The city was quite big so Xiu Xiang could easily race off to another area to have fun. Escaping from a little boy was far easier than escaping from the eyes of two cultivators. She somehow made her way over to the south side of the city. There were many shows put on by traveling troupes. Xiu Xiang instantly recognized one of the troupes. It was the circus troupe that she had ran into a few days ago.
The troupe was putting on a fantastic acrobatic show. The young girl, Yao Yao, was the brightest talent out of the entire group. Her body seemed to bend like elastic as she tumbled and flipped gracefully. She also held colorful ribbons in her hands. It rippled behind her with the wind, casting a beautiful rainbow like effect.
The audience was fascinated by the show. They clapped and cheered to support the group. Xiu Xiang was still wearing a mask but she still wanted to steer clear of the group. Unfortunately for her, right as she turned her back on the troupe, she was seen by the young pretty girl, Yao Yao.
"Isn't that..." Yao Yao's voice blended in with the cheering audience. No one heard her questioning voice.
The streets were awfully packed but Xiu Xiang didn't seem to care. Her eyes darted everywhere. She tried to soak in as much of the scenery as she could. A busy lantern booth was quizzing people on riddles. If anyone got the riddle correct, that person was able to pick out and decorate their own lantern for free. Xiu Xiang didn't care too much for the lanterns as there were still many days left to buy one and make a wish, however, one lantern in particular caught her eyes.
The lantern was a normal oval shape. On it was a picture of a young girl standing at the edge of a cliff. What was stranger yet was a boulder next to her. Words were written next to the picture.
"As long as the heart beats, I will be your faith..." She quietly read the words to herself. It was exactly the same as the words on the boulder at the Cliff of Abyss! Whoever had written this was the same person who had carved those words on the boulder!
Grabbing the booth owner harshly by the sleeve, she asked, "Who painted and wrote on this lantern?"
The booth owner was startled by the sudden tug and almost dropped the lanterns in his hand.
"Aiya! You almost ruined my lanterns!" The booth owner wasn't too happy. He quickly hung up the lanterns in his hand and finally turned to look at the rude customer only to find that she was wearing an ugly painted mask. "What do you want, little girl?"
Xiu Xiang practically shoved the lantern into the man's face as she asked again, "Who painted and wrote on this?"
The booth owner squinted at the writing. Seconds later, he clapped his hands and grinned.
"This lantern, I remember perfectly. It was a tall, dashing hero. He was dressed in all black. He didn't take the lantern and said that its owner would eventually come to pick it up. Are you the one?" the booth owner asked.
Xiu Xiang didn't bother to answer. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for a tall man dressed in black. To her dismay, there wasn't such a figure. Looking down at the lantern again, there were many things she wasn't able to speak out loud.
The festival suddenly looked less lively in Xiu Xiang's eyes. She slowly made her way down the street only to get stopped by a small vendor. It was an old lady selling sugar candies.
"Young Miss, why do you look so down? Here, have a candy!" she chirped. The old lady handed a candy figurine of a rabbit over. Xiu Xiang was about to pull out her coin purse when the old lady waved her off.
"Don't worry about it. It's on me!" the old lady exclaimed. Just like how Xiu Xiang had shoved the lantern into that lantern booth owner's face, the old lady had done the same with the candy.
With a lantern in one hand and a candy in the other, Xiu Xiang looked bewildered. Shrugging at the kind gesture of the old lady, she ate the candy at a leisurely pace then moved forward down the street. For some reason she felt a pair of eyes staring at her from behind but each time she turned around to look, she found that no one stood out in particular. Frowning at the thought, she continued on.
Meanwhile just a few buildings behind her, stood a tall man dressed in all black. He was staring intently at her through his painted mask. A smile crept up on the face hidden behind the mask. The moment, Xiu Xiang started moving forward, the man finally came out from his hiding spot and secretly followed her.
Once again, Xiu Xiang slowly fell into the festive pace of the city. She participated in mini games and tried all the delicacies the city has to offer, all the while she felt the presence of someone following close behind her. Every time she engaged in anything, she would either get the things half priced or even free of charge. There was no way her luck was that good so she could only contribute it to the person who had paid for her clothes.
Not once did that person approach her so Xiu Xiang eventually cast the presence aside and fully enjoyed herself. It was almost like she was on a date with an imaginary person.
When she could no longer ignore her stomach, she randomly walked into a restaurant and asked for a private room. The server of the restaurant led her up a flight of stairs and into a nice private room. Right as soon as the door shut behind her, the bustling noise from downstairs instantly quietened. If anything unjust were to happen within the room, no one would ever know.
Xiu Xiang sat down at the circular table and instantly told the waiter to bring her their best dishes and their finest wine. The waiter nodded and left her alone after filling up her cup with their freshly brewed tea.
It wasn't long until the waiter came back with multiple dishes. With each dish that was placed in front of her, she noticed that it was all her favorites. Her brows knitted tightly together at the thought. She picked up her set of chopsticks and picked at the stir fried dish before her. As soon as the food touched her lips, she frowned even more. Picking at another dish, she noticed that the dishes taste familiar. It reminded her of the food she ate back at North Peak. It wasn't the greatest but it tasted like 'home'. She looked up at the waiter and asked, "Did you chef make all of these dishes?"
