Kill That Transmigrator Woman - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Trees Aflame with Lights and Silver Blossoms

Cui Wanwan didn’t move. For a moment, she was dazed by the breathtaking scene before her, standing motionless on the bluestone pavement, unable to react.

It wasn’t until that figure, wearing a gentle and warm smile, slowly walked toward her that she came back to herself.

“Cui Wanwan.”

“Hm?” Hearing her full name called, Cui Wanwan snapped fully awake.

“Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Did you make a wish to the gods or Buddhas?” Shen Jingzhou’s voice was soft and gentle, carrying a refreshing clarity that soothed the heart.

“No. I don’t believe in gods or Buddhas.” Cui Wanwan didn’t understand why he was asking such a question, but she answered truthfully.

If deities really existed in the heavens, why had her previous life been so miserable?

Aren’t the gods supposed to show mercy to all living beings, move the world with love, and be filled with compassion?

So, she didn’t believe.

“I did.” He looked at her, eyes twinkling with a smile.

That gaze was too earnest, too focused, leaving Cui Wanwan with nowhere to hide.

“Oh? Then may I ask what wish Young General Shen made?” It was just a casual remark, Cui Wanwan hadn’t taken it seriously at all.

Unexpectedly, Shen Jingzhou answered her with unusual solemnity. Word by word, he slowly said, “I prayed to the gods and Buddhas for your safety and peace every year.”

Boom!

It was as if something exploded in Cui Wanwan’s mind. She froze in place, not moving at all, eyes wide with disbelief.

She was someone who had lived two lifetimes. Though her feelings toward romance had grown indifferent, it didn’t mean she didn’t understand it.

She looked into Shen Jingzhou’s eyes, pressed her lips together, and finally opened her mouth, her expression serious.
“I ask that Young General Shen not tease me.”

The refined young man opposite her seemed to sigh. A faint trace of frustration appeared on his jade-like face, but when his gaze met hers again, he smiled gently.

Cui Wanwan’s lips trembled for a moment, but she said nothing.

To live without love is to live freely, this was the lesson she’d learned from living a second life.

“No matter.” That pleasant, melodious voice rang out softly again.
“Miss Cui needn’t feel uneasy, but I still wish to say, what I wished for was sincere, without the slightest falsehood.” He slowly explained.

Cui Wanwan still didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that in this world there could be sudden and unprovoked care, especially when the person in question was Shen Jingzhou, the little War God who had taken countless lives.

True, he didn’t look like a War God, in fact, his appearance didn’t match that of a general at all.

But that didn’t change the fact that he was the Young General.

“You’ve been away from home for a long time. In the past three years, your hometown has changed a lot. Today is New Year’s Eve, it’ll be lively. Do you want to go and have a look?”

The brilliance across the sky reflected on his face, casting divine radiance over one half of his already gentle features, while the other half was shrouded in the illusory glow of the mortal world, so much so that it was hard to see him clearly. It was as if thousands of blossoms were blooming at once, or like celestial clouds and spiritual mist from the heavens had descended.

What kind of person could he be, to have both his outer appearance and inner bearing be so stunning, so much so that no one dared to even taint him with a single touch, and would even willingly kneel at his feet?

“Alright.” Faced with eyes like that, Cui Wanwan seemed to be bewitched. By the time she came to her senses, she had already agreed without even realizing it.

The two walked side by side.
At first, their pace was slow and unhurried.

As they continued, they gradually blended into the bustling center of the crowd. The flow of people around them picked up speed, people jostled one another, either bumping into you or being shoved aside themselves.

In such a scene, one could easily get separated.

Suddenly, something soft and smooth was stuffed into Cui Wanwan’s hand.

She looked down, surprised to see a strip of soft blue-green silk in her palm.

“Hold on to this. With so many people and so much noise, we won’t get separated this way.” Shen Jingzhou spoke gently.

Cui Wanwan nodded at his words, not refusing. She gripped the soft, light silk in her hand.

If the man before her were a lecher, he would surely have taken the opportunity to grab her hand, after all, this moment and setting were the perfect backdrop for flirtation between men and women.

But he didn’t.

She was simply led forward by him. Shen Jingzhou’s pace was steady, not too fast, not too slow, just right for her to follow along without stumbling or lagging behind.

