“It’s just a mere little spell. Compared to this benefactor, I’m truly insignificant.” The monk bowed to everyone. “Thank you all for your kindness, and a special thanks to this benefactor for your generosity, which allows this humble monk to present my poor skills. I’m currently staying at Tianhai Temple in the city; if any of you benefactors are interested, you can offer a few sticks of incense before the Buddha.”

After speaking, he put his hands together in prayer and bowed to the crowd, as well as to the middle-aged performer who had presented earlier.

Indeed, he took not a single coin from the money that had fallen to the ground, smiling as he walked back to his friends. He then displayed a look of helplessness, as if he wanted to admonish his friends but couldn’t find the words.

The middle-aged performer, who had previously performed here, must have had some confidence to invite the monk to perform. Seeing everyone’s astonishment at the monk’s spell, he refused to admit defeat. He instructed his disciple to return the money picked up from the ground to the monk, saying it was for the incense offerings.

When the monk flatly refused, he took it back and laughed, saying, “This master’s spell is impressive, undoubtedly a master of the craft. However, there are thousands of spells under heaven. The spells that the master knows, I may not; the spells I know, the master may not.”

He then called for his disciple to bring a knife.

A large cleaver appeared, wide-bladed and thick-edged, with a blackened, pockmarked surface. The blade glinted brightly, reflecting the firelight, looking even more imposing than the one at the market.

Upon seeing it, the onlookers gasped in surprise.

“Come!” The middle-aged man lay down on a wide bench, exposing only his head and neck.

The crowd’s eyes widened, reflecting the flickering firelight.

The disciple walked over and lifted the knife. The knife was heavy, requiring both hands to raise it. He struggled greatly just to bring it over his head, his arms trembling as the spectators worried he might not be able to hold it steady.

“No!”

“Ah!”

Some onlookers tried to intervene, others covered their eyes, and some gasped in shock.

“Master…”

“Swing it down!”

“This…”

“Can’t you understand?”

“Alright…”

The disciple pretended to display reluctance before he finally gritted his teeth. His hand rose, and the knife fell!

“

Swish

!”

The blade gleamed in the light as it flashed against the wall.

A round object fell to the ground and rolled a few circles with a dull thud.

“Ah!”

The crowd gasped in shock, the noise drowning out all the excitement of the night, drawing people from far away who rushed over.

More and more people gathered.

The calico cat widened her eyes to the maximum, her front paws pressing against Song You's arm. She was stretching her neck to see what was happening, as if she wanted to check on that head. She swayed her head side to side, a small amplitude but a high frequency; although she didn’t speak and had no human expression on her face, her curiosity and astonishment were clear to see.

In the blink of an eye, the crowd grew denser.

Initially, Song You and the calico cat were at the outer edge of the crowd, but now they had moved to the front. More people kept arriving, while others tried to push their way forward.

“Everyone, don’t panic!” a voice rang out from the front.

It was the middle-aged man’s voice.

Many onlookers, who had been covering their eyes, dared to look after hearing the voice. But they only saw that the middle-aged man had been decapitated, prompting more gasps of shock from the crowd.

However, upon closer inspection—

Although the middle-aged man's head had been cleanly severed from his neck, there was no blood splattering out. The edges of the neck and head were very smooth, with the bone, flesh, and trachea clearly visible, but there was simply no blood.

The disciple picked up the middle-aged man’s head, which was still moving its mouth and continuously speaking.

One moment it was saying the disciple poked his nostrils, the next he complained about him pulling his hair. Then, he angrily scolded the disciple, saying the disciple's pinky was pressing on his eyes.

The disciple apologized and placed the head on a tray, carrying it around to show everyone.

To their astonishment, the head was lively as usual, showing no signs of having been severed from the body; it even smiled and greeted everyone, leaving the crowd in awe.

“Since everyone enjoyed the show, I will be asking for a tip!”

“Great performance! Here’s a tip!”

Even those wandering around the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, who might not be wealthy, carried a bit of change to buy snacks or small trinkets. After enjoying the spectacle, even the stingiest among them couldn’t help but toss a few coins when they saw others throwing money.

Even Song You took a hand out, pulled out a few copper coins, and tossed them forward.

The calico cat turned her head to stare at him.

“Lady Calico, you mustn’t be so stingy. If you enjoy the show and feel inspired, it's perfectly fine to support him a bit,” the Daoist said, looking down at her and lowering his voice. “The few coins you saw earlier were my offering. Coincidentally, I have plenty of money for you too. Would you like to give a tip? If you do, I can throw it for you.”

“…” The calico cat immediately shifted her gaze back to the front. But her eyes flickered, and after hesitating for a long while, she turned back and meowed at him.

“You’re indeed generous!” Song You took out a coin from his pocket and threw it.

“Thank you, thank you…” the head on the tray said.

Then something even more surprising happened: the body on the bench actually stood up, turning around and bowing to everyone. However, while turning, it accidentally tripped over the chair leg and fell.

“

Ouch

!” The head cried out in pain. “Apologies for the mistake, everyone. It's a bit inconvenient for me to move my body from far away.”

The body climbed back up and continued to bow, while the head added, “Seeing such generosity from all of you, I must toast you with a drink.”

It then called for the disciple to bring wine.

However, the wine was not poured into the head; instead, it was poured down the neck of the body. A moment later, the head's face turned red, showing signs of drunkenness, with its brows dancing and a look of bliss, and it even started singing.

