Su Zhenzhen ran back to the courtyard in one breath.
Because she ran too fast, her chest let out a wailing protest.
She stood in the courtyard with her hands on her knees, panting heavily.
Once she caught her breath, she immediately prepared to go inside and pack her things.
Unexpectedly, a sudden sharp cramp struck her abdomen.
Her period actually decided to show its might today.
It was probably because she ran too fast just now.
Su Zhenzhen felt as if a hand inside her belly was violently dragging her uterus downward. The pain felt like it was going to split her in half.
Su Zhenzhen could not straighten her back at all.
She hunched over sluggishly, shuffling toward the room step by step.
Could it be a ruptured corpus luteum?
Su Zhenzhen walked a bit, then rested a bit. By the time she finally shuffled into the room, she was covered in a cold sweat.
She rested her hands on a stool and knelt on the floor, waiting for the bout of pain to pass.
After about half an incense stick's time, Su Zhenzhen finally felt a bit better.
It seemed it was just severe menstrual cramps following intense exercise.
It hurt too much.
Su Zhenzhen rarely had menstrual cramps and usually exercised as normal during her period; it was a matter of personal constitution. She had a friend who suffered from terrible cramps, not only unable to get out of bed from the pain, but once even experienced retrograde menstruation where blood actually flowed out of her nose.
Su Zhenzhen stood up slowly, her knees stiff from kneeling.
She shuffled over to the bed to rest.
The temperature fluctuated wildly day by day. Today was a clear and sunny twenty-something degrees, and tomorrow it would plummet to the tens.
Su Zhenzhen looked entirely drained of energy, lying there listlessly.
The courtyard door was pushed open, bringing in a gust of autumn wind.
Listening to the commotion outside, Su Zhenzhen carefully lifted a corner of the quilt.
The window in the room was not closed. She saw the young man carrying that glazed lantern, wearing an ordinary eunuch's uniform as he opened the door and entered. The morning mist enveloped him, and the glazed lantern emitted a pale, hazy glow, coating his entire figure in an ethereal aura.
Snow-white skin, deep red lips, just like Snow White.
Truly beautiful.
Su Zhenzhen mentally spat on herself for the thought, then quickly shrank back into hiding.
The room door was opened.
Su Zhenzhen hugged herself tightly, wrapping the quilt around her and turning to face the wall. Then her abdomen churned violently, almost hurting her to death.
The half-fallen bed curtain was lifted by a hand. The silver hooks and cheap decorative jade pendants hanging on the curtain gently touched, letting out a crisp clinking sound.
The youth stood by the bed, his long shadow falling over it. He saw Su Zhenzhen curled up in the quilt, her back to him, revealing half of her pale face.
The youth's fingertips pressed against her through the quilt.
Su Zhenzhen, with her back to him, bit down on her knuckles, terrified she might let out an inappropriate but entirely fitting scream.
"Are you not cold? The charcoal basin isn't lit."
Lu Hexu raised his hand. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the woman's soft cheek, Su Zhenzhen immediately wrapped the quilt around herself, hiding from head to toe without leaving a single gap, even pulling in the strands of hair that were left outside.
Having turned into a silkworm baby, Su Zhenzhen spoke with a hoarse voice, her muffled words coming from within.
"I am cold, I forgot."
Lu Hexu glanced at this rolled-up silkworm baby and turned to leave the room.
A moment later, the youth came in carrying a charcoal basin.
When Lu Hexu was young in the palace slave quarters, he often did these kinds of things: lighting fires for people, boiling tea, pouring water.
He did not like fire.
Nor did he like charcoal basins.
But he liked Su Zhenzhen's warm skin. It looked like soft Sushan and felt like silk.
The youth sat on a chest in the room. He sprinkled a small amount of dry charcoal dust over the coals to help them ignite and raise the temperature, then used tinder to start the fire and kindling to support the flames.
The charcoal basin slowly began to burn, and warmth started to spread from it.
Lu Hexu stood up and closed the wide-open window, leaving only a half-palm's width for ventilation.
The autumn wind swirled in from outside. He sat by the windowsill, watching the woman hiding in the quilt squirm, as if she were suffocating.
She poked her head out to take a few gasping breaths, then ducked back in, as if a terrifying beast were sitting right outside.
So afraid of the cold.
Lu Hexu propped his chin on one hand and continued to stare at her.
Did he leave? Why is there no sound?
Su Zhenzhen hid inside the quilt and waited quietly for a while.
She would just take one look.
Just one look.
Su Zhenzhen carefully and quietly pulled back the quilt with her hands, only to come face to face with the youth sitting by the windowsill.
Su Zhenzhen: !!!
Su Zhenzhen immediately pulled her head back in.
Such dark eyes.
In the past, Su Zhenzhen only thought the youth's eyes were beautiful, like expensive, pretty black glass beads. When he looked at someone, it felt like his gaze could envelop her entirely, which was very romantic.
But looking at them now, those eyes gazed into the depths of Su Zhenzhen's eyes just as before, but they were clearly steeped in gloom and cold ruthlessness.
