The Soaring Thief and the River Lanterns

Sword Immortal Ye Di.

Oh no, he was now Ye Di, the Soaring Thief.

He was a man who had died once.

It was a century ago, atop Immortal’s Peak.

Yunxi Sword Immortal versus the Black-robed Demon Lord.

The peak was adorned with crimson maples, falling blossoms, soaring birds, and a vast sea of clouds.

With the addition of poetry and strong spirits,

It would indeed be a perfect place to sleep forever, never to awaken.

The two had battled for three days and three nights, their fight so fierce it obscured the sun and moon—

Or so the tales would say. In truth, Ye Di had felled the Demon Lord with a single strike of Tangxi.

The price, however, was his own plunge from the cliff, leading to a hundred years of unconsciousness. His appearance and voice had changed drastically; he was virtually a different person.

No corpse had been found, and for all those years, no news of him had surfaced.

To the world, Sword Immortal Ye Di had naturally perished, his legacy dissolved.

Upon awakening, Ye Di often wondered, ‘What exactly is happening now?’

Now, his glory only existed within storybooks and theatrical plays.

He was a household legend, a hero lauded by all, a Sword Immortal who had ushered in an era of peace for generations.

But the Sword Immortal was dead.

In truth, Ye Di had long been mentally prepared for his demise.

He had known for a long time that,

His white-haired Daoist partner, who often played the zither for him in the plum garden and smiled gently as he practiced swordsmanship under the moonlight,

Had only one thought: to see his sword dao reach its peak so he could trade his life to eliminate the Demon Lord, thereby ensuring peace for all under heaven.

And the sword-obsessed girl, who, just to meet him, had cut her way through the entire Luoyang Underground Palace,

Staining all living things within a hundred-li radius with blood, earning her the moniker Baili Hongyi,

Her true desire was for Ye Di to sacrifice himself to his sword, allowing Tangxi to emerge and fulfill her lifelong wish of witnessing an ancient divine blade.

Ye Di held no blame for anyone; in fact, out of their long-standing affections, he had intended to fulfill their wishes.

Yet, he mused, ‘Even the most formidable Sword Immortal only has one life. Accomplishing both these monumental tasks simultaneously would be far from easy.’

At the final Immortal’s Peak,

He forged Tangxi and slew the Demon Lord, concluding everything in an instant.

While achieving a perfect resolution for all, it also severed all past connections.

‘With utmost benevolence and righteousness fulfilled, you and I are no longer indebted to each other.’

The only thing he hadn’t anticipated was that,

His path, it turned out, was far from its end.

****

The moonlight in Yicheng was desolate. After turning through seven or eight small alleys, the clamor of the bustling market gradually faded, leaving only the solitary, repetitive echo of the night watchman’s clapper.

Ye Di suddenly halted.

He looked up at the cold moon hanging in the mid-sky and spoke:

“Stop following me. Come out.”

A shadowy figure stretched from the street corner, and then a slender silhouette emerged into the moonlight.

He was dressed as a constable, with a saber and badge hanging from his waist.

His chin was slightly pointed, and he sported a sparse beard, giving him an astute and capable appearance.

He looked at Ye Di and said coldly:

“The yamen is conducting official business, apprehending a major criminal. I advise you to surrender obediently and spare yourself unnecessary suffering.”

Ye Di shook his head.

“After all these years of service, have you ever seen a great thief who gets scared witless by a single sentence and meekly surrenders?”

The constable was enraged. He gripped the hilt of the saber at his waist.

With a ‘shiiing’ of friction, a cold, white gleam flashed.

“Then don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”

With a stomp of his left foot, he leaped into the air, his saber already unsheathed.

Against the cold moon, he raised the long blade high, ready to cleave down towards Ye Di’s face.

Ye Di shook his head with a wry smile.

A century ago, he had been a good man, yet those around him constantly wished for his demise.

A hundred years later, he had begun to embrace the role of a ‘bad guy,’ and it seemed people still largely desired his death.

With a mere flick of his finger, Ye Di could sever all of the constable’s meridians, killing him instantly.

But he suddenly felt apathetic and turned his head.

In the distance, beneath the night sky, a faint yellow glow illuminated the scene.

Ye Di remembered; this was a traditional custom of Yicheng’s River Lantern Festival.

In the quiet depths of the night,

People would often gather by the Jade Belt River, which flowed around the city walls,

Gently releasing a river lantern, a symbol of blessings and wishes,

Allowing them to drift downstream, jostling and swaying like plump white children.

If they floated unimpeded, it was believed the year would bring contentment and smooth sailing in all endeavors.

He wondered if anyone had purchased the river lantern with his riddle on it.

Ye Di always acted on impulse; having made up his mind, he decided to go see.

At that moment, the wind from the saber reached him, stirring a few strands of Ye Di’s hair.

With a light tap of his left foot, he retreated several zhang, instantly widening the distance.

From the darkness, Ye Di’s voice drifted back:

“Sir, don’t waste your time. It’s the River Lantern Festival tonight; go home and spend time with your wife and children! If you’re a bachelor, then disregard what I said!”

The constable paused, startled, then rage flared in his heart.

“Shameless scoundrel! If you have the guts, face this saber strike from your elder!”

He immediately sprinted, chasing after Ye Di’s faintly visible retreating figure.

****

The banks of the Jade Belt River were bustling.

It seemed as though everyone from the night market had gathered here, shoulder to shoulder.

Xu Niantang, carrying a swaying river lantern, carefully waded into the shallows barefoot.

