The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 30 Shangyuan
Like a celestial being banished to the mortal world.

It lacks the majesty of God, but has a touch of softness and a more human presence, yet it is still noble.

Ding Lin's eyes fell on Yang Chan's face and he was stunned.

"What's wrong? Did I get it on my face?"

Yang Chan walked to the edge of the pool, lowered her head, and her face was reflected in the water. For a moment, she was in a trance, as if she had returned to the past, when she was a child.

Then Yang Chan curled the corners of her mouth and smiled gently.

"In a few days, it will be the Lantern Festival. Do you want to go out for some fresh air?"

Yang Chan raised her eyes and looked at the carp in the water.

Ding Lin was stunned for a moment, as if he was thinking about something, and his eyes slowly changed.

Finally, he nodded.

……

The fifteenth day of the first month.

Shangyuan night.

After tonight, it will no longer be the New Year.

The town at the foot of Mount Hua is brightly lit.

The street in the middle is bustling with people.

The cries of hawkers can be heard everywhere on both sides of the road.

Wontons, sugar figurines, dumplings, Yuanxiao...

Pieces of hot air were rising up into the sky, creating a chaos.

People also gathered in groups like this heat.

There were elderly couples supporting each other.

There were scholars walking together, and although it was clearly winter, each of them held a fan in his hand and talked loudly in front of a shop decorated with lanterns, calligraphy and paintings.

There are also some young couples with children.

The children chirped like larks, always wanting to shake off their parents and run forward excitedly alone, listening to the shouts behind them and laughing as clear as wind chimes.

The rich and powerful sat in carriages.

The young girl opened the curtain a little and looked out.

Yang Chan was mixed in the crowd, wearing a plain dress, with her long hair pinned up at an angle with a wooden hairpin, and using magic power to outline her face, revealing an extremely ordinary face, with a fish tank in her hand.

Walking on this street, it seems a bit out of place with the hustle and bustle.

In the fish tank, Ding Lin looked at it with some curiosity. After hundreds of years in this world, this was the first time he saw the various aspects of life in the mortal world at such a close distance.

It is not as ignorant and barbaric as imagined, but more like the humanities of modern feudal times.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, a little girl with two buns on her head, who looked only about five or six years old, appeared from nowhere and bumped into Yang Chan.

Yang Chan didn't move, but the girl staggered and leaned back.

Fortunately, I didn't fall.

A pair of rough big hands supported her from behind.

"Be careful."

A voice sounded accusing but also full of concern.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my little sister was running a little too fast, I didn't mean to bump into you."

Then came a hasty apology.

A boy of about ten years old emerged from the crowd behind the girl. As he spoke, he squatted down and hugged the girl in his arms.

"It's okay." Yang Chan shook her head, as if she had thought of something. Her eyes suddenly showed an extremely complicated emotion. She curled the corners of her mouth and forced a smile, "You guys go on and have fun."

"sorry."

The boy apologized again.

The girl was already giggling and running forward again.

"Slower!"

The boy turned and gave chase.

Yang Chan's eyes followed the boy, as if she was mumbling to herself, or as if she was telling Ding Lin:
"My eldest brother is seven years older than me, and my second brother is only four years older than me. Both brothers are very good to me, but my eldest brother makes me feel a bit like a father. Only my second brother will play with me, and I am also very attached to him, and he will also protect me like this..."

"later……"

Yang Chan paused, her lips curled up in a bitter smile, but she didn't say anything else. She walked slowly and aimlessly on the long street. The crowds of people on both sides made her look even more lonely.

"I don't know why he has become like this..."

Yang Chan spoke slowly.

Ding Lin listened quietly.

He had a premonition, which had already begun to take shape when Yang Chan was pasting Spring Festival couplets at the beginning of the new year.

Now, it seems to be gradually becoming a reality.

There was no trace of even the most superficial disguise in Yang Chan's words.

really.

"Originally, I was planning to wait until you formed your demon core, but now it seems a bit too late, I can't wait any longer..."

Yang Chan kept walking in the crowd. Suddenly, the view in front of her opened up and she realized she had already walked out of the city gate.

The long moat meanders like a jade belt. The full moon on the 15th is reflected in the river. Men and women, young and old, keep lighting lanterns to pray to the sky by the river.

Half day of fireworks.

Yang Chan stopped by the river.

"In fact, you also know that he comes more and more frequently. Although you don't say anything, he is indeed practicing more and more diligently..."

The corners of Yang Chan's mouth curled up in bitterness.

"I……"

In the fish tank, Ding Lin had a complicated look in his eyes and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the noise around him masked his voice.

In the end, only a long string of bubbles is left in the fish tank.

Yang Chan looked up at the sun and the prayer lanterns floated for a long time.

It seems like it's flying higher and higher, but how can it really touch the sky?

“So, you are actually afraid.”

Yang Chan chuckled.

Ding Lin was speechless.

An indescribable feeling was churning in my chest.

It seemed as if he was relieved, as if a burden had been unloaded and he was about to be freed, but he could not muster the slightest bit of happiness. There was only a feeling of emptiness in his chest. Then, with the beating of his heart, the cavity tightened again, and other emotions grew.

Mixed feelings.

Ding Lin was a little afraid to look at Yang Chan.

"Okay, let's just walk here."

Yang Chan squatted down, and the fish tank she was holding in her hands fell over. Ding Lin's body involuntarily fell into the moat with the flow of water.

The water in the moat was icy cold, not at all as warm as the lotus pond.

Ding Lin wagged his tail and turned around.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at Yang Chan.

"I……"

The sound rolled in his throat.

No explanation.

There is no way to explain it.

No matter what the words are.

The actual behavior speaks for itself.

Ding Lin remembered what he said six years ago.

"Not afraid..."

This is inconsistent with what one says and what one thinks.

It was obvious that both of them knew it was a lie at the time.

But why do I feel so embarrassed and ashamed when I think about it now? Is it because of Yang Chan’s kindness, or maybe it’s because of the impending separation?

Or is it……

Ding Lin was not sure. He could only feel that his words were slowly turning into a knife, inserting into the cracks in his skin, trying to peel off all the scales on his body, one piece at a time, to reveal the blood underneath.

Rumors are on the back.

Ding Lin opened his mouth again, but still couldn't say anything.

Only a string of bubbles was left in the river.

For the first time in his life, Ding Lin felt how difficult it was to speak.

"What about you? You go back..."

Finally, Ding Lin squeezed out a word.

"I?"

Yang Chan laughed.

"My name is in the heavenly register, and I hold an immortal position..."

(End of this chapter)