PNB Chapter 169 The Lantern After a Year (2)
Chapter 169 The Lantern After a Year (2)
"Wow! Kong, there are so many delicious things here: chestnut pastries, candied hawthorns, peach shortbread..."
"Paimon, you're drooling."
"Ah!" Paimon hurriedly went to wipe her drool, only to find that her mouth was actually dry.
Very well, she's been tricked again.
“Traveler!” (▼ヘ▼) Paimon put his hands on his hips and glared angrily at the sky.
"Haha, alright, alright." Kong quickly reassured her, then pointed to the snacks Paimon had just ordered and told him to pack one of each.
"Can you forgive me now?" After paying Mora, Kong handed Paimon the bag containing the snacks.
Paimon glanced at it again and again, but finally reached out and took the bag, eagerly starting to eat.
"Delicious!" (☆_☆) Her eyes lit up as she ate: "Look—look at how delicious it is—I forgive you."
"Slow down, no one will compete with you."
"Haha... Hmm! Look over there. What a huge rock! If it weren't chained up, I wonder where it would fly off to!" Paimon noticed a floating stone not far away, chained up by four sides, standing there for people to admire.
"It seems this is your first time participating in the Lantern Festival," a girl said, turning around with a proud tone. "That's the 'Mingxiao Lantern,' though it's not finished yet; it's one of the highlights of our Lantern Festival."
"Ah, may I ask who you are...?" Kong politely inquired about the name of the person in front of him.
"I'm Jiang Zhou, and I'm currently in charge of tracking the construction progress of the Lantern Festival." After saying that, she looked Paimon and Kong up and down and continued, "It seems like this is your first time experiencing the Lantern Festival in Liyue, right? I don't recall any travelers with strange mascots coming here last year."
"Great, I'm being used as a mascot again." Paimon said he was already used to it.
From the initial "emergency food" to the current "small floating objects?", "external organs?", "flying mysterious pets?", "talking little fairies?", and now one more to add - "mascots".
Sora: "So the 'night lantern' you're talking about is...?"
"Look, this is the Floating Stone used to make the 'Flight Lantern.' The entire 'Flight City' is arranged around it. The small lanterns that people release into the air during festivals are called 'Flight Lanterns.' And the giant lantern built by all the people of Liyue is the 'Flight Lantern.'"
To further explain, Jiang Zhou also included a picture of the surrounding market.
"The stalls at the 'Sky Market' are set up annually by various merchants in Liyue, a rare occasion where they are not in it for profit, but solely to raise funds for the construction of the 'Sky Lanterns.'"
"Will there be any good food in 'Xiaoshi'?" It's obvious who asked this question.
"Paimon, you haven't finished your snacks yet. Are you hungry again?" Sora shook her head with a smile, looking like she couldn't do anything about it.
"Hehe, I just want to know which shop has the best food. That way I won't have any regrets."
“Haha, that makes sense.” Jiang Zhou also agreed with a smile: “The Lantern Festival is the perfect time to enjoy Liyue’s delicacies. It’s the grandest festival of the year in Liyue. If we can showcase our skills at the Lantern Festival, we’re sure to win a lot of praise.”
"So, although it's not for making money, all the merchants are secretly putting in a lot of effort to compete in terms of their skills at the Lantern Festival."
“However, if you want to find the best food stalls… my suggestion is to go to Miss Wangya, the person in charge of the Lantern Festival.” Jiang Zhou said, praising Miss Wangya’s abilities, which raised Paimon and Kong’s expectations to the highest level.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you so much. Paimon, let's go. I can see you're getting impatient..." After thanking Jiang Zhou, Kong turned to look for Paimon, only to find that she had already flown far away.
"Hurry up! Quickly!"
(Seriously…) Sora was a little exasperated, but still replied with a smile, “Coming—!”
At the top of the tree at Wangshu Inn, watching the hurried crowds and children playing together, Xiao's eyes were particularly lonely.
"Xiao, come and try my cooking, I just grilled some meat." Yingda brought a plate of grilled meat to him, and he immediately hid behind Mi Nu. He couldn't help but think that the color of the grilled meat was strange.
It's patchy with black, purple, and red...
"Yingda, you've burned this. Did you use too much force?" Mi Nu also hesitated to eat it and couldn't help but tease him.
