Huo Xiao Di’s tear-streaked face was now marked with a bitter smile—a smile laced with mockery.
The soft sigh that escaped his lips carried an indescribable melancholy.
– Was he mocking the hand of fate, which seemed to pay him special attention? No matter how he tried to hide, escape, wander, or resist, he was always forced to drink the bitter wine fate poured for him.
Seeing this man again, he had nothing left to say.
He stood up, took a step back, and then raised his hand.
With a single motion, he removed the hairpin securing his hair. His long locks cascaded like a flowing stream, spilling down his back in waves of radiant brilliance.
In that moment, no one could believe that the yellow-clad figure before them, once thought to be a reckless young man, was in fact a woman.
The sibling pair, witnessing one unexpected revelation after another, stared in shock, their eyes wide with astonishment, unable to utter a single word.
The boy in yellow, who had sat quietly by the window in solitude, was revealed to be a young woman all along.
Her black hair flowed and scattered like falling petals. Within the shimmering waves of her hair, her figure softened, blurred, and then disappeared entirely.
– What a brilliant move, “A Glimpse of the Flying Phoenix”!
The young man cloaked in black instantly turned pale, his expression shifting. He cried out instinctively, “Ling Long, don’t go!”
The wind rose, clouds churned, and in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished through the doorway.
The sibling pair sitting in the corner remained seated for a long time, unable to move.
The boy couldn’t help but say, “Sister, did you see that? That young man turned out to be a beautiful girl! But why did she cry the moment she saw him? And that man in the black cloak—he feels so strange, like he’s both warm and cold at the same time. There’s definitely something peculiar about this.”
The elegant young woman replied, “Are you already thinking of getting involved? Didn’t you hear what I told you earlier?”
The boy lowered his head and muttered, “Even if Zhu’er wanted to go, Sister wouldn’t allow it. I already know that.”
Her answer was predictable to him.
– But this time, her response was unexpected. Her clear, soothing voice, tinged with a rare curiosity, reached his ears: “You’re wrong. This time, even I want to uncover this mystery.”
The boy looked up at his sister, almost unable to believe what he’d heard.
In the young woman’s eyes was a profound and thoughtful expression.
* * *
In the open wilderness under the setting sun, a figure in yellow ran swiftly.
At last, the yellow figure came to a halt. In the blood-red light of the sunset, her dark, luminous eyes, her faintly glistening white rabbit-like teeth, her delicate lips, and her flowing hair, bright as silk, were all dyed in hues of red.
Huo Xiao Di no longer existed. Standing there now was Huo Ling Long, the eldest daughter of Linglong Manor.
Her heart was in turmoil, chaotic like a rushing stream—part hesitation, part trepidation, part longing.
She stopped.
She knew full well that slowing down would allow her pursuer to catch up, and yet she still stopped.
– Was it because this person behind her made her both long to see him and fear seeing him?
At last, she heard a soft sigh from behind her.
After the sigh came a calm and steady voice: “Ling Long, why did you leave?”
The man behind her swallowed the next words he wanted to say: If you wanted to leave, why did you stop?
– If she truly left, how could he ever catch up?
In the blood-red light of the sunset after the rain, Huo Ling Long’s warm, dove-like lashes trembled slightly, as if veiled by a faint reddish mist. She turned around.
– What must be faced will have to be faced eventually.
When she turned to face him, her expression had already become calm.
Arching her finely shaped brows, she said coldly, “And who are you?”
The initial joy in the man’s eyes gave way to confusion. “Ling Long, what’s wrong? Why would you ask such a question? It’s me—Shao Ji Zu.”
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