“Roasted chestnuts!”

“Guess the riddle and win a prize!”

“Lanterns! Buy a lantern!”

Flinching at the number of loud noises and people jostling about, Xiao Han tightened his grip on Gu Changshou’s hand. After being indoors the entire day, seeing the stalls outside, and hearing what a festival was, curiosity bloomed in his heart. He never expected it to be so chaotic though.  

The number of people in the city already took some time to get used to, but this took it to the next level. It was as though everything he experienced before was compressed into a smaller space and magnified. The wisp of courage gathered from being in the city over the last three days turned to dust at being surrounded by everything.

Numerous stalls selling their wares. Children wearing masks and carrying lanterns running about. Small families and groups of friends strolling about. It was all so different from the mountainside he was used to.

“Don’t be afraid. Chang-gege is here.” There was a light squeeze and pat, the warmth flowing from their connect hands grounded him, as he forced his tensed muscles to relax.

“Is there anything you want to do, Xiao Han?”

His eyes flickered to their surroundings, quietly studying them. The one that drew the most attention were stalls with lanterns in front. They had passed a couple of them, each with a small crowd pointing in excitement, shouting in joy, and groaning when they failed. It looked fun, but speaking was already challenging. And he only knew a few words…

“N, no…”

“That’s fine. Let’s just walk around until you see something interesting?”

“En.”

The streets were lit up in a hazy, murky yellowish orange, from the glowing lanterns and low evening sun. Gu Changshou ignored the murmuring and subtle pointing at them as they walked, his heart calm and at peace from being stared at for walking hand-in-hand with Xiao Han, but strangely nervous at the same time, eager to make sure Xiao Han was enjoying their time.

“Lantern riddles, here! Hey, this handsome pair of brothers, do you want to try to win a lantern together?” A cheeky stall owner called out. He had noticed the well-dressed pair down the street earlier, but they did not buy anything. After forty years, he had seen a lot. Who cared if it was two men or a man and a woman? Money was money.

“Do you want to give it a try?”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, Chang-gege is here.”

“Then… fine.”

Squeezing reassuringly, Gu Changshou led them a few steps forward to the stall. “Boss, how much to guess?”

“Three wen each guess. If you get it right, you can choose a lantern. Don’t say it’s expensive, all my lanterns are made with the best paper and materials. Guaranteed!”

Pulling out a five-wen coin from the pouch, Gu Changshou tossed it over. “Give us an easier one.”

Happy that he had a customer who did not quibble over the price and even paid extra, the owner nodded. The first rule to make money was making sure the customer was happy. Each lantern only cost two wen to make, so no matter if they guessed it right or not, he already made three wen profit!

Other stalls charged less, which is why there was no one here. But who made it a practice that cultivators did not care about such trivial mortal matters?

“Do you want a picture riddle or a word riddle?”

“Which one do you want?” Gu Changshou looked down at Xiao Han.

“You pick…” Words, pictures… they were all the same to him.

“Get us a word riddle.”

“Yes,” shuffling through the sheets of paper, the stall owner pulled one out and handed it over. “Here.”

The corner of Gu Changshou’s eyes twitched seeing the simple characters even a five-year-old would be able to recognize. But the rock in his heart was also fell knowing that Xiao Han should be able to read it as well.

“Do you recognize it?” Flatting the sheet, he pointed at the simple strokes.

“One… three… one…”

“It’s okay, take your time.”

“One… three, one…” Squinting at the rectangular shape with two lines, Xiao Han scratched his head trying to remember where it had seen the symbol before. Gu Changshou taught him that most words were also pictures… but this one did not make sense. It wasn’t a body part or a word for anything on the mountain… maybe… “…four?”

“Smart.” He smiled, watching Xiao Han’s uncertainty bloom into a tiny lift in the corner of his mouth. “Does Xiao Han want to guess what it means?”

