Chapter 16: The Red Clothes Like Blood

  Fenghuang Mountain is located thirty kilometers west of the Imperial City, and Leng Ziyue set out from Jingyuetan Temple, riding non-stop for seven hours before arriving.

  A gentle breeze lifts three thousand green silks, a red dress like blood, under the sunset as if in a dream. Turning over and dismounting her horse, Leng Zhiyue looks at the mountains and fields of fiery red maple leaves, that enchanting color like blood, for an instant seeming to merge into her flesh and blood, inseparable.

  A calm heart, stirred up, as if it's about to jump out of one's mouth.

  That dream shrouded in blood first clearly floated in her mind on a clear day, and Leng Xueying was like in a dream, constantly walking in the bright red blood, stretching out her hand to feel around everywhere, but still unable to take another step.

  She was trapped in the middle, with all directions leading to a bewildering sea of blood. The color filled her with joy, an obsession she could never forget. The heart of the bloody waters must hold secrets she yearned to uncover, and though invisible, it seemed there was a thread tightly pulling her towards it, closer and closer, yet always unable to break through that final step to reach it.

  The blood stained her clothes red, dazed her eyes, and there was not a single thread of fear in her heart. It was a warm and affectionate feeling, she liked this blood, it made her love as much as her life did.

  Bloodthirsty as life itself, but like her, so fanatical, no blood is uninviting.

  Yes, inexplicably crossing into this time and space, carrying the memories of her past life, Ling Xue's soul was reborn. She no longer had the dreams she had since childhood, fearing the intense loneliness that invaded her. Day after day, year after year in her dreams, she fell in love with those sometimes thin, sometimes thick blood.

  Suddenly, she couldn't have such a dream, and for the whole day, she was unable to calm down.

  The cool autumn wind swept across Leng Ziyue's cheek, the dream dissipated, and she woke up, only to find herself in a place, couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, "I will definitely see you clearly, I can definitely do it."

  Leng Xueying smoothed out her clothes, gently patted the horse's belly, and let it wander off on its own. As she strolled slowly towards the depths of the forest, she admired the maple trees that were displaying their desolate beauty. The Youyin Pavilion was at the summit of Fenghuang Mountain, where Dianchu would be waiting for her. Since she had already come this far, it seemed a pity not to take in the view.

  After the first frost, the temperature drops, and the leaves become more vibrant in color. The mountains are covered with red leaves, and the forests are dyed crimson, like a raging fire. The grandeur of the autumn foliage is breathtaking, and the majestic atmosphere is palpable.

  The leaves of the maple tree are generally palmate with 5 lobes, 13 cm long and slightly wider than long. The 3 largest lobes have a few prominent teeth, the base is heart-shaped, the upper surface is medium to dark green, and the lower surface has hairs on the veins, turning yellow to orange or red in autumn.

  Leng Xueyu strolled among them, in her previous life she lived in the Mirror Mountain, where the creek banks grew with dense maple leaves. She thought that the maple leaves there were the most beautiful, but unexpectedly the maple leaves on Fenghuang Mountain were not only beautiful but also majestic.

  Perhaps it was because she had liked the color of blood since childhood, and for red, Leng Xueyao had a nearly crazy infatuation. No blood no joy was her most true portrayal. Others feared blood, but she liked it very much.

  Autumn wind blows, the adhesion of red leaves gradually decreases, with the gentle autumn wind, red leaves flutter and fall, like falling cherry blossoms, covering the ground with red leaves, appreciating a kind of reluctant, unwilling to part with the beauty.

  Every time the maple leaves fall, Leng Ziyue has a kind of inexplicable sorrow, as if something is slowly being stripped away from her heart, pain invading her whole body, piercing deep into her skin bit by bit.

  Leng Xue stood under the maple tree, reaching out to catch the red maple leaves falling down. The fiery red maple leaves, lightly fluttering, filled the branches. Like a flock of dancing fire butterflies, they covered the entire maple tree.

  As far as the eye can see, maple trees crisscross each other, seemingly disorderly yet with a discernible pattern. One tree stands next to another, their leaves fluttering like blood, dyeing half of the sky red, majestic and resplendent.

  Suddenly, the maple forest deep in the autumn wind, transmitted a distant clear and bright piano sound. The piano sound that merged with the wind, fluttered and floated, was elegant and pure, clean and refreshing, like smoke and mist, layered and stacked, directly penetrating into the brain.

  Leng Xueyu followed the sound of the guqin all the way, through the red leaves, her gaze fell on the figure sitting under a huge maple tree. The white fingers with distinct joints lightly plucked the strings, and the autumn wind blew gently as he sat there, the red maple reflecting off his face.

  In the blink of an eye, only the figure of the banished immortal in red clothes remained in heaven and earth. Her face was like the full moon in mid-autumn, her complexion was like the flowers at dawn in spring, her temples were like a knife cut, her eyebrows were like ink paintings, her face was like peach blossoms, her eyes were like autumn waves. Although she was angry, she seemed to be smiling, and although she was glaring, she had feelings. A natural charm was all in her eyebrows, and the thoughts of a lifetime were all piled up at the corners of her eyes.

