Soon, the duo arrived at the heart of Birch City—the central plaza, where the Festival of Lasting was in full bloom.
The sky above was alight with floating lanterns, each one gently ascending. Thousands of tiny golden flames flickered inside paper frames of all hues—crimson, azure, ivory, and gold.
Each lantern bore a handwritten wish, a hope, a yearning etched into thin parchment. Some were scrawled with elegant brushstrokes, others scribbled in childish hand—but all carried fragments of longing, soaring upward into the silent night.
All around them, the plaza pulsed with life. Couples stood hand-in-hand, their eyes lifted to the sky. The soft hum of whispers, the sparkle of laughter, the quiet crackle of flame—all mingled into a melody of fleeting intimacy.
Zheng Xie walked beside Ling Xue, who remained quiet under her black robe. Though her expression was hidden, her silence wasn't empty—it was full of observation. Her head turned slightly as she took in the radiant scenery, and when she thought he wasn't looking, her gaze lingered on the floating lanterns with a strange softness.
Zheng Xie sneaked a sideways glance at her.
He smiled faintly. 'She's not indifferent… If she truly hated being close to me, she wouldn't have agreed to come in the first place.'
And yet, despite the subtle cues, one question gnawed at him: why did she keep herself at arm's length? Why did she hesitate?
She didn't resist his advances—but she also never stepped toward him either.
The looming ceremony was only weeks away. If she didn't accept his feelings soon… she might reject him when it mattered most. Even his family couldn't force her to marry him.
'I have to understand her tonight… or I might lose her for good.'
He took a step closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear it.
"Xue'er," he called gently.
She turned her head, her eyes finding his. "Yes?"
He gestured toward the sky where the lanterns floated. "Do you want to make a wish? We can let one go. I'm sure someone as graceful as you must have a secret wish…"
Her eyes narrowed beneath her hood. "If it's hidden… why would I write it on a paper lantern and send it flying across Birch City?" she replied with her usual composed sharpness. "Wouldn't that defeat the point of secrecy?"
He groaned dramatically and rolled his eyes. "You don't have to write your wish directly. Use metaphors, make a poem—veil your wish under pretentious words like poets do."
Ling Xue chuckled faintly. "So your suggestion is to lie in beautiful handwriting?"
"No," he smirked, "to dream in beautiful handwriting."
Her gaze softened a little. Then she looked toward the lantern vendors at the edge of the plaza. "Superstition or not… it won't hurt to try."
"That's the spirit," he grinned. "Let's go, before all the pretty ones are sold out."
They weaved through the crowd until they reached the vendor's stall, where lanterns of every size and hue were lined up on shelves and floating above, attached to thin strings.
Zheng Xie stepped forward. "How much for the lanterns?"
The vendor, a plump man with kind eyes and a sing-song voice, replied, "One copper tael for a plain lantern. Five for the fancy ones—flowers, embroidery, thread stitching. They fly higher."
Zheng Xie examined the decorative ones with care. They were beautifully made, with golden patterns inked in flowing script and corners tied with vermilion tassels.
"We'll take two of the fancy ones," he said, pulling out ten copper taels from his spatial ring and handing them over.
The vendor nodded, smiling. "May your wishes reach the heavens, young couple."
Zheng Xie turned and offered one of the lanterns to Ling Xue. She accepted it, but gave him a pointed look. "You didn't have to pay for mine too. I could've handled it."
He didn't even glance at her. His eyes were already scanning the blank parchment on his lantern, brush in hand. "You said it yourself—I'm the one courting you. The least I can do is pay for our first lantern together."
Ling Xue didn't argue further. She simply nodded once and watched as he carefully began writing on his parchment. His strokes were deliberate, elegant.
She turned away, lips slightly parted. Then she looked at her own lantern. For a moment she hesitated—what could she possibly wish for? What should she write?
After several seconds of thought, she too brought out her brush.
They finished in silence.
Then, together, they walked down to the edge of the wide stone railing overlooking the river that split through Birch City's heart.
Zheng Xie and Ling Xue stood side by side. A wind blew gently, stirring her robes and tousling a lock of his hair.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded.
Together, they released their lanterns into the sky.
Neither of them pried into the other's wish.
