After Becoming the Hero’s Ex-fiancée

Winning the King of Lanterns (2)

“Young Master, why don’t you follow?”

“The timing is not right. We’ll wait a little longer… Besides, there are others taking the lead for us. Time is long in the cultivation world— there’s no need to fuss about losing one or two days…”

Zheng Wan didn’t know what was happening in the background. She was currently standing in front of a bunch of white-robed sword cultivators, accepting their scrutiny. Their gazes were clear, upright, and mixed with curiosity, and they didn’t cause her any discomfort.

“Greetings, Senior Uncle Li Wei.”
“Greetings, Senior Uncle.”
“Greetings, Senior Uncle.”

“Cui Wang,” she tugged at Cui Wang’s sleeve and asked in a low voice, “Are they all from your sect?”

Cui Wang, “Mhm”. His eyes narrowed slightly, and when his cold gaze met that of others, those people would become like a mouse that has seen a cat. Some of them even looked apprehensively at the stick of candied fruit in Cui Wang’s hand, their expressions as terrified as if they had seen a long-dead ancestor come back to life.

The white-robed female cultivator among them was a bit more gracious.
“We beg your pardon, Senior Uncle. We just came to say hello. But how should we, ahem, address this…?”

Zheng Wan’s eyes darted about. Thinking that no one would know her with the veil on anyway, she said shamelessly, “Just call me Senior Aunt.”

Cui Wang glanced at her but didn’t deny it.

The white-clothed female cultivator looked at the red-clothed female cultivator’s bewitching eyes and thought to herself that although this person’s cultivation rank was rather low, one could tell she was a great beauty at a glance. It’s just that when she returned and told this to her senior and junior sisters, the entire Guixu Sect was bound to be full of miserable wailing.

She asked, “Senior Aunt, have you also come for the King of Lanterns?”

“King of Lanterns?” Zheng Wan, who was still unaware of this, said in surprise, “What King of Lanterns?”

Seeing that she didn’t know, this new-found “niece” told her about the tradition of the lantern market.

Zheng Wan’s eyes became brighter and brighter. When she finished listening, she quickly pulled Cui Wang’s arm.
“Cui Wang, Cui Wang, let’s go see the King of Lanterns, shall we?”

She wanted the beauty pill, and more importantly, she wanted the black market pass.

Cui Wang wanted to retract his arm, but she noticed his intention and clung on. “Cui Wang, I want that beauty pill. What should I do if you despise me if I get old and wrinkly in the future? Cui Wang, Cui Wang…”

She was babbling a load of nonsense, and her eyes, which were like black grapes, were bright with lantern lights, like two bright springs.

Cui Wang was momentarily dazed, and said, “Alright.”

The young disciples of the Guixu Sect exchanged private looks. Apart from practising swordsmanship, their Senior Uncle never spoke a word when he was at rest. To think that one who subsisted on dew as he cultivated would actually “descend” from his immortal-like heights to compete with others for the King of Lanterns …

“C’mon. Let’s go take a look.”

The King of Lanterns was placed on a high platform next to the Boundless Ranking in the middle of the city. Being called the King of Lanterns didn’t mean it was big, but that the lantern was extremely gorgeous, exquisite, and imaginative.

This month’s “King of Lanterns” was a creation from the hands of Taibai Sect’s Lu Deng Zhenjun. A top-grade magical artefact, its concept was based on the idiom, “to look at the flowers while passing on horseback”. The four-sided lantern shade was made of Huanbi gauze, and when vital energy was infused into it, each side could produce phantom images of flowers, birds, insects, and fish respectively. It would make a powerful weapon if in the hands of a cultivator who was good as charm arts or illusory arts…
Most importantly, it was no larger than the size of a palm and was as fine and exquisite as a coloured glass shadow, very much to the liking of female cultivators.

At least, there were already a number of female cultivators from Yuqing Sect standing nearby, all of whom were determined to win this King of Lanterns.

Zheng Wan fell head over heels for it the instant she saw it.

What she likes the most of exquisite and beautiful things like these. As for whether it was practical or not— that all comes after how beautiful it was.
For example, if you asked her to choose between a flashy low-grade magical artefact and a lump of ochre-coloured poop-shaped top-grade Yuan artefact, she would choose the former without hesitation.

“Cui Wang, you must get it, okay?”
She smiled at him ingratiatingly. Above the face veil, her black eyes were as pure as an infant’s. Her skin was soft and fair, and even her voice was sticky like a thick, sweet juice.

Cui Wang’s Adam’s apple bobbed. In the end, he said, “Okay.”

“Li Wei?”
Just then, in the bright and spacious square, a handsome monk in a black cassock walked towards them. He held a bowl in his left hand and a string of jade beads in his right; between his brows was a three-petaled red lotus. He walked over lazily, and flame-coloured red lotuses appeared under his feet with each step.

His long and narrow phoenix eyes swept over Zheng Wan lightly, and the ends of his eyes had an amorous tilt.
“Amitabha. So, it’s you, little cultivator. Little cultivator, if you want it, how about letting this monk get it for you?”

Zheng Wan could feel the tension in Cui Wang’s body from her arm almost instantly.

The history books throughout the ages have taught her that if a person is half-hearted and undetermined, that person would definitely end up with nothing in the end.

It was best to take advantage of this opportunity to show her loyalty.
“Cui Wang, I believe that you’ll surely win.”

From her point of view, she could see the corners of Cui Wang’s lips raise slightly, as if clouds and snow have cleared and hundreds of flowers were in bloom. She heard him say softly again, “Alright.”

Badump badump—
Zheng Wan covered her heart and thought, Father, this jerk is actually trying to confuse me with his beauty. How hateful.