniang wishes.”
38’s voice popped in her mind, “Congratulations, the Favorabiility Value is 27, 3 points more and he will promise to stay with you for a year, otherwise, when his eyes are fine, he will not stay.”
“Say, how about…” Ye Chen pondered, “I blind him again, so he will stay with me?”
38 was taken aback and directly reacted, “Sure enough. The most poisonous thing in this world is a woman.”
“So, what do you think about my suggestion?”
“Host, I think it’s better for you not to dig a hole for yourself. Think about it. You blind him for the second time, if he knows it in the future, he will blacken in seconds. Believe me or not?”
“Mn…” Ye Chen had a guilty conscience when the system said that.
“And if you keep poking the task’s target blind, I must always ask the Main System for the medicine. It will be detrimental to your points. Do the task well, it’s only 3 points more. If you fail at it, just listen to my advice.”
“Listen to you?”
“Push him down!”
Ye Chen, “……”
Your idea is too tempting.
On the other side, Mo Xingchen had inquired about Ye Chen’s background. He propped his chin and pondered, “You say, how can I genuinely get close to this Guniang without seeming artificial?”
The subordinates thought for a long time. One of them pipped, “Being chased by killers?”
A wounded young man who was chased by killers dropped at the foot of a doctor. Nothing would go wrong…… right?
Footnotes
馄饨 – hún tun. Dumpling with filling. Can be served in soup or fried.↵
苏州 – sū zhōu. A province in Jiangsu. Suzhou has their own wonton specialty.↵
尚未出阁 – shàngwèi chū gé. not yet out of the boudoir = not yet married.↵
The kaomoji is in the original text.↵
Ry’s Corner
A wounded young man who was chased by killers dropped at the foot of a doctor. Nothing would go wrong…… right?
Heh.
Bonus chapters:
2 out of 10 done.
Please consider checking ‘The Memory Lost in Space‘ in case you like a good read(feels)! I’m gonna always put this here because I’m obsessed with it! No thanks needed.
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Words count (excluding title, footnotes, TL’s corner): 2177
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The chatting guest on the seat went, so the book slept.
Lol.. sure nothing will go wrong except…. She might just poke you blind too xD
Many thanks
She will poke everyone blind.
Thanks for the chapter!!!
Really really love this chapter😚😚