Zheng Xie and Ling Xue stood beside one another in serene silence, both keeping a respectful distance. Each had carefully released their lantern aloft, watching it join the thousands drifting upward into the night sky, carried by the wind.
Whatever wish they'd written remained private. There was no peeking, no teasing. Zheng Xie, despite his earlier dramatic flirtations, had only written a single word on his lantern:
"Peace."
…
Far from the glowing plaza, nestled in the dim corner of an alley near the food stalls, the trio of misfits gathered.
They huddled behind a vendor's cart, half-crouched, half-sprawled, blending into the night with their dark cloaks. The smell of grilled skewers and steamed dumplings wafted in the air, but their minds were consumed by one singular objective:
Operation: Sabotage Zheng Xie.
Wan Ruo, the ringleader of this brilliant idiocy, was currently peeking around the edge of the cart, spying on Zheng Xie and Ling Xue. His brows twitched. "Something's off…"
Yun Shi leaned in curiously. "What is it?"
Wan Ruo narrowed his eyes, voice hushed. "She's… she's looking at him. Way too much. That's at least the twelfth glance in five minutes. No normal girl stares that long unless—"
"Unless she likes him," Liang Yu interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Wow, what a revelation. You needed twelve glances to figure that out?"
Wan Ruo clicked his tongue in frustration. "I mean seriously! This isn't good! We can't let him be the first one among us to find love! We're the sad single squad! We suffer together, remember?"
Liang Yu gave him a long look, unimpressed. "First one? Don't try to lump yourself with us, you double-faced rat. Aren't you the one who switches crushes every other week?"
Yun Shi nodded gravely. "Yeah. Weren't you pursuing a sect cook last week? And the week before that, a wandering merchant's daughter?"
Wan Ruo's back was now pressed to the wall. He gulped, caught red-handed. "T-That's different! I get rejected every time, okay?! I know the pain of love unfulfilled! We've all been there. But Zheng Xie—he's not like us. He's… handsome. Charismatic even when quiet. Girls like that kind of stuff!"
Liang Yu snorted. "You forgot to add: emotionally stable, doesn't chase after three women at once."
"Yeah," Yun Shi chimed in. "Zheng Xie's a solid guy. Loyal. Steady. He's been pursuing Sister Ling Xue for, what, two years now? He deserves this. Let him have it."
Wan Ruo looked conflicted. His shoulders sagged. "I… I guess you're right. It was a dumb idea."
Liang Yu nodded and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It was."
Yun Shi mirrored him from the other side. "But you realized your mistake. That's what matters."
Wan Ruo exhaled. "I just… I guess I was jealous. We've been together for years—training, laughing, surviving. And yet he's the one who gets to walk hand-in-hand with a girl like that. I let that jealousy get the better of me. Thanks for slapping some sense into me, brothers."
Liang Yu smiled faintly. "As long as you know."
Yun Shi's eyes sparkled as his gaze drifted to the music stage nearby. "Let's go listen to that zither performance. The music's kind of nice… soothing. Might cleanse our idiotic thoughts."
Wan Ruo perked up. "Yeah, that melody is something else. I wonder if the girl playing it is as beautiful as the music."
Yun Shi squinted. "Wait, who said it's a girl?"
Liang Yu tilted his head. "Exactly. Why would you assume that?"
Wan Ruo raised his chin with complete confidence. "You really think a guy could play something that melodious? Please. Only a woman could put that much grace into each note."
Yun Shi scratched his cheek. "...He's not entirely wrong."
Liang Yu sighed. "He might have a point…"
The three brothers turned toward the sound of the music, suddenly forgetting their earlier mission entirely. Operation Sabotage had been successfully dismantled—by common sense.
…
Back at the edge of the plaza, Zheng Xie stood silently, his gaze lifted toward the night sky. His lantern floated gently, twirling in the air alongside dozens of others.
Then, as if fate itself had a cruel sense of humor, another lantern—larger, heavier, poorly balanced—drifted straight into his. The collision was gentle, but fatal. The thin paper of his lantern tore open. Its fragile structure crumpled, and in a pitiful, almost mocking spiral, it fell from the sky.
Zheng Xie's face remained unreadable.
He watched his wish descend, flickering briefly before fading from view entirely.
