A Plum Blossom

Chapter 24

Walking down those eerie steps, she could feel goosebumps. If she wanted to find out the truth, she too had to put something at risk.

It had been at least a hundred steps and at the bottom, were two doors. One had what seemed like red stains while the other was clean of any impurity.

"This place and atmosphere......... it feels familiar."

As though she had been here before.

Deciding for a while, she chose to go through the red stained door. Doing so, she'd surely find something even if her life was on the line.

At the crack of the door, nothing was there but candles that lit the dim room. The space was dull of any color, walls made of stone structures, and papers and scrolls that loitered the tables.

Approaching the desks, she saw some notes and drawings. Picking one up, she read it inside to herself.

"To invite one's soul, the vessel is to be killed and drained of their blood. Their body is to be clean and clothes nicely refined. The doer is to have the tattoo of a white butterfly embedded into their flesh. If this action is not done, the doer shall also die the same way the vessel did."

This information was about the same thing Yusheng had told her, but some she didn't know. Then, a thought came to mind.

"Who were they trying to find.....? And who would do this?"

Li Mei then placed the paper down and left, to explore the other door that was clean of anything foreign.

Opening it, she froze completely.

This scene was horrific to the eyes. Blood stained the walls, ropes at the corners of the table that was possibly used to tie a person down, buckets of fresh blood, and piles of clothes torn up along with tools to cut into the skin.

The odor in the room was also unappealing.

Unable to even say a word, she immediately left that place. Knowing that someone could still be down there, she kept her movements quiet.

As soon as she reached the outside, she made a run for it. Whatever it was that was happening down there, she didn't want to see anymore of it. However, she needed to find out the truth of that place that resembled a living hell.

Running and running she finally came to a stop and leaned against a wall. She decided to take a break to catch her breath.

"What the hell was that?!"

Words couldn't describe how she felt this moment.

After a short while, she turned the corner hurriedly to head back to the banquet. However, doing so she bumped into someone, scaring her. Slowly, she looked up, praying that this person wasn't connected to that place.

Once she saw their face, she sighed of relief seeing that it was Yusheng. His face was quite pink due to how long he had been outside searching for her against this cold weather.

Immediately she hugged him, causing surprise but also bringing her into his embrace. She felt safe in his arms.

"Where were you?!" his voice frantic.

Tears began to escape from her trembling eyes as she sobbed.

Releasing her, he brought his hands to her cheeks and wiped away her tears along with the fear.

"Are you alright? What happened?" he was greatly concerned and eyes filled with worry.

She shook her head not wanting to talk about it that moment. Understanding this, he just kept wiping away her tears.

His expression turned troubled. One where your heart dropped upon seeing your loved one in distress.

Opening his overcoat, he brought her in and hugged her tight. He didn't want her to be so cold in this state.

For a long while, she cried her eyes out. That scene she saw still shook her to the bones. She's never seen anything so inhumane. Those buckets of blood were most likely the blood of the innocents, and the ones she saw were fresh. She felt horrible about their tragic fate.

Yusheng then leaned down looking into her eyes, and so did she.

The beginning of this day was lovely meeting his mother, seeing the newborn royal was a pleasure, hearing her friend's heartbreak was a tear in her heart, and now this.

"Are you all better now? Although I know you aren't." his voice was calm, relaxing her in return.

She sniffled, ".......Yeah."

Although still frightened at that encounter, her heart raced. As always, she overlooked that funny feeling in her chest.

"Let's go home." he said as his hand came over her head.

A soft chuckle came from her as their hands intertwined along with their silhouettes.

From a distance, Wen and Zihao watched them. The two were also greatly concerned for her as she was gone for at least an hour.

During the time she was gone, Yusheng became anxious and only thought of her. They saw how deeply worried he was.

He wasn't faking it at all as he was shaken with worry.

The pair following behind remained silent, until one spoke to the other.

Looking down at the woman beside him, he couldn't help but notice the mark at the back of her neck. It was almost shaped like a heart.

"What's that mark on your neck?"

"It's my birthmark." telling him.

His eyes seemed to shimmer with awe, "Ahh....can I touch it?"

A scowl came upon her face, "No!" denying him.

This caused a frown to form upon his lips, "I just want to touch it....."

"It is improper for a man to touch a woman without consent." she once again educated him.

Awkwardness filled the air between them. It was only for a short while until that person opened his mouth.

"You know...." catching Wen's attention.

"Maybe this time for sure, it'll be a good one." he grinned looking at her.

Hearing those words, she too felt her lips curl.

"I agree."

This time things will be different.
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