Chapter 2.4 Broken Bridge in Hangzhou, Bai &Xu fell in love at first sight
In the midst of the bustling night, Xu Xian was standing in front of a mask vendor's stall, admiring the masks. Suddenly, Jin Ruyi appeared.
Xu Xian turned his head in surprise and said, "I thought you were going to shop for a long time. You've already picked out your clothes so quickly."
Jin Ruyi sneered, "Don't mention it. I ran into a country girl with no taste. Han Wen, look at that mask. It's so beautiful. Boss, how much is this mask?"
The boss enthusiastically introduced, "Fifty coins."
Jin Ruyi happily took the mask and handed it to Xu Xian, saying, "One for you and one for me."
Xu Xian looked at the mask in his hand and the one in Jin Ruyi's hand. They were clearly a pair, but he hesitated to wear it. Jin Ruyi became impatient, snatched the mask from Xu Xian's hand and put it on him, saying, "Don't take it off. You have to wear it tonight."
Xu Xian had no choice but to put his hand down. Jin Ruyi was finally satisfied and pulled Xu Xian forward.
At the gate of the Jinxiu Alley on the other end of the street, Mrs. Wu was wearing a beautifully embroidered dress, standing in front of the gate of Jinxiu Alley, displaying a variety of lifelike embroidered products, which were astonishing. Changsheng was holding the hands of Mrs. Yu and Yu Qijiang, walking towards them.
Mrs. Yu liked a hat among them and asked, "The embroidery work is really good. Shopkeeper, how much is this hat?"
Mrs. Wu said gently, "It's not expensive, three hundred coins per hat."
Mrs. Yu's hand holding the money bag tightened, "I only have more than two hundred coins."
Mrs. Wu understood and smiled, "Keep the change. I only charge two hundred coins."
Mrs. Yu thanked her quickly, "That's great. Thank you, shopkeeper."
Changsheng happily took the hat and the family was about to leave. Mrs. Wu chased after them and said, "Wait, this sachet is a gift from my shop. Give it to your child as a souvenir."
Mrs. Wu took out the sachet, tied it to Changsheng's waist, and smiled at him with a meaningful look.
After sending Changsheng's family away, Mrs. Wu stood in front of the gate of Jinxiu Alley and solicited business. A little girl stood timidly in front of the stall, looking at the phoenix embroidered shoes and shyly exclaimed, "Big bird, it's so beautiful."
Mrs. Wu squatted down, lovingly asked her, "Little sister, do you like this phoenix?"
The little girl nodded. Mrs. Wu's eyes lit up and she continued, "Little sister, have you ever seen this kind of bead? As long as you have seen this kind of bead, you can take whatever you want from Auntie's shop."
Mrs. Wu unfolded a piece of silk cloth. On it, a mermaid bead was embroidered vividly. She looked at the little girl expectantly.
The little girl shook her head regretfully.
Mrs. Wu sighed disappointedly, "It's not her..."
Suddenly, Mrs. Wu's body emitted a rough male voice, "Don't give up yet? Seeing a girl and thinking it's your daughter..."
Mrs. Wu angrily said, "Shut up." Her expression was furious and desperate.
Bai Suzhen stopped in front of a lantern vendor, where she was overwhelmed by the various lanterns. The vendor saw that she liked them and said, "Miss, are you here to solve a riddle or guess a riddle? If you come to solve a riddle, please write a riddle on a lantern. If you guess the answer correctly, you can take the lantern you like."
Bai Suzhen was pleasantly surprised, "Really? This game is so interesting. Then, I will solve a riddle first."
She took the lantern handed to her by the vendor, thought for a moment, and wrote the riddle on the lantern: "Lies down, stands up, sits down, lies down again."
After finishing the riddle, Bai Suzhen hung the lantern on the tree next to her and handed the paper with the answer to the vendor. Just as she was about to leave, the vendor stopped her.
The vendor spread his hands and said, "Miss, you haven't paid for the lantern yet."
"Money again?"
Xiaoqing, who had been following her, held freshly roasted chestnuts in her arms and a string of sugar-coated haws in her hand. She stood near a vendor who was roasting lamb not far from Bai Suzhen. Upon seeing this, Xiaoqing immediately rushed over with various snacks in hand.
"Here comes the money!" Xiaoqing exclaimed as she handed over the silver to the vendor, finally freeing Bai Suzhen from the vendor's grasp. The street was bustling with people, and Xiaoqing and Bai Suzhen chatted while looking at the scenery.
Bai Suzhen was puzzled and asked, "Do we need silver for everything in the mortal world?"
Xiaoqing didn't think much of it and slickly replied, "Of course, people can't live without silver, but as for me, whether I need it or not depends on my mood!"
Bai Suzhen was confused and asked, "Can we really decide whether we need silver or not based on our mood?"
Xiaoqing snorted and raised her eyebrows, "Look over there, see those masks on that stall?"