The youth sat there quietly, his clothes draping down, the gloomy sky gathering behind him. Peeling away that outer skin belonging to Mu Dan, Su Zhenzhen only felt terrified.
Mu Dan... No, his name was Lu Hexu.
When Su Zhenzhen read this book in the past, she felt this name was full of irony.
A madman-like tyrant was actually given this name.
The word Hexu would only make one think of warm and peaceful things.
But this tyrant naturally had absolutely nothing to do with this word.
He should have been named Bitter Cold.
Lu Hexu walked over to the bed and looked at the woman who was trembling violently while curled up in the quilt.
"Still cold?"
Su Zhenzhen's teeth chattered. "I... I had a nightmare..."
A sweet little brother turning into a tyrant, who could handle that!
The fact that she didn't just drop dead on the spot was a testament to her strength.
Lu Hexu pondered for a moment. "Should I hold you?"
Su Zhenzhen stiffened instantly.
The youth's fingertips gently stroked the woman's body through the quilt.
Even through the thick quilt, Su Zhenzhen could feel his movements.
His hand first rested on her waist, then slowly moved up along her spine. Just as he was about to lift the quilt, Su Zhenzhen instinctively rolled inward with the blankets, pressing herself directly against the wall.
"Ugh."
Because of the heavy quilt, she didn't get hurt from the bump.
"I'm going to sleep."
She absolutely did not dare to have any physical contact with him!
Lu Hexu stood there, looking at the round bundle of blankets. He thought for a moment, then got up and left the room.
A moment later, he brought in another charcoal basin.
As the second charcoal basin was lit, the autumn sunlight slowly broke through the clouds.
The youth glanced at the sky and frowned.
-
Su Zhenzhen did not dare to come out from the quilt.
She really admired herself; at a time like this, lying there, she actually managed to fall asleep.
Su Zhenzhen began to dream.
The dream was fragmented. She dreamed that it was pitch black all around, with only a single lamp shining in front of her.
It was a familiar standing glazed lantern.
Mu Dan had changed into a bright-colored dragon robe and was sitting on the dragon throne. He propped his chin on one hand, tilting his head to look at her. Then he suddenly curled his lips slightly, showing the same faint smile as usual, and said, "Kill her."
So it wasn't sweet nothings; it was a real execution.
The scene shifted, and Su Zhenzhen found herself turned into a departed soul.
She floated in mid-air and saw many periwinkle petals falling from the sky like rain, rustling down and passing right through her body.
She raised her hand to catch one of the periwinkles, but the flower still passed right through her palm.
When she looked up again, the originally sunny sky had suddenly turned dark and gloomy.
The sky darkened in an instant, shifting directly from day to night.
Everything before her eyes was pitch black; only the periwinkle petals continued to drift past her and fall.
In a daze, she saw corpses strewn all around her. Bodies lay in a tangled mess everywhere—some missing heads and faces, bleeding profusely, while others were clad in rags with hideous expressions. It was like a living hell.
The scene was so shocking that Su Zhenzhen opened her mouth to breathe, only to find she couldn't catch her breath at all.
She heard the cries of a child, sounding like a kitten. Turning her head, she saw a child sitting on the ground, tugging at his mother's hand.
The woman was already dead, her body covered in periwinkle petals.
An absurd and eerie scene.
The child's cries pierced Su Zhenzhen's eardrums. She instinctively wanted to step forward, but found her feet rooted to the spot as if nailed down.
Ugh... A suppressed whimper escaped her throat, blending with the child's desperate cries.
Su Zhenzhen woke up with a start.
She abruptly opened her eyes and saw the sunlight streaming into the room.
It was so bright.
The morning light had been thin, so she thought it would be a cloudy day. She hadn't expected the sun to come out by noon.
There was no one else in the room.
Right, Lu Hexu didn't like the sunlight, so he had probably already left.
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief and freed herself from the bedding.
No wonder she couldn't breathe; her nose had been buried under the quilt.
No wonder she couldn't move; the quilt was wrapped too tightly.
Also, who had piled two extra layers of bedding on top of her?
Su Zhenzhen lay in bed for a while to recover her senses, then looked down at the charcoal basins in the room.
Surprisingly, there were two.
The basins hadn't gone out yet; there was even freshly added charcoal piled on top.
Su Zhenzhen stared at the charcoal basins for a moment. She could even imagine the young man sitting on the small wooden stool beside the basin, his pale, beautiful fingers holding the iron tongs as he slowly built the fire.
He hated fire.
He must have leaned back, frowning, and used his hand to shield himself when he saw sparks flying out.
She wondered if his arm had healed.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Su Zhenzhen laughed at herself.
He was the Emperor; naturally, there was an entire Imperial Hospital to worry about him.
She had better worry about herself first.
Su Zhenzhen got up to wash and dress, noticing the dog-shaped gauze lantern placed in the corner of the room.
She thought to herself that this tyrant was different from the one in the original book.
He possessed immense patience, playing house with a hidden spy.
What was he after?
