The lantern lights were bursting through the streets, covering the night market with hues of gold and red, laughter bubbling as children ran around with panicles of rice.
And the one who stood watching everything in silent admiration was a young man in red robes, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking out of place amidst the laughing crowd.
Then from a distance, a man, much older whose facial expression conveyed that he had lived through many troubles.
"You- young master!"
The man called out, panting as he finally caught into the man,
"Young master please be more cautious" he adjusted his robes, as he took out a pouch from his sleeves and handed it back to that young man.
The man casually smiled as he took it without saying another word,
Strolling around casually as if he hadn't gotten robbed just some moments ago,
Seeing as how his words just passed through the other ear, he wanted to tear his hair but that would be much too inappropriate for him as his position stands, being this man's guard.
The only thing he could do was suck his tears back and hope he doesn't get robbed once more after all it was him who had to chase down all those thieves and he'd rather not do it as it was really bothersome with the size of the present crowd.
He deliberated for a long time before sighing
"please be more careful, the crowd is very big and as your servant i do not want to be separated from you, who knows what might happen"
He merely chuckled, "You worry far too much"
Before he opened his mouth once more, removed of the brief laugh from earlier
"Ye Xiao"
The man called, immediately snapping him to reality,
"Yes young master?"
"Don't be a stuck up"
He glanced back casually, but this time there was a hint of sharpness in his eyes, which made him flinch slightly,
"...I apologise"
Then, Shen Yu turned his head back and continued walking through the streets,
Lost in thoughts while the man followed close behind
Ye Xiao was sighing to himself wondering if he was being overbearing, although he wished his master would be a bit more careful he perhaps took his worry too far, after all he was not a child- even if he was careless with his items was it not his duty as his guard?
It wasn't often when his master decided to leave home, despite whatever reason the only thing Ye Xiao needed to do was to carry out his duties
But while walking Shen Yu stopped in front of a stall with an elderly owner who was making blown sugar
He stopped and stared for a while before the grandma noticed and asked
"Would you like one?"
She propped up the freshly blown candy, the one shaped like a star in front of him wearing a warm smile.
Seeing this Ye Xiao slightly panicked,
He moved close to him and softly whispered, "master, it's pure sugar i don't think it'll suit your palate-"
Even though he said that, he just didn't want him to buy this because he was worried he might be doing it out of pity, after all his master wasn't used to the streets outside so there was also the possibility of him turning to hate it or be disgusted by it
After distracting him, he could personally deal with the elderly woman
But Shen Yu turned a deaf to his words as he took the candy from her hands and offered a smile, "thank you"
Then he took some silver coins from his pouch and placed it on her hands
However when the old woman realised how much the young man had paid her for a single candy she tried to return the money to him
But Shen Yu firmly refused to take it back, saying the extra was for her to keep saying it was to compensate for the craft and not only the candy
It hardly made sense even for Ye Xiao but Shen Yu was firm in his words, and in this moment of silly back and forth just as the old lady accepted her defeat with a defeated exhale a child bumped into him
His clothes were shabby as well as his appearance, when he met eyes with Shen Yu the kid visibly panicked and before yesterday xiao could do anything he ran away.
Shen Yu watched the kid disappear into the crowd as a memory of the past lingered on, in his vision.
It reminded him of his younger brother
"Young master!"
It was ye xiao's voice that brought him back,
"Y-your pouch" he stuttered, realising that his master, after getting robbed only moments ago had fallen victim once more
"...hah" he sighed,
ye xiao regained his composure stiffening his expressions,
"Please wait a moment I'll be back"
Then he took disappeared into the crowd,
Shen Yu resigned himself, was this the fifth time he had been mugged by now?
The old woman seemed worried but he put on a smile saying it was fine
Before he could fall deeper in thoughts a child's voice cut through the noise
"There" he pointed,
Following the voice, his eyes widened as a child in red robes was approaching him, followed by two men just a beat behind
Then, just a moment later the child exchanged glance with the red haired man who chuckled under his breath as he approached Shen Yu
He took out a pouch from his sleeves and turns out, it was the very pouch that had just gotten stolen,
"It seems that young master over here is a bit distracted"
He spoke, "keep a closer watch on your stuff or it might vanish in matters of seconds"
His voice was honeyed, as he spoke smoothly
However, shen Yu only raised his brows before putting on a smile as he offered thanks,
It looks like ye xiao had been beaten to it by a stranger
"Oh, no need to thank me-" the man paused as he turned towards the child and said, "if not for him we wouldn't have noticed the thief at all"
At the mention his eyes drifted to the child, he couldn't deny that he had been momentarily surprised by the kid's appearance, especially the snow like hair which was locked in braids
"Thank you, if not for you i might have suffered"
The child was embarrassed hearing these as he only nodded while holding onto the other man's sleeves.