The waiter looked nervous as he clasped his hands tightly together in front of him.
"Are the dishes not to your liking?" the waiter asked.
Xiu Xiang shook her head and didn't bother to answer him. She waved him off to excuse him. The waiter quickly took off out of the room, leaving her alone again.
The more she ate the food, the more she thought about the times when she struggled within North Peak at Tian Ling Sect. There were times when she would return back to her small hut late at night. Upon her return, she would find a tray of food laid out for her. She never found out who delivered her the food. It was the reason why Xiu Xiang never starved to death during her time there.
Every dish that she picked from tasted just like the food from that mysterious person. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if the person who had followed her all day was someone from Tian Ling Sect.
Nighttime finally rolled around. There was a large river that flowed through the city. Xiu Xiang followed the river upstream until she came upon a small grassy hill that led into a dark wooded area. Since there were too many people lighting lanterns at the edge of the river, the grassy hill was the perfect spot to rest without being bothered.
The lantern in her hand was unlit as she swung it lightly in her hand. She finally took off the mask and lit the lantern. The lantern lit up her dark surroundings only for a moment. When it slowly floated up into the sky, her surroundings grew dark again. She didn't mind the darkness as she placed her hands together to make a wish.
"To the heavens up above, I'm not a greedy person," Xiu Xiang paused in her sentence as she thought about her greed on food. Biting down on her lower lip, she quickly rephrased her sentence, "I'm not too greedy. All I'm asking for is a happy ending, for myself and for the ones I care about."
She started at the lantern in silence and then finally spoke up.
"Considering how you've been secretly following me and paying for everything, I'm going to assume you're not a bad person," Xiu Xiang said as she looked at the lantern. Aside from the voices down at the riverbank, there was silence all around her.
She smiled kindly at the lantern in the sky. "If you were able to draw that image, you must know by now that I was once the Demoness. Were you the one who wrote those words? Why don't you come out so that I can at least thank you for the kind gesture?"
Once again, there was silence. Xiu Xiang could sense that the person was nearby. No matter how much she spoke, the person refused to appear. She didn't know why this person was so kind to her despite knowing who she was. She didn't remember helping anyone in particular within Tian Ling Sect. Then a thought crossed her mind.
"Wei Xing...?" She said out loud. Seconds later, she snorted at the thought.
Why would Wei Xing be here? He doesn't even recognize me!
She figured that the person was probably someone of no importance who once stayed within North Peak. She no longer questioned the person. Just like him, she also has a lot of secrets and she would never say them even if she was tortured.
She sat in silence and watched her lantern slowly float higher and higher until it merged with the stars. When she could no longer distinguish her lantern from the stars, she finally got up to her feet and went searching for an inn.
In the dark woods, a tall dark figure emerged. A pair of dark eyes that should've looked dangerous at the moment looked gentle and lonely. He stared at the slender figure that was slowly getting smaller in the distance. If Xiu Xiang had stayed just a bit longer, she would've recognized the person. It was Wei Xing!
"Xiu Xiang..." Wei Xing breathed. When he heard Xiu Xiang call out his name, his heart nearly stopped. He debated on whether he should appear or not. By the time he made a decision, Xiu Xiang had already started down the hill. He feared appearing before her, but what he feared more was Xiu Xiang hating him. He sighed heavily and silently followed after her...
The inn Xiu Xiang chose was one of the last inns that had available rooms. She handed off a few gold coins to the front desk and was quickly handed a key. As soon as she got into her room, she flopped onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, the window to Xiu Xiang's room opened quietly. A tall dark figure stepped into the room soundlessly. Wei Xing slowly made his way over to Xiu Xiang's bed and stood by her side, peering down at her sleeping face. With a wave of his wide sleeves, Xiu Xiang's brows furrowed for a second and then her face returned to a calm state, as if nothing in this world would be able to stir her from her sleep.
"No matter how I think about it, how could I not recognize you?"
Moonlight seeped through the window to reveal Wei Xing's face. He smiled down at Xiu Xiang and sat down at the edge of her bed. He raised his hand up to softly caress her pale cheeks. Her face no longer held that healthy glow and he felt troubled by it. When he went back into the private room of the restaurant that Xiu Xiang had entered, he found that most of the food that he had cooked for her were all eaten. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the plates were mostly empty. Seeing how thin and pale Xiu Xiang looked, he wanted to stuff her with as much food as he possibly could.
Wei Xing had followed her all day. When Xiu Xiang's eyes caught something of interest, he quickly stepped in to buy it for her and had random people hand it to her, except for the time when she entered the jewelry store. Xiu Xiang had gotten into a fight with that annoying rich girl. He almost gave himself away and stepped in to help her. Thankfully, Xiu Xiang managed to win the fight. If Xiu Xiang had suffered any grievance, Wei Xing swore that he would tear the entire city down to settle it. Then, he remembered those annoying flies that secretly followed her. How dare those pesky insignificant bugs try to lay their hands his woman?
"No matter," Wei Xing thought out loud. He brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over Xiu Xiang's face. "I won't let you leave my side ever again."