Techniques and Dao

Chapter 10 Pear Garden Lantern Festival (1)

Visiting the park. Lantern festival.

The flowers were in full bloom, surrounded by dazzling lights and colorful lights.

The seven-colored paper lanterns illuminated Wei Yu's cheeks, giving them a slightly alluring blush.

"Have you been waiting for a long time?" Wei Yu asked with a hint of apology in her voice.

"No! No, I just arrived!" Even if she had waited here for ten days, Hua Sheng would still give this answer.

Have you ever been to a lantern festival before?

"I visited the Lantern Festival before coming here, but there were none after I arrived in St. Pingning."

“Oh, I remember now. You said you’ve been staying in Xi’s courtyard and haven’t gone out much. Where do you want to go? I’ll go with you,” Wei Yu said.

"I'm fine with anything. Everywhere is new and exciting. I'll just wander around."

"Let's go buy some honey! There's a famous honey shop that has a stall at the lantern festival today." Perhaps infected by the lively atmosphere of the lantern festival, Wei Yu became as lively as a child after entering the market.

Hana-sheng naturally agreed, thinking that nectar must be something like honey.

The two arrived at a stall. On the left side of the stall were written in calligraphy: "The vibrant colors of flowers have faded," and on the right side, "Apricot blossoms and pear blossoms await your return." Above hung a signboard with the shop's name: "Butterflies in Full Bloom."

A young woman dressed in colorful stripes was busy arranging large, fist-sized, colorful flowers in small, transparent vases on the table.

Wei Yu walked over and waved to the young woman, "Hello, Sister Die Ling!"

The young woman raised her head, and two long tentacles on her head twitched. Hua Sheng initially thought it was a hairpin, but upon closer inspection, it was indeed two thin, golden tentacles. This proprietress was actually a butterfly spirit.

"Just call me Xiao Zhu," Die Ling greeted with a smile. "Little sister, would you like some honey?"

"Blessings, boss! Peach blossom and osmanthus." Then Wei Yu turned to Hua Sheng and asked, "Which one would you like to drink?"

"I'm fine with either."

"How about we get another camellia and an orchid?"

"Alright! Just a moment." The young butterfly spirit skillfully picked four flowers from the flowerbed in front of her: a peach blossom, an osmanthus, a camellia, and an orchid. Surprisingly, even the smallest osmanthus flower was bigger than a fist. And Hua Sheng had almost never seen an osmanthus flower bigger than a fingernail before.

Butterfly wrapped the four flowers in pairs with paper as requested, took out a tube about half the thickness of a little finger, inserted it into the flowers, and handed it to Weiyu. Weiyu then waved her hand above the cash box on the table to pay the bill.

Hua Sheng quickly said, "Why are you paying?"

Wei Yu laughed and said, "Are you worried about not having a chance to pay the bill?"

Indeed, men never have to worry about not having a chance to pay the bill.

Hua Sheng shyly accepted the two flowers from Wei Yu's hand, their fragrance filling the air. But considering the flowers were only the size of a fist and she couldn't possibly finish them all in one gulp, she asked, "Isn't that a bit too few? Should we buy a few more?"

Upon hearing this, Butterfly Spirit smiled and said to Hua Sheng, "Young man, is this your first time drinking our honey? You probably won't be able to finish these two flowers even if you drink them until tomorrow!"

"Don't let their small size and light weight fool you, they're packed with nectar. I was just being greedy today, buying two to taste more; usually I only drink from one at most," Wei Yu said. "After we're done, the flowers can be kept on the table. Their fragrance will drift from the house into the yard, which I love."

"I really don't go out enough; my hair is short and my knowledge is limited." Hua Sheng took a sip of the nectar, finding it refreshing and invigorating, its aroma filling his mouth. He nodded repeatedly, taking several more gulps. The sweet nectar flowed down his throat into his stomach, making his entire body feel incredibly refreshed. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! This is truly an amazing drink!"

Wei Yu covered her mouth with her long sleeve and laughed, "Looks like you've been cooped up in the Xi Academy for too long. Be careful you don't end up becoming a bookworm instead of learning magic!"

Hanamori had never gone shopping alone with a girl before, and felt stiff and awkward when walking and talking. In contrast, Miyu was much more relaxed, leading Hanamori through the market stalls on both sides.

"Are you a member of the Immortal Clan?" After much hesitation, Hua Sheng finally asked the question he had always wanted to ask.

"No. I should say it's the Spirit Race," Wei Yu replied casually, glancing at the trinkets on the stall.

"The Spirit Race? Are they animals transformed?" After saying that, Hua Sheng felt that he had been a bit rude. "I'm sorry. I've never had any dealings with the Spirit Race before."

“Well, no. How should I put it?” Wei Yu replied, “Most fairies are transformed from animals or plants, but I’m a little different.”

"Then who are you?"

"Me? I am a piece of paper. Or rather, a piece of paper covered with words."

