9 Light of my Life

The next day, the pair travels as the sun makes its journey across the sky, dipping back down into the horizon and eventually vanishing completely. Night falls, and the two companions manage to find Wei Village, following the lanterns and fireworks in the distance. Liu Jian stares up into the sky, awestruck by the beautiful scene unfolding in front of him.

"...Xu Jiyu, what are those?" Liu Jian murmurs, his normally steely eyes twinkling at the sight.

"You've never seen them before?" Xu Jiyu questions, but he isn't surprised. Instead of letting Liu Jian answer, he only continues his explanation: "This is the Lantern Festival. It occurs on the 15th day of the first lunar month!"

"And what exactly is a 'festival'? What does one do during this time?" Liu Jian inquires, never taking his eyes off of the lights in the sky.

"We usually celebrate them by dancing, eating food—and since it's the Lantern Festival, we create our own lanterns and write wishes on them before letting them soar off into the sky."

"Why do you need to make wishes?" Questions the intrigued Liu Jian.

Xu Jiyu leisurely continues, "Because your wish may come true if you have a sincere heart. Every year, the ones in Heaven will grant one wish out of a thousand. If you are truly lucky, they might grant yours."

There's a momentary pause, and Liu Jian contemplates the idea in his mind. He'd met the Immortals in Heaven before. One time, the Immortals traveled down to the Spirit Realm to oversee his work. But they weren't that friendly, and ignored Liu Jian for the most part… it seemed that they were forced to come visit due to regulations from the higher-ups in Heaven.

…Could those men really grant his wish?

Not that he needed to wish for anything, though. Anything he wanted, he could easily get with the snap of his fingers.

Though these things occur to him, he doesn't voice them. Instead, he nods his head in understanding with a small, thoughtful hum.

Perhaps he can try wishing for something just to see if this myth was true. The Lantern Festival does sound quite interesting...

"Looks like we're here!" Xu Jiyu's exclamation brings Liu Jian back to reality. He was previously in deep thought while walking next to the youth, but now they are on the path that leads directly into town.

There are three things Liu Jian notices immediately:

First, the lights. There are lights everywhere. At the stalls, in the sky, on the rooftops—they aren't too bright, and emit a soft glow. The town is a luminescent dreamscape, warming the hearts of passersby. Liu Jian is no exception, feeling his own heart thaw as a group of children ran past, lanterns in hand and shouting in excitement.

Second, people and food are everywhere. The scents of various spices, delicacies, and desserts filled the air, creating an indescribable but pleasant fragrance. The thought made Liu Jian's mouth water. Not to mention, strange looking stands with hooks and rings… he didn't understand what those were. The food, the humans, the festivities… he wants to know more and more about the humans the longer he stays on Earth.

And lastly, Xu Jiyu. He notices how Xu Jiyu's face brightens up, seeing all of the festivities around them. It makes him smile a bit, too. His heart swells within his chest, but he doesn't understand why. It isn't an unpleasant feeling, though. Xu Jiyu taught him so many things, and for that, he was feeling 'appreciative' towards him. This must be it, right?

Forget it, it's better to ask.

"...Xu Jiyu, my heart is racing. What do I call this feeling?" Liu Jian inquires, pressing his palm to his chest where his heart is. He glances over at Xu Jiyu, bathed in the lanterns' iridescent glow, and his heart beats even faster. The light blurs the background and gives Xu Jiyu an ethereal glow. Liu Jian is captivated.

The youth turns towards Liu Jian and with a dazzling grin, and replies, "You must be feeling excited! Excitement is..." Xu Jiyu thoroughly explains what he believes the feeling could be. He assumes that since the handsome man had never been to a festival before, all of the fun activities and wonderful sights must be very thrilling to see. He never once noticed the stare Liu Jian had been giving him.

"...I see. So this feeling is called 'excitement'." Liu Jian murmurs, entranced by Xu Jiyu's expressions. He doesn't know why, but though he has not spent much time with this human, he sincerely enjoys traveling with him. It is the first time Liu Jian has ever had a 'partner'. From the beginning, he was always above or below someone—never an equal.

There's a first time for everything, and this is one of them.

"Yup. Hey, I see some food over there!" The shorter of the pair says, dashing over to a steamed bun stall.

Liu Jian follows suit, striding after his partner, struggling to suppress a smile.

"I'll take three, no matter the price!" Xu Jiyu says, pointing at the steamed buns with glittering eyes.

Liu Jian, upon hearing this, frowns. "That doesn't sound economically practical. We only have 25 coins each." Then, he begins to reach over to grab Xu Jiyu's shoulder in attempt to stop him.

After all, Fang Lei still has yet to return with exactly three steamed buns. It seems that money is important to Xu Jiyu when it doesn't involve steamed buns, so he will do his best to help preserve it.

"It doesn't matter!" Xu Jiyu says, and Liu Jian's hand stops just short of his partner's shoulder. "I'll pay any price for steamed buns!"

"...Understandable." He nods, pulling his hand back, as he has come to love steamed buns as well. "But do not be hasty. I assure you that you will get them soon. Don't you also want to save money?"

…That's what humans like, right? Money. At least, that's what Fang Lei had informed him before in the past.

Xu Jiyu turns around to face the taller man with a pout, "Yes, but, steamed buns—!"

"—Can wait. You will get them soon." Liu Jian interjects coolly, looking away. "...Will you teach me how to make one of these 'lanterns' in the meantime?"

Truth be told, he did want to hold one of those lanterns he'd seen the children from earlier playing with. Not only does he want to hold one, but he also wants to create one of his own to make a wish.

Xu Jiyu stares at Liu Jian, before slowly nodding. "I'll trust you on that since we're partners. Let's go get you that lantern, then!"

Without saying anything else, he strolls into the crowd. "Be careful not to get separated, Liu Jian!"

"Naturally." Liu Jian replies, following closely after the youth.

The crowd in front of them thickened, to the point that they were barely able to keep track of each other amidst the dense mass of bodies. After realizing how easily they could get separated, Xu Jiyu looks over his shoulder and clasps Liu Jian's hand tightly in his own.

Seeing the handsome man's astonished expression, he says in reassurance, "This way, we won't lose each other. It'd be troublesome, so let's hurry and get through this crowd!"

Liu Jian feels the warmth radiating from Xu Jiyu's hand, and that same heat seems to spread throughout his entire body. Somehow, it even spread to his cheeks.

"...En."

It was the first time they had both properly made contact—it was awkward, but it was full of a familiarity that he'd never felt before.

Liu Jian slowly tightens his initially reluctant grip, and intertwines his fingers with Xu Jiyu's. The youth starts at the unexpected development and tenses. Xu Jiyu can feel strange butterflies in his stomach. However, he soon relaxes, convincing himself that it probably didn't mean anything.

Like this, the two partners continue to move forward at a leisurely pace as the crowd around them seems to fade away.