It seems he was quite shy, that softened him slightly thinking back on a kid from his memories who was also shy
"Please have this"
He smiled, as he offered the blown candy to the child
The child paused as his eyes briefly lit up, but he was unsure if he could actually take it, Shen Yu noticed the child looking at the man behind him for assurance
Only when he gave a slight nod noticing his stare did he take the candy from him.
"...thank you" he mumbled,
Then from a distance he could see ye xiao returning,
The red haired man took over once more, as he said,
"well then, hope you enjoy the festival"
After the three had left, he stood still, thinking
Were they siblings too? He recalled the image of that black haired man and the child
He didn't have any way of knowing, and frankly he didn't need to but...
"Young master..." Ye Xiao softly called,
"I apologise" he was bowing then he noticed the yellow pouch,
He was immediately thrown into shock then confusion
Waiting for his explanation
Shen Yu exhaled as he was brought back to the present,
"This? Some kid men returned it to me while you were gone"
He answered,
"What- when?!"
He was baffled,
Then Shen Yu gestured at a distance in the crowd, the group was easy to notice
"Those kind men" he mentioned before smiling as he put his hands behind his back and strided off
Ye Xiao watched in disbelief,
'how could he be so relaxed as though he hadn't been stolen from multiple times?' he wondered,
It was hard to believe yet so believable that he was someone who barely left home.
Seeing Shen Yu threatening to leave him behind, he sighed with resignation before swiftly returning to his side
'His master truly was troublesome'
He shook his head, even so--
he smiled,
he was and is his responsibility
........
Moments earlier.
It was Xue Hua who had noticed the situation from afar
In the midst of him looking around
A kid had bumped into a man and had quickly taken the pouch while both were distracted,
They had also experienced this a moment ago
So he immediately realised the child's ploy
But there was nothing he could do, so he decided to tell Yue Ran, after all he wouldn't stand and just watch
However, the first to make a move was Chen Fang as he chuckled after watching Xue Hua trying to be some righteous man
After all they had also watched the scene unfold,
Chen Fang messed Xue Hua's hair saying,
"Don't worry"
Before going after the thief,
Xue Hua couldn't react in time but immediately after Chen Fang had left he quickly grabbed his own head as he frowned
Chen Fang was trying too hard to act all friendly
He thought
he didn't like it, yet he didn't want to express it outright
As there was a slight fear of how Yue Ran might react or think of him
He wanted to be good, good by Yue Ran's standards.
But he often times had no clue on what Yue Ran thought even as he watched his face just like now
Yue Ran didn't say anything, actually he hadn't even spoken a lot since he joined the two for a walk in the streets
He had nothing to talk about in the first place
And it seems that Xue Hua had grown to his silence too as he did not try to needlessly talk in the moment.
The crowd was already noisy as it was
The immortal wouldn't even have thought of going out if not for Chen Fang endlessly pestering him, he originally had planned to send Xue Hua with some servants
As Chen Fang returned grinning with the pouch in his hand he met eyes with xue Hua however he immediately looked away,
Then they approached the young man who was just dazed as he stood still
Chen Fang led the entire interaction seamlessly,
Although Xue Hua didn't exactly know or trust Chen Fang to conclude he was good, he believed that man wasn't a bad person just because he had seen how close he and Yue Ran were.
As the entire scene unfolded, Yue Ran just stood by and watched almost like an outsider,
well it also wouldn't be inaccurate to say that he actually was an outsider, after all he himself defined himself as one
When he saw that man offer candy to Xue Hua he was reminded of his own past memories, he recalled how he didn't like festivals since those days but would often accompany his master to one
So he had been to a few, but none were remarkable,
Every one of them blended right with each other
Even though he knew his master was trying to uplift his spirits and perhaps give him a fun time
He never grew fond of them, and his master caught on not long after, and finally stopped going or mentioning them altogether
...could he have grown fond of these had he just gone to a couple more?
His master always wore a warm smile whenever they went to one, a smile he didn't often show even to him
As much of a brat as he was, Yue Ran realised that unlike when surrounded by a lot of people, the smile he had during those moments actually reached his eyes, crinkling deeper with every smile.
