Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: AFTER THE FESTIVAL

The family of five returned home late that night, her brothers practically vibrating with excitement despite their physical exhaustion. Even the strain of maintaining their disguises throughout the evening couldn’t dampen their enthusiasm for the festival’s success.

“Did you see how perfectly I botched that archery game?” Li Wei grinned as they picked their way up the well-worn dirt path, his feet settling firmly on familiar stones. His usually graceful stride had returned now that they were away from prying eyes, no longer needing to maintain his farmer’s son’s persona. Loose pebbles skittered down the slope with each step as he gestured animatedly. “Liu Mei’s face when I completely missed the target—priceless!”

Li Hao chuckled, already planning his next performance. “Tomorrow night I’m going to try the diabolo tossing contest. I’ll make sure to fumble the strings a few times before letting the spinning top fly completely off course. Perhaps I’ll even manage to knock over Old Zhang’s cabbage cart!”

Their mother smiled indulgently at her sons’ antics. “You both did wonderfully tonight. Though Li Hao, perhaps a bit less enthusiasm at the food stalls tomorrow? Village boys, even with healthy appetites, typically can’t afford quite so many sweets.”

“Yes, Mother,” Li Hao replied, though his grin suggested he’d already calculated exactly how many treats he could reasonably sample without breaking character.

Their father carried the paper butterfly he’d won, occasionally catching it in the moonlight to make it dance. “Perhaps we should spend more time in the village,” he suggested thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling. “Not just during festivals—we could help with the autumn harvest, join the monthly market days, maybe even participate in the village’s evening gatherings.” He glanced at their mother with undisguised affection. “After all, the best disguise is one worn daily, and…” his smile deepened, “I must admit, there’s something refreshing about living a simpler life, even if only for show.”

Li Hua followed behind them, Little Firefly’s warmth pulsing gently in her mind. While her brothers chattered about their plans for the next evening’s festivities, her thoughts kept drifting back to those extraordinary honey-brown eyes and the strange pulling sensation that had accompanied them.

As they reached their courtyard, Li Wei paused in his animated retelling of the diabolo incident to study his sister’s unusually quiet demeanor. “Sister? You’ve barely said a word since the fish-catching game. Did something happen?”

“Nothing important,” Li Hua replied automatically, though Little Firefly’s skeptical flicker in her mind suggested he disagreed. “I’m just tired from maintaining the disguise.”

Their mother smiled indulgently at their sons’ antics. “Rest well, my dears,” she said, shooing them all toward their rooms.

Li Hua could hear her brothers’ excited whispers even after they’d retired to their separate rooms, already plotting how to appear even more charmingly clumsy at the next night’s festivities. Their joy was infectious, and she found herself smiling despite the strange melancholy that had settled in her heart.

Once Li Hua arrived in her room, she settled into her meditation pose and entered her inner space. The familiar forest materialized around her—eternal twilight filtered through the ancient canopy above, casting silver light across the jade pavilion. The crystalline river flowed beneath the ornate bridge, its waters singing with spiritual essence that somehow echoed the strange resonance she’d felt earlier that evening.

Beyond the bridge stood her courtyard house, a masterpiece of architecture that seamlessly blended traditional grace with modern elegance. The carved dragons along the eaves stood their eternal watch, their stone eyes catching glimpses of the ethereal light that filtered through the leaves above.

Little Firefly darted through the silvery air to greet her, as he always did, his warm glow pulsing with joy as he flew into her waiting arms. No matter how many times she entered her inner space, he never failed to welcome her with the same enthusiasm. Together, they crossed the bridge and made their way through the courtyard house to its west wing, where their beloved kitchen awaited—a sanctuary that had witnessed countless hours of shared experiments and heartfelt conversations.

“Now then,” Li Hua smiled, pulling ingredients from the shelves with practiced ease, “let’s recreate some of those festival treats.” Her hands moved with fluid grace as she began working the sugar syrup for cloud candy, heating it until it reached the perfect consistency for pulling. The familiar motions helped center her thoughts, though they kept drifting back to that moment by the fishpond.

“Those eyes,” Little Firefly mused as he watched her work, his flames flickering thoughtfully. “They seemed… familiar somehow. Like a half-remembered dream.”

Li Hua’s hands paused briefly in their careful stretching of the sugar strands. “I felt it too. Something about the way he looked at me, as if he could see straight through my disguise—through both my lives.” The sugar twisted and folded under her fingers, gradually taking on the cloudy white appearance that gave the candy its name.

“It wasn’t just that,” Little Firefly’s voice carried an unusual note of wonder. “When he was near, my essence felt… different. Like it was reaching for something. Almost like…” his flame flickered with uncertainty, “like finding a missing piece of an ancient cultivation manual you didn’t know was incomplete.”

She nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. The strange pulling sensation had lingered even after the mysterious young man had vanished. “Those honey-brown eyes,” she murmured, “with that unusual pattern, like ink drops in water…”

After perfecting the cloud candy, she moved on to other festival treats—sweet rice balls filled with black sesame paste, tiny egg custard tarts, and delicate butterfly cookies that seemed to float off the plate. Each creation sparked a new observation or memory from their evening’s adventure, their usual comfortable banter now threaded through with speculation about the mysterious stranger. The kitchen filled with the scent of sugar and memories, each treat carrying a trace of the festival’s magic.

“Perhaps,” Little Firefly suggested as she shaped the last butterfly cookie, its wings as delicate as moonlight, “we should consult your parents?”

Li Hua considered this as she cleaned her workspace, movements precise despite her distraction. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow,” she decided. “After my training.”

She pushed through her evening routine—three hundred dagger forms at double speed, her blades cutting silver arcs through the twilight air of her inner space. The familiar movements flowed into strength training with heavy weights formed from concentrated spiritual essence, followed by an hour of advanced yoga positions that would have impressed even immortal cultivators. Her usual precise movements wavered occasionally as her mind drifted to those honey-brown eyes, causing her to repeat several sequences.

When she finally retired to her bed, exhausted from both the physical exertion and her wandering thoughts, those extraordinary eyes with their ink-drop patterns followed her into her dreams.