Xie Lian coughed and choked on his tea when he heard Wei Ying's shout. He coughed several more times as he grabbed Wei Ying's pointing hand and retracted it.
Holding up a hand to defend against the glaring heavenly officials, Xie Lian pounded his chest and blinked profusely as he tries to come up with an excuse.
Xie Lian, "It's - *cough *cough – It's that _*cough. Uhmm, Ahem, Ahem. He means me. *cough. Me. *cough ahemm. I'm his A-die."
Whether it's because of the continuous coughing or some other reason, Xie Lian's face was as red as freshly picked cherries. Xie Lian thought maybe it was the wine he drank before acting up.
Seeing his Baba refute like this, Wei Ying was confused. 'Wasn't Baba Baba and A-die A-die? How come Baba is A-die???'
Wei Ying was about to complain; Xie Lian hurriedly cupped his cotton ball in his arms and whispered into his ears, "A-Ying, let's keep a secret about A-die for now. It's that...umm...A-die asked for it."
Wei Ying asked with a confused face, "Really?"
Xie Lian again replied with a red face, "Omm. Really."
Wei Ying, "Oki then!" Then Wei Ying continued watching the play.
Xie Lian sighed a relief as he had stopped Wei Ying from spreading more rumors. The heavenly officials had retracted their glares as they accepted that the boy's A-die was Xie Lian.
They didn't hear specifically what the boy shouted but since he's Xie Lian's adopted son, it wasn't weird that he shouted out 'A-die' when he saw Xie Lian on stage. The play about the red-robed non-fierce-looking Hua Cheng was now more interesting than the adopted son of Xie Lian.
But three stupefied gazes were stilled locked on Xie Lian. Those three were the ones who heard Wei Ying clearly. They were Shi Qingxuan who was playing with Wei Ying, and Feng Xin and Mu Qing whose attention were on Xie Lian's surroundings since the beginning.
From Wei Ying's choice of words, 'Baba' and 'A-die' were two different persons, and there were only two people on stage. One was Xie Lian and they had already heard Wei Ying call him 'Baba'. The only other person was Hua Cheng and that would mean he's...
Feng Xin and Mu Qing stopped at this point of thought, their faces were already pitch-black looking like the end of the world. Only Shi Qingxuan dared continued it and looked wide-eyed at Xie Lian.
Shi Qingxuan was not someone who didn't know how to read the mood. After seeing Xie Lian try his best to cover it up, she also stayed quiet about it, just keeping it in her mind that she definitely will visit Xie Lian's shrine again and ask in detail about it. Shi Qingxuan thought so with a big smile.
The play was about 'The adventures in the Kingdom of Banyue'. This was not long ago. Although there was a boy that said he would worship Xie Lian but, he didn't know Xie Lian's name, and it was unlikely for that play to be arranged just on the Mid-Autumn Festival by that boy.
The redness on his face didn't seem to calm down. Xie Lian planned to switch his hot tea into some cold tea as he fanned himself. He gulped down his new tea as the beautiful play on the pavilion stage continued.
Though most of the officials are immersed in the play, Xie Lian could feel two piercing gazes locked on him. Without looking, Xie Lian could feel it was from Feng Xin and Mu Qing. The reason why they were staring could also be guessed, they must have heard Wei Ying, Xie Lian thought.
But there was nothing he could do, it's not his fault that Wei Ying has two dads, and the cotton ball is happy and it's all that matters. So Feng Xin and Mu Qing were silently ignored.
This new play containing the Crimson Rain Sought Flower was secretly being a big hit in the heaven. Mortals had performed a lot of plays about Hua Cheng but it was mostly like 'How the Great Red Ghost King slapped the god out of 33 heavenly officials' or 'The Taming of the Heavenly Officials by Crimson Rain Sought Flower'[1] ; plays which would make a god cry in silence.
So there was a lot of negative comments directing at Hua Cheng; "No Way in Hell he is someone as soft as that!" "The Crimson Rain Sought Flower would never treat someone like that, he is the epitome of evil! There must be something wrong with the play." "Nonsense! Pure nonsense!"
"No! A-die is not evil! He's -"
Wei Ying wanted to refute those officials badmouthing his A-die but was instead grabbed by a red-faced Xie Lian. "A-Ying, don't mind them, all right? San Lang is a good person so he wouldn't mind it either, ok?"
Wei Ying, "But Baba..."
Xie Lian, "San Lang asked me a favor to keep it a secret. So we have to keep it a secret. Help me with it, all right, A-Ying?"
Wei Ying, "Yes, Baba...by the way, are you ok? Your face is all red."
Xie Lian, "Me? I'm *cough I'm all good. I just choked a bit on the tea before. I'm all good. Ahem."
Xie Lian seemed to be busy with something throughout the play, fiddling with his hands or his tea cup. Nonetheless, this was a play written especially for him after all, so Xie Lian didn't miss a scene of it.