Hearing Mi Nu's words, Ying Da's temper flared up: "If you don't like it, then don't eat it. All you think about are your tattered clothes. They'll be in pieces anyway after you go to the battlefield."
"Hey, don't talk like that. There will be a peaceful day, and then we'll all be dressed up and walking down the street, and everyone will say 'thank you!'"
This is what Mi Nu finds most unbearable. He can accept anything else, but he can't stand the fact that the clothes he designs are tattered.
Hearing them arguing, Fu She weakly raised one hand and said helplessly, "Don't include me in this, I really can't get used to wearing this. I can't even stretch out my four arms, it's so uncomfortable."
As he spoke, he waved his two hands behind his back to assert his presence.
"Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. Even His Majesty praised Mi Nu's good taste. I can't bear to wear my new clothes, afraid of getting them dirty." Fa Nan teased him with a smile, "Speaking of which, we don't seem to have ever seen Xiao wear new clothes before. Every time we look for you, you manage to avoid us."
"Oh right, Xiao, Jinpeng... It's rare to see you here, and work is finished for today, so now, can we..." Yingda realized what was happening, put down the grilled meat, and moved closer to him.
"Xiao, you won't disrespect your second brother, will you?" Mi Nu turned around to look at himself hiding behind him, a sinister smile on his face.
How did he do it? It was as if he teleported away and escaped to this tree, where he looked up at the sky and listened to the wind on the ground.
The starry sky was not the same as it had been then, and the people on the ground were not the same as those who had come to find him back then.
Everything was no longer his concern.
"Don't overthink it." A phantom hand touched his head. Although he couldn't feel it, the fleeting light in his eyes was not missed by the phantom in front of him.
"Lord Heavenly Lord, what brings you here? Could it be... that the plan has failed?" Xiao immediately asked respectfully.
"Don't be nervous. I've already prepared for the worst. Even if we fail, it won't affect other countries. I'm here to bring you something."
Xuanqing gathered a bit of power and used the power of "space" to take out a gift box from the void and hand it to Xiao.
"This is..." The gift box was somewhat heavy, but not to him. He was simply curious about what was inside.
"Open it and take a look."
With Xuanqing's permission, Xiao opened the gift box and was slightly stunned by what was inside.
“Your Majesty… Xiao truly cannot accept this gift, please take it back.” With that, he was about to close the gift box and return it to Xuan Qing.
“The Lantern Festival only comes once a year. I should have given you this gift a long time ago, but plans can’t keep up with changes…” Xuanqing pushed the gift box back into Xiao’s hands: “After a thousand years, it has finally been delivered to you, and I can finally rest easy.”
"..." Xiao remained silent, looking at the contents of the gift box.
It was a well-tailored new outfit, with exquisite fabric and workmanship. The dark green shawl was embroidered with a wing in silver thread, the feathers embroidered with lifelike detail. The finished garment, on the other hand, looked simple: a white ancient robe adorned with a few gold feathers on the chest, and embellished with dark green tassels.
The details are quite intricate. The collar is embroidered with the character "回" in silver thread, the cuffs are decorated with auspicious cloud patterns, and the belt is made of durable cowhide with a green cat's eye stone inlaid in the center.
In the corner of the gift box, there was also a pair of tassel earrings, as well as some matching accessories.
Looking at it from Xiao's perspective reveals something different:
The wing on the shawl must have been designed by Xuan Yue, and even the few golden feathers on the clothes must have been Xuan Yue's.
The ready-to-wear garments appear simple, yet the details are subtle, exuding both luxury and restraint—clearly Xuanqing's style.
As for the accessories, the cat's-eye stones on the belt were also very exquisite, seemingly reflecting Zhongli's tastes.
"It's truly a great help to Lord Xuan Yue, Lord Tianjun, and Lord Dijun for going to such lengths for Xiao." Xiao gently held the garment, carefully avoiding damaging it.
Xuanqing didn't force Xiao to change anything, and before leaving, she gently wished him: "May you have no regrets in this life."
"..." Xiao stared blankly at the spot where Xuan Qing had disappeared, then looked away and turned to the crowd on the ground.
He clutched the precious gift tightly in his hands.
"You too, Lord Heavenly Lord... and Lord Xuan Yue and Lord Emperor."