"Paper can turn into a fairy?" This was the first time Hua Sheng had ever heard of such a thing.

"A blank sheet of paper may not be enough, but words can. Because language itself may contain a mysterious power. For example, it can make the timid brave and the fragile strong."

"So, language can possess magical powers?"

"Why not?" Wei Yu smiled slightly. "So some things can't be said lightly."

"And what about your family?"

“I have no family.” Wei Yu’s voice sounded somewhat lonely. “I’ve been alone since I can remember.”

"Huh?" Hua Sheng recalled that she grew up in an orphanage. The hardships she endured were not something outsiders could easily understand, but meeting a girl with a similar experience, she suddenly felt a sense of empathy. "It must have been very difficult, how did you manage to live?"

“The Elven race is different from humans; they can sometimes survive alone. Because I’ve never thought of relying on anyone, everything makes sense to me.” Wei Yu then asked, “And how about you?”

When talking about herself, Hua Sheng didn't know where to begin: "I grew up in an orphanage. Although there were many people around me, I often felt lonely. I can't quite describe the feeling. It might have been lively around me, but the staff at the orphanage were all too busy. It was like a big family with many, many children. So the elders would always focus their attention on the children who cried. As for me, I didn't get much attention from the adults."

Do you crave attention?

Hanamori was somewhat surprised by the question: "Doesn't everyone want a lot of people to care about them?"

"Really? Is that how it's supposed to be?" Wei Yu looked somewhat puzzled.

"Don't you want that?"

"do not wish."

Hua Sheng couldn't understand how there could be people in this world who never needed anyone to care about them. After thinking about it, she wondered if only humans would have such thoughts, and that the gods or immortals of Sheng Pingning didn't need them? So she said, "I thought this was the norm."

Wei Yu said, "People always expect to be cared for endlessly, but this only breeds greed."

"But judging from your appearance, you don't seem like a cold person."

"I only need what I value, and even then, not too much. Emotions are like watering flowers; endless thirst will only lead to one's own destruction."

Hua Sheng was speechless. He realized that Wei Yu was far more mature than him. It seemed that Wei Yu knew the boundaries of emotion and how to control them. He and Wei Yu had both lacked love from adults since childhood, but he was like a hiker trekking through the desert without water for a long time, while Wei Yu knew exactly what she wanted. In this respect, Wei Yu was indeed much more rational than him. "Actually, since arriving in Shengpingning, I've been very uneasy." To the slightly mature girl in front of him, Hua Sheng spoke the words that had been weighing on his mind.

"You're not used to it here?"

“After all, it’s completely different from the world I came from. And I’ve also lost the memory of why I got here.” Hua Sheng was silent for a moment, then continued, “I can’t explain why, but I have a feeling that what I’ve forgotten is something very, very important.”

"If it's so important, why did you forget it?"

"I don't know either, and considering what happened with the Samadhi Fire last time, I'm worried that what I've forgotten might be the reason why this place can't accept me."

"Isn't that perfect? ​​You have to believe that you have your reasons for coming here," Wei Yu suddenly said. "That day we met on the white jade bridge, guess what I was going to do on the mountaintop?"

"doing what?"

"The Xuanwu Spirit Serpent lives in the Lingyan Tower on the mountaintop, but it has long lost its magic power and withered into hibernation, having been asleep for thousands of years. I feel sorry for it, so I go and tell it stories whenever I have time."

"Telling stories? You tell stories to specimens?"

“It’s not a specimen!” Wei Yu glared at Hua Sheng. “It’s just hibernating. It’s been hibernating for a long time.”

"That's pretty much like telling a bedtime story?"

Wei Yu nodded.

"What's the point?"

"It's meaningless. Why should it be meaningful? Perhaps it's because I understand this feeling of loneliness, so I'm willing to sit there and tell it stories. Maybe I can't hear them, and even if I could, I wouldn't understand them. But slowly I've realized that these stories are actually told to myself. When I was little, I was alone, so I always told myself stories before going to bed."

Hua Sheng felt a pang of sadness. As an orphan herself, she could understand how this little girl had endured countless cold nights.

"You are very kind. You have also suffered a lot."

Looking at the colorful lights floating in the air, Wei Yu said, "Every living being in this world has its own path to walk. We have many important things to do, so there's no need to feel sorry for ourselves."

Hua Sheng thought to himself, perhaps this was the reason why Tai Shang Xiao Jun had always been so cold to outsiders. Coldness was a protective shield. But since this girl was willing to communicate, he certainly couldn't betray this rare friendship.

At this moment, Wei Yu stopped in front of a small shop. Hua Sheng looked up and saw that the stall was called "Under the Moon".

The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a long beard. Above the table in front of him hung rows of glass bottles with red ropes. Each transparent bottle contained a shimmering sphere, some round, some crescent-shaped. Hua Sheng leaned closer for a closer look and discovered that the center of each suspended bottle was actually a tiny moon. The reason they appeared different shapes was because each sphere emitted light from a different part. The little moon illuminated the entire glass bottle, making it incredibly beautiful and irresistible.

