God's Gift

There was a gentle breeze along the river bank, and the remaining raindrops on the willow trees dripped down the slender willow leaves into the potholes on the bluestone slabs, splashing a few small drops of water.

Fang Ling got off the carriage. His white clothes were stained with some brown stains, but he had no time to care. He extended his hand to Ning Jin who was about to get off the carriage and helped her down from the carriage.

The streets are decorated with lights, the clear river water reflects the orange and yellow lanterns, and many tourists have gathered on the shore to release river lanterns.

Fang Ling looked at the lively scene by the river with a joyful smile on her face. She handed a river lantern to Ning Jin and said in a bright and cheerful voice, "Ajin, make a wish."

Ning Jin lowered his head slightly and looked at the river lanterns in Fang Ling's hands. He seemed to remember something and sighed softly, "When I was young, my brother often took me here to release river lanterns."

"When I was a child, I had nothing and always had many wishes." Ning Jin glanced sideways at the broken lights reflected in the river. His eyes were sparkling and his gaze was distant and peaceful, as if he was staring at time.

"But as I got older, I had more and more, and my wishes became fewer, so I never released river lanterns again."

Her voice was very soft, and it drifted in the air with the wind. "Now that I see these river lanterns, I can't remember what wish I should make for a moment."

Fang Ling listened to Ning Jin's words with a confused look in her eyes, and asked puzzledly: "How come Ajin had nothing when he was a child?"

As a young lady from a general's mansion, she should have been born into a life of luxury and comfort.

Hearing Fang Ling's question, Ning Jin just smiled lightly, "Maybe I remembered it wrongly. It was too long ago and I don't remember it clearly."

"That's fine." Fang Ling didn't think much about what he heard, and smiled and suggested, "If you don't have any wishes, Ajin should think about the near future, such as what you want to do tomorrow..."

Fang Ling recited a lot and Ning Jin listened carefully. After he finished speaking, he thought for a while and looked at Ali, who was holding a river lantern and looking over here a few meters away.

When Ali saw Ning Jin saw him, he quickly turned his back and squatted by the river, pretending not to have seen Ning Jin.

When Ning Jin saw Ali like this, a smile appeared in his eyes. Just as he was about to turn around and make a wish, he caught a glimpse of a Taoist priest in green walking over. It was Minghua.

Seeing Ning Jin stopped, Fang Ling asked, "Ajin, have you thought about what wish you want to make?"

Ning Jin was called by Fang Ling, and quickly withdrew his gaze, raised his eyes to look at Fang Ling who was looking at him, with a slight smile on his face, and replied:

"No, you promise first, let me think about it."

Fang Ling looked at the smile on Ning Jin's face, her cheeks flushed a little, and she touched her hair, "Okay."

After saying that, Fang Ling closed his eyes, holding the river lantern in his hand with an extremely serious expression.

Ning Jin glanced at Fang Ling who had her eyes closed, then turned slightly and looked in the direction of A Li and Ming Hua calmly.

Minghua had already sent a message back to Maoshan. It would take at least two days for all the uncle masters from Maoshan to arrive in Gusu City. Minghua wanted to walk around the city and try to find clues about the Yin-Yang Reverse Life Formation, but he didn't expect to see Ali by the river.

Minghua hesitated for a while, and finally walked to Ali's side.

Ali was originally trying to peek at Ning Jin, but a long robe appeared in front of her, completely blocking her view.

Ali looked at the familiar blue-gray Taoist robe, his gaze froze for a second, and then the smile on his face gradually faded. He deliberately put on a cold face and turned his head away from Minghua.

Ali was often casual and unrestrained in front of Minghua, which always made Minghua angry and ashamed, and then she left arrogantly.

This was the first time that Ali did not take the initiative to provoke Minghua, which made Minghua feel at a loss.

Minghua also imitated Ali and squatted down by the river bank. He looked quite cautious and called softly, "Ali."

There were many river lanterns placed at Ali's feet. Minghua called her, but she didn't respond and just threw a river lantern into the river.

Minghua watched Ah Li release the river lanterns into the river and said in a strange tone:

"What is this?"

When Ah Li heard Minghua ask this question, she looked at Minghua in surprise. She had never thought that Minghua, as a human being, could not even recognize the river lanterns.

Minghua naturally saw the surprise in Ali's eyes. The Taoist priest, who was always calm, became uneasy at this moment and explained:

"My parents died when I was young, and it was my master who brought me back to Maoshan. I have been practicing in Maoshan for more than 20 years. This is my first time going down the mountain."

"On the mountain, we are all alone with our fellow disciples. During festivals, we just get together to have a meal. There are not as many customs as down in the mountain."

"It's the first time I've seen such a prosperous scene on earth, and it's also the first time I've seen these lights."

He hurriedly explained a lot, but Ali continued to release river lanterns. Minghua didn't know whether Ali listened or not. Seeing that she was still so cold, her voice gradually lowered and her fingers kept stroking her linen robe.

"I grew up in the mountains, and what I have seen and heard since I was a child is the demons killing the people. What we have to do is to subdue the demons and protect the people of the world."

"We are in different situations, we see different things, in the end it's just..."

Having said this, Minghua paused and did not continue speaking.

His eyelashes trembled, and he looked up at Ali, his dark eyes tinged with the desolation of the night.

In the final analysis, it's just the difference between humans and demons.

As for his secret and rebellious desires, they will eventually die in the long years, and will only end in vain and without any conclusion.

Minghua tightened his fingers around his robe, but Ali turned her head to the side, and before Minghua could look away, her eyes met his.

His figure was clearly reflected in Ali's eyes. Minghua's expression froze and he stared at Ali blankly.

The gurgling sound of the flowing river rang in my ears, and the cold wind brushed past my ears, making me feel a little chilly.

"This is a river lantern. During festivals, people in Gusu City often use river lanterns to pray and make wishes." Ali retracted his gaze, handed a river lantern to Minghua, and said, "You can also make a wish for good luck."

"Okay." Seeing that Ali was finally willing to pay attention to him, Minghua quickly took the river lantern. But when he held up the river lantern, what happened today lingered in his mind again. He sighed and said:

"May Gusu survive this disaster."

"What?" A-li looked over puzzledly after hearing Minghua's wish and asked, "What disaster could Gusu have?"

Minghua's expression became serious. He looked around and saw that the tourists on the shore were noisy and no one was paying attention to them. Then he asked Ali:

"A-Li, do you know that there is a Yin-Yang Reversal Formation in Gusu City?"

"What kind of formation is that?" Ali heard this completely unfamiliar name and said, "I have been in Gusu for nearly a hundred years and have never heard of this formation."

Minghua was not surprised. There were very few people in this world who knew about the Yin-Yang Reversal Formation. It was normal for Ah Li not to know about it. He explained seriously, "This is an evil formation that can revive the dead. My master's wife has always been upset about the death of my junior brother."

"She didn't know from where she knew that this formation was in Gusu City, and she went astray and made a big mistake..."

Hearing the words "resurrecting the dead", Ali's expression changed slightly. His eyes passed Minghua and looked at Ning Jin who was looking at him not far behind him.

The two of them looked at each other from a distance. Ning Jin looked at A Li silently until Fang Ling beside her called her.

"Ajin, think of your wish."

"I've thought it through." Ning Jin retracted his gaze, smiled at Fang Ling, held the river lantern in his hand, and said in a voice that Ali could just hear:

“I hope I can eat chestnut cake again.”