Chapter 35 - 2#

The whole street was filled with small vendors, selling lanterns, candied fruits, and some, like him, selling pastries.

However, no one else’s pastries were as delicate as those made by him and Yan Zhi, so his stall always had the most people surrounding it.

Chu Yu was busy introducing, packing, and collecting money, so busy that he wished he had three heads and six arms to help.

“Take a look at this, mountain hawthorns are sour, but they’re coated in syrup, sweet and sour, very delicious!”

“And there’s more, the little bunnies are still here, let me get some!”

“The little goldfish are here too, everything is here, just wait a moment!”

For some reason, the busy Chu Yu suddenly looked up and gazed around.

On the long street, there were people everywhere, all ordinary citizens.

Official guards and soldiers were only stationed at the city gates, and after checking, they moved on.

He thought Yan Zhi was being overly worried; there was simply no one looking for him.

If something like this happened again, he must bring Yan Zhi along next time.

Above the city tower—

Xiao Cuan opened his arms, propping himself up on the battlements, leaning slightly, watching the common people below.

Nothing, still nothing.

Over these fifteen days, he had gone from north to south, then south to north, searching one city every day, but he still hadn’t found a trace of Yan Zhi.

His deduction couldn’t be wrong, nor could his sense of smell. Yan Zhi would definitely come to see the fireworks, Yan Zhi must be in one of these cities, how could he not be found?

“Tch—”

Xiao Cuan frowned, his expression impatient, clenching his fist and striking the city tower.

What kind of stall was that below? Why were so many people gathered around it? He couldn’t see clearly from the city tower at all.

Xiao Cuan felt irritable. Just then, a local official came to report that the auspicious time had arrived and asked if the fireworks could be set off.

He waved his hand casually, said “release,” then turned and walked down the stone steps.

Familiar fireworks soared into the sky, but Xiao Cuan never looked back, only quickened his pace, walking down from the city tower.

These days, he had watched fireworks every night, far too many.

If he couldn’t find him from the city tower, then he would search among the crowds!

When the fireworks went off, the person in the crowd with their head tilted highest, looking most dazed, most entranced, and looking like they were about to drool, would be Yan Zhi!

Xiao Cuan didn’t care, pushing through the crowd, his sharp gaze scanning their faces one by one.

No, not him either! Still not!

On the long street, long strings of lanterns hung. When the wind blew, the lanterns swayed, making everything look dizzying.

For fifteen consecutive days, he had watched fireworks from city towers, the fire filling the sky, like cannon fire, making his eyes ache and his ears ring.

For over a month, he had traveled without rest, focusing all his energy on finding the person. Even if he were made of iron and steel, he wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Xiao Cuan unconsciously stopped, standing in the middle of the crowd.

In an instant, the layered lanterns, the thunder of fireworks, and the noisy voices of people all surged towards him like a massive tide.

In the chaos, it was as if an invisible barrier separated him from everything around him.

He wanted to roar out “Shut up,” to make everyone quiet down, to make the whole world quiet down, so he could properly find the person.

But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he was afraid of scaring away Yan Zhi, who might be hiding somewhere, so he had to swallow his words.

Just then, the personal guards he had left far behind finally caught up. Seeing something was wrong, they reached out to support him: “Your Majesty…”

“Get lost.”

Xiao Cuan threw off their hands, closed his eyes, and struck his head twice.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a glimmer of light in them.

Xiao Cuan settled his mind, like a tiger hunting in the forest, and strode forward.

Yan Zhi must be here!

Yan Zhi must be…

Everyone was drawn to the huge fireworks overhead, so there were fewer people buying cakes, and Chu Yu could finally rest for a bit.

He pulled up a small stool and sat on it, looking up at the sky with everyone else.

Boom— Boom—

Chu Yu cupped his face and sighed softly: “Sigh—”

So beautiful.

It’s a pity Yan Zhi didn’t come; he can only see the small ones.

He turned his head to look at the stall opposite, which was selling lanterns.

Rabbit lanterns, crab lanterns, lotus lanterns, one by one, they were hung high, and the entire stall was brightly lit.

From afar, it looked like the moon.

Chu Yu thought that if he finished selling his cakes and the opposite stall still hadn’t finished, he would go over and buy a lantern for Yan Zhi, within ten copper coins.

It would be… a compensation for his not being able to see such beautiful fireworks.

That little idiot Yan Zhi, if someone gave him a vegetable cake, he’d be so happy he’d call them a “great person.”

In Yan Zhi’s eyes, Chu Yu was already a great person. If he gave him another lantern, wouldn’t he become a “great, great person”?

Chu Yu felt smug, thinking of Yan Zhi’s joyful appearance, and thought that in that case, it wouldn’t matter if the price was slightly higher.

As Yan Zhi’s sworn elder brother, it would be too bad to be stingy about buying a lantern for his brother.

He cupped his face, and seeing fewer and fewer lanterns on the stall, he finally couldn’t hold back.

He’d better buy one now, before they were all gone…

Chu Yu stood up and took a step out.

In the next moment, a tall figure walked past his stall.

Chu Yu instinctively backed away.

A moment later, the tall figure stopped, took two steps back, and stood in front of the stall.

Chu Yu recovered and quickly opened the steamer basket, greeting: “Customer, what would you like?”

“Brown sugar cakes, sponge cakes, and candied hawthorns.”

