“Those favored by the Divine Serpent will have their wishes come true tonight.” After Dou Niang finished speaking and saw that Zanxing and the others all looked disbelieving, she said urgently, “Honorable immortals, please don’t disbelieve me—this is exactly how I found my father!”
Gu Baiying’s expression shifted slightly. “Your father?”
Tian Fangfang also snapped back to attention, putting away her usual carefree manner and asking somewhat seriously, “Little Dou, I still haven’t had a chance to ask you—how did you find your father?”
Dou Niang turned her head and glanced at Xu Fu, who had already walked to the wooden table and was chatting with acquaintances. The man looked honest and simple, carefully cutting the roasted beef as if afraid to waste even the tiniest bit. Nothing seemed amiss about him.
Dou Niang withdrew her gaze and began to speak, “After I parted from you, Big Brother Tian, I kept walking north. The silver we had been given was robbed on the road, and I almost got sold. Later, I escaped and walked for a long time until I reached Wu Fan City.” Dou Niang looked into the distance, “I didn’t know anyone then. A kind old lady took me into her home and gave me food. That day happened to be Wu Fan City’s Auspicious Serpent Festival. The lady saw that I had nowhere to go for the moment, so she gave me a Divine Serpent Lamp and told me to come to the Auspicious Serpent Festival to watch the Saintess’s sacrifice.”
“The lady told me that at the Auspicious Serpent Festival, when the Saintess performs the sacrifice, everyone can make wishes, and the Divine Serpent will choose the fortunate ones to fulfill their heart’s desires. At first, I didn’t believe it either, but I missed my father so much that I made a wish to find him soon.”
Zanxing looked at her, “And then?”
Dou Niang murmured, “That night after I made my wish at the Auspicious Serpent Festival, I went home with the lady. When I woke up the next day, I had planned to continue leaving the city to walk north, but instead, I encountered my father at the city gate.” Her expression suddenly became excited, as if even now thinking about it still felt like a dream, “My father appeared before me! It turned out that ever since I was kidnapped that year, my mother had died from missing me, and my father had sold our family property to search for me everywhere. Who would have thought we would reunite in Wu Fan City!”
“But from when you were kidnapped to when you met your father, many years had passed, right?” Mu Cengxiao said calmly, “After not seeing each other for so many years, how did your father recognize you? Or,” he glanced at Xu Fu in the distance, “has your father not changed at all? Hasn’t he aged or become haggard?”
Dou Niang was stunned for a moment, her gaze becoming somewhat confused, “Aged… I don’t know, no… Father is just Father, he’s always been like this.”
Upon hearing this, Zanxing’s heart skipped a beat, and her view of Xu Fu changed somewhat.
After so many years, a mortal’s appearance would inevitably change, yet Dou Niang said Xu Fu had always been like this. Could Xu Fu be a demon? But hadn’t Gu Baiying said there was no demonic aura?
“It’s not just me,” Dou Niang quickly cast aside this confusion and looked at Tian Fangfang earnestly, “Everyone in Wu Fan City has been favored by the Saintess and had their wishes fulfilled. Big Brother Tian, when we used to gnaw on steamed buns in the woodshed, you once said you wanted to make lots of money, live a good life, eat meat at every meal, and sleep in the softest bed. If you make a wish to the Divine Serpent today, perhaps the Divine Serpent will help you achieve it.”
The little girl’s eyes were full of unwavering belief. Tian Fangfang smiled and patted her head, “That’s not necessary. I’m already living the life I imagined. People should be content with what they have.”
“But…” Dou Niang still wanted to persuade.
“Little girl, don’t waste your efforts,” Gu Baiying interrupted her, “Sect disciples cultivate immortality by contending with Heaven for the Dao. Seeking divine pity and bestowed grace has long deviated from the original intention of cultivation.” He glanced at the confused Dou Niang, “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
Mendong looked at Dou Niang, then at Gu Baiying, and for the first time took the initiative to mediate, saying to Dou Niang, “Ahem, don’t mind him. My Master Uncle didn’t mean to reject your kindness—it’s just our sect’s rules that we can’t do such things. Your Auspicious Serpent Festival is quite nice, lively, and grand, and the people are enthusiastic. If we weren’t sect members, we would make wishes to the Divine Serpent just like you…”
Gu Baiying watched coldly as Mendong spouted such nonsense.
After talking for a while longer, the distant bonfires gradually died down. Not a single star could be found in the desert night sky, and people at the Auspicious Serpent Festival began slowly walking back toward the city. The festival was coming to an end.
Xu Fu came over to call Dou Niang, “Dou Niang, we should go back too.”
Dou Niang gathered the extinguished Divine Serpent Lamps in her arms and nodded to Xu Fu.
On the way back, the Wu Fan City residents around them continued chatting in twos and threes about the day’s interesting events. Handsome young men proudly showed off the silk flowers they had received that day, while beautiful girls praised each other’s exquisite dress embroidery.
This place did look exactly like an ordinary festival.
But it was precisely this “normalcy,” mixed with all the “abnormalities,” that created a strange sense of disconnection, making one feel even more uneasy.
When they returned to the house, a flock of geese at the door was awakened by the noise and began honking wildly while flapping their wings. Xu Fu shouted at them a few times before the geese gradually quieted down. These geese were indeed excellent guard animals—fierce and vicious, making even thieves retreat in fear.
Once inside the house, Dou Niang lit the oil lamp. She first heated water on the stove, then brought out several charred flatbreads from the kitchen. She placed the flatbreads on a plate and set them on the table, saying somewhat embarrassedly, “Tonight at the Auspicious Serpent Festival, the honorable immortals didn’t eat anything either. My father and I usually eat flatbreads for convenience while working—they might not taste very good… If the honorable immortals get hungry at night, you can eat some to fill your stomachs.”
Zanxing and the others naturally didn’t dare to eat the local food randomly, but Tian Fangfang still smiled upon hearing this, “That’s wonderful! Little Dou, you’re so thoughtful.”
Dou Niang’s face showed an even more flustered expression as she tugged at the hem of her clothes, “Big Brother Tian, our house is small. Usually, I sleep in the inner room and Father sleeps in the outer room. We only have two beds total. Tonight Father and I will sleep outside, but I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you to squeeze together and sleep in the inner room…”
“It’s fine,” Tian Fangfang said, “We cultivators are the same whether we sleep or not, and it doesn’t matter where we sleep—we’re not that particular. Just having a place that keeps out the rain is enough. We can sleep on the floor.”
“How can that be acceptable?” Xu Fu happened to come out of the inner room carrying bedding and shook his head upon hearing this, “You are Dou Niang’s guests—how can we make guests sleep on the floor? I’ve already tidied up the inner room, it’s just that the bed is small… I hope the honorable immortals won’t mind.”
Since he had spoken to this extent, further refusal would seem somewhat deliberate. Gu Baiying glanced at him and said lazily, “We don’t mind. Thank you both for the trouble.”