New Year's Eve was cold.
Starting from six o'clock in the evening, the subdued night sky began to drift with flurries of snow.
In a bungalow, an elder walked to the door, looked up at the snow, and exclaid,
"A tily snow promises a good harvest, a good on indeed!"
It ant that in the coming year, the crops would be plentiful and the farrs could enjoy Good Days.
Xue Yuantong, with cotton shoes on her feet, pitter-pattered outside, clutching a handful of firecrackers in her hand.
She flung a firecracker onto the ground, producing a crisp "Pop!"
These were throw-down firecrackers, no need for a fla, simply throw them on the ground, and they would make a sound.
As a child, Xue Yuantong, with her "imnse strength," always grasped throw-down firecrackers to scare people and almost always succeeded.
Aunt Gu stood behind Xue Yuantong, reminiscing clearly about many years ago when she had bought ribbon crackers for Xue Yuantong – the kind connected by a string.
With just a little tug, they would explode.
Tongtong got a lot of ribbon crackers, so taking advantage of the night, she ran to the house of a local rascal and tied a dozen ribbon crackers to the knocker on the rascal's door.
The next day, as soon as the rascal opened the door, a loud "Bang!" was t with rising blue smoke.
It scared the rascal half to death; he nearly collapsed on the spot, venting his anger by cursing around the village all morning.
Thinking back to those tis, Aunt Gu couldn't help but chuckle.
Xue Yuantong played with the throw-down firecrackers outside for a while, then took out a winged firecracker shaped like a butterfly or bee.
She set the little bee firecracker on the ground, steadied it to ensure it wasn't tilted.
"Mom, I'm going to start."
Xue Yuantong pressed down on the lighter, igniting the fuse.
The little bee created sparks, its wings spinning faster and faster, the sparks becoming increasingly dazzling, and with a buzz, it flew up into the sky!
Xue Yuantong giggled.
After letting off the little bee, she tried other firecrackers, utterly enjoying herself.
"All right, it's cold outside; let's watch TV," Aunt Gu suggested, seeing her daughter had played for a while and worried she might catch a cold.
Xue Yuantong obediently ran to watch TV. The family gathered in the bedroom; mom and grandparents chatted about crops back in the old ho, the few chickens they raised, and what had happened around the village, including who was planning a wedding after the New Year.
They would occasionally address Xue Yuantong too.
A tea kettle ward on the stove, Xue Yuantong curled up in an old-fashioned wooden armchair, wrapped up in a fluffy blanket, with candied fruit and dried nuts on the side table within easy reach, steam rising from the mug.
The TV broadcasted the New Year's gala, filling the room with laughter now and then.
When a less humorous act ca on, Xue Yuantong would cast off her blanket and head outside to set off a firecracker.
Coming back inside once more, she glanced at the Kongming Lantern on the table and sighed; it was intended for setting off with Jiang Ning.
In Yuzhou, it was a tradition to release Kongming Lanterns during the New Year festivities, sothing that would be banned entirely a few years later due to the fire hazards they posed.
At midnight, as the countdown ended, the Lunar New Year arrived.
All at once, the sound of fireworks erupted from all directions.
Yuzhou's night sky was illuminated by fireworks, a riot of purples and reds, even the white snowflakes in the air were lit up, appearing pale and delicate.
A Flying Boat cut through the night sky; Jiang Ning stood aboard, high above, looking down at Yuzhou's fireworks display.
Due to the ban on fireworks, those in the urban area couldn't compare to the displays in the counties and towns.
After enjoying the fireworks for a while, Xue Yuantong took the Kongming Lantern and went outside.
Below the river dam, lay an endless field of green wheat, a safe place to release Kongming Lanterns.
At this mont, not just Xue Yuantong but also the neighboring youths were releasing their own lanterns.
Watching the young people help each other hold up the lanterns, Xue Yuantong pursed her lips, wishing Jiang Ning was there to have a companion to share in the joy of the lanterns.
