cks, had a garden overrun with untended veget

lding, its dense canopy forming a perfect circle. It was a common belief that plants with a

ng behind, asked:

eplied: "I

a beauti

your

minic An

ht and clean. Aurora took the guest around, pointing to the bed

nk y

ok for you? The price

ould be

g, don't ask why, but

a bit surprised

this living room well-lit. Open the windows during the day, and at n

come if the l

people leaving." After lighting the four la

o hang in the closet, leaned a long object wrapped in thick cloth against the corner of the wall, and pulled a bro

out herbs like Jade Dog, Golden Sun, and Reinforcement. He chopped a bit of each, ground them into

spread around, he cut his finger, letting a few drops of blood fall

oil lamps to their lowest, so that the flickering light just barely illuminated the dim living room. The faint light made the hanging corpse app

ully. It was a man, dressed in a rustic style with a hint of mou

y embedded to the hilt, with blood flowing from the handle, runn

, the man had not died from hanging, but from the fatal stab wound to the heart, and was h

known as Pure Yang Strengthens Blood, combined with sandalwood oil and various anti-dem

a house being wastefully abandoned, especially problematic

the oil lamps as instructed by the homeowner, but only to brighten the room. Soon after, Aurora brought in the din

problem with ve

asking. It's goo

he dinner; the food cooked by the female homeowner was not bad, suiting his taste. After eating, not know

e village and up the slope, gazing down at the valley below. The scattered lights of the houses in the village showed that Chrysanthemum village was perched on the slope, spilling down into a val

He wasn't sure if the mountain was renowned for its ancient treasur

house, he laid out a mat, sprawled onto the bed, closed his eyes, and th

Dominic stirred and turned, awakened by some sound. He opened his eyes

high, sometimes clear, sometimes faint, s

light whatsoever. Moreover, the singing seemed to come from the opposite direction, from where he had strolled to the hilltop earlier that evening. The moonlight w

onlight illuminated dewdrops on the grass, sparkling like jewels.

. Before he knew it, he had reached the hilltop again. The singing appeared to echo from the foot of the opposite hill, and h

the hill, the singing abruptly stopped. Looking around, he noticed a figure sittin

t the figure remained still, unaffected by the wind that

e wore a long, white cloak that reached her feet, her long

l still unmoved, prompting him to break the sile

owards him. He could only see half of her face, but it

nly bright red lips; her eyes,

his inquiry: "Have you be

silentl

you s

ook he