Chapter 294: You Are My Only Light
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“We found it! We found it!”
“Princess Sunshine, please don’t cry. We caught the thief!” Magistrate Zhong shouted, his face dripping with sweat, his voice shaky and urgent.
Just two weeks ago, his men had warned him about the infamous Thousand-Faced Thief hiding in the capital—a criminal known for causing trouble wherever he went. No one expected this thief to be bold enough to target Princess Sunshine.
When the thief was dragged in front of them, he looked confused, clutching a small bag as the guards shoved him forward.
Little Lu Chao Chao’s eyes were red and filled with tears, her tiny face showing frustration and anger.
“You bad guy! Give back my precious thingy!” she cried, her voice wobbly but fierce.
Magistrate Zhong’s face became serious. “Do you know what you’ve done? You stole from the king! Do you want to lose your head?” he yelled, his teeth clenched. The idea that someone could steal from Princess Sunshine under his watch was enough to put his job on the line!
He quickly snatched the bag from the thief and handed it to Lu Chao Chao with a forced smile. “Princess Sunshine, here’s your bag. Please check if anything is missing,” he said in a sugary sweet tone.
The thief, a master of disguise who had managed to avoid capture for years, had finally slipped up by stealing from Lu Chao Chao. It took less than half an hour for him to be caught after committing the theft.
The Thousand-Faced Thief blinked, still confused. “What precious thingy? I didn’t take any precious thingy!” he insisted.
Chao Chao, still sniffling, opened her little bag. Inside was a beef pastry, now cold. She pulled it out and took a big bite. As Magistrate Zhong watched nervously, she tossed the bag aside and kept eating, her cheeks puffed up with food, tears still rolling down her face.
“Mmm, so tasty…” she mumbled with her mouth full, her words barely understandable.
“You… you took my beef… my beef pie!” she shouted, her small face scrunching up in anger as she chewed.
Magistrate Zhong looked at her, completely puzzled. “Wait, wait… what about your precious thingy?” he stammered, his face full of confusion.
“Precious thingy?” Chao Chao looked up, her face shiny with grease. “Oh, that? I left it in the carriage…”
Magistrate Zhong slapped his thigh in frustration. “Oh, my luck!” he groaned. “You said something important was stolen!”
Chao Chao pouted, her eyes still watery. “Isn’t this important? I waited half an hour for it! It’s way more special than some silly precious thingy!”
The thief’s eyes widened, his frustration boiling over. “So, you locked down the whole city… for two beef pastries?!” he yelled, feeling wronged.
He hadn’t meant to steal from her. With her fancy clothes and group of people around her, Lu Chao Chao looked like someone you should never mess with—a little noble girl you shouldn’t cross. But as she sneaked around, holding her bag tightly and peeking into it often, he thought it must be full of treasures.
But they were just pastries—two beef pies! And now, he was in trouble because of them!
Magistrate Zhong kicked him, his face dark with anger. “You’ve been a problem for too long; it’s about time we caught you! And out of everyone, you chose to steal from her!”
He then dragged the thief away.
Yuhua and Yuqin, the maids, exchanged worried looks and sighed, rubbing their temples. “When did you take out the precious thingy?” one of them asked.
Chao Chao wrinkled her nose. “It was in the way,” she replied simply.
Nearby, Li Siqi, who had been watching everything, couldn’t help but chuckle. He was about to step forward when the last bit of sunlight disappeared, and the moon lit up the night sky. Lanterns started to glow, forming a bright dragon winding through the streets. The crowd erupted in cheers.
Li Siqi stood among the bustling crowd. Everyone around him was moving, but he stayed still, looking out of place. The noise, the lights, the festive mood—it all seemed far away.
The loud cheers filled his ears, but it was just noise. The darkness around him felt heavy, making it hard to breathe, keeping him stuck in place.
“Wow, look at all the lanterns! There’s a dragon lantern and a phoenix lantern. So pretty…” Chao Chao’s voice, clear and bright, cut through the noise.
“Third Brother, come see the dragon dance…”
“Brother Siqi, Brother Siqi… come on…” Chao Chao’s tiny voice seemed both far away and very close, piercing through the crowd’s noise.
Li Siqi reached out, trying to find where Chao Chao’s voice was coming from in the chaos. He took a step forward, but the crowd was too thick. Suddenly, someone bumped into him.
“Hey! Are you blind? Watch where you’re going!” a stranger shouted as Li Siqi was pushed around, finally falling to the ground. Before he could get up, a sharp pain shot through his hand as someone stepped on it.
“Ouch…” He winced, the pain sharp and sudden. Then, almost immediately, someone else stepped on his back.
Not far away, a panicked voice shouted, “Where’s my young master? Has anyone seen him?” The worry in the voice was clear, almost desperate. The young master had disappeared into the crowd in just a few seconds.
The darkness of the night made Li Siqi even more disoriented. Feeling scared and overwhelmed, he tried to curl up to protect himself, but the never-ending crowd gave him no break. Feet kept hitting his legs, back, and hands again and again.
His hair was messy, and his eyes, once bright and lively, now looked dull, clouded by pain and confusion. Every time the crowd moved, it sent waves of pain through his body.
Holding his head, his body shook with fear. In this chaos, a clear memory flashed before him: a sad scene of a man standing by an ice coffin.
The man looked sadly at the girl inside the coffin, his hand resting on the cold surface as he whispered, “You gave your life to save the world, a deed unmatched. Why must your suffering go on forever?”
“The heavens are so cruel… so unfair to you.”
“Master, wake up. Whatever you need, I will give.”
“You can’t see, so I will be your eyes.”
“Master, as the God of Life, I offer these eyes to you. May they let you see every mountain, river, and corner of this world. This is my wish.” He moved his hand over his eyes, and a bright light gathered in his palm.
Gently, he pressed this light into the ice coffin.
“I wish for you to take my eyes, to wake up, to come back to our world,” tears mixed with blood ran down as he closed his eyes.
“Master, I will follow you through life’s journeys. I will find you again.”
“May your path be kind, Master.”
“Master, you are my only light.” His form slowly faded away.
Sweat covered Li Siqi’s forehead as he whispered softly, “Mas… Master…”
[Master, where are you?]
Suddenly, Chao Chao’s clear, strong voice broke through the noise. “Brother Siqi…”
“Brother Siqi, where are you?”
Chao Chao’s eyes darted around, noticing that Li Siqi was missing. Her eyes widened with worry, and she quickly turned, scanning the crowd. Being small, she ducked and weaved through the sea of legs, her eyes finally spotting Li Siqi curled up on the ground, holding his head.
“Brother Siqi, I’m here to save you!” she called out, her voice firm.
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Li Siqi, lost in his cloud of pain and confusion, could only see the blur of the festivities around him. The lights and sounds felt far away, meaningless, as he stared blankly at the dark sky above.
Then, in the darkness, a pair of small, glowing hands reached out to him.
In the dark, she was like a little star, shining bright.
“Brother Siqi, take my hand.” Chao Chao tilted her head, her tiny presence surrounded by a soft glow, her smile giving comfort and warmth.
Again, that voice echoed in his ears.
[Master, you are my only light.]