Cui Wanwan was led all the way into the very center of the crowd, where a strong performer happened to be displaying the Iron Tree Silver Flowers.

It was a spectacle even more breathtaking than fireworks, an astonishing, heart-stirring feast of flames.

As the performer swung his arm and made a sharp motion toward the sky, golden sparks exploded outward from all around. It was like raindrops had suddenly turned into glittering gold, or as if the stars had all fallen from the sky and were now showering down upon this crowd of mortals, dazzling and brilliant.

The iron sparks burst forth in flying showers, accompanied by a distinct, resonant sound. The sight was grand and awe-inspiring, like a dragon of fire soaring into the heavens, only to dissolve in the next instant into a sky full of stars, raining down.

In the Northern Lin Dynasty, the Iron Tree Silver Flowers weren’t just a spectacle, they carried people’s prayers. Like sky lanterns, they were how common folk petitioned the heavens for favorable weather in the coming year, for happiness, peace, and harmony in their families.

“Do you like it?” Shen Jingzhou’s voice came to her ear, clear and gentle.

Cui Wanwan nodded, quietly replying, “I like it.” Her voice was drowned out by the lively noise of the crowd, it was unclear whether he heard her.

The smile at Shen Jingzhou’s lips deepened just a little. He tilted his head to look at her, and the hand holding the silk ribbon tightened slightly.

The night wind brushed past, tousling her dark hair into slight disarray.

Shen Jingzhou leaned down slightly, his fingers white as jade gently brushing the strands of hair from her forehead behind her ear. “As long as you like it.”

Cui Wanwan looked up at him. When he said this, his voice was soft and gentle, laced with a faint smile.

He was always like this, so gentle that Cui Wanwan found it hard to believe. She even felt that he must be hiding some ulterior motive.

She didn’t believe that a stranger, someone she had never met before, would show such kindness and care toward her for no reason.

Forget it.
Whether this person before her harbored hidden intentions or was truly warm and kind, just this brief moment of warmth was enough for her.

What came after, she’d deal with it later.

It had simply been too long since anyone had cherished her, so much so that even this care and concern, real or not, was enough to make her sink into it.

After suffering bitterness for so long, she just wanted to taste something sweet.

Life is like a play, so what if she played along?

The bright moon hung in the sky, with sky lanterns and fireworks rising around them. Lights shimmered and laughter echoed in her ears, never stopping for a moment.

After watching the Iron Tree Silver Flowers, Shen Jingzhou took her to the lantern riddle booth.

“Is there one you fancy?” Shen Jingzhou lowered his head and asked.

Looking at the countless riddles before her, Cui Wanwan’s thoughts were suddenly pulled back to her previous life.

In her previous life, there was also such a night when her parents took the whole family to walk through the night market.

It wasn’t New Year’s Eve that time, it was the Lantern Festival.

Wei Qingyu had solved most of the riddles but just so happened to set her sights on the lantern that Cui Wanwan had personally won.

At first, she thought Wei Qingyu genuinely liked it, so she didn’t mind giving it away. But the moment she looked up and met Wei Qingyu’s eyes, she saw mockery and triumph in them. Instantly enraged, she refused to hand over the lantern.

And the result, of course, was scolding from her parents and disappointed looks from her older brother.

Wei Qingyu’s tears fell right on cue, like a weak willow swaying in the wind, delicate and pitiful.

At that time, Cui Wanwan was stubborn and impulsive, most intolerant of such manipulative and fake behavior. So she steeled herself, refused to back down, smashed the lantern to the ground, and stomped on it hard, crushing it completely.

Just then, Ling Xun happened to pass by from afar, witnessing the confrontation between the two sisters.

At the time, she’d even laughably thought that Ling Xun would surely take her side and stand up for her.

After all, the two of them had grown up together since childhood.

Cui Wanwan had bet that Ling Xun wouldn’t side with someone he’d only just met.

And then—

She lost that bet.

Everyone was criticizing her.

Ling Xun, just to please Wei Qingyu and bring a smile back to her face, actually, despite being a dignified Heir—bought out the entire lantern riddle stall, just to gift all the remaining lanterns to Wei Qingyu.