At some point, by the brightly lit end of the bridge, rows of bamboo poles had been hung.
Each lantern on the poles had a small brocade pouch attached to it, extending all the way to the opposite side of the bridge.
Right now, quite a few people had gathered on the bridge.
They took out the slips of paper from the brocade pouches and lowered their heads to ponder.
Whenever they figured out an answer, an expression of joy would appear on their faces, and they would proceed forward.
These were clearly lantern riddles.
Seeing this, Qu Qirong looked at Deng Tianyu with a hint of interest. “Mr. Deng, shall we take a look as well?”
Although she did not cultivate the Confucian Dao, she would read some books when she had nothing else to do.
She had read a fair number of interesting books, such as those on lantern riddles.
“Then let’s take a look.”
Deng Tianyu smiled and walked alongside her toward the bridgehead.
The two casually plucked a brocade pouch each and opened them simultaneously.
[Two blades lean together, but their forms are not the same—guess a character!]
Qu Qirong pondered for a moment and murmured, “Blade is similar to knife radical, and blade is also a dagger-axe ‘戈’ (gē). When the two lean together, it ‘划’ (huà – stroke/divide)!”
She then turned her attention to the paper slip in Deng Tianyu’s hand. “Mr. Deng, what is your riddle?”
Following her gaze, he saw it read: [Two little people holding hands, stepping together atop a wooden stick.]
Qu Qirong figured out the answer at a single glance but did not speak it aloud.
Clearly, she wanted to see if Deng Tianyu could guess it as well.
To this, after thinking for a moment, Deng Tianyu understood.
“It’s the character ‘丛’ (cóng – cluster)!”
Two little people holding hands meant they were close together, forming the character ‘从’ (cóng – follow). With a wooden stick placed beneath, it becomes: follow + one = cluster!
For someone like Deng Tianyu, who had a university-level education, this was quite guessable.
“These two are easy. Let’s find two difficult ones!” Qu Qirong chuckled softly and, with light lotus steps, began searching along the bridge.
Although she was now disguised as an ordinary-looking woman, with every frown and smile, she still couldn’t conceal the aura of a dignified noblewoman.
Many people on the bridge cast their gazes her way, but upon noticing her average features, they shook their heads and looked away.
Some women were drawn to Deng Tianyu’s exceedingly handsome appearance. However, upon noticing the mature woman beside him, they all sighed inwardly.
They clearly categorized Deng Tianyu as a kept gigolo.
After all, the mature woman’s attire and temperament were clearly no ordinary person’s.
It was quite common for wealthy, lonely noblewomen to keep gigolos.
Still, seeing that the kept man was as handsome as the one before them stirred a bit of envy in their hearts.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong were naturally unaware of their thoughts. Even if they knew, they wouldn’t care, as one couldn’t control what others thought.
[Do not wait for the sun to set near dusk—guess a character!]
[Vast, vast water fields, the wild goose flies—guess a character!]
These two riddles were indeed a bit harder than the previous ones, but not excessively so.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong quickly guessed the answers: one was the character ‘暮’ (mù – dusk), the other was ‘淄’ (zī – Zi River).
“How about this, Mr. Deng? Each time you or I solve a riddle, we take one step forward. I want to see who reaches the opposite end of the bridge first. The loser tells the other a secret. What do you think?”
Pulling her gaze from the paper slip, Qu Qirong parted her red lips slightly.
From her words, one could tell she was genuinely interested in these riddles.
Deng Tianyu asked, “And if it’s a tie?”
“Then we each tell the other a secret. What is Mr. Deng’s opinion?”
“That works,” Deng Tianyu nodded, agreeing.
Today’s task was essentially to accompany a business partner. Moreover, to step into the King-Sealing Realm, he needed to deepen his understanding of heaven and earth.
The mundane world and its customs happened to be a significant part of comprehending the principles of heaven and earth.
“Mr. Deng must be quick, don’t be slower than me.”
Qu Qirong merely left those words before swaying her enchantingly graceful figure away to pluck more brocade pouches.
On the other side, Deng Tianyu did the same.
Under the hazy moonlight, their silhouettes intermittently paused and strode forward. Amidst the flickering shadows, they looked exceptionally well-matched.
After an unknown amount of time, Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong reached the opposite end of the bridge simultaneously.
“What a coincidence, it’s a tie then!” Qu Qirong smoothed out her slightly disheveled hair and looked at Deng Tianyu. “May I ask what secret Mr. Deng wishes to know?”
“How did Madam come to know my Shizun?”
Deng Tianyu voiced the question that had always lingered in his mind.
He had been puzzled from the very beginning: why did his Shizun trust Qu Qirong so much?
“We knew each other previously. Sect Leader Ning and I had cooperated multiple times before. It’s just that back then, I wasn’t the Sect Master’s Wife yet, and Sect Leader Ning wasn’t the Sect Leader of the Purple Cloud Sect either!”
Having hinted at that, she said no more.
“I see!”
Although Qu Qirong was very vague, combined with his earlier speculations, Deng Tianyu had already extracted key information from those two sentences.
First: His Shizun Ning Wan’s background was indeed not simple. It might well match his earlier guess—that his Shizun Ning Wan was a disciple of the Yin-Yang Law Heaven, a top-tier Devil Path power.
Second: Qu Qirong had cooperated with his Shizun before and likely knew about this layer of identity!
“Now it’s my turn! Dare I ask, Mr. Deng, do you possess half a jade pendant, exactly identical to the half I hold?”
Just then, Qu Qirong produced half a crystal jade pendant from her bosom.
This half pendant was engraved with obscure, ancient patterns and was currently emitting a faint glow.
Deng Tianyu’s expression focused. He then retrieved another half of a crystal jade pendant from his Storage Ring.
The half in his hand also emitted a faint glow, as if the two were resonating with each other.
“They are a pair?” Deng Tianyu was momentarily stunned.
The half pendant in his possession had been given to him by his Mother Consort.
And Qu Qirong also had a half. Could it be that she was a still-living relative of his Mother Consort?
Why did this feel like an on-the-spot relative recognition?
“The crystal jade pendant was originally one piece, which I split into two halves! Each half is imprinted with a small-scale teleportation array. Injecting True Essence will activate it instantly!”
Qu Qirong walked up to Deng Tianyu, holding her half of the pendant in her slender fingers and joining it with the piece in his hand.
“Why is this so?” Deng Tianyu’s expression was incredibly complex.
Qu Qirong revealed a smile of relief, sat gracefully on a stone chair by the bridgehead, and said gently, “Would you like to hear a story?”
“Mm,” Deng Tianyu nodded.
“Back when I was still a maiden of thirteen or fourteen, I was very fond of playing. But during one occasion when I snuck outside, I entered a Secret Realm and encountered danger there. At the crucial moment between life and death, a woman saved me. From then on, I formed a deep bond of friendship with her. Afterward, I became sworn sisters with her and gifted Sister Xue one of the pendants. One half of the crystal jade pendant has my character ‘Rong’ engraved, and the other half has ‘Xue’.”
Qu Qirong revealed a look of reminiscence, slowly recounting everything from that year, while simultaneously flipping the two halves over.
Just as she said, the backs of the two pendants were indeed inscribed with these two characters.