“One, three, one, four? Are they not the numbers written here? Did I read them wrong?” The small smile faded and was replaced with a look of worry. Gu Changshou’s eyes darkened at Xiao Han’s nervousness, teeth biting his bottom lip in worry. He wanted to run his thumb over that soft flesh and make sure it was not swollen from being bitten.

“No, Xiao Han read it correctly.” Squeezing back in reassurance, he looked at the sloppy brushstrokes and smiled. “This is an idiom. Do you want to guess what it means?”

There was a small shake of the head.

“Ok. Let Chang-gege guess then.” When he asked for easy, he had not expected it to be so simple. Plus, Xiao Han’s way of pronouncing those words, ending with an upwards confused lilt on the ‘four’ immediately made the riddle fall into place. “Boss, is it ‘yi sheng yi shi’?”

“Yes, this brother is correct. Which lantern would you like?”

“Is there a particular lantern you like want, Xiao Han?”

“Chang-ge pick…” His heart skipped a beat at the unexpectedly flirtatious whine.

Quickly looking them over and seeing not much difference between the lanterns except for the illustrations or auspicious words, he randomly pointed at one wishing good fortune. After they walked away from the stall and the owner wishing them the best, Gu Changshou handed it over to Xiao Han.

“What does ‘yi sheng yi shi’ mean?” Xiao Han glanced up from the lantern he was holding.

“It means ‘for one’s lifetime.’” He paused, debating whether to share the fully meaning and context of what it represented.¹Today, it's often used with "I love you" to form a phrase similar to "I love you, always and forever" Seeing a roasted chestnut stall, he wiped the thought from his mind and nodded his chin at it. “Do you want to try some roasted chestnuts?”

“…en.”

“Okay, why don’t you wait right here with the lantern. There are too many people over there.” There was a performance right next to the stall, so there was a small crowd blocking the way.

“Okay…”

Eyes darting side to side as he watched Gu Changshou enter the crowd to buy chestnuts. Anxiety flared when he vanished into the crowd. Looking down, he saw the lantern and held it up, heart calming as he studied the thin layering outside and dark strokes. He would ask what the words written outside meant when he was back…

“Watch out!” A loud yell cut through the air.

A flurry of activity, dust, and chaos erupted. A horse braying, hurried galloping, shadowy colours flying about, and cries of dismay echoed on the streets. Pupils widening at the dark shadow flying in his direction, before he could respond, Xiao Han felt a tug on his wrist and suddenly he was enveloped in Gu Changshou’s embrace.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Angry voices yelled, waving their fists in anger at the incompetent rider.

“Who even rides a horse in the middle of a festival?”

“Bastard! Come back and pay money for destroying my stall!”

“Are you okay? The horse didn’t hit you, did it?” Eyes flashing at the horseman who left a trail of dust and mess of upturned stalls, people shouting, and chaos behind, he turned back to look down at Xiao Han.  

Thump, thump, thump. His heartbeat was erratic, back bathed in cold sweat as he smoothed his hand over Xiao Han’s waist. He was caught off guard just then. Fortunately, his injuries were mostly healed, and he was close enough to pull Xiao Han to safety. He shouldn’t have gone to buy the chestnuts. Xiao Han had no way to protect himself in such a messy place - being hit by a galloping horse could easily cause broken bones and even death – who knows what else might happen?

Gu Changshou’s hand itched to pull the mask off to see his expression and make sure Xiao Han was not injured, but it was neither the right place nor time.

“No, no… I’m fine. But the lantern…”

“It’s okay.” His eyes swept over the crushed paper and wood on the ground, before looking at Xiao Han. “As long as you are fine. We can guess another riddle if you like.”

“No… it’s fine.”

After tidying their clothing and hair, Gu Changshou quickly straightened out and retied the mask on Xiao Han’s face. Calculating the time that had passed, it was a waste for them to head back to the inn but continuing to walk along such crowded and dangerous streets was not ideal either.

“Shall we walk along the riverbank instead?”

“En.”

There were still lanterns and some people strolling along the water around them, but it was noticeably quieter and calmer than before. After the incident with the horse, Gu Changshou raised his vigilance as they walked, sending his senses around them, scanning around.

