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墨書 Inktalez
Thus, Lin Qingmo became a "temporary worker" at the Heavenly Palace. Whenever a deity needed assistance with minor tasks, they would call upon Lin Qingmo for help. Currently, he was alternating between two locations. One was at Guanghan Palace, where he assisted the lazy and often sickly Jade Rabbit in grinding medicine. The other was at the Matchmaking Hall, where the matchmaker frequently went to the mortal realm to fulfill duties. Inside the hall, there was only a little Immortal Child, about three or four years old. The red threads used for matchmaking were woven by the Weaving Maiden. Lin Qingmo's task was to separate the thick red thread sent by the celestial maidens into ten thinner strands. He would then write the names of matched couples from the marriage register onto Matchmaking Talismans, attach them to a red thread, and hang them on the matchmaker tree in the hall.
One day, as Lin Qingmo sat beneath the tree organizing the red threads and hanging up talismans, he noticed the Little Immortal Child chasing butterflies among the peonies nearby. The matchmaker tree had been standing for over ten thousand years, its thick trunk smooth and dark purple in hue. Its roots twisted and turned, tightly gripping the earth beneath. Lin Qingmo looked up at the talismans hanging from the treetops; a gust of wind blew through, causing them to clink against each other, creating a crisp sound that seemed like a song sung by the wind. The red cards with black characters were closely packed together with male and female names. Lin Qingmo had secretly searched for his and Ao Yan's Matchmaking Talismans but found nothing amidst the overwhelming number of them. Disappointment washed over him as he thought that Ao Yan's ultimate Matchmaking Talisman was likely with the Plum Blossom Fairy.
"Brother Qingmo! Brother Qingmo!" The mischievous Little Immortal Child stumbled over from the flower patch to Lin Qingmo's side. His soft and plump little body stretched his green silk robe tight, and his chubby cheeks hung down softly, with a pair of sparkling big black eyes full of mischief. "Let me think." Not hearing any response, he suddenly leaped up and pounced onto Lin Qingmo's back, startling him out of his thoughts. "Brother Qingmo, don't say anything! Let me guess—are you thinking about Brother Aoyan?" Caught off guard by this accurate observation, Lin Qingmo's face flushed red as he turned around and gently pinched the Little Immortal Child's chubby cheek, saying, "You're quite clever for your age." The Little Immortal Child poked Lin Qingmo's slightly reddened face with his short fingers and said, "I guessed it right! And I also guessed that you’re looking for your Matchmaking Talisman with Brother Aoyan, right?"
Lin Qingmo could no longer sit still and feigned anger: "Get down! If you don't get off my back right now, I'll spank you!"
"I won't get down!" He pressed his chubby face closer to Lin Qingmo's neck, filling Lin Qingmo's nostrils with a strong scent of milk. This reminded him of Ao Yan and how he still carried that lingering milky fragrance after bathing—so thick that it felt as if he could lick it off his tongue. Here he was sitting under the matchmaker tree at the center of worldly romance yet surrounded only by others' Matchmaking Talismans—others' happiness.
"Brother Qingmo." Seeing Lin Qingmo's mood drop as if his face had been soaked in water and was about to cry at any moment, the Little Immortal Child lowered his voice thoughtfully: "Have you and Brother Aoyan had any little babies yet?" Lin Qingmo shook his head and blurted out: "He likes someone else—not me."
"Ah?" The Little Immortal Child widened his big round eyes in disbelief. "You and Brother Aoyan have no past lives or future lives together. You are actually manifestations of fate—he is fate, and you are affinity; neither can exist without the other! How could he not like you?" Lin Qingmo shook his head again, wrapping a red thread around his index finger only to unwind it again repeatedly until his fingers felt numb. His heart felt similarly heavy. Taking a deep breath, he continued: "He likes Plum Blossom Fairy—not me. I've entered his dreams; every time I do, it's always him meeting with Plum Blossom Fairy."
"Tch." The Little Immortal Child scoffed disdainfully while gripping Lin Qingmo's shoulders tightly to prevent himself from slipping off. "The two most jealous women in Heavenly Palace are Queen Mother and her! She has liked Brother Aoyan since childhood and has asked Queen Mother multiple times to grant her marriage to him. But since the dragon clan is powerful—with ancient deities like Empress Nuwa and Xi Wangmu backing them—Queen Mother cannot interfere with their marriages nor dares to do so. Moreover, the matchmaker has said that Plum Blossom Fairy’s red thread does not connect with Brother Aoyan’s at all. You and Brother Aoyan are manifestations of 'fate and affinity,' destined to be together in life and death! What does that little flower fairy have to do with it?"
"Really?" Lin Qingmo murmured softly as he turned to look into the Little Immortal Child's face. Their faces were close together; the Little Immortal Child bravely met Lin Qingmo's gaze to show that what he said was true. "But..." Lin Qingmo paused before adding: "But I have personally entered Ao Yan's dreams—not just once but several times! Once could be a coincidence; but counting it up, it's been three or four times now."
The Little Immortal Child finally jumped down from Lin Qingmo's back. Without that weighty warmth pressing against him anymore, Lin Qingmo felt a sudden chill seep into his bones. He feared that perhaps the Little Immortal Child was just deceiving him.
