At the third quarter of Mao hour, the fragrance of roasted chestnuts drifted through Chang'an Street. Zhang Yifan's abacus beads bounced against the hem of the carriage curtain into the character for "return," while Huwa pressed his face against the carriage window, carving a "fruit-guardian grimace" onto every chestnut shell. The abacus-bead eyes gazed at Daoist Master Yuqing's flowing hair—today she had changed into a plain Daoist robe, and the abacus-bead hairpin tucked into her hair gave off a faint glow in the morning mist.
"Daoist Master's hairpin is even more eye-catching than my Abacus Bead Pouch," Zhang Yifan chuckled, the abacus beads bouncing into the character for "chaos" amidst her hair. Yuqing glared at him, but when Huwa handed over a roasted chestnut, she deliberately shoved a peeled chestnut into his mouth. "Does the rascal know how the three characters for 'Mortal World Tribulation' are calculated with abacus beads?"
The abacus beads rolled across the tip of his tongue, spelling out "tribulation." The cloyingly sweet sugar glaze mixed with the aroma of chestnuts, proving even more mesmerizing than preserved apricots. Huwa immediately carved a "chestnut-feeding grimace" onto the carriage shaft, his abacus-bead tongue licking the chestnut shell. "Brother Fan's abacus beads say: the greater the tribulation, the richer the sweetness!"
Chapter 136