The play wasn't that bad, it was quite good to be truthfully said but... there was just one small small thing Xie Lian wanted to criticize about; the two protagonists seemed too close.
The one who played him was a really good actor, but every time he opened his mouth to call 'San Lang', while the tone wasn't up and down and full of yearning, Xie Lian thought it was even more unsettling than when 'Lady Wind Master' called 'Lord Water Master' "Hubbyy~~~" earlier. Also, there seemed to be too many little gestures: hooking arms, hugging shoulders, carrying him; somehow, there was something that was not right. Xie Lian worried what Wei Ying would think if he noticed something wrong.
However, if he really thought about it, when he called San Lang, that was indeed the way he'd call him; those intimate gestures really did seem to have been done too. While it all came so naturally to him in the past months to the point it was normal to sleep together in the same bed, Xie Lian became a bit conscious of it when it was played out like that in front of him. Due to that, the heat in his face didn't seem to calm down no matter how much cold tea he drank.
Wei Ying, of course, did not think there was anything wrong with how his fathers interacted. Those little gestures were the norm in their daily life, there was nothing off about it, so he didn't understand his Baba's worries.
Instead, he was very much interested in the play 'The adventures at the Kingdom of Banyue', how his dads escaped from the sand storm, how they faced the vicious purple snakes, and how they faced the undead soldiers in the capital of Banyue.
Wei Ying was very surprised when he saw his A-die blow up the snake which bit his Baba. He had never seen his A-die being this extreme, but for the snake that bit his Baba, it was a fitting end, no doubt. Wei Ying was also very fascinated when he found out that Hua Cheng massacred all the hundreds of undead soldiers in the pit. He never knew his A-die was so strong and powerful. Hua Cheng never showed that side when he was with him either.
Although Xie Lian was worrying if Wei Ying would think it was weird if he saw Hua Cheng fighting carrying him, but contrary to his worries, Wei Ying readily accepted it as the norm. 'Of course, A-die wouldn't let Baba get dirty in such a pit.' That's what he thought.
After this play, Wei Ying idolized Hua Cheng and saw him in a new point of view, he wanted to become as strong and dependable as his A-die. I will definitely ask A-die to teach me swordsmanship when I get back, Wei Ying decided.
The play was over, and Xie Lian can't remember how many times he had recited the heart-cleansing sutras in his mind, but he had left that matter behind. The banquet continued on and amidst all the socializing and networking came the final act of the night, the Battle of the Lanterns.
Within the Heavenly Court, all the candle-lights and lamps were extinguished; except for the moonlight, all was dim. The Banquet was set near the lake, and when the clouds and mists on the surface were waved away, through the clear moving waters the deep, dark mortal realm could be seen.
Wei Ying had been non-stop-fascinating at the wonders of the Heavens. Shi Qingxuan was excitedly explaining to him that the Lake was showing the mortal realm and the Battle of the Lanterns was about to start. During the Mid-Autumn festival, the gods are offered the Blessing Lanterns of Everlasting Light at their main temple, and they would compete who had the most lanterns. The Great Martial Palace had always had the most count every year, so it was excluded from the competition.
With the calling of each god's name, the according numbers of Lanterns floated up in the sky. At the beginning of the battle, the numbers were all scattered and sparse, the lights belonging to the lower-ranking officials, the count never reaching over ten, and no one paid it any mind. However, as the battle continued and as the light of the lanterns grew brighter, everyone paid more attention. If it weren't for the designated heavenly official who announced the count, it'd be impossible to count the lanterns floating up so tightly-knit.
Wei Ying was sitting on Shi Qingxuan's lap. So he could feel Shi Qingxuan's excitement when the Battle of the Lanterns started, and his own interest had been greatly magnified. His sparkling eyes could be seen even in the dark as the beautiful lanterns light up the sky one batch after another. Xie lian didn't know at all what was going on, so he didn't comment on anything; only focusing on appreciating the beautiful scene of Lanterns brightening the black long night, and feeling satisfied looking at Wei Ying's sparkling eyes in the dark.
"The Palace of the Earth Master, four hundred and forty-two lanterns".
Other than sipping two more spoonful of soup, Ming Yi didn't express anything else; Shi Qingxuan was more excited than he was, "Aiyah...Too few, too few. A-Ying, don't believe that it's all his potential. He could have gotten more if he tried. This is just too few."
Next was Shi Qingxuan herself; the Palace of the Wind Master, five hundred and twenty-three lanterns. Of course, hollers and cheers exploded everywhere applauding even before Shi Qingxuan said anything. She was quite proud of it, standing up with Wei Ying in one hand and waving to the crowd. She looked so happy and cheerful, beaming like a child that was even more excited than the child in her arms.
The applauding crowd didn't know what to say of it. Those who were secretly in love with Shi Qingxuan were silently gnashing their teeth as to how the scrap god and his adopted son got so much attention from Shi Qingxuan. But Shi Qingxuan was mostly the popular friendly type, and with her big brother Shi Wudu saying nothing of it, no one dared criticized.
