Chapter 99: A Stroke of Fortune (1)

Le Jue was itching to reach over and lift off Le Wuya's fox mask, to surprise his mother.

But the thought barely crossed his mind before it blew away like a gust of wind.

Magistrate Wenren was a good man, not a toy for him to use to win his mother's favor.

Magistrate Wenren also seemed to have forgotten that he was still wearing a mask. Even after exchanging greetings, he still hadn't removed it.

But you could tell from his eyes that he was smiling.

And so a smile crept into Le Jue's eyes as well, his heart swelling with a joy he couldn't put into words.

The two little ones looked on curiously, gazing at the fox-masked young man.

Le Jue said enthusiastically: "The older one is Le Hui, the younger one is Le Ali. Both are my oldest brother's kids."

This was his old habit—whenever he was happy, he couldn't help showing off, eager to pour out his whole life story to him.

Le Wuya tilted his head slightly, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

Somehow, one look from him was enough for Le Jue to understand what he meant.

The big, strapping man suddenly turned shy and downcast: "I... I haven't gotten married yet."

Le Wuya's gaze dropped.

It came back to him now.

In their youth, his second brother had always insisted that a man couldn't think of starting a family until he'd earned merit and rank—but in truth, the man was a rebel at heart, quite unwilling to be reined in.

Even now, no fierce young lady from the capital's families had yet appeared to tame him.

Later, because of his own downfall, the Le family had fallen from grace, and likely no family would be willing to give him their daughter anymore.

Sure, he could live freely now without worrying about marriage. But choosing not to settle for someone, and being avoided by others as if the Le family were a stinking swamp—those were two very different feelings.

Luckily, Le Jue's low spirits didn't last long.

He asked tentatively: "Is Magistrate Wenren here to enjoy the lanterns by himself?"

Le Wuya answered: "I'm waiting for someone."

Le Jue said warmly: "Why don't you walk with us! My nephew and niece have never been outside the capital. If Magistrate Wenren could tell them about life on the frontier, that would be wonderful!"

Hearing this, Le Wuya hesitated, lowering his head.

Two round, adorable little faces looked up at him at the same time.

His voice caught for a moment: "Mm..."

Ye Tingnan stepped in to help him out: "Wo Yu, don't be rude. Lord Wenren said he's waiting for someone. If the person he's waiting for can't find him, they'll be terribly worried."

She turned to Le Wuya, speaking gently: "Magistrate Wenren, you don't have to pay him any mind. Go do what you need to do. I have plenty of stories here; the kids will have plenty to listen to."

Le Wuya hadn't known how to interact with them anyway, and he felt his heart ease at that.

But before he could fully let out his breath, Ye Tingnan spoke up again: "Lord Wenren, don't eat too many sweets at night. It's bad for your teeth."

Le Wuya was speechless.

The breath he hadn't let out turned into a sour, burning heat that surged up in waves, forcing his head down until he buried it low.

Le Jue knew his mother always knew how to behave with propriety, but he never expected that at their first meeting, she'd be worrying about the man's teeth. His face flushed red with embarrassment: "Oh, Mother! Lord Wenren is a grown man—why are you saying stuff like that?"

Le Wuya mumbled: "Thank you for your kindness."

Ye Tingnan said nothing, only tugged at little Le Ali's hand and said kindly: "Ali, let's go. There are too many people here—mind you don't get jostled. Walk slowly now."

Le Ali nodded, and after walking a few steps with Ye Tingnan, her big eyes darted around, sensing something was off.

She looked up timidly and asked: "Grandmother, why are you crying?"

The bustling street and clamoring voices drowned out the little girl's innocent question, but Ye Tingnan, standing right beside her, heard it clearly.

She kept her smile, holding Le Ali's small hand, and forced herself to keep walking, never looking back.

A stream of light traced down her cheek: "Because Grandmother is happy."

Ali didn't get it: "Why do you cry when you're happy?"

