Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

The Pursuit of Knowledge, Part Thirteen

"Thanh, come here. I want to show you something."

The little girl Thanh followed her mother, Quyên outside to the front of their house.

Thanh gasped. "Wow! A paper lantern!"

The paper lantern was a round paper sphere with an opening attached to a stick.

Thanh carefully held the lantern's stick with both hands.

Quyên smiled. "Yes, Thanh! I held one as a child back in Vietnam for Tết Trung Thu![1]"

"Tết Trung Thu? Is that why everyone's been eating mooncakes?"

"Yes. Everyone except you, Thanh."

Thanh pouted. "I don't like how the mooncakes taste!"

Quyên laughed. "They're not sweet enough for you?"

"Nope!"

Thanh looked at the inside of the lantern. A candle shone brightly in the middle, illuminating the lantern. She marveled at the lantern's beautiful designs on the paper too.

"This is so cool! Thank you, Mẹ! I love you!"

Quyên hugged Thanh. "I love you too!"

Mother and daughter walked around with the lantern and looked up at the sky.

The full moon was bright that night.

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"Hurry, Chun-ge! They're going to run out of mooncakes!"

"Wei Ying! Slow down! You gotta be careful in this crowd!" Pan Wukun shouted as she rushed after him.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival[2] in Gusu.

The guest disciples headed out to Gusu City to join in the festivities.

And Wei Wuxian was trying to beat the mooncake rush before they sold out.

So he was devastated when the shopkeeper gave him the bad news that he had failed his mission.

Wei Wuxian sank to his knees. "Noooooooo."

Pan Wukun patted Wei Wuxian's back comfortingly.

A pair of white boots stopped in front of them. They looked up to see Lan Wangji, holding a box of mooncakes in one hand. "For us."

Wei Wuxian cheered. "Thanks, Lan Zhan! You're so dependable!"

"Mn."

Wei Wuxian grabbed Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji by their wrists. "Come on! Let's go meet with everyone else!" He pulled them along through the crowd.

Pan Wukun was unsurprised at Wei Wuxian's overly familiar touch. He'd been grabbing her hands and wrists a lot lately.

Lan Wangji's heart raced at the feeling of his wrist in Wei Wuxian's grasp.

They gathered with the other guest disciples. Everyone sat down in an open field just outside Gusu City with an unobscured view of the full moon.

Jiang Cheng waved at Wei Wuxian. "Wei Wuxian! Over here!"

Jiang Yanli sat next to Jiang Cheng and waved at Wei Wuxian too. Earlier, she had insisted that Wei Wuxian go out with Lan Wangji and Pan Wukun. "A-Xian. You will still go to the Mid-Autumn Festival with me and A-Cheng every year after this. Who knows when you'll be able to spend it with Lan Wangji and Pan Wukun again?"

Wei Wuxian led Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji over to Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli.

Lan Wangji passed out mooncakes to Wei Wuxian and Pan Wukun.