His master stopped going there entirely just because he thought Yue Ran found it uncomfortable
Seeing him stop doing something he enjoyed just because he wasn't particularly excited about it
It puzzled Yue Ran, it was strange, he still found it strange even now.
His eyes drifted downward
Glancing down, he noticed Xue Hua's ears tinted with a reddish hue, even though Xue Hua was still alert and guarded, he was beginning to relax with time, his eyes brightened up whenever he saw something he hadn't seen before, and his grip would tightened, certainly unintentionally but it was funny seeing how he didn't realise it, was this how his master had hoped he'd react?
Probably.
What was he doing now?
Yue Ran pondered,
Did he really ... miss him like Chen Fang said?
Chen Fang, despite being someone who enjoyed meaningless things and loved to play with others, had actually never told a lie to him.
Perhaps, Xue Hua was actually the one his master would've preferred to raise,
He thought,
Throughout the night, he watched the child get intrigued or drawn by something yet never make any comments on it
However, because Chen Fang also watched everything and was better experienced in dealing with kids would help Xue Hua get the things he wanted without making the kid in subject realise it
After all he was adept at dealing with many emotional matters unlike Yue Ran
Xue Hua tried to be subtle with his emotions but it was all for nought, he wished to not bother Yue Ran but unfortunately Chen Fang didn't have any inclinations or plans to let his plans succeed
When the child realised this he made an even bigger effort to restrain himself and whenever something did catch his eyes
Xue Hua tried hard to keep his interest hidden
Yet every time, Chen Fang would return with the very thing of interest and almost force it onto Xue Hua while snickering
They were in a sort of cold psychological war,
Perhaps Chen Fang hadn't realised it himself, but he was genuinely having fun teasing the kid
Hard to imagine him as the same person who was vehemently against him at first and tried to learn his identity
While he still is trying to do that, it was visible that his interest in the kid had leaned towards other things interrelated to his identity.
And with time Xue Hua also started talking back and biting back at Chen Fang's words lowering his guards.
'How nice'
Yue Ran thought,
Everyone was having fun in the festival
Yet, he still found it incessantly exhausting
Maybe, despite his master's assurance
'He really was the actual weird one'
He exhaled softly, now wasn't the time to get lost in his thoughts,
he rested his hand on top of Xue Hua, catching his attention
The least he could do now was watch Xue Hua enjoy the festival to its fullest just how his master wanted him to.
Yue Ran hesitated briefly,
"Are you having fun?" He asked
Xue Hua's eyes widened as they lit up with joy,
"Yes!"
He nodded enthusiastically,
After this Xue Hua gained a boost of confidence as he turned more energetic and confidently showed interest in things that attracted him and that's when they passed by a temple and saw a crowd of people gathering around in a corner near a wall with fixed lanterns
The crowd contained people of many ages
"What are they doing?"
Xue Hua asked almost unconsciously,
"Solving riddles"
Chen Fang replied, rubbing his chin as he watched the crowd
Xue Hua stared quietly his eyes burning with curiosity
"It's been a while"
Yue Ran spoke,
"Should we go take a look?"
Unlike how the entire night had unfolded, the first to initiate this time was the immortal,
This took Xue Hua by surprise–
he had just accepted that Yue Ran was disinterested in the festival when he said that.
Xue Hua followed, still dazed, he didn't snap out of it until the immortal handed him a long red strip of paper,
And when it was placed on his hand Chen Fang stole a look from behind his back,
"Ohh, I've solved this one multiple times~"
"I wonder how fast you'll be able to solve this" Chen Fang snickered,
Xue Hua's brows almost instantly furrowed,
As he turned away from chen fang hiding the piece of paper before
Slowly reading the characters
[ Clue: She is a gentle kiss to ones stained with labour, her presence strong enough to embarrass the shining star yet her tears though gentle hide a ferocity that few can withstand
Her lungs breath stillness .
And in her embrace, doth the weary be lulled to rest.
Hint: cycle of nature ]
Xue Hua read the riddle multiple times with extreme focus however, he did not have any sort of guess about what the riddle was referring to
but since yue Ran had given it to him, he must have been sure that he'll be able to solve it so he thought hard before finally-
"Ah!"
Seeing that chen fang crept up behind him with a grin
"Rain--"snow"
Chen Fang cut him off,
Xue Hua froze then the shopkeeper gave a short clap
As he smiled, "Correct, it's snow!"