"Because..." Ye Tingnan bent down and lifted her into her arms, "Ali, sometimes when you see the bright sunlight, you tear up too, don't you?"

Le Ali thought about it for a moment, then nodded obediently.

Ye Tingnan placed her hand over her chest: "When Grandmother feels light in her heart, she can't help but cry."

Le Ali didn't quite understand, but she still raised her little hand to shield Ye Tingnan's eyes, saying childishly: "Then Ali will cover it for you."

Ye Tingnan's heart softened, her breath slightly unsteady. Silently weeping, she hurried through the streets bright with lanterns.

Le Jue hadn't expected his old mother to still be so spry, moving so fast that within a few blinks she was just a distant figure in the crowd. He started to panic.

He couldn't lose her!

His mother had just recovered from a serious illness—if she tripped or got hurt, he'd never forgive himself!

He hastily bid farewell to Le Wuya, hoisted his oldest nephew onto his shoulders like a little monkey, and took off after her.

Le Hang's eldest son, Le Hui, was the spitting image of Le Hang.

Even while sneaking candy with his second uncle, he still looked perfectly proper and upright.

When he was little, he'd met Le Wuya a few times.

He looked back at Le Wuya calmly for a moment, then leaned in and whispered: "Second Uncle."

The weather was hot, and with the surging crowd, Le Jue had already run several dozen feet, sweat already beading at his temples: "Huh?"

Le Hui whispered to him: "Why didn't you bring Third Uncle with us?"

Le Jue stumbled, almost eating dirt.

He gasped: "Who's your Third Uncle?"

Le Hui said calmly: "That Magistrate Wenren's eyes are exactly like Third Uncle's."

"Oh, you little rascal!" Le Jue laughed helplessly, "There are plenty of people with unusual eyes in this world. In the storybooks, doesn't that... what's-his-name have purple whiskers and green eyes?"

Le Hui: "It's different."

Le Jue: "How is it different?"

Le Hui looked back in silence.

His second uncle was right.

That person's voice didn't match Third Uncle's, and neither did his age.

...However, if he were an unrelated person, why would he keep staring in the direction they had gone?

But his father had warned him before: never speak recklessly about things you're not certain of, so he wouldn't bring trouble on himself by running his mouth.

So, he bent down again and said seriously, "Second Uncle..."

Le Jue's interest was sparked by what he said. While hurrying forward, he silently perked up his ears, curious to hear what his nephew had to say.

His nephew declared sternly: "Move."

"...You little brat, are you asking for a whipping?!"

"If Second Uncle loses Grandmother, then it'll be Father asking you that question."

The two bickered as they ran off.

Le Jue crossed a small bridge and passed by a group of people. The breeze from his running lifted the thin veil on one of their faces.

Le Jue glanced back at them, then looked again, finding it strange.

First, these people were truly worth looking at.

They all had uniformly handsome features—you could call them immortals, and it wouldn't be a stretch.

Le Jue was picky. In his life, he'd seen at least eight or ten thousand people.

Aside from his precious little brother, he could count on one hand the people worth a second look.

Second, these people were all dressed as Taoist priests.

The late emperor had been devoted to Taoism, but the current emperor held it in disdain.

Since the current emperor ascended the throne, the Taoist priests who used to be everywhere in the capital had thinned out a lot, and the Taoist temples that had sprouted up everywhere had closed one by one.

The few that were left saw their incense offerings drop off.

Third...

Everyone Le Jue had seen wearing a veil covered the lower half of their face.

But covering the upper half—how could they even see where they were going?

He grumbled to himself, forgot to watch his feet, and nearly tripped on a loose blue stone slab.

With a kid on his back, Le Jue didn't dare get distracted. He pushed his thoughts aside and ran off in big strides.

A young Taoist novice saw Le Jue almost trip.

The novice was maybe fourteen or fifteen at most.

He covered his mouth and snickered at the funny sight.

That laugh wasn't friendly—it had a bold, sly edge that made his face even more striking.

