Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 67 - Illusion Lantern Festival 01
In the days that followed, Qin Su stayed in his room cultivating, restoring his spiritual energy.
Although Qin Zheng wasn’t cultivating alongside him, he wasn’t idle either.
Ever since he noticed Yu Xinjue’s strange behavior last time, he took advantage of the fact that his room was right next to Qin Su’s and constantly observed the comings and goings near Qin Su’s room.
However, since Qin Su had told everyone that he didn’t eat, even after seven days of around-the-clock surveillance, Qin Zheng didn’t catch a single glimpse of Yu Xinjue.
He began to feel he was just overthinking things.
At this moment, Qin Zheng was lying bored on the bed, thinking about what he could do next to kill some time.
Since it seemed there was no need to keep watching Yu Xinjue, it was time to turn his attention elsewhere.
Knock knock—
There was a knock at the door.
Qin Zheng glanced curiously at it.
It wasn’t mealtime. Besides Qin Su, who else would come looking for him?
“Who is it?”
Qin Zheng asked suspiciously.
“There’s a lantern festival tonight. Want to go out and have some fun?”
It was Qin Su’s voice.
Qin Zheng, feeling bored, immediately jumped out of bed, opened the door, and exclaimed, “Yes, yes, yes!”
“But weren’t you cultivating? How do you even know about this kind of event?”
“Thinking of joining in on the fun?”
Qin Zheng remembered that when they were in the Tianque Sect, Qin Su had always been the type who disliked lively crowds. What had changed?
Had he been infected by the secular ways of the mortal world?
Qin Su replied calmly, “I’ve almost fully recovered my spiritual power.” Then he paused and added, “You seemed quite bored.”
Qin Zheng stared at the man before him in surprise. “You’re recovering faster and faster now!”
Then, as if remembering something, he frowned at Qin Su and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be cultivating? How do you know I was bored?”
Seeing Qin Su say nothing and simply turn to walk back to his room, Qin Zheng shouted, “Go cultivate properly! Don’t waste your energy spying on me!”
Qin Su’s door slowly closed behind him, shutting out Qin Zheng’s shouting.
***
Later that evening, someone knocked on Qin Zheng’s door again.
He jumped out of bed and struck a dramatic pose as he opened the door.
He had even changed his headband color just to dress up for the outing.
But the moment he saw the man standing behind Qin Su, the proud expression on his face vanished instantly.
Yu Xinjue’s expression also changed slightly upon seeing Qin Zheng. Forcing a smile, he said, “So Senior Brother likes crowds too?”
“If I’d known, I would’ve invited you as well.”
“Good thing Brother Qin Su is thoughtful.”
Hearing him repeatedly call him “Senior Brother” for some reason irritated Qin Zheng.
So, Yu Xinjue had come to see Qin Su after all these days.
Since he hadn’t spotted Yu Xinjue during the first seven days of observation, Qin Zheng had let his guard down later, only occasionally checking—thus missing the chance to see him invite Qin Su.
Fortunately, Qin Su had a sense of loyalty and, knowing Qin Zheng was bored, had brought him along too.
By the time the three of them reached the main street, the sky was already fully dark.
But once night fell, the streets grew even livelier.
Qin Zheng, excited to be out for fun, immediately asked, “So what’s fun about this lantern festival?”
Yu Xinjue quickly explained, “The Lantern Festival originally began as a competition to find the clan’s best illusionist.”
“Every year on this day, everyone in the clan would cast their own illusionary lantern into the air. The longer the lantern lasted, the stronger the illusionist.”
“But now, since we have better ways to assess illusion skills, this day gradually turned into a festival.”
At this point, Qin Zheng noticed Yu Xinjue glance at Qin Su before continuing: “Now, it’s become a day to express love.”
“If someone has feelings for another, they can create a lantern for them. That lantern will follow the one they love.”
“The longer it stays lit, the deeper the feelings.”
“The idea is to move the person’s heart.”
Qin Zheng looked at the strange Yu Xinjue, then at the indifferent Qin Su, and laughed. “So this festival is just like the Qixi Festival in the mortal realm.”
“It’s a holiday for couples—what are three men like us doing here?”
Yu Xinjue hurriedly bought a mask from a nearby stall and handed it to Qin Su. “There are all kinds of fun things to buy and play with!”
Qin Zheng looked longingly at the mask in Qin Su’s hands. He wanted it, but unfortunately, the currency used in Kuishui Town was different from what he carried, so he couldn’t buy anything.
However, his dignity as a man wouldn’t allow him to beg.
Qin Su seemed to sense what Qin Zheng was thinking. After taking the mask from Yu Xinjue, he handed it directly to Qin Zheng without even looking at it and said, “You probably like this sort of thing.”
From then on, the three strolled around for a long while. Qin Su didn’t carry anything in his hands, but Qin Zheng was loaded with all kinds of little trinkets.
Once Yu Xinjue realized Qin Su had no interest in anything, he stopped buying things altogether.
Eventually, the three made their way to the riverside.
There was a large crowd gathered there.
Qin Zheng immediately asked, “What’s everyone doing here?”
Yu Xinjue quickly pulled Qin Su forward and said, “This is where the lantern ritual begins.”
“It’s starting soon!”
Just then, a bell rang out.
One by one, colorful lanterns began to rise into the sky above their heads.
It was impossible to tell which lantern belonged to whom.
As more and more lanterns appeared, people began to move—some leaving, others arriving.
One by one, the illusionary lanterns drifted away with the crowd.
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