When the two of them returned, five waiters immediately came out to greet them. Two of them guarded their left and right sides to politely keep others away in case anyone tried to disturb them.
Another waiter led the way, taking them back to their previous room.
Having experienced a taste of the celebrity treatment with bodyguards clearing the path, Lian Li’s face was practically splitting from a grin the moment they entered the room.
“We hit the jackpot! The people from Maple Leaf Valley must be fuming. They put so much effort into marketing and promotion to build a reputation for Zhou Yu, but in the end, they just paved the way for me. What kind of crazy luck am I having?”
Lian Li was so delighted he didn’t know which way was up.
“It wasn’t just luck,” Yun Huizhou said, pouring two cups of water and handing one to Lian Li. “You’ve been practicing your martial arts very diligently lately. After you knew about the duel, you pushed yourself to the limit for those five days. If you didn’t win, who would?”
“Right!” Lian Li sat across from Yun Huizhou. “I deserved this win.”
Although he had worn his “ugly” battle robe—compared to his opponent’s—for the sake of victory, it seemed it hadn’t affected anything at all.
He had managed to pull it off with his face and his strength.
After resting in the room for a while, Yun Huizhou suddenly asked, “Are you planning to play in Linjiu City for a few days, or head back tomorrow?”
Lian Li thought for a moment and said, “Let’s stay for a few days. Didn’t we hear the waiter say last time that there’s a small lantern festival here every seven days? I want to see it. I didn’t go to Jianggao City to see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival last year.”
The Southern Island Master had asked them if they wanted to go to Jianggao City for the Lantern Festival. If they had wanted to go, he would have told Xiyu or picked a fight with them to let them out for a trip.
But Lian Li had refused, saying that the Lantern Festival was for lovers and finding partners, and he didn’t want to “eat dog food” by being a third wheel.
At that time, Yun Huizhou had teased him, saying he should go out in women’s clothing and might find many suitors. As a result, Lian Li chased him across the entire Southern Island.
Yun Huizhou didn’t dwell on the past. Hearing Lian Li say this, he agreed. “Alright. It just so happens that the Beauty List is coming out in a few days. We can wait for it and see if Jinman Jue is up to any more mischief.”
Lian Li covered his mouth and chuckled. “But if Jinman Jue writes the same way as before, we won’t have a reason to trouble him. After all, what he writes would be the truth.”
“Oh, right.” Yun Huizhou finally realized that his relationship with Lian Li had changed.
He paused for a moment and added, “But it’s not a big deal. Jinman Jue loves to write nonsense. Who knows if he’ll come up with something else ridiculous this time?”
Lian Li thought about it and agreed, though he couldn’t imagine what else Jinman Jue could possibly make up this time.
They rested at the inn for a day. The next evening was when the small lantern festival was held.
Lian Li rummaged through his bags for the best clothes they had brought and excitedly dragged Yun Huizhou out the door.
The small lantern festival wasn’t held throughout the entire city.
Linjiu City certainly didn’t lack money, but since the festival happened every seven days, it was too frequent to hold it city-wide. There wouldn’t be enough preparation time. Therefore, it was only held on a few streets in the southern part of the city.
By the time Lian Li and Yun Huizhou left, the sky was completely dark.
In modern terms, Linjiu City was a commercial hub with high daily foot traffic. Thus, even though the lantern festival was frequent, it was still incredibly lively.
From a distance, Lian Li and Yun Huizhou saw a decorative archway hung with exquisite lanterns. Passing under it meant they had officially entered the festival grounds.
Both of them had outstanding looks and temperaments. Although it wasn’t the official Lantern Festival, it was still a lantern fair. In this romantic and bustling atmosphere, many people were bolder than usual.
Yun Huizhou walked side-by-side with Lian Li. He looked at a young couple in the distance and suddenly said, “Zhao Honglan and Miss Qu pledged their love to each other during the Lantern Festival.”
“Hmm?” Lian Li’s interest was piqued immediately upon hearing gossip about the male and female leads. “Tell me more?”
Seeing him like this, Yun Huizhou felt amused and said, “At that time, I was busy catching a horse, so I didn’t spend the festival with them.”
Lian Li: “…If you had spent it with them, wouldn’t that have been a ‘three-person walk’?”
“Exactly,” Yun Huizhou said. “If I had been there, they probably wouldn’t have been able to pledge their love that year. After all, when I left, they didn’t seem like they were going to get together at all.”
Lian Li huffed. “You’re so dense. Maybe they already had a spark and you just didn’t notice. Even if you hadn’t gone to catch a horse, they probably would have found an excuse to send you away so they could spend the festival alone.”
“I don’t think so,” Yun Huizhou said. “Our bond is so strong.”
“Whether your bond is strong or not doesn’t conflict with them wanting some alone time.” After saying this, Lian Li quickened his pace and walked to a mask stall.
Along the way, many people had already been looking at them.
Some had even wanted to come up and talk to them, but once Yun Huizhou noticed, he directly put his arm around Lian Li’s shoulder and led him into the crowd to lose them.
Yun Huizhou followed him to the mask stall and found that Lian Li had already picked up two masks.
The masks sold at the lantern festival were all very beautiful, and most were half-masks.
Since they were meant for adults, the eye holes were designed to be narrow and long. Of course, despite being narrow, they still allowed the wearer’s eyes to be seen.
The corners of the eyes were painted with slightly upturned patterns, giving the masks a very amorous look. One could tell at a glance that these weren’t for children.
Lian Li was holding a rabbit mask and a fox mask.
He paid the money, then looked down at the two masks in his hands. After a careful comparison, he handed the rabbit mask—which was slightly cuter and softer than the others—to Yun Huizhou.
“This one is for you.”
Yun Huizhou looked down at the rabbit mask, then at the fox mask in Lian Li’s other hand, and asked, “Why not the fox mask?”
Although a fox didn’t quite suit him either, compared to this cute little rabbit, he felt he should be wearing the fox mask.
Lian Li didn’t care which one he wanted. He had intentionally chosen two animals that completely clashed with Yun Huizhou’s temperament.
Especially this little rabbit; he had specifically bought it for Yun Huizhou because he wanted to see him wearing it.
