Ruyi seemed a bit embarrassed.
Lihua blinked and looked around, then asked, “Are you hot?”
Ruyi paused and said, “No, not at all.”
Lihua didn’t press.
Its eyes were drawn to the Temple Fair’s bright lights and lively crowd.
For Lihua, it wasn’t fond of noisy and crowded places. But after seeing this, it realized such scenes could be nice after all.
“Candied Hawthorn…”
“Fine Rouge here…”
“Dong dong dong! Fried pastries, piping hot! Come take a look, folks! Money ready…”
Calls echoed across the Temple Fair, weaving into the bustling liveliness of the Mortal World.
Chen Changsheng lifted his gaze. “So busy…”
It felt like he hadn’t seen such liveliness in ages.
Countless Water Demons once gathered over the Desolate Sea, a grand and immense sight. Yet, to Chen Changsheng, even that paled next to this Temple Fair.
It was the vibrant energy of the Mortal World he cherished most.
Lihua the Tabby Cat looked at the expression in Chen Changsheng’s eyes. It had never seen such a look on him before.
It simply thought Good Human Chen, like itself, enjoyed the fair.
Watching this, Ruyi spoke. “Uncle Chen, let’s go solve Lantern Riddles!”
Lihua was curious about Lantern Riddles too, and turned its eyes to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng said, “Let’s go take a look.”
The crowd guessing Lantern Riddles was large and tight. They waited a moment before pushing forward.
“Prizes for correct answers! Everyone come see!”
The person tending the Lantern Riddle stall wore a scholar’s robe, radiating calm and grace. A faint, sweet scent hung around him. Cool green bamboo shoots stood beside the stall, adding a quiet elegance.
Seeing him, Chen Changsheng paused.
An acquaintance? Not exactly. He wasn’t human either.
When the scholar’s gaze swept the crowd and landed on the man in the Blue Robe, he paused too.
Chen Changsheng nodded and stepped forward.
“I might try this one?” Chen Changsheng said.
The scholar hesitated, then nodded. “When did Mr. Chen arrive in Qingshan City?”
“Just the last day or two,” Chen Changsheng answered.
Ruyi paused. “You know each other, Uncle Chen?”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “This is Master Zhu.”
The scholar scrambled to correct, “No, no! How could this lowly fellow be called ‘Master’ in Mr. Chen’s presence? Miss, please call me Zhusheng, or just Scholar.”
Ruyi blinked. “Someone Uncle Chen calls ‘Master’? That must mean your Lantern Riddles are super hard!”
The scholar smiled. “Not really. Too difficult and no one would play. It needs to be just right.”
Ruyi recalled something. “I remember! It was you last year!”
The scholar smiled wider. “I’ve been here at the Temple Fair these past five or six years.”
Chen Changsheng remarked, “I thought you’d be in Shangjing.”
After all, Yan Ruchu was Emperor now.
The scholar smiled warmly. “You tease me, sir. How could someone like me move close to the Emperor?”
Chen Changsheng said simply, “You chose not to go.”
The scholar just smiled. He didn’t deny it. Chen Changsheng had hit the mark.
Ruyi was confused. She stiffened slightly at the word “Emperor.”
What did Emperors have to do with this? And which Emperor?
The current Imperial Majesty?
Lihua nudged her gently.
Ruyi paused. “Hm? What?”
Lihua leaned close and whispered into her ear.
Ruyi’s eyes went wide. “Oh! So he’s…?”
Lihua nodded silently.
Ruyi stared at the scholar. She truly hadn’t guessed at all!
How strange.
Lived over twenty years and never met one. Then, two Monsters in a single day!
Feeling Ruyi’s stare, the scholar looked back, noticing the Tabby Cat on her shoulder too.
He paused, turning to Chen Changsheng. “Your cat, Mr. Chen?”
“A friend,” Chen Changsheng clarified.
The scholar looked again. “That cat carries a trace of Evil Qi. Quite like an Evil Spirit I once saw in the Western Lands.”
Ruyi asked nervously, “Evil Qi?”
Chen Changsheng explained, “Lihua merely touched something evil. Not Evil Qi itself.”
“Oh, of course,” the scholar said quickly. “I worried needlessly.”
Silly of him. Mr. Chen would have seen it, naturally.
Chen Changsheng asked directly, “How come you run a stall now?”
The scholar explained, “Years ago, I met the old gentleman who ran this Lantern Riddle stall. We lived nearby. Each year before the Temple Fair, he’d ask me to write some riddles. We grew friendly over time.”
“Then, one year, just as the Fair was about to happen, that old gentleman… reached the end of his life. Before leaving, he gave me this stall setup. Since I had little else to do, I set it up here at the fair. Turns out I find it enjoyable! So I keep doing it year after year.”
“The old gentleman…” Ruyi looked at Chen Changsheng. “Uncle Chen? Could that be… the owner from when I solved riddles as a child?”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “It was him.”
Ruyi brightened. “Really!?”
The scholar looked pleased. “So, Mr. Chen knew that old gentleman too?”
“Just guessed a riddle here many years ago.”
“I see!”
The scholar smiled warmly. “That is a coincidence!”
He paused. “But I nearly forgot! Mr. Chen and the young lady came to solve riddles?”
“I won’t try,” Chen Changsheng said. “Can’t ruin your job. But Ruyi would like to.”
“Thank you for sparing my stall, Mr. Chen!” the scholar chuckled. Turning to Ruyi, he added, “Young lady, have a look. Solve any riddle, you win that lantern’s prize. Guess wrong? No charge.”
Ruyi hesitated. “That’s… too generous…”
The scholar waved a hand. “Easy! The fun is why I do this. Making coins? Doesn’t matter.”
Seeing this, Ruyi didn’t argue further. She walked to the stall.
Lanterns hung high, each one decorated, bearing a written clue. Little prizes dangled below.
Ruyi scanned the rows, her gaze finally catching a string of milky-white jade beads.
“Such pretty beads…”
She knew instantly she wanted them. But looking up, she saw these beads hung on the highest row, under the most challenging riddle.
It wasn’t a normal riddle. It was a couplet in elegant script:
Wangjiang Tower, Wangjiang River,
Surveying the flowing tide, from the tower high.
The tower stands proud through ages untold,
As the river’s course endlessly flows.
Chen Changsheng remarked, “Master Zhu excels at couplets. Seems Ruyi will find this hard.”
The scholar admitted, “Truth is, Mr. Chen, I borrowed this couplet. It draws eyes because it looks grand. But honestly? I couldn’t puzzle out the ending myself.”