“This layer is Spring Peach Blossoms, symbolizing prosperity. Also, Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine for long life. Golden Fish Wagging Tail, symbolizing abundance every year, they’re all very good omens. Buying a piece for your family will guarantee a smooth year…”

Chu Yu was eloquent and had a whole set of lines prepared.

But as he looked up and saw this person with a deep frown and a gloomy expression, he pondered for a moment and then closed his mouth.

“Customer, take a look.”

Xiao Cuan said nothing, glanced at Chu Yu, then lowered his head to look at the pastries in the basket.

Brown sugar cake, what a familiar name.

Wasn’t that what Xie Yi had given Yan Zhi to eat?

Yan Zhi had even used those two words to name the wolf cub he had picked up.

Xiao Cuan’s face was dark as he reached into his sleeve, took out a piece of broken silver, and placed it on the stall.

He picked up a rabbit-shaped brown sugar cake and sniffed it.

—It was fragrant and soft, extremely similar to the scent on Yan Zhi’s body!

Xiao Cuan suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp, directed straight at Chu Yu, almost pinning him in place.

Chu Yu was startled by his powerful pressure and stammered: “C-customer, what’s wrong? Is there something wrong with my cakes? They were all made by my brother… my… my wife!”

Xiao Cuan wasn’t listening to him at all. Reluctant to put down the brown sugar cake, he switched hands and picked up another one, sniffing it carefully.

—One was a cream puff, one was a brown sugar cake, if you smelled closely, there were still some differences.

The cream puff was a bit cloying, while the brown sugar cake’s scent was somewhat sweet and light.

Xiao Cuan lowered his eyes, and the image of Yan Zhi kneading small pieces of dough, his hands flying as he shaped them into various styles, seemed to appear before him.

The scents here were too mixed, and his sense of smell wasn’t very accurate, but—

“Boss, how much are the brown sugar cakes?”

Just then, several middle-aged men walked over and asked loudly.

They seemed to have been drinking, and carried the smell of alcohol on them.

As the cold wind blew, the smell of alcohol surged, and the sweet fragrance that had been around Xiao Cuan’s nose instantly dissipated in the wind.

In the next instant, the charred smell of burning candles and the smell of gunpowder from the fireworks all rushed towards him, making it impossible for him to find Yan Zhi’s scent anymore.

Xiao Cuan instantly woke up from his hallucination.

He gripped the brown sugar cake in his hand and turned to look at them, his expression extremely displeased.

Get out! Don’t stand here and interfere with my search for Yan Zhi!

But how could Chu Yu turn away customers?

He pulled himself together again and introduced them: “Brown sugar cakes, sponge cakes, they’re all made by my… wife!”

He’d have to do Yan Zhi a bit of a disservice; it was all for the sake of selling cakes and making money.

Chu Yu’s eyes darted around, and he spoke without hesitation: “My family has been making pastries for generations. My wife can embroider, weave, cut paper, is clever and skillful, can write and draw, so our pastries are both beautiful and delicious! Have a piece, if it’s not good, it’s free!”

“Is that so?”

The men were amused by him, and being a bit drunk, they were easy to talk to, so they reached for their purses: “Alright, let’s have two pieces first, pack them up.”

“Ten copper coins, thank you, thank you. May you be prosperous and may everything go your way.”

Chu Yu smilingly put the money into his pocket. He looked up and saw that Xiao Cuan was still standing there, looking at him with an extremely dark gaze, and his heart couldn’t help but tremble.

This person… could he be here for revenge?

But he had traveled the world for many years and always been kind to others, when had he ever made enemies?

Chu Yu tentatively spoke: “This customer, do you… have anything else?”

Xiao Cuan said coldly: “Change.”

“Ah?” Chu Yu was stunned.

Xiao Cuan extended a finger, pointed at the broken silver he had placed on the stall, and said through gritted teeth, word by word: “Give. Me. My. Change.”

“Oh oh, right! Sorry, sorry, I was so busy I forgot!” Chu Yu quickly lowered his head to search through the pocket where he kept the money, “Just these two? Do you want to see the candied hawthorns?”

Xiao Cuan remained silent, taking one of everything on the stall.

He wanted to buy them all.

He even wanted to call back everyone who had just bought pastries and buy them back from them.

Although the scents here were mixed, his sense of smell would never be wrong.

The scent on these brown sugar cakes was extremely similar to Yan Zhi’s scent.

There must be something wrong with these things! This person must have a problem too!

Chu Yu finished searching his pockets, gathered the change, and handed it to him with both hands: “Here, your change.”

Xiao Cuan didn’t say anything, held out his palm, took the change, took his pastries, and turned and left.

Chu Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

This person was really strange, so frightening.

Xiao Cuan walked to the side of the street, found a corner where the light couldn’t reach, and holding the brown sugar cakes he had just bought in both hands, he suddenly heard Chu Yu’s happy laughter again.

Chu Yu had calmed down and was joking with some children, coaxing them to buy cakes.

“That’s right, these cakes were all made by the boss’s wife! The boss’s wife is very capable, she can knead five hundred little bunnies and five hundred little goldfish in a day!”

“My ‘wife’ and I, one kneads the dough and one shapes it, we’re both very capable!”

In the darkness, a pair of green eyes stared intently at Chu Yu.

—How dare he? How dare he!