  There is actually such a handsome man in this world.

  Even if she didn't have many encounters with men, she knew that any adjective used to describe him would be pale and powerless. She didn't know what words to use to depict his extraordinary elegance.

  His red robe and the red maple seemed to blend together, his whole body was shrouded in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, soft light floated on his body, jade-like skin and bones, clear and elegant. With the gentle breeze blowing towards him, the hem of his robe fluttered, creating a stunning arc. From afar, he looked like an immortal about to ride the wind away, hazy and intangible.

  "Who is he?" Ling Ziyue covered her own chest and whispered softly.

  His appearance is so familiar, his heart beats so strongly and happily, a heart that trembles because of him.

  She who didn't understand love was astonished for the first time in her life.

  That's right, it was stunning, a stunning feeling that went deep into her bones, as if it had pierced through her soul to a place where she could see the scene clearly but couldn't hear any sound.

  Only when she saw him did Leng Xueyu realize that the four great young masters, who were considered to be exceptionally talented and stunningly handsome in the eyes of the world, were actually laughable. Their looks would probably have to be buried in the dirt after seeing this man.

  "Who are you?" The man's voice was enchanting and ethereal, as if it had the magical power to enthrall people's hearts, making the listener's entire heart drunk, like gentle raindrops falling into a lake, stirring up layer upon layer of ripples, impossible to stop.

  A crimson dress that trailed on the ground, embroidered with subtle butterfly patterns, a plain face without any makeup, eyes clear and pure, seemingly unchanged for thousands of years like cold ice, yet paradoxically carrying a hint of liveliness and playfulness. A head of black hair was held back by a single wooden pin, a white crystal pendant hung around her neck, accentuating the clarity of her collarbone, a pair of crystal earrings swayed gently in the breeze beside her ears.

  "Sorry, I disturbed you." Leng Xueyu raised her watery eyes to look at the man's jade-like face, his lowered eyelids, slender and dense black eyelashes, and sincerely apologized.

  Silently scolding myself in my heart, what's wrong with me, staring blankly at a man and losing my mind, so embarrassing, as if I've never seen a man before.

  "Haha, what an interesting little guy!" The red-clothed man smiled brightly, and the world lost its color, as if countless flowers were blooming in his eyes at the same time, beautiful to the point of dazzling.

  What can match his generation's most beautiful and stunning smile?

  The man in red lifted his head, those profound eyes like the sea, deep and clear as if in a moment, could not see through yet saw to the bottom, what a contradiction, yet perfectly blended, couldn't pick out any flaws.

  He gazed deeply at Leng Xueyu, and they stared at each other like that, neither of them blinking, wanting to see through each other's souls.

  Her figure is slender and lithe, dressed in red clothes, as beautiful as the sun, her beauty is unparalleled, like a flower, like jade, her eyebrows are like light smoke, her mouth is like a cherry, her hair is shallow and low, her waist is thin and narrow, her feet move like the wind swaying willows, her hands rise like a young swallow soaring in the air, as beautiful as peach blossoms, as cold as frost. Two dark eyebrows, slightly furrowed, fingers like scallion roots, mouth like holding vermilion, clever smile.

  "What a stunningly beautiful woman, unmatched and unrivaled." The man in red clothes thought to himself, he who rarely interacted with women, knew at just one glance that the woman in red before him was unparalleled.

  "You're still young!" After saying that, Leng Ziyue silently scolded herself for being childish. What had she just said?

  The man in red tilted his head, and his pale fingers stroked his thin lips, which were as if stained with honey, and said with a somewhat childish tone: "But you're younger than me!"

  Leng Xue's eyes flickered slightly, she swallowed hard and looked at this man who changed his face faster than flipping a book, somewhat speechlessly saying: "Who are you?"

  "This question was actually asked by me first." A certain man revealed a smiling face, charming to death.

  Taking a deep breath and another, Leng Ziyue suppressed the urge to rush up to him and punch him. In a cold voice, she said: "Leng Ziyue."

  The man in red flashed his eyes, infinite light, and with a gentle wave of his long cloud sleeve, he was enveloped by countless fiery red maple leaves, leaving behind only one sentence, "We'll meet again, little guy."

  Watching the man in red disappear before her eyes, Leng Xueyu's face turned gloomy and she growled: "Bastard."

  The maple leaves have fallen, and a faint scent of wild ginger lingers in the air, light and shallow, exceptionally fragrant.

  The laughter faded away, and the figure had vanished into thin air, as if it had never appeared at all.

  "The Blood Thorn Star has appeared, it's time for his return. What is owed to him must be paid back in full, the little one looks forward to our reunion."

  Why does looking at you feel so familiar?

  You are as enchanting as a blood-red flower from hell, and he is enchanted by you.

  Digression

  Like it and take it, muah muah~~~~~~~~~