"As expected of you lord Fang" the shopkeeper said,
Then,
Chen Fang glanced at Xue Hua and flashed him a smirk
"Too slow" he added
Before Xue hua could react
After finally processing what happened Xue Hua turned his head sharply behind looking for him but when he turned Chen Fang was waving at him from a great distance
This snapped something in him as he clenched his fist,
For the first time Xue hua couldn't even think about hiding how he felt as his emotions manifested strongly
Hence, Yue Ran finally saw Xue Hua act like a proper kid,
Just like a typical child that he had seen so much back when with his master
He watched the scene as Xue Hua chased after Chen Fang who effortlessly strided around to avoid him while continuing to poke fun, annoying the child even more.
Yue Ran watched them from the corner of his eyes before returning to his riddle.
After glancing at the clue he wrote something down and placed it on the table
When the shopkeeper saw that, he didn't make any effort to hide his suspicion, after all he had come across many people that pretended to have the answer in front of people just to write it incorrectly, he picked up the paper,
'there is no way he solved it that quick'
He assured himself
However, when he saw the answer his eyes widened, as he audibly gasped.
It was a riddle he had painstakingly crafted with many difficult wordplay having stumped multiple men over a series of years. When he saw the man solve it so easily and quickly, he was strangely proud despite having his pride wounded.
He wanted to see how the man looked like personally, ask how he came at the answer
But when he looked around the man had already left
Even so he wished to look for him, that was just how impressed he was but doing that was easier in his mind as people continued coming to test themselves
And for the first time he found his successful business regrettable
.....
Yue Ran had wandered far from the main street
As he walked, he ended up taking a lesser lit path, there weren't as many lamps on the way unlike the previous streets he had been wandering in
In the silence, he found himself able to breath easy once more
Soon the thoughts that he had previously pushed aside resurfaced as well
What was he supposed to even do in a festival?
He didn't know, what did his master make him do in the past again?
He couldn't quite remember that part. Despite remembering many things from the past vividly till now
The streets grew darker as he went deeper into the alley, and just beside the path was a small river running beyond the stone railings
He stretched out his fingers as his fingers brushed past the cool surface a familiar sensation settled on his fingertips
One he hadn't felt in a while
Closing his eyes, he breathed softly
Then he let out a deep breath, almost like a sigh
However, it seems he wasn't the only one who enjoyed this silence beyond the festive crowd.
Just some feet away a man stood leaning on the railing staring at the flowing stream,
The dark almost seemed to clothe him
The stranger had a strange expression on him
Yue Ran walked just a little closer, before stopping beside the man. It was out of pure curiosity, what was he doing in this barely lit place? Why choose a deserted looking area rather than the lively streets? Didn't people enjoy that stuff?
He analysed the man by his demeanor and robes, he wasn't a foreigner unlike the man they had met earlier
Among the two it was that man that opened his mouth first
"Are you lost?"
His voice flowed gently as he asked him a question,
He turned his head towards Yue Ran with a soft smile that was barely visible in the dim street.
He was without sight,
He had suspected as much, then he saw a burn scar spread across his right eye.
Was this the reason?
The man was in plain clothes,
But he did not exude the feeling of being from a poor background
had he sneaked out of the house and was now hiding from his servants?
Yue Ran speculated,
Even so, what did it matter to him?
He paused, the silence had hung for a bit longer than he intended,
"Yes" he answered,
The man stayed silent for a moment, like he was thinking for a moment, then he nodded as though he had figured something out
"You don't sound like a local, are you here to experience the harvest festival? " He smiled, but cut himself off before Yue Ran could answer,
"The streets around this area can be quite confusing...
no wonder you got lost, there aren't many people here to ask about directions either" he shook his head,
"However, I'm glad that you found someone since not many come here especially in such events"
But this time before that man filled the silence by himself Yue Ran spoke first,
"Then, how should I find my way out? You seem to know this area well"
When he said that, the man merely smiled
"just keep walking" he breathed
"After a couple minutes of walk from here you will come across a large building, you will recognise it so don't worry about the details, just knock on the door and they will guide you out of this alley"
He explained patiently.
"Thank you-"
Fireworks burst in the sky one after another, lights filled the sky
Yue Ran looked up at the sky,
"Then" the man spoke, his voice almost drowned by the noise he said,
"I'll take my leave, I hope you find your way out soon"
And with that, he grabbed his stick and steadily departed from the dark.
Yue Ran watched the man until he disappeared with the dark, after a moment of silence, he rubbed the pendant hanging from his waist
"Just keep walking... He says"
He said under his breath.