Need to Go Fast

They arrived at Hufeng City after basking their skin under the sun for hours. Before they knew it, the crescent moon hung high in the night sky, watching over the city in delight.

The stalls were set up along the busy street and the entire atmosphere was filled with a bustling festive noise.

"You should try this noodle shop. I heard it's really good!" Lin Changying suggested.

Yu Xuelan had never thought she would miss seeing restaurants and food stalls on the ground so much after being in the Feather Temple for so long. She didn't understand how Wu Ming or the others could stay up in the sky for the majority of their lives, because if she did, she would probably jump off.

"Are you going to stay here or are you going to go straight to Mojing City?" Yu Xuelan asked.

"Ah, I might stay here with you guys at the festival if that's alright. I'm not in that much of a hurry."

"No, It's fine!"

Yu Xuelan looked around and saw people point towards the night sky.

Her eyes followed the direction of their fingers and saw the vast sky filled with brightly lit lanterns, causing a smile to gradually form on her face. Yet, a rush of uncertainty forced her to constrain her moment of happiness

…

"Where am I?"

Without realising, Yu Xuelan had wandered off after being distracted by the lanterns in the sky.

She crouched down in front of the lantern store and just when she was indulged in her thoughts, someone slammed into her back. She whipped her head around and saw a child on the ground. The young girl instantly stood up and bowed.

"Sorry!" The child apologised.

"Ah, it's fine!" Yu Xuelan smiled, picking up the lantern the young girl had dropped.

"Xiao-er! Watch where you're going!" Her father called.

"I'm so sorry!" He bowed.

Yu Xuelan handed the lantern to the girl and chuckled, "Be careful next time!"

The mother also bowed in apology and they both continuously exchanged bows for a while before they finally walked away.

Yu Xuelan gazed at their backs while they smiled and laughed. Looking at the gentleness of the family and the lanterns that floated in the night sky, it was a rather nostalgic view.

Her father was always against her leaving her room or the main residence in general. He was always afraid that Yu Xuelan would hurt herself and get sick so he would confine her in a place where there were no dangers.

Yet, that place that supposedly prevented her from danger, was the very exact place that gave her the most pain.

Yu Xuelan sighed and attempted to block out the flooding memories. This was probably the first actual festival she had been to without people guarding her and making sure she didn't eat the foods here or let alone inhale the smoke from the firecrackers.

Basically she never really attended festivals but always watched from afar.

She hung her head down and smiled solemnly. Letting out a short laugh upon thinking that there would be a time where she'll think about her time with her father.

"Um, miss?"

"I'm probably just hungry," Yu Xuelan mumbled.

"Miss!"

"Ah? Yes? Me?"

"Are you going to buy that? You're holding onto it so hard that the corner is damaged!" The woman scolded.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry," Yu Xuelan apologised and immediately loosened her grip.

She reached for her sleeves but realized she had no money on her.

Yu Xuelan groaned, "I'm not only feeling sad and hungry but I'm also poor!"

"Miss? Are you going to buy that or not?" The lady asked and waved her hand, gesturing for payment.

"Um, I will come back later I promise!" Yu Xuelan exclaimed and left the lantern piece back on the hanger, before running away into the far distance.

"Wait! Miss!"

The woman tried to run after her, but Yu Xuelan had already blended in with the crowd of people and was out of her sight.

…

The black-clad girl panted and tried to grab some air before looking back to see if the lady was still chasing her.

"Lin Yuhe?" A familiar voice called out.

Even though she was already out of breath, her breath slightly stopped and her mouth gaped when she saw a  woman dressed in green robes.

"Young Madam Long?!"

"Huh, I was right. To think I would see you here," Long Wen walked closer with her same lofty posture, however, the more Long Wen stepped closer the more Xuelan stepped back.

"Greetings Miss Lin," Long Rei greeted and clasped his palms.

"Hello, what a surprise! What a small world we live in!" Yu Xuelan awkwardly laughed while continuing to back away slowly.

"Long Rei, go check another area. I would like to chat with this lady here alone."

"Yes, Young Madam."

Yu Xuelan blinked at the young disciple, trying to signal him to not leave or else she'll start coughing out blood again. Sadly, Long Rei didn't seem to understand her signals and left the two alone.

"Are you here alone? Where's Sect Master Wu?" Long Wen asked while emphasizing the syllables of "Sect Master".

"I'm just strolling."

Even though the atmosphere was quite festive and loud, to Yu Xuelan, it felt like it was filled with a strangling silence. However, this was soon interrupted by a sudden growl from her stomach that even the commotion of the festival couldn't hide from Long Wen's ears.

Yu Xuelan attempted to avert her gaze from the fierce woman in front of her. Surprisingly, Long Wen smiled.