The onlookers were all astonished.

After a while, the middle-aged man's face grew redder, and he instructed the disciple to put his head back on. In an instant, it was just like before, with no visible wounds.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.” The middle-aged man bowed to everyone, then feigned weakness, saying that the earlier performance had drained his energy, and he was tired. Taking advantage of this, he sought another round of tips and had the disciple perform for everyone.

The disciple didn’t possess his master’s skills but was still quite good.

He brought various colors of paint and mixed them together, then told everyone that they hadn’t been to the riverside yet and hadn’t seen the lantern festival, so he invited them to take a look first. He then drank the paint in one gulp, aimed at the wall, and spat it out, revealing a picture of the riverside lantern festival on the wall.

The scene depicted Changjing, showcasing the lantern festival of the night. It was crowded with people, with countless colorful lanterns around. Scholars and beauties walked among them.

The painting was lifelike and vividly animated. Those who had just returned from the lantern festival all said the riverside looked exactly like that; some even recognized themselves in the scene.

Song You had already left the crowd, holding the cat.

The few scholars and monks who had been there earlier also walked out of the crowd and headed toward the riverside. When they saw Song You, the monk who had performed earlier put his palms together and bowed deeply.

Song You hurriedly returned the gesture.

They weren’t far apart, and he could faintly hear the monk's friends asking about him. The monk honestly replied that he had just seen the Daoist turn around and look at him as he walked out of the cloth shop. He thought it must be someone with cultivation, knowledge, and insight to see his whereabouts at a glance, hence the respectful greeting.

So the scholars quickly turned back and bowed to the Daoist before leaving.

“Daoist Master…”

“Hmm?”

“How much money can they make in a night?”

“Tonight there are a lot of people, and Changjing residents are wealthy, with many dignitaries and nobles around. Perhaps…” Song You thought for a moment, “a few dozen taels of silver? Or maybe more if they encounter a noble.”

“Can a cat that spits fire make money?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I haven't tried it myself.” Song You shook his head helplessly, carrying her as they walked toward the riverside.

The cat seemed to have an obsession with money and making it. But upon closer thought, the calico cat didn’t really understand the difference between wealth and poverty. Even the size of the house she lived in didn’t matter to her.

In the past, she lived in a charming little courtyard in Yidu, running up and down, walking along the courtyard walls. Now that they had moved to this small building, she still ran up and down, walking on the roof.

Even when staying in a dilapidated temple on a desolate mountain, she found the firewood and clutter inside amusing. When darting through them, it felt like she was parkouring and adventuring in a peculiar landscape, which was quite fun.

The calico cat could live well without needing money; she hadn’t even known what money was before. The ones who truly needed money was the Daoist priest. So it might not be an obsession with money or making it, but rather an obsession with supporting the Daoist priest.

“…” The Daoist shook his head, walking at a leisurely pace.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared ahead. To say it was bright wouldn’t quite do it justice. No matter how bright the candlelight was, how much brighter could it get?

Yet those countless colorful lanterns, with red candle flames merging into one, lit up both the riverside and the water itself. In the dimness, the interplay of light and shadow held its own charm, not at all inferior to neon lights.

The banks of the river were crowded with people, bustling with excitement.

Nobles, talented individuals, scholars, warriors, and even common folk of Changjing all crowded along the riverside. There were vendors in green clothing hawking lanterns as they walked along the street, and delicate young women in small groups cautiously placing river lanterns on the bank, bowing their heads and closing their eyes as they made wishes.

Meanwhile, scholars on the upper floors engaged in poetry and drinking games, frequently eliciting exclamations from the crowd. Even by the roadside, countless people were guessing lantern riddles.

A dazzling array of snacks, drinks, and trinkets created a splendid scene at the festival. In a world filled with wonders and brilliance, what attracted the Daoist most was the variety of lanterns.

The usual styles of lanterns were quite unremarkable, simply ordinary forms that were either thin or plump, with perhaps a few decorations. Even though the Daoist had been to the palace where the lanterns were exquisitely made—some even crafted from rhinoceros or sheep horns and extremely precious—their designs were relatively uniform, lacking the vibrant colors of the lanterns at the festival.

Just the ones people held in their hands or hung at shop entrances were incredibly diverse.

There were square, round, and oval shapes; some were plump, others slim; some with round or square patterns; some shaped like boxes and adorned with beaded curtains, tassels, or ribbons; an assortment of shapes that included lanterns resembling horses and dogs.

These lanterns, with their unimaginable variety, mirrored the excitement and complexity of the world. If one thought they were monotonous and rigid, perhaps it was because they had spent too long in the mountains.

As Song You walked and admired the lanterns, he quietly asked the cat in his arms, “Lady Calico, why don’t we buy a lantern?”

“

Meow

?”

“There are expensive ones and cheap ones.”

“

Meow…

”

“I forgot to bring the one from home, and besides, it’s a bit special and hard to carry. So we’ll have to buy one,” Song You explained. “Do you see any that you like?”

“…”

The calico cat pondered for a moment, stretching her neck to look in a particular direction.

The Daoist followed her gaze and saw a shop ahead where people were guessing lantern riddles. They were giving away lanterns for correctly answering three riddles, and many were gathered around, enjoying the lively atmosphere.