The Little Immortal Child mimicked an adult’s posture by placing his hands behind his back while spreading his feet apart slightly as he walked back and forth a couple of steps with a serious expression on his face as if deep in thought about something important. Suddenly he circled around Lin Qingmo twice before stopping to place his chubby hand on Lin Qingmo’s pulse while rolling his eyes upward thoughtfully. After a moment, he finally spoke: “Wait a moment, Brother Qingmo.” He turned around and pulled a blade of foxtail grass from among the weeds before bringing its fuzzy end close to Lin Qingmo’s nose again: “Brother Qingmo don’t dodge; I’ll just tickle you a bit! If you need to sneeze, go ahead—don’t hold it back!” Without waiting for Lin Qingmo’s response, he held up the grass and began tickling him.
Lin Qingmo leaned back slightly without having time to speak when suddenly he sneezed loudly—something flew out from his fingertip.
Suddenly, as if by magic, a colorful beam of light shot out from the Little Immortal Child’s hand enveloping whatever had flown out before swiftly drawing it into his palm. He opened his hand in front of Lin Qingmo: “Brother Qingmo! Look!” In his palm lay something slender and dark purple wriggling around—about the size of a fingernail.
Lin Qingmo leaned closer to examine it carefully before asking in confusion: “Is this a thorn?”
“Yep,” replied the Little Immortal Child confidently. “Brother Qingmo, think carefully: did you accidentally brush against any flowers that might have pricked you?”
Lin Qingmo pondered for a moment before recalling: “I remember now—I got pricked by Monthly Rose’s thorn! At that time I didn’t feel any pain so I didn’t pay attention to it; but this little thing...”
Pointing at what lay in his palm, the Little Immortal Child suddenly shouted angrily: “You better confess quickly!” The little thing knelt down tremblingly with its hands on its head in fear. It blurted out faster than it could think: “It was Plum Blossom Fairy who sent me! I only followed her orders to burrow into Young Master Lin’s flesh at night to consume his dreams while leading him into Dragon Eighth Prince’s dreams! My job was Young Master Lin while that pot of Monthly Roses dealt with Dragon Eighth Prince—creating illusions through smoke so that Young Master Lin would see himself transformed into Plum Blossom Fairy in Dragon Eighth Prince’s dreams! The goal—the goal was solely to sow discord between Dragon Eighth Prince and Young Master Lin!”
“Hmph.” The Little Immortal Child snorted heavily while pointing at it; terrified, it froze in place maintaining its posture as if petrified where it stood. The Little Immortal Child asked: “What is your name?” The little creature’s heart dropped repeatedly from fear; tremblingly it bowed its head while crying out: “My name is Lateral Thorn—I specialize in sowing discord between lovers! Please spare me! Young Master Lin—please spare me!”
With a flick of two fingers, the Little Immortal Child sent it tumbling into the soil among some flowers saying: “I’ll let you off today; go loosen some soil!” He then turned back cheerfully bouncing over to Lin Qingmo’s side with a sweet voice saying: “Now you know? It was all that Plum Blossom Fairy’s doing! Brother Aoyan only has eyes for you!”
Lin Qingmo felt both surprised and delighted but remained skeptical; hesitantly he replied: “But there’s one thing that doesn’t add up—the one who gave me Monthly Rose seeds wasn’t Plum Blossom Fairy—it was Monthly Rose Fairy.”
“Oh.” The Little Immortal Child looked puzzled too; rolling its eyes around it asked: “Do you remember whether that Monthly Rose Fairy had plum blossoms or Monthly Roses drawn on her forehead?”
Without thinking twice about it, Lin Qingmo answered decisively: “It was plum blossoms—I remember very clearly because... because... because I like Monthly Roses so I paid close attention to Monthly Rose Fairy! Plus she was very close to me that day—I secretly looked at her face; I saw her forehead makeup very clearly.”
The Little Immortal Child clapped joyfully and said, "That's right. The flower seeds sent to you by the Monthly Rose Fairy are actually transformed from the Plum Blossom Fairy. No matter how the flower fairies of the Heavenly Palace change, there is one thing that never changes: the mark on their foreheads. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the Plum Blossom Fairy goes to the Dragon Palace, regardless of whether others like it or find it annoying. This is well-known among the people of the Heavenly Palace. It was also during her first visit to the Dragon Palace that she met Brother Aoyan for the first time, right on Mid-Autumn Festival. This time, she brought the Monthly Rose Fairy along as a decoy to harm you. The Monthly Rose Fairy is rather foolish and not very bright, so it’s no surprise she was used by her. The Plum Blossom Fairy is not only malicious but also thick-skinned enough to patch up the heavens for Empress Nuwa."
Lin Qingmo couldn't help but burst into laughter. Now, thinking of Ao Yan made her heart flutter like a little bird, flapping its wings restlessly and unable to settle down. She felt all soft and weak, wishing she could fall straight into Ao Yan's arms.
"Brother Qingmo, you're blushing," said the Little Immortal Child, poking Lin Qingmo's cheek. When Lin Qingmo snapped out of her daze, her blush deepened. "Brother Qingmo, I have something else to tell you."
"What is it?" Lin Qingmo pulled the Little Immortal Child closer and pinched his cheek. "You really are clever for your age."
"Brother Qingmo should thank you! This matter is—" The Little Immortal Child leaned in close to Lin Qingmo's ear and whispered, "You mustn't let Brother Aoyan know that you secretly looked at the Monthly Rose Fairy's face."
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