Beside him, Ling Xue flinched. She had seen it too. Her gaze flickered toward Zheng Xie with caught between guilt and sorrow. "Brother Zheng," she said softly, her voice feather-light in the breeze. "This is just superstition… It doesn't mean anything. Your wish—it will come true one day, I'm sure of it."
But Zheng Xie didn't look at her.
He simply murmured, "Dreams, at the end of the day… are just superstitions."
His voice was calm, a little too calm.
Then he turned to her with a faint smile. "Come. Let's go listen to the zither performance. I think you'll enjoy it."
Ling Xue hesitated for a moment, eyes searching his face. But seeing he didn't wish to linger on the moment, she simply nodded. "Alright."
They walked deeper into the heart of the plaza.
The plaza's center was a radiant spectacle. All the attention was drawn to the open clearing where a raised wooden stage stood surrounded by dozens of mesmerized onlookers.
There, seated cross-legged before an elegant zither, was a veiled beauty.
Her long fingers danced across the strings with a grace that seemed unearthly. The sound she conjured wasn't just music—it was magic. Each note rippled outward like a drop of rain on still water, entrancing all who heard it.
Zheng Xie's eyes sharpened the moment he stepped within the melody's reach.
Celestial Grade Technique—[Entrancing Melody]
Subtle, nearly flawless. A spiritual technique that didn't bind the body, but instead gently ensnared the heart, invoking serenity, awe, and desire in equal measure. A dangerous tool in the hands of someone beautiful and skilled.
But not effective against him.
Zheng Xie's soul cultivation stood at the Resonant Soul Realm—a realm far above that of any ordinary cultivator. While soul and spirit weren't identical, they overlapped in key areas. His spiritual resistance was as solid as someone from Nascent Soul Realm.
He turned his gaze toward Ling Xue beside him. She seemed dazed, lips slightly parted, her gaze fixed on the performer. Yet something about her posture suggested she hadn't succumbed to the technique—at least not completely.
"She's amazing…" Ling Xue murmured. "So serene, so calm… it feels like my heart's floating down a river with no end."
Zheng Xie smiled slightly, but he didn't explain the truth behind the performance. Instead, he offered his hand. "If you like her music that much, why not listen more closely?"
Without waiting for permission, he gently took her hand.
Her eyes widened, but she didn't resist. She was used to it now.
With calm and quiet confidence, he led her forward—into the crowd, weaving through the dazed spectators. Some people shifted to make room; others were nudged out of the way without even realizing it.
Zheng Xie moved with purpose, his hold on Ling Xue firm but gentle. She followed, the music drawing her closer. Before long, they reached the front of the crowd—just a few feet from the stage.
And that's when the performer's eyes opened.
Her gaze landed immediately on Zheng Xie, as though she had felt his presence before seeing him. Her hands didn't falter, but her lips curled ever so slightly beneath her silk veil.
'Mask…' she thought. 'So you're here… finally.'
With a final graceful sweep of her fingers, she ended the melody in a soft trill. The zither fell silent.
A wave of confusion passed through the crowd. Like people waking from a dream, they blinked rapidly, glancing around as if unsure where they were or what they'd been doing. Murmurs spread.
"Did she stop playing?"
"What happened?"
"Was that the end of the performance?"
Then, before the questions could fester, the veiled performer rose to her feet and bowed deeply. Her posture was graceful to the point of being otherworldly.
Then she looked up, placing a delicate finger under her chin as she tilted her head to the crowd.
"My dear admirers," she spoke, her voice silky and laced with charm, "this humble girl is honored to have your ears tonight. As thanks, I would like to give something in return."
Her voice alone made the air hum.
"A performance… unlike any other. A dance, shared with one of you. Just one."
The crowd erupted into excited gasps and whispers.
"A dance?"
"She's going to dance with one of us?!"
"Please pick me! I was the first one here!"
"Choose me, goddess! I haven't bathed in three days just to preserve your melody!"
The performer giggled—a sound like chimes in a summer breeze.
Zheng Xie, however, did not laugh.
His fingers tightened around Ling Xue's hand for the briefest second. He narrowed his eyes behind his calm exterior.
Ling Xue also stared at the performer a little longer than necessary. Something about the way she spoke, unsettled her.
She understood now why the people were so entranced. She was using some kind of charming technique and the fact she just stopped… felt off.