Now, she could only ask her mom for help.
"Xue Yuantong, why aren't you releasing it?" Jiang Ning approached through the snowy night.
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Xue Yuantong's hands let the Kongming Lantern fall to the ground with a 'thud'; first unbelieving, then she quickly turned around.
The mont she recognized Jiang Ning, she widened her eyes in shock, as if seeing a ghost, her face full of astonishnt:
"How did you get back?"
Jiang Ning replied, "Of course, I flew back."
"Stop kidding!" Xue Yuantong shouted, but it also confird to her that this person was indeed Jiang Ning, the Jiang Ning who loved to trick her.
She scrutinized Jiang Ning from head to toe, finding him unscathed, then Xue Yuantong picked up the Kongming Lantern, urging him:
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and help with the Kongming Lantern; I'll have you know it's not that I can't do it myself, I just saw you coming back, and I want you to enjoy the pleasure of releasing it too."
Jiang Ning walked over, and Xue Yuantong handed him the lighter.
Jiang Ning waved his hand in refusal: "I don't need it."
Xue Yuantong was quick to respond; recalling the New Year's gala, she anticipated:
"Are you going to perform that?"
"Mhm," Jiang Ning nodded.
"Aweso!"
Xue Yuantong spread her arms, shaping the Kongming Lantern.
With a pinch of his fingers, Jiang Ning produced a fla and instantly lit the four wax cubes inside the lantern; the heat rose within, inflating the lantern.
Feeling the power erging from the lantern, Xue Yuantong released her grip, and the Kongming Lantern soared into the air, blending into the falling snowflakes.
"Wow, wow."
"Jiang Ning, let's quickly release two more," she suggested.
Xue Yuantong prepped two more Kongming Lanterns, and Jiang Ning lit them, sending them into the sky.
The three ascending lanterns ford a straight line in the night sky.
Xue Yuantong brought out the small sparklers she had bought, which resembled welding rods and were difficult to ignite, but under Jiang Ning's Spiritual Fire, they lit up instantly, emitting beautiful showers of sparks.
With a sparkler in one hand, Xue Yuantong jumped and danced in the snow; the sparklers flickered with her movents, as the orange-red Kongming Lanterns climbed higher into the night sky.
Xue Yuantong tapped one foot on the ground, his body slightly leaning as he offered his blessings:
"Jiang Ning, happy New Year!"
...
The fifth day of the lunar new year.
Jiang Ning bid farewell to his parents in Wen City and hurried back to Yuzhou.
Last New Year's Eve, he had returned to accompany Xue Yuantong in releasing Kongming Lanterns and then flew back. This ti, he was truly back for good.
As soon as Jiang Ning arrived at the river dam, his Divine Sense detected a new girl at the doorstep of Xue Yuantong's house.
Xue Chuchu leaned against the wall, lazily basking in the sunlight. She held a mobile phone in her hand, which displayed an English word on the screen.
After Jiang Ning got ho, Xue Yuantong welcod him.
"Specialties." Jiang Ning was carrying a big bag.
"Jiang Ning, you're too kind." Xue Yuantong didn't take the big bag but instead supported Jiang Ning and helped carry his backpack to his room.
Xue Yuantong pointed to the spotlessly clean room and boasted:
"I cleaned your room during the days you were gone. And the quilt, every sunny day I aired it out for you!"
"Wow, you've been diligent." said Jiang Ning.
Self-proudly, Xue Yuantong replied, "Didn't you know who I am?"
"And your damn formulas wasted two days of my ti, I've sent them to you via QQ."
Jiang Ning rubbed her head: "You've really worked hard."
"So the snacks that are missing from your room, I took them to replenish my energy," Xue Yuantong stated with firm confidence.
"Alright then."
Jiang Ning tidied up his room for a while, then turned on his computer to look at the formulas Xue Yuantong had sent him.