When Wei Yu saw this, she was like a child who had discovered a beloved toy. She stood there happily, playing with each toy one by one, reluctant to put them down.

Seeing that Wei Yu liked these trinkets so much, Hua Sheng asked the middle-aged man, "Boss, what are these?"

“It’s moonlight. Every day’s moonlight,” the middle-aged man replied.

"You mean, moonlight?" Hanamori asked to confirm.

"The dates are engraved on the bottom of the bottle," said the bearded man.

Hua Sheng looked over the bottom of the bottle and saw that one bottle bottom was engraved with "the eighth month of autumn in the year of Yi Chou, the day of Bing Zi", and the other bottle bottom was engraved with "the third month of spring in the year of Wu Zi, the day of Ji Mao".

"Boss, what is this made of?"

"It's made from the stones from the moon that day."

"Every year?"

“Just tell me the date, and I can find dates from the past thousand years.”

"I want tonight's!" Wei Yu stared intently at the small bottles. "Boss, do you have tonight's moonlight?"

The man stroked his long beard and said, "Little girl, I have all the moonlight from the past. Tonight's moonlight has just arrived. Do you want it?"

"Yes! Yes!" Wei Yu said almost without thinking.

"But you haven't asked the price yet."

Hua Sheng quickly said, "I'll buy it. How much does the moonlight cost tonight?"

The man looked at the flower and said, "One thousand four hundred and eighty-six yuan and seventy-two cents."

"What a strange price!" Hua Sheng wondered, but then remembered that she did have over a thousand in savings. She wasn't sure exactly how much, but she wasn't sure if the amount the shopkeeper mentioned actually existed. "Sir, I'm not sure if I have that much money."

The man said, "You can try making a payment and see if you have enough balance."

Hua Sheng waved his hand at the cash box on the table. The payment was successful. But when he checked his account, it showed zero yuan.

"Huh? You cleared my account to zero. Boss, you really 'spend it all in one month'!" Hua Sheng said. "Now I'm truly: all four basic necessities of life are gone."

"Giving your all for the right person, how could it not be worth it?" the man laughed. "Young man, the emotions between people may seem intangible, but perhaps they are a red thread that mortals cannot see. And isn't this red thread a kind of higher-dimensional bond? If it doesn't actually exist, why does breaking it cause such heartache? Cherish it."

The man turned around, opened a large wooden box behind him, took out a palm-sized red cloth bag, and handed it to Weiyu, saying, "This is tonight's moonlight. Child, take good care of it and don't break it."

"Okay! Don't worry, I'll take good care of it!" Wei Yu smiled, her eyes crinkling into slits, like a child who had just received a gift. She eagerly opened the cloth bag and took out the glass bottle. Inside the bottle was a crescent moon, quietly radiating an elegant, pure white light.

As Wei Yu walked, she looked at the small bottle, occasionally picking it up to compare it with the bright moon in the sky: "The moonlight is so beautiful tonight! I want to carry it with me all the time, so that every time I see it, I'll remember how happy I am right now!"

Seeing Wei Yu's delighted expression, Hua Sheng was also satisfied.

The two strolled around for a while longer when Wei Yu suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, I told you before that I had to leave tonight to take care of some things. You go into the theater and wait for me. I should be able to make it before Yue Ying's performance. I'll come straight to your seat!" With that, she took out the ticket from the last time Hua Sheng had been with her and handed it to him.

Hua Sheng glanced at the screen; there was still half an hour before the show started. "It's alright, I'll wait for you at the entrance so we can go in together."

Wei Yu smiled and said, "This is your first time coming to the Peking Opera to see a performance, so don't miss the wonderful warm-up show!"

Hua Sheng couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he had to give up. After saying goodbye to Wei Yu, he strolled around the lantern festival market for a while, but found it boring, so he headed towards the performance ticket checkpoint.

The performance venue was built on the lake embankment, an open-air venue with the entire stage and seating area elevated over the lake, resembling a softball field at first glance. From a distance, the venue was brightly lit, with over a dozen enormous beams of light shining back and forth towards the sky, creating a vibrant and spectacular atmosphere!
After passing through the ticket gate, the staff gave Hua Sheng a metal bracelet. The bracelet was exquisitely crafted, with Sanskrit carvings on it and the three characters "Linglong Huan" (玲珑环) engraved in the center.

"What's this for?" Hua Sheng asked the ticket checker. "Do I need to wear it to enter?"

"This is a sealing ring. For the safety of the performance, all offensive immortal spells of the wearer at the Xuanming level and above will be sealed. If the performance requires magical support, some spells will be unsealed. Then you can cast the immortal spells. We will help remove it after the performance."

What is "artificial aid"? Hua Sheng didn't quite understand. "Let's ask her when Wei Yu comes," she thought.

(End of this chapter)