Chapter 29: Missing Each Other by a Hair's Breadth

  In the late afternoon, they arrived at a small town on the north side of Huangshan. Xuán Zhèn decided to stay overnight in the city and dismounted his horse in front of the city gate. As soon as he entered the city, he was amazed to see lanterns and streamers everywhere, with people packed like sardines, and the sound of discussions coming from all directions. Amidst the noise, he could even faintly hear the sound of drums and music.

  Since the earthquake, I have never seen such a lively scene. I thought to myself: Could it be that I've coincidentally arrived on some festive day, and all the citizens of the city have come out to celebrate?

  At this time, the roads in the city were already crowded with people, and Xuanzhen had to bow his head every few steps to ask the people in front of him to make way. After squeezing through with great difficulty, he finally reached the intersection and was about to pull over a passerby to ask for directions to the inn when he heard several people shouting loudly from up ahead: "Make way! Everyone move aside!"

  Xuan Zhen looked up to see several tall and sturdy men running over from the other end of the street, all dressed in official attire, with faces that were quite majestic. The pedestrians on the street hastily moved to the side of the road, craning their necks to watch, looking like they were waiting for something exciting to happen rather than being afraid of these officials.

  Those several yamen runners shouted as they passed by, and before long, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air, a loud and lively suona horn sounded from around the corner, and some children in the crowd excitedly exclaimed: "Here they come! Here they come!" The procession was quite grand, and from afar, one could see a long string of carriages and horses, with many young men and women walking together, looking like a cluster of red clouds filled with joyful energy.

  The people on the street were eagerly looking forward to it, and soon the horses and carriages arrived in front of them. The first one was a tall and majestic horse, which was quite spirited, but the person riding on its back didn't seem to match it. It turned out to be a chubby young man, who was only in his early twenties, with small eyes and eyebrows, looking rather kind-hearted, with a smile on his face, but his cheeks and belly were full of extra flesh, which not only squeezed his smile into the center of his face, making him look awkward, but also made his new red wedding clothes tight and bulging, as if they would burst open at any moment.

  Behind it was a flower sedan chair, its body wrapped in a layer of bright red silk, and on the front curtain were embroidered with golden thread the delicate patterns of mandarin ducks playing among lotus flowers. On each corner of the sedan chair hung five-colored tassels, each suspending a long string of small golden bells that jingled crisply as they swayed in the wind. The sedan bearers were also dressed in festive attire and were all young men with handsome faces and robust physiques. Although the flower sedan was carried by people, it moved very steadily, as if afraid of shaking the person inside, which made that person appear even more pampered.

  Xuan Zhen now knew that it wasn't a festival, but rather he had coincidentally arrived at the wedding of a prominent person in the city. The several old women beside him began to whisper and discuss: "This County Magistrate Liu is so young, and yet he's a scholar, who would have thought that many suitable girls wouldn't be good enough for him, and instead he marries this old miss from the Ruan family."

  Another person stretched his neck to gaze at the dowry passing by in front of him, and said with some jealousy: "Isn't that so? Who made this Ruan family wealthy and powerful, and also the richest man in our Shouyang City?"

  "Hey, I heard that the old girl from your family wasn't unwanted back then. There were people who came to ask for her hand in marriage, but she herself looked down on them and rejected them all!" The old woman muttered to herself, "Ordinary girls get married at 15 or 16 and become mothers, but she was picky and choosy, and didn't get married until she was 20. This time it's because your family's old master took a liking to the new magistrate of Liu County that he forced his daughter to marry him!"

  "It's only a rich young lady like her who can afford to be so picky." Another person sighed, "Our Shouyang City may not be big, but there are many men with good looks and family background that match Miss Ruan's standards. I've lived for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen a girl with such high standards!"

  The sedan chair went straight ahead, steadily and smoothly, to a large gate of a wealthy family. The people behind knew that there was still excitement to be seen, or perhaps the old daughter of the richest family could really get married, which was rare. Those with quick legs had already caught up. Xuān Zhèn was squeezed in the crowd, unable to move on his own, and step by step, he was also pushed towards that direction.

  It wasn't until he got closer that he saw clearly a plaque with gold trim on the vermilion gate, with two large characters "Liu Fu" on it, which was obviously the residence of County Magistrate Liu. On the high steps above, both the main gate and the side door were wide open, and the fat groom had already taken his position, seemingly overjoyed to the point that he had walked a few steps too far, forgetting that he should be waiting at the foot of the stairs for his bride.

  The sedan chair arrived at the front of the steps and was carefully set down, the four bearers letting go and stepping aside. The plump groom hastily ran down from the steps, seemingly in a great hurry, but before he could welcome his bride, he first panted heavily with an open mouth.