A small breeze blew their way, and he wrapped an arm, pulling Xiao Han closer seeing him shudder at the chill. “Are you cold? Do you want to head back?”

“No, I’m fine. What are those things?” The things floating on the water had caught his eye before, but he did not have the chance to see what they were until now. Some of them were on fire and others were not, leaving behind small shimmery reflections. “Are those… lanterns?”

“Yes, those are for people making wishes. You write what you want and then place it in the water. The ones on fire are people sending off the spirits of their loved ones, and the ones floating are wishes they’ve made. Do you want to try?”

“En. Can we do it together?”

“Of course.”

Following the direction of the lanterns, they quickly came upon a booth selling them.

“This is how you hold a brush.” Leaning forward, Gu Changshou captured the smaller, cool hand in his. It was only now that he realized how thin Xiao Han was, the thin silky strands of hair tickling his face. Fine beads of sweat dotted his hand, undermining how calm he acted, as his heartrate accelerated.

“What do you want to write? Are there any wishes you want to make?”

“I don’t know…” Xiao Han frowned. There wasn’t much he could think of, nor did he know any fancy words. And the only phrase he knew was the one he just learned – yi sheng yi shi.

After thinking for another minute, he decided to treat it as an opportunity to learn how to write those words. “Just… yi sheng yi shi then.”

His hand that was ready to move, paused. “…are you sure?”

“Yes. Is it difficult to write?”

“No.” Giving in to the request, he let out a small sigh. It was just a wish. Fate must be playing tricks on him for choosing to not explain things earlier. Now he had to write it out. And for two people to write those words together…

Just as he was lifting his arm to complete the final hook on the ‘shi’ a deafening bang echoed in the skies, hues of golden blue erupting and illuminating the darkened clouds with.  On the shoreline, the crowd burst into excited chatter, pointing and gesturing at the fireworks.

But it was a completely different scene for them.

The blast of noise and light startled Xiao Han as he jumped up and turned around, trying to flee the frightening scene. But he forgot someone was behind him, and instead crashed into Gu Changshou. A moment later, he found himself wrapped a comforting embrace, the familiar warmth calming his anxious heart down.

Gu Changshou was taken by surprise at the fleeting softness that pressed against his mouth, carrying the earth scent he had come to associate with Xiao Han. Before his mind could catch up, he steadied them both, using one arm to hug Xiao Han and the other for balance.

Another firework blossomed above them, this time lighting the sky up in bursts of red. He felt Xiao Han stiffen in his arms at the sound, quickly recognizing what was wrong.

“It’s okay, Xiao Han. Don’t worry. The lights and sound are from people playing fireworks.” He smoothed his palm over the rigid back, feeling it loosen. “They’re just celebrating the festival.”

“…fireworks?”

“Yes, there’s nothing dangerous. I’m still here. Take a look, everyone else is watching the fireworks.” A long breath later, Xiao Han’s head emerged from his chest. Even if Gu Changshou could not see his expression, the aggrieved look in those eyes, as if he was bullied, made him swallow. “Don’t worry, it’s like a larger version of the firecrackers we saw on the streets before.”

Xiao Han took a deep breath as he twisted his neck to look around, dimly recalling the noisy commotion and crackle of ‘firecrackers’ being set off on their first day in the city. Around them, people were energetically pointing and cheering at the fireworks. Wiping his sweaty palms, he slowly backed away, his heart a conflicting mix of anticipation, embarrassment, and nervousness as he waited for the next burst of light to erupt.

Gu Changshou frowned at the minor sense of loss as the faint warmth in his arms left.

Absentmindedly running his fingers of his lips, thinking back to the fleeting kiss they shared minutes ago, his eyes unconsciously swept over the smeared characters they had written together. Strangely, the thought did not upset him. He knew Xiao Han did not know the true meaning, but there was a small burst of delight hearing him utter those four.

A lifetime together…