Based on the "网络寻人" hypothesis and the results provided by the research institute, Jiang Ning had first determined a formula involving Spiritual Power, Divine Sense, and Divination Skill.
Then, not satisfied with just one, he continued to ponder and ultimately ca up with three.
He sent all three formulas to Xue Yuantong for her to deduce their correctness using a public demonstration sheet.
Now, looking at the results Xue Yuantong had sent back, two of them had been successful.
Jiang Ning stimulated his mana, cross-referencing the two formulas to establish them as the "Yuan San Formulas."
He followed the steps of the "Yuan San Formulas" to practice the spell.
Colors of magic twinkled across the room.
After a while, Jiang Ning ceased his practice.
The Yuan San Magic was complete.
He could now use Divination Skill with a touch of Divine Sense and Mana to determine the address of the person at the other end of the network through electromagnetic signals.
However, limited by his own cultivation level, for now, he could only effectively track within a fifty-kiloter radius, which was more or less the sa range as the current "Spiritual Tracking."
After all, his talent was not that exceptional. So great powers in the Cultivation World could effortlessly create spatial magic. Compared to them, his achievent was hardly worth ntioning.
Even in the real world, compared to the pinnacle theories created by top scholars through the history, Jiang Ning could still only look up to them.
A long way still lay ahead.
After the success of his spell, Jiang Ning walked out of his door, calm and composed.
At the doorstep, Xue Yuantong had a slingshot in hand. She fiercely pulled the rubber band, aiming into the distance, calculating the distance, direction, wind, and landing point.
"Jiang Ning, I am a Divine Archer, and I can even shoot bombs," Xue Yuantong said.
"Really?"
"Heh, just watch my performance."
From her pocket, Xue Yuantong took out a small, glass marble-sized, red and green striped plastic firecracker, with a fuse attached to the ball.
"This is a small landmine, it's really loud when it explodes. If you set it on the ground, light it, and place an iron dinner basin on top, it can blast three ters high!"
She emphasized its power to illustrate her boldness.
Saying so, Xue Yuantong held the slingshot handle in her left hand, and with her right, she placed the small landmine on the slingshot's pouch. Her delicate index finger and thumb pinched the pouch, gently pulling the rubber band.
To perform for Jiang Ning, she called out, "Chuchu, help with the fire."
Xue Chuchu put down her phone, hesitated, and worry filled her eyes:
"This is too dangerous, maybe we shouldn't try it, okay?"
"Chuchu, don't you believe in my skills after all these years we've shared?"
"Okay, okay."
Clutching the lighter, Xue Chuchu warned, "Be steady."
"Relax, I'm always reliable." If her hands hadn't been busy, Xue Yuantong would have definitely thumped her chest to demonstrate her confidence.
Xue Chuchu reluctantly trusted Xue Yuantong for once. She pressed down on the lighter and 'snap'—ignited the fuse of the small landmine.
Xue Yuantong watched the quickly shortening fuse, aid her slingshot at 45 degrees towards the distant wheat field, and with the stretched rubber band, she suddenly released, shouting:
"Take off!"
With a snap of the rubber band, the burning small landmine flew forward and hit her finger straight on. It ricocheted, landing just by Xue Yuantong's feet.
And it rolled a couple of tis.
Xue Chuchu, witnessing this, turned pale:
"This is bad!"
Understanding full well how loud the small landmine could explode, Xue Chuchu knew the blast would be terrifyingly formidable from such a close distance.
Similarly, Xue Yuantong's face turned ghostly white. In that mont, her mind went blank—never had it occurred to her that she could actually make a mistake!
The rubber band had hit her hand!
At this mont, Xue Yuantong and Xue Chuchu were too shocked to react, forced to accept the fate of the small landmine exploding at their feet.
Just when they had lost all hope, Jiang Ning suddenly stepped forward and with a surge of mana, stamped out the small landmine.
He looked at Xue Yuantong: "Are you trying to impress with a face-changing act?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers