Chapter 164: I Like to Eat Pork

 Chapter 164: I Like to Eat Pork  

After the group of young men in fine clothes left, Xiao Yeyang's expression remained grim. Daohua tried to lighten the mood with jokes several times, but she couldn’t get him to crack a smile.

If the young master wasn't happy, it would be impossible for anyone else to enjoy the lantern viewing.

Everyone silently stood by the railing, neither speaking nor interacting, and the atmosphere grew somewhat tense.

It was the first time the Li siblings had seen such a scene, and they were so nervous that they didn't dare make a sound.  

Seeing this, Daohua felt helpless. It would be such a pity to spend the Lantern Festival like this.

"Wow, that lantern is so beautiful! What kind of flower is it? I don't think I've ever seen it before!"

Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, who was trying to make conversation, and followed her finger to look at the lantern. He then said impatiently, "Where did you come from, some mountain hermit? You haven't even seen a Cactus Lantern before?"

Daohua twitched her lips at his sharp tongue.

Forget it, considering his bad mood, she wouldn't hold it against him.

"I haven't grown this flower before, so it’s normal I don't recognize it!"

Xiao Yeyang snorted but didn’t respond.

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, Daohua felt a bit tired. Her eyes twinkled, and she said with a smile, "The flower cart is almost here, right? Didn't you just say that when the cart reaches the foot of Chong Tower, everyone would release their lanterns together?"

"I now think releasing lanterns to pray and make wishes is quite interesting. Too bad I don’t have a lantern. How about you go with me to buy one? Let’s get that Cactus Lantern, it looks really pretty."

Xiao Yeyang turned to look at Daohua, seeing her eyes sparkling with anticipation. His heart softened. "You sure cause the most trouble!"  

Upon hearing this, Daohua’s face lit up with a radiant smile.

Seeing her bright smile, Xiao Yeyang’s mood improved considerably, and the tension in his face softened. "Let’s go, we’ll go quickly so we don’t miss the time for releasing the lanterns."

Daohua immediately looked at the others. "Does everyone have a lantern? If not, we can go buy one."

Dong Yuanxuan smiled and chimed in, "I brought a lantern, but I’m not entirely happy with it. It’s a good chance to see if there’s another one I like."

Thus, the group hurried downstairs.

They didn’t go far before stopping by the stalls outside Chong Tower to pick out lanterns.

"Oh, look, there are masks too!"

Daohua casually picked up a cute pink pig-face mask and held it up to her face in front of Xiao Yeyang, swaying it in front of him. "What do you think? Is it cute?"

Xiao Yeyang glanced at the pig mask, his expression flickering slightly. "You like pigs?"

Daohua put the mask down and shook her head. "I like to eat pigs."

Xiao Yeyang froze. "..."  

Behind them, Defu, who had just been nervous, suddenly began to shake with suppressed laughter.

Dong Yuanxuan looked over and noticed Defu was holding in his laughter. He smiled and asked, "Defu, what’s so funny?"

Defu quickly stiffened when he noticed Xiao Yeyang's dangerous gaze on him. He quickly said, "Young Master Dong, you saw wrong, my shoulder just cramped."

He would never reveal that his master was born under the sign of the pig.

Daohua glanced at the group with a puzzled expression and continued browsing the masks on the stall. After a while, she picked up the pig-face mask again and turned to the Li sisters. "Cousins, let’s buy a mask. It’ll be fun to wear."

Li Zixin immediately smiled and said, "Great idea! When we go back home, we can wear the masks and see if our parents can guess who we are."

At her words, Yan Wenxiu and the Li brothers exchanged speechless glances.

"Please, the three of them are dressed differently and have different heights. Even if they wear masks, it’s still obvious who is who, right?"

However, seeing how interested the three girls were, they decided not to say much more.

When Xiao Yeyang saw Daohua holding the pig-head mask again, he couldn't help but smile, and casually asked, "The pastries you made before were also shaped like pig heads. What’s the deal? Are you really so fond of pigs?"

Daohua didn't even think before replying, "I think the pig is the happiest in the Chinese zodiac. It eats and sleeps, and sleeps and eats—no worries at all. Although in the end, it becomes a dish on the table, it really enjoys itself."

"Also, don't you think pork is delicious? You can make all kinds of dishes with it, it pairs well with many things, it's cheap, and everyone can afford it. How popular is that?"

Xiao Yeyang’s cheek twitched.

Forget it, he shouldn't have asked this person. Two out of every three sentences are about food.

After wandering around for a while, everyone’s mood had lifted, and the atmosphere had become more lively. No matter if they wanted it or not, everyone had a lantern in hand.

During this time, they came across a shop holding a riddle game, and everyone eagerly participated.

Daohua looked at a few of the riddles, shrank her neck, and quickly retreated to the back.

She wasn’t like other transmigrated girls, smart and well-read, able to shine in a riddle contest. The riddles here were ones she couldn't even begin to guess.

As Daohua excitedly watched her older brother sweep through the store’s riddles, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Xiao Yeyang.

Why did he leave without saying anything?

Not thinking much about it, Daohua quickly followed him.

"Hey, what are you doing? Everyone’s still guessing the riddles!" she called out.

Xiao Yeyang turned around and saw Daohua holding onto his sleeve, looking curious. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I have something important to take care of. Are you brave enough to follow me?"

Daohua replied, "What’s there to be afraid of!"

"Let’s go!"

Xiao Yeyang tilted his head and led Daohua quickly down another street.

Seeing that Defu was following them, Daohua wasn’t too worried but still felt it wasn’t right not to tell the others. "Should we tell Brother Dong and the others?" 

Xiao Yeyang snorted, "If we told them, we wouldn’t be able to get anything done."

Hearing this, Daohua grew more curious. "What exactly are you doing?"

As they spoke, they heard loud noises and shouting coming from the street ahead.

"Someone’s fighting! Someone’s fighting!"

People around them started running towards the front.

Xiao Yeyang grabbed Daohua’s wrist. "Hold on tight, don’t lose me!"

Daohua nodded and was pulled along as they ran forward.

It was them!

The group of well-dressed young men who had been driven away from Chong Tower!

At this moment, they were beating up a middle-aged vendor.

The vendor had been knocked to the ground and couldn’t even cry out for mercy.

Daohua furrowed her brows. She glanced at Xiao Yeyang, and sure enough, he was headed straight for them, his face darkening.

"Stop hitting him! You’ll kill him at this rate!" one of the group shouted.

Hearing this, the others stopped kicking and punching.

"Hmph, a blind fool, better dead than alive!" the leader of the young men sneered, giving the already motionless middle-aged vendor one last kick before leaving.

"What are you going to do?"

Seeing that Xiao Yeyang seemed ready to chase after them, Daohua quickly grabbed him, not waiting for him to speak before hurriedly saying, "I know those people are despicable, but there are too many of them, and we’re only three. The odds are not in our favor, it’s not wise to rush in now."

"How about this—we go back, find Brother Dong and the others, bring them along, and then we’ll settle the score with them."

Xiao Yeyang, seeing that Daohua wasn’t trying to stop him, softened his expression slightly. "Don’t worry. I’m not that foolish. I’m not going to fight them head-on. I’m just going to follow them and see where they’re staying."

Daohua was suspicious and tightened her grip on his sleeve. "Really?"

Xiao Yeyang rolled his eyes. "More real than real gold. Do you think I’m an idiot?"

Daohua stopped speaking at this point.

The three of them quickly followed.

As they passed the beaten vendor, seeing no one dared to step forward and help, Daohua tugged at Xiao Yeyang.

Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, whose face showed pity. Although he didn’t want to get involved, he still turned to gesture to Defu.

Defu immediately smiled and walked toward a nearby vendor. It was unclear what he said to the vendor, but soon, someone came and carried the vendor to a nearby medical clinic.

Seeing this, Daohua immediately smiled brightly.

(End of this chapter)