That was just a little blip.

He turned around and asked, "Senior Brother, you've been gone for years. First time back, right?"

The one he called "Senior Brother" was the Taoist priest with the odd veil over his eyes.

Unlike his junior brother, who was all sly energy despite his age, he seemed upright, even a bit shy and gentle: "Yes."

"It's all your fault," said the shortest Taoist, who had a baby face. "Boning's eyes can't take the light. You just had to drag him here for fun!"

"Senior Brother's been stuck on the mountain so long, he's gone soft. I brought him here to see his family and have some fun, to give him a taste of the mortal world—that's my filial duty as his junior brother. And him letting me do it is his way of showing he cares. We brothers are tight, our bond deeper than the sea. Uncle Lu, don't try to stir up trouble."

After rattling off that nonsense, he glanced around slyly and flipped the blame back: "Anyway, Uncle Lu, if we hadn't come to the capital and heard from Senior Brother's dad, we'd never have known you caused such a big mess."

Taoist Master Lu wasn't good with words. The kid tied him up in knots, and he stammered: "I... I..."

Chang Boning stepped in gently: "It's not Uncle Lu's fault. I'm the one who couldn't cut my ties to the world..."

The young novice slapped a hand over his mouth: "Senior Brother, would it kill you to shut up? I finally got you out of this mess!"

Chang Boning took his wrist and said softly: "I left home young and never did anything for my family. My father wrote begging me, and I couldn't say no. So I cast a reading for that Le Wuya. The hexagram said his fate wasn't finished and his ties weren't cut, so I went to find Uncle Lu. In the end, it really is my fault."

Taoist Master Lu nodded: "Right. My terms were tough enough—who knew he'd actually come back?"

The young novice smirked and teased: "Then it's still on Uncle Lu. That Pei guy came begging, knelt for a few days, and you caved. You even used his lifespan to—"

Taoist Master Lu said quickly: "I lied to him! I walk the righteous path, not some dark arts. Why would I take someone's lifespan?!"

"If people found out there's no real cost—that as long as someone's been dead less than fourteen days, you can bring them back with soul-gathering and a matching vessel—they'd stampede our Qingliang Valley."

The young novice: "So did you con him or not?"

Taoist Master Lu puffed up his chest: "I said twice it would cost years off your life. I wasn't lying—it's true. He must've believed me."

The young novice rolled his eyes—pretty as they were: "Not too smart, either."

He leaned on the railing: "What now? We're not supposed to meddle in mortal affairs, and now this weird thing's happened. Once word gets out that Uncle Lu can raise the dead, it's gonna be a huge mess. Should we..."

He drew a finger across his throat.

Chang Boning calmly pushed his hand down again: "That Le Wuya's fate is 'destiny unbroken, ties endless'—he's here to pay back karmic debts. Looks like we're part of that too. We're just passersby to him; the more we get involved, the deeper we're pulled in, right?"

The young novice said, "Oh, so we brought him back just so he can pay off his karmic debts?"

Chang Boning smiled a little: "Something like that. Love, hate, desire, resentment—it's all debt."

The young novice sighed: "Anyway, when it comes to Taoist stuff, Master calls the shots. Even if Uncle Lu pokes a hole in the sky, someone'll patch it up. And if anyone comes after Senior Brother, tell them to deal with my sword."

Having settled that, the young novice announced: "Okay, since there's no problem, let's go look at the lanterns!"

Taoist Master Lu snapped: "I told you, Boning's eyes are no good!"

The young novice, not backing down, said: "I can describe them to him."

As they laughed and joked, Le Wuya stepped onto the small bridge, following the fading figures of his family, trailing behind step by step.

The young Taoist's captivating eyes shifted slightly.

Yet it was only a single glance he spared.

The way of Tao and the mortal world were never meant to cross paths.

He was just a little curious.

What manner of a debt of love could drive one to drag themselves back from the edge of death, just to glimpse the mortal realm once more?