Bai Suzhen looked over at the mask stall next to them and saw several masks hanging on it. Xiaoqing made a gesture, and a golden light flashed in her hand, producing two more masks. She handed one of the masks to Bai Suzhen.
"This way, you don't need to spend any silver," she said, afraid of being judged by Bai Suzhen. She casually waved her hand, and some silver fragments flew into the vendor's money bag without him noticing.
"But today, I'm in the mood to spend some money," Xiaoqing said, flicking her hair.
Bai Suzhen listened carefully and nodded with a smile. Xiaoqing patted Bai Suzhen's shoulder and said, "As a novice demon, you need to learn from me, an old hand. It's good for you to follow me."
In front of the lantern vendor, a crowd had gathered, looking up at the lanterns. Xu Xian and Jin Ruyi stood among the crowd, and Jin Ruyi had already picked up several lanterns. Xu Xian was looking at a lantern with a riddle written on it that read, "Lying down, standing up, sitting down, still lying down. What am I?" He nodded appreciatively, finding it quite interesting.
Xu Xian became interested and said, "Young man, can I borrow a pen and ink?"
Xu Xian took a pen and wrote a riddle next to the lantern.
The vendor recited the riddle, "Changing clothes in different seasons, even though it has no feet, it moves swiftly. Climbing trees with ease, but it's difficult to walk on a road paved with realgar. Is this also about a snake? You answered the riddle with a riddle, which is quite unique. You can have this lantern."
The crowd erupted in cheers, discussing Xu Xian's numerous riddle-solving successes that evening.
"Isn't this gentleman a genius? There's no riddle he can't solve. A few people who didn't believe in him just now had their lanterns won by him."
Jin Ruyi listened to the praise heaped on Xu Xian and felt very proud.
Xu Xian carefully took the lantern handed to him by the vendor and asked, "Young man, may I know who left this lantern riddle?"
The vendor replied, "It was a girl who left not long ago."
Jin Ruyi interrupted, "Xu Xian, why don't you come up with a riddle for them to solve?"
Xu Xian shook his head, thinking to himself that there were already too few kindred spirits in the world, and if he were to create a riddle that no one could solve, he would only feel more lonely. He sighed and felt lost.
Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing were strolling together, with Xiaoqing complaining about being bored. She was particularly excited and had already won several lanterns along the way, leaning on Bai Suzhen.
Pointing to the distance, Xiaoqing exclaimed, "Look, our lantern from before is gone!"
Bai Suzhen walked towards the lantern vendor and indeed found that her lantern was missing.
She asked the vendor, "Excuse me, our lantern..."
The vendor smiled and replied, "The gentleman who solved your riddle took it. He has already left with it and left a new riddle with the same answer. It's a pity that he's not here now, he would have been a kindred spirit for you. This is the lantern he left behind, please take it."
Xiaoqing suddenly stepped forward and said, "No, no, I didn't want that one, I wanted the one next to it with tassels!"
Bai Suzhen held onto the lantern and stubbornly said, "I want this one." She took the lantern with the riddle that Xu Xian had solved and couldn't bear to let it go.
As they walked and finished admiring the lanterns, they headed towards a more crowded area.
Just as they turned a corner, they encountered Fahai with his staff.
Fahai had a cold expression and sharp eyes, scanning everyone on the street.
That demon must be nearby, and this time he wouldn't let her escape!
On the other end of the street, the crowd surged as someone with a hideous centipede mask approached, and their embroidered shoes were as red as blood.
Bai Suzhen responded to Xiaoqing's idle chatter as they walked.
Xiaoqing asked curiously, "Where did you learn all this random knowledge from?"
Bai Suzhen replied seriously, "Mount Emei is the place of practice for Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and the Golden Summit's scripture repository contains all sorts of knowledge. I've been wandering there for a hundred years, so of course I've learned something."
Xiaoqing exclaimed, "Ah? You've been studying for a hundred years, aren't you tired?"
Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Accumulating wealth is nothing compared to studying. Making friends through literature and seeking kindred spirits is elegant, where's the fatigue in that?"
As they were speaking, a sudden gust of wind blew through, causing the crowd to stumble and the vendors and lanterns to fall to the ground. The sudden chaos caused a commotion in the crowd, and Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing were separated from each other.
Xu Xian was pushed and stumbled, and when he looked up, he couldn't see Jin Rusi next to him. He frantically went against the crowd, searching anxiously for her. His gaze fell on a woman not far away, dressed in the same clothes and mask as Jin Rusi.
Xu Xian broke through the crowd and rushed towards the woman, pulling her to the side to avoid being trampled. Unexpectedly, the woman fell into his arms.
Their masks fell off in that moment, and Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen locked eyes in the corner. They were holding each other's lanterns, and the noise of the crowd seemed to quiet down, leaving only the two of them standing in the dim light of the lanterns.