She held her breath anxiously, enduring the painful, gritty sensation under her feet as she slowly moved through the crowd.

Before her lay the Jade Belt River, dotted with countless river lanterns of all sizes.

Shimmering ripples danced on the water’s surface, reflecting a shattered moon.

A small thrill sparked in Xu Niantang’s heart, and she couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

She had long yearned to release a river lantern, wishing for it every year.

However, as a lady of her standing, she was clearly not permitted to participate in such common folk activities.

Whenever she would perch on the courtyard wall, craning her neck to gaze at the distant floating lights,

The servants at home would react as if facing a formidable enemy, some stretching out their hands, others moving cushions.

Some even stammered as they spoke:

“M-Miss, please don’t do anything rash. Come, g-gently climb down… slowly now… we’ll catch you…”

Xu Niantang then glanced back at them.

With a twist of her slender waist, she directly leaped from the ten-foot-high wall, her long hair flying wildly and her skirt billowing.

After brushing dust from her skirt, Xu Niantang was perfectly fine.

However, several guards, whose psychological fortitude was not quite up to par,

Fainted outright upon witnessing their young lady, a precious noble, leap down.

Xu Niantang didn’t necessarily have to release a river lantern; she had simply heard they could carry people’s wishes.

She was just missing her mother a little.

Today, she had encountered so many things.

First, she had been pressured into marriage so intensely that she had scaled a wall to escape for the first time in her life.

Then, she had bumped into the infamous Soaring Thief and strolled through the night market with him.

She had also met an unfamiliar sister in white, who, however, seemed rather unhappy.

Xu Niantang knew the entire city was searching for her, and her time for wilfulness was running out.

Thus, she bought the river lantern she had longed for at a stall and headed to the Jade Belt River by the city walls.

‘If Mother in heaven can truly hear me, please forgive your unfilial daughter for expressing her longing for the first time.’

Xu Niantang slowly walked to the riverbank, squatted down, and tried to place the river lantern onto the water.

It swayed for a moment before settling steadily, then drifted downstream with the other river lanterns.

Xu Niantang was delighted, her lips curving into a soft smile.

Murong Qihuang squatted down beside her.

Xu Niantang turned her head, her eyes sparkling with surprise.

“Sister in white, you’re here!”

Murong Qihuang paused, then nodded.

“Mhm.”

She also held a river lantern, the very one she had just solved the riddle for.

Placing it on the water, the lantern slowly drifted downstream.

Xu Niantang blinked, then suddenly asked:

“Sister, what wish did you make?”

Murong Qihuang froze.

Xu Niantang tilted her face upwards, her eyes twinkling like stars.

“I hope… ah, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, wishes shouldn’t be spoken aloud, or they won’t come true. I’m sorry, Sister.”

She playfully stuck out her tongue at Murong Qihuang in apology, then giggled as she peered at the river lanterns.

Murong Qihuang thought:

‘What wish did I make?’

In truth, she hadn’t made any wish at all.

She simply felt a strong impulse to release the river lantern bearing that riddle.

Speaking of which, she had even temporarily forgotten about the Soaring Thief.

For some unknown reason, seeing this mischievous girl, her brows alight with joy,

Was like seeing her younger self.

Murong Qihuang closed her eyes for a moment, then stood up.

Xu Niantang noticed, and looked up to ask:

“Sister, are you leaving?”

“Mhm.”

Murong Qihuang said,

“The ‘Soaring Thief’ has appeared again. Don’t stay out too late; go home early and don’t make your family worry.”

“The Soaring Thief?”

Xu Niantang laughed.

“I was just strolling through the market with him!”

Murong Qihuang was startled and quickly crouched down.

“He didn’t harm you, did he?”

“No, no! How would he dare harm this young lady? Besides, he’s quite amusing; I actually want to see him again.”

Xu Niantang replied.

She guessed that this sister was also here to capture the Soaring Thief, so she deliberately withheld his whereabouts.

Of course, she genuinely didn’t know where he was either.

‘If only I could see him again, at least to return this to him…’

Xu Niantang secretly clutched the mask in her bosom.

Suddenly, voices echoed from the distance:

“Thief! Halt!”

The voice resonated loudly in the night.

People on the riverbank looked in the direction of the sound, seeing two figures, one behind the other, traversing the river surface.

Countless river lanterns floated on the Jade Belt River. Using them as footholds, they ‘whooshed, whooshed, whooshed’ across them as if stepping on hidden underwater stakes, splashing water everywhere.

“The Soaring Thief! It’s the Soaring Thief!”

Someone shouted the first cry, and the crowd immediately reacted.

“Isn’t that Constable Chen? He’s the one going after the scoundrel! What a relief!”

“Thief, don’t run! Take this rake from Niuzhuzi of Yicheng’s South Street!”

“Constable Chen! Your daughter is at my house, you wouldn’t want her to…”

“Thief, halt! Give me back my future wife!”

Ye Di’s eyelids twitched wildly as he stepped on the floating river lanterns.

Unable to bear it any longer, he was about to turn around and retort.

His gaze swept over everything happening on the riverbank.

The familiar girlish figure suddenly leaped up.

She was still in her pink top and skirt, her smooth, satin-like straight hair flowing down,

Spreading out, she truly looked a little like a crazy woman.

Amidst the chorus of denunciations against the Soaring Thief,

Xu Niantang’s delicate, charming voice rang out, remarkably piercing:

“Run—! Don’t let them catch you! Keep—going—!”