At the banquet, it was only Ming Yi who was stuffing his face without a care and not cheering for her. Although he glanced for a tiny second when Wei Ying was picked up and she stood in the spotlight, it was so tiny that no one noticed. And he went back to stuffing his face, as if nothing particular happened.
Shi Qingxuan was smacking him with a half-pouty, half-smiley face and asking for some congratulations. Ming Yi ignored her completely and continued to devour the food. Shi Qingxuan was outraged, demanding for him to applaud her.
Shi Qingxuan, "Ming-Xiong! You have to give me something this year. I'm the eighth in rank! Even though you've never given me anything in the past years, you really should give me something this year. Just a clap, alright? I'll be satisfied with just a clap, so ...Ming-Xionngggg......."
Ming Yi, "..."
Xie Lian had already taken Wei Ying from Shi Qingxuan's lap when she started smacking Ming Yi. Looking at the two, the pair of father and son pfft-ed silently looking at each other.
The battle of Lanterns continued on, following Shi Qingxuan was Ling Wen, Nan Yang, Xuan Zheng, then Pei Ming, all within the five-hundreds and lastly, the Water Master, Shi Wudu, with count of over seven hundred. The banquet was in an uproar at this number, the sound of amazement and congratulating was everywhere. Shi Qingxuan was also excited like a sodium in water, yelling "IT'S MY BROTHER! IT'S MY BROTHER!" at both Xie Lian and Wei Ying. Only Ming Yi focused on more eating, only he took the feast at the banquet seriously as 'the feast', as if he had been tired out from his undercover at Ghost city and working hard to refill his stomach tonight. If Xie Lian thought about the food sold in the stalls of the Ghost City, he could understand why. Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder, would Hua Cheng ever stroll around the Ghost City every now and then? But then again, he remembered that butcher store where he found Wei Ying unconscious, a trace of worry flashed through his eyes. But after seeing the cotton ball silently sitting on his lap and enjoying the lantern festival, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had already decided to protect Wei Ying from going through such things ever again. Softly, he patted the bouncy hair on the cotton ball.
Xie Lian and Wei Ying watched silently together, with Wei Ying on his lap. Although there was a child sitting on his lap, Xie Lian still sat elegantly and properly, of course he had made some exceptions so that Wei Ying could sit comfortably. Wei Ying was also the same, he sat obediently, although he'd move a little bit sometimes, it wasn't really uncomfortable for Xie Lian. Moreover, it would have been good for Xie Lian's legs, since he wouldn't have to stay still with pressure for a long time.
Xie Lian and Wei Ying were enjoying their cozy time together, while Wei Ying suddenly asked, "Baba, what about your Lantern count?"
Xie Lian could feel his backbone gone stiff for a bit there. One Everlasting Lantern cost a thousand gold, and he was someone who built his own shrine out of a rundown hut. It was impossible for him to buy himself a Lantern that expensive, so he was just going to explain when someone shouted.
"WAIT!"
The one who shouted was the Water Master Shi Wudu, he had a domineering air to him that makes people around him listen to him. Xie Lian and Wei Ying were also distracted when Shi Wudu yelled, and everyone shifted their attention to him,
"The top ten are out, does the Lord Water Master have anything to add?"
"Was he going to give merits, too?" Xie Lian wondered.
"The top ten are out?" Shi Wudu fanned his fan. No one knew what he had meant, only Shi Qingxuan, who suddenly cried out, "...NO NO. THE TOP TEN AREN'T ALL OUT! Even if we count the Great Martial Palace, only nine have been announced so far!"
Everyone was stunned, and soon started muttering, "Only nine?" "Really, I counted, there really were only nine!" "Someone else is ranked higher than Lord Water Master???" "What?! Who can it be? I don't know anyone like that?!"
Just then, a bright light white as day exploded into the blackened night.
That light was lanterns.
Like thousands upon millions of fish swimming through gorges to the sea, countless lanterns slowly floated up.
They shimmered and gleamed in the dark night, radiant and brilliant: like floating souls of a magnificent dream, exceedingly beautiful, brightening the blackened mortal realm. In the face of such a striking sight, none could speak. All held their breaths, their words broken.
Xie Lian watched that sky fill of lanterns in dumbfounded awe. It was like his breathing had stopped and nothing could be heard, and he remained dazed for a good while. Wei Ying was also gaping his mouth in awe, his eyes bright and excited at the breathtaking wonder while clutching onto Xie Lian. Only after a while that Xie Lian realized something was wrong; all of the heavenly official present at the banquet had their gaze on the pair of them, their expressions like they were trying to deny something quite difficultly.
Xie Lian had no idea what caused the officials to react in such a way. He was just about to step out of the spotlight, when a trembling announcer official announced with a shaking voice in disbelief.
"Qiandeng Temple, the Palace of the Crown Prince, three...three....
"Three thousand lanterns!"
[1] – these aren't the original names in the novel, I just thought it's be funny, :D