Deng QiuShi took Yuan Xia to the main sector of Heaven’s Law Sect. There, all of the branches merged into the main trunk.

Nestled in Deng QiuShi’s arms, Yuan Xia closed his eyes, noting how the distant noise only grew as she moved forward. He could hear a bustling crowd and, accompanied by the fragrance of streetside sweets, assumed that he’d arrived at the Autumn Moon Festival.

But… even if he could sense the autumn festival, he still couldn’t see the moon.

Helplessness struck him then, and Yuan Xia wondered what his purpose in this second life was. He couldn’t wrap his head around how he’d become reborn either, and 120 years in the future, no less.

His plan to befriend Hua ChunMing had fallen through; the man didn’t even want to show his face. Furthermore, he was trapped in the body of a child, and one that couldn’t see.

Sighing, Yuan Xia blinked away the tears in his eyes. He hadn’t cried since his childhood, back when he at least had a little bit of sight to himself.

Wallowing in self-reflection, Yuan Xia didn’t register the sweet, familiar fragrance right under his nose until it touched his lips. He instinctively shrunk back, but Deng QiuShi forced a stick into his hands.

“A tanghulu. You haven’t been able to eat one, right?” Illuminated by the halos of lanterns, Deng QiuShi smiled.

Yuan Xia finally reacted, widening his eyes in surprise. He accepted the tanghulu, bringing it up to his mouth to take a bite, when….

A man in azure dashed by, bumping into Yuan Xia.

The tanghulu flew out of Yuan Xia’s hands. Yuan Xia watched, dumbfounded, as it crashed onto the ground, splattering in brilliant shards of hardened sugar and hawthorne. A sparkle brighter than the stars above crackled and fizzed into darkness.

Somehow, this careless mistake only added to Yuan Xia’s aggrievedness. He curled his hands into fists, shaking, and all of his anger bubbled up deep within his core.

Channeling up his spine, the exasperation and irritability Yuan Xia had stifled for so long emerged—

A sound tore from Yuan Xia’s throat.

Instantly, he clamoured, tensing as he stifled his voice. A memory threatened to rise, and Yuan Xia wished he could hide. At least then, he wouldn’t have to face….

His parents’ ashes. He never knew a person could turn so brittle, or even disintegrate.

When he snuck out that morning, he hadn’t even told his parents goodbye.

But who was to blame? Certainly not the friend drifting in and out of memory. Himself? He could only blame himself.

If he hadn’t left the house, he would have….

He should have….

What?

He could only have perished in the fire.

Perhaps it was a good thing, sneaking out. He was able to protect his friend from the attack.

But in the process, he lost his family.

No, he had one parent left.

Yuan Xia threw his arms around Deng QiuShi’s waist, clinging to his mother-figure. If he lost her, he thought he would go crazy.

Her floral scent enveloped Yuan Xia, soothing his distraught mind. Just like a child, Yuan Xia basked in the moment, with not a thought in mind. Even the busy background noise faded in Deng QiuShi’s presence.

But even after a while, Deng QiuShi still hadn’t returned the hug. Yuan Xia glanced up at her expecting to see at least a smile.

Deng QiuShi’s face was blank.

Yuan Xia couldn’t make out the exact expression, but the listlessness as she held him made Yuan Xia despair.

Why? Was it because he made a sound?

Yuan Xia quickly wrapped his arms around Deng QiuShi. If that was the case, he wouldn’t speak again. He just had to stand quietly. No matter what, he couldn’t lose her, the only person who accepted him wholly for who he was.

As expected, Deng QiuShi startled from her trance and embraced Yuan Xia back. She patted his head, stroking his hair.

The man in azure stumbled backwards. He glanced at Yuan Xia, then at the tanghulu on the ground. Then, he did a double-take, resting his eyes on Yuan Xia’s small figure again.

Muttering something under his breath, the man stormed away. The tanghulu, already cracked, was ruthlessly stomped on in the man’s plight.

Deng QiuShi’s hand froze on Yuan Xia’s head. She tightened her grip. Trembling, she restrained herself from charging at the man.

Yuan Xia pretended he didn’t hear anything, but deep inside, he knew.

“Damn demon.” The man had cursed at him as he left.

A night of supposed fun had turned into one of distress and dissatisfaction. Deng QiuShi turned on her heel and walked opposite of the man in azure.

“It’s alright, you didn’t hear anything.” All of a sudden, she was chippery again. “Let’s pretend nothing happened, alright? If he comes back to harass us, I’ll beat him up myself.”

Feeling the liveliness return to Deng QiuShi, Yuan Xia became more spirited as well. He nodded and, as the voices of passersby increased in volume, glanced up at the night sky. At some point, the moon had returned, shimmering with a bright blue halo and the stars by its side.

The two soon arrived at a square. Festive music lit the atmosphere, with a dance show to accompany.

When the music grew too loud, Yuan Xia covered his ears, and Deng QiuShi took a step back with him in her arms. It was a harmonious cooperation; neither of them mentioned the tanghulu incident.

Yuan Xia wondered if he’d ever get to eat any sweets. At a certain point in cultivation, one didn’t have to worry about food, drink, or slumber anymore. For Yuan Xia, once he broke through his bottleneck and formed a Golden Core, he would lose the chance to savour anything like a tanghulu again.

… Well, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t. For example, Hua ChunMing, the strongest cultivator in the JiangHu, had somehow managed to teach himself to get drunk on alcohol. Perhaps it was worth the trouble to learn such a powerful placebo effect.

As Yuan Xia pondered, he glanced out over the festival scene. No one appeared to be looking at the moon, but plenty were holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes.

Wondering what they were doing, Yuan Xia’s eyes brushed over the crowd and towards a dark, distant corner.

At the entrance of an alleyway, a familiar blur of orange raised his head. The two exchanged glances.

Jing Zhe, wide-eyed, beckoned him over.