"You must be hungry. Why don't we chat over a meal? There's something I need to talk to you about," Long Wen said and pointed to the noodle restaurant beside them.

"I seem to have forgotten my money pouch so I can't have a meal with you, Young Madam Long. I deeply apologize."

Yu Xuelan turned away and prepared to leave. She truly wished she would just vomit out blood like last time and fall unconscious so Wu Zhitian could just take her back to the Feather Temple once again.

Where is Wu Zhitian?

"I'll treat you to this meal, how does that sound?"

Yu Xuelan immediately halted and looked over to the girl with eyes beaming in light, "Alright!"

Yu Xuelan, "..."

Long Wen, "..."

…

The two sat down at the restaurant and ordered food. The awkward silence was soon disrupted by Long Wen's initiative to lead the conversation.

"How have you been feeling since last time?"

"Ah, it was just fatigue," Yu Xuelan answered.

"It must be quite serious. Especially with all that blood that you coughed out."

Yu Xuelan laughed and scratched the back of her head, unsure of what to reply. The bowls of noodles finally arrived and Yu Xuelan's mind was instantly focused on the sweet aroma in front of her.

"I'm eating with Long Wen. What has the world come to?" She thought.

"I just want to apologize for last time. My behaviour was out of the line," Long Wen apologised.

Yu Xuelan was taken aback by the apology and said, "No, I understand. Everyone has bad days."

"It's just, the moment I saw her name, I just became really agitated."

Yu Xuelan declared confidently, "I really don't have anything to do with Yu Xuelan! I promise"

Long Wen was startled by the sudden rise in voice, finding it to be quite funny that she was so eager in denying to have any connections to Yu Xuelan. However, the more one desperately denied something, the more suspicious they were.

"Yeah, I figured." She responded and took a bite of her noodles, "I honestly thought you were her. I really thought her soul came back, but I realized I was wrong."

Yu Xuelan's lips twitched and awkwardly laughed, "What made you realize?"

"Yu Xuelan is much more mature and stronger than you," she bluntly said with a smile, causing Yu Xuelan to choke on her noodles.

"Re, really?" Yu Xuelan stuttered and took a sip of water.

"Yes."

"It seems her opinions of me are still the same. That I'm some courteous and refined heavenly being," she thought.

"Were you close to Yu Xuelan?" Yu Xuelan asked.

"Normally people would be afraid to even talk about her, let alone mention her name. But you don't seem to be scared even the slightest bit," Long Wen said.

Yu Xuelan slapped herself in her mind again, wondering why everything she says ends up being so stupid.

Stupid people act stupid.

Long Wen's eyes sunk and mumbled, "But, we were close, me and Xuelan...She probably sees me as a demon after what I had done."

Yu Xuelan stared at the green-robed girl with eyes stained in guilt and slowly laid her chopsticks down.

"People keep labelling her as a demonic witch. A curse to the cultivation world. A heartless snake. They even said she's one of the Three Demon Gods," Long Wen seethed and slammed her chopsticks down onto the table.

Her hands trembled with rage and she clenched her jaw, "But they don't understand anything."

Yu Xuelan felt conflicted by Long Wen's response since her statements now contradicted her actions years ago, though maybe she was just misremembering things again. But if it was regarding Long Wen's behaviour in the past, there was no way Yu Xuelan could have forgotten everything.

The black-clad girl acted surprised and exclaimed, "Wow! That's harsh!"

Long Wen flinched upon realizing all the rambling she had done and apologized, "Sorry, I got too heated."

"No, it's fine, it's nice to know that Yu Xuelan had a good friend like you!" Yu Xuelan comforted yet she felt repulsed by her fakeness.

"Friend? Huh, how funny," she scoffed.

After behaving so suspiciously and asking unusual questions, she decided to take advantage of her foolish image to gain more information about the past eight years.

"Um, can I ask you something, Young Madam Long?"

"What is it?" Long Wen responded.

"Is there some sort of conflict going on between you and Sect Master Wu?" Yu Xuelan asked.

Long Wen furrowed her brows and berated, "Lin Yuhe, you sure have guts. Trying to meddle in with the affairs of your sect master and the Young Madam of Zheng Long, you would've been punished for that tongue of yours."

Yu Xuelan laughed, "Well, I'm already having a meal with you anyways! What's the harm of knowing more about my master and his fellow friends?"

"Friends? Hm, you sure have no fear," Long Wen responded and stared at the girl smiling foolishly.

There was something strange in her smile. It was that same, carefree smile that made Long Wen quite taken aback, as though it had triggered a memory from the past.

She cleared her throat, "We were merely just acquaintances since our sects were part of the Four Autumn Alliance, though we are definitely not friends."

"Oh, okay," Yu Xuelan replied quietly.

Without the girl noticing, Long Wen stole glances at her and thought about how much she resembled her dear childhood friend, Yu Xuelan.