"Boss, is this alright?" Lucian asked.
Xieyang smiled. "Of course, no problem. Besides, all my riddles are high-difficulty ones. It'd be unfair to have a little kid answer them alone."
Encore cheered excitedly, "Alright, bring them on! Encore won't be stumped!"
Xieyang clapped his folding fan and grinned. "Good! Then let's start with an appetizer. First riddle: A round moon wheel, belly white as snow. Sometimes leaps under the moon, freely swims in the water."
"Guess a—Tacet Discord!"
Everyone looked at Encore, who pondered for a moment before exclaiming excitedly, "I got it! This is way too easy! The answer is—Gulpuff!"
Xieyang applauded. "Correct! Seems like little Encore is quite impressive."
Rover mused, "When Gulpuff jumps and shows its belly, it really does look like a full moon in the sky…"
Yangyang smiled faintly. "I remember when I was little… during the Moon-Chasing Festival, families would make Plumpcake in all sorts of shapes, mostly round and chubby animals. Back then, everyone wanted the Gulpuff-shaped ones the most."
Encore proudly crossed her arms and giggled. "As expected of me!"
Xieyang cleared his throat. "Now, for the second question, we're raising the difficulty."
Encore puffed out her chest. "Bring it on!"
Xieyang adjusted his glasses. "Second riddle—Chickens and rabbits are kept in the same cage. There are fourteen heads and thirty-eight legs in total…"
"Guess… the number of chickens and rabbits! Five-minute countdown starts now!"
Lucian looked puzzled. "Isn't this supposed to be lantern riddles? Why are we doing chicken-and-rabbit cage problems now?"
Xieyang coughed awkwardly. "There's a riddle, there's an answer, and it's hung under a lantern—how is this not a lantern riddle?"
Encore looked troubled and turned to Lucian for help. Without knowing the calculation method, this problem seemed a bit too hard for little Encore.
Lucian smiled and glanced at Verina. "Does Verina know?"
Verina shook her head slightly. "Verina doesn't know either…"
Encore shouted, "I'll use a lifeline! I choose Lucian!"
Xieyang nodded. "No problem. Mr. Lucian, do you know the answer?"
Lucian shrugged—he had already done the math in his head the moment he heard the question.
"Nine chickens, five rabbits."
For chicken-and-rabbit cage problems, the half-foot method could solve it quickly. Of course, equations worked too, but for this kind of question, the half-foot method was more straightforward.
Xieyang clapped. "Amazing! As expected of Intelligence Officer Lucian."
Lucian sighed. "The one answering is Encore, not me, so you can't use riddles like this."
Xieyang chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head. "In that case, for the final question, let Encore pick one herself—whichever she chooses, that's the one!"
Encore nodded slightly and stepped forward, picking the lantern closest to her.
Xieyang stepped up. "Alright, let me see…"
"The riddle is—"
"Emerald waves shimmer under the sky's light, peaceful years bloom with fragrance bright. In tender youth, she bears great weight, smiling through storms to guard the state."
"—Guess a person."
Lucian smiled and looked at Encore, who was deep in thought. "Encore, figured it out?"
Encore nodded. "Encore got it! The answer is Magistrate Jinhsi!"
Xieyang laughed heartily. "I didn't expect Encore to be this sharp! Well then, as a reward for answering three riddles correctly, this is for you!"
With that, Xieyang took out a dazzlingly beautiful lantern from behind him, adorned with patterns of Hsin chasing the moon.
Rover was still mulling over the last riddle. "Didn't expect the final riddle to be so fitting."
Encore hugged the lantern happily. "Wow! It's so pretty…"
"Encore has decided—next time, she'll weave this lantern into a story!"
"Since Big Brother Lucian helped me get this lantern, in the next story, Big Brother Lucian won't die."
Lucian's face darkened. "...How very kind of you, Encore."
Yangyang gazed at the lantern in Encore's hands and reminisced, "The last time I got a lantern during the Moon-Chasing Festival was when I was very little… How nostalgic."
Hearing this, the stall owner Xieyang put on a mysterious expression. "Don't underestimate this lantern. It was specially delivered for the Moon-Chasing Festival by a famous collector."
"They say it was handcrafted by the Sentinel 'Hsin' herself. She once hid many lanterns in the forest, and finding one is said to bring blessings for the entire year."
Lucian raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Handmade by Sentinel 'Hsin'? Really?"
"Jiao-Jiao, come take a look. Is this really made by that Sentinel?"
Jiao-Jiao sighed. "How would I know?"
"This lantern has passed through so many hands by now—the resonance traces on it are long scrambled."
At that moment, Yangyang asked, "Lucian, Rover, do you have time? Could you accompany me for a walk?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang-LEE suddenly spoke up. "Lucian, Rover, there's still one last wish left to fulfill. Gather at the usual spot."
After saying that, Xiang-LEE drifted off toward the original meeting point on her own.
Yangyang hesitated. "Oh, you still have things to do?"
Lucian smiled. "It's nothing major. In terms of importance, accompanying Yangyang for a walk definitely takes priority!"
Rover shot him a sidelong glance. "Are you sure there aren't any ulterior motives in that head of yours?"
Lucian straightened his expression. "Of course not. Don't you know me by now?"
Yangyang said sheepishly, "If you're busy, it's fine, really…"
Lucian insisted solemnly, "That won't do!"
"Yangyang, you're our dear comrade, our good friend. How could we ignore a friend's invitation?"
"So, how about we split up? I'll accompany Yangyang for a walk. Rover, you take Abby and help Xiangli Yao fulfill her wish. Jiao-Jiao, you protect Encore and Verina."
Rover: "Why don't you go help Xiangli Yao fulfill her wish, and I'll accompany Yangyang for a walk?"
As the saying goes, the people of Jinzhou always prefer compromise. For instance, if you say the room is too dark and suggest opening a window, everyone will oppose it.
But if you propose tearing off the roof, they'll compromise and agree to the window.
So Lucian pondered and said, "Then how about Jiao-Jiao goes to help Xiangli Yao fulfill her wish, and Rover protects Encore and Verina?"
Jiao-Jiao: "…?"
Rover fell silent for a moment. "Fine, but you'd better come back quickly."
Lucian: "Deal!"
Jiao-Jiao looked utterly lost. "Why is no one asking for my opinion?"
Abby patted her shoulder. "Hang in there. I believe in you."
Jiao-Jiao: "???"
Verina frowned. "Jiao-Jiao is a child too. How can you all trust her so easily?"
Lucian chuckled. "She is a child, but she's no ordinary child—she's a child of Mt. Firmament!"
Verina: "?"
"What's… the difference between a child of Jinzhou and a child of Mt. Firmament…?"