  The maid who was still standing beside the sedan chair was quick-witted and hurriedly gave the new groom a gentle push, lifting up the curtain. Only then did Liu County Magistrate straighten his back, shaking off the flesh on his belly, and reached into the sedan chair. He saw a slender jade-like hand come out from inside the sedan chair and lightly fall onto his thick palm, making it look like a scallion shoot, with skin as smooth as congealed fat. Next, he saw a delicate and beautiful figure emerge from the sedan chair. Although her face was covered by a veil and couldn't be seen, just based on that soft hand and elegant posture, it could be inferred that this Miss Ruan was definitely a rare and talented lady of noble birth.

  At this time, among the people surrounding the government gate, several children suddenly came out and stood in front of them, clapping their hands and laughing loudly: "Ride a big horse, welcome a sedan chair, next year you will have another fat baby!" This was originally an innocent child's words, but it happened to be very timely. Even Xuan Zhen couldn't help but smile when he heard this, his eyes lingering on the fat groom's flesh for a few more moments. As for the people who had gathered to watch the commotion, they all burst out laughing.

  The bride, who was being supported by the groom as she walked up the steps, stumbled upon hearing this and almost fell over. The fat groom was quite considerate and quickly held her steady. However, the veil with the same embroidered mandarin duck playing lotus pattern swayed slightly, revealing half of her face underneath. Xuan Zhen's gaze was like lightning, and he had already caught a glimpse of her pointed chin and rosy lips in that brief moment. This fleeting glance left him dazed, and before he could even think about it, a severe pain suddenly shot through his brain, as if a large hammer had struck his head with great force.

  "Brother Shen!"

  A crisp and clear voice seemed to float into his ears, familiar yet unfamiliar, as if he had heard it many times before, but couldn't recall the owner's face. Xuan Zhen supported his forehead with one hand and looked around weakly, seeing only joyful and unfamiliar faces everywhere, no one glanced at him, and that voice just now was gone without a trace.

  Who is it? And who is Shen Gege? Why does this voice sound so familiar, yet its owner can't recall even a single detail about it? Why does this cry seem to have been heard multiple times before, but as soon as one tries to think carefully, only a sharp pain and a blank mind remain? And why... at this moment, is one's heart filled with such bitterness?

  Unbeknownst to him, the sound of drums and music gradually faded away. Xuan Zhen slowly regained some consciousness and found himself leaning against a brick wall in an alleyway. The hand that was originally supporting his forehead was now tightly clutching his chest. His fingers had already turned white, and his collar was wrinkled into a ball. Even when fighting the demon beast, he had never been so disheveled. As someone who always presented himself as a steady and reliable senior brother in the Qinghua Sect, he was now dazed and confused.

  A flash of light, a dazzling glow flashed through the dark alley. Xuan Zhen almost fell to the ground, his hands tightly grasping the fluorescent spring water in front of him, staring blankly at the face reflected on the sword. His face was as white as paper, his eyes were confused, and his originally neat hair tied up in a jade crown was now disheveled with several strands sticking out, where was even half of his usual demeanor?

  After an unknown period of time, the outside sounds of people and music had all dispersed, and the sky above was pitch black. Xuan Zhen opened his eyes to find that his hands and feet were numb and sore, and there was a hard object pressing against his chest. He slowly sat up and looked down to see that it was the Spring Water Sword lying across his lap.

  What's wrong with me? Xuan Zhen grasped the hilt of his sword, supporting himself against the brick wall as he slowly stood up. As soon as he straightened his back, he felt a wave of dizziness and headache. Since training to strengthen his body under Master's guidance, this was the first time he had experienced such suffering. Xuan Zhen only felt a wave of discomfort, but didn't know where this feeling came from, whether it was physical or mental.

  "Ah, right... need to find a guest house..." he muttered to himself, slowly sheathing his sword and walking out of the alley, casually smoothing out his clothes as he went. By the time he returned to the main street, he had once again become the forever calm and composed senior brother of the Kunlun Mountains' Qionghua Sect.

  The night was deep and a cold wind blew from the other end of the street, carrying several broken lanterns that had been crumpled into a ball. The red paper tumbled in front of the Liu mansion for a few moments before hitting the tip of Xuán Zhèn's boots. The tall and slender young Daoist priest merely hesitated for a moment, glanced sideways at the tightly closed mansion gate, his eyes scanning over the large red character for "joy" on the door without any reaction, shook his head, and continued walking forward slowly, completely unaware if he had... missed something.

  Tomorrow some grass will return to school, updates may be a bit late ~ Sorry in advance ~

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