Probably just out of boredom.
It was just like when she was in that deep palace in Jinling City, terrified and helpless, desperately wanting to grab onto another person for warmth, just to escape from the extreme loneliness.
Whether it was fake sincerity or sincere fakery, from the moment they met in their respective identities, it was destined to be an unsolvable dead end.
After a good sleep, Su Zhenzhen's body had recovered quite well.
Her menstrual cramps were no longer as obvious; perhaps she really had overexerted herself in the morning.
She couldn't stay here anymore.
Her things were already packed.
But she didn't have enough money.
Su Zhenzhen dug out some medicinal pills she had made and the herbs she couldn't take with her, packing them all into a bundle.
Taking advantage of the daylight, she hurried into Gusu City with her things.
Pressed for time, Su Zhenzhen found a pharmacy and asked about the prices.
Seeing that she was a young woman with a youthful face, the boss first belittled her herbs and then started to drive down the price.
Su Zhenzhen grabbed her bundle and walked straight out.
Hey, hey, hey, little lady, I'll add a bit more for you.
Su Zhenzhen turned her head. How much more?
The boss thought for a moment. Thirty percent.
Fifty percent.
The boss's face changed slightly. He glanced at Su Zhenzhen and finally gritted his teeth, saying, Fine, fine, fine.
The boss took all of Su Zhenzhen's pills and herbs, handed over the silver, and said, For a young lady, you're quite formidable.
Isn't it just that you're too greedy?
The boss was speechless.
Su Zhenzhen took the silver and left the pharmacy, heading next door.
Next door was a ready-to-wear clothing shop. Su Zhenzhen bought a few sets of men's clothes and stuffed them into her bundle.
She walked out of the clothing shop and looked toward the street. Many street vendors had already set up their stalls, and the lingering aroma of food wafted over.
Having been busy for so long, she hadn't eaten anything yet.
Su Zhenzhen ordered a bowl of small wontons and sat by the street to eat.
Here you go, little lady, your wontons are ready. Hey, how come the young gentleman who was with you last time didn't come?
By coincidence, Su Zhenzhen had gone to the same stall she visited last time with Lu Hexu.
He went off to be the Emperor.
The vendor was speechless.
The little lady sure knows how to joke.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head to eat her wontons, and the vendor went back to his business.
Su Zhenzhen slowly ate her wontons. A vendor selling pear syrup candy walked past her, beating a small gong and shouting, Pear syrup candy, get your pear syrup candy here...
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand to call the man over and bought a few pieces of pear syrup candy.
Only after buying them did Su Zhenzhen realize what she had done.
Ah, why did she buy pear syrup candy?
She didn't even like eating things this sweet.
Habits are truly terrifying.
Su Zhenzhen looked at the pear syrup candy in front of her. There were some fine granules on the surface, making it look as though other ingredients had been added. She picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.
The pear syrup candy contained traditional Chinese medicines like fritillary bulbs and almonds. No wonder the surface appeared to have medicinal powder granules.
A kitten was meowing at her feet. Su Zhenzhen looked down and saw a pure black kitten that had run over from who knows where, crouching by her feet and meowing.
Do you want to eat some small wontons?
Su Zhenzhen scooped up a small wonton and tossed it onto the ground, and the kitten immediately lowered its head to eat.
Of the bowl of small wontons, Su Zhenzhen ate half, and the kitten ate the other half.
Su Zhenzhen bent down to pet the kitten's head. The kitten obediently stood on its tiptoes, letting her pet it.
Blackie.
A child ran over from not far away and scooped the kitten up from the ground.
Su Zhenzhen looked down and asked, Is this your cat?
Yes, his name is Blackie.
He certainly looks very black.
Su Zhenzhen stared at the child for a moment, then reached out and patted his head.
The child looked soft and adorable, very well-behaved. Holding the little black cat, he smiled, revealing two deep dimples on his cheeks.
How old are you?
Five years old. The child held up five fingers.
Have you started school yet?
I'm not old enough to attend the community school yet.
Community schools were public schools established by the Great Zhou Dynasty at the grassroots level across the country. Generally, parents would send their children there for early education between the ages of six and eight.
Su Zhenzhen looked at the child in front of her and thought of that terrifying dream.
The face of the child before her strangely merged with the face of the child in her dream.
Su Zhenzhen sat there, silent for a moment.
Here, have a piece of pear syrup candy. Su Zhenzhen took out a piece of candy and handed it to the child. Learn a phrase from me.
What phrase?
The child, eager for a treat, reached out to take the candy.
Su Zhenzhen spoke slowly, When winter comes, slay the dragon; when spring arrives, the harvest will be abundant. After saying this, she pressed her hand against her wildly beating chest. Do you have any other good friends? Call them over. If they learn this phrase, I will give each of them three pieces of pear syrup candy.
"Wei Heng, recently there is a saying going around the city of Gusu, even in the courier station." Han Shuo finished the tea in front of him in one gulp, and his gaze towards Wei Heng carried a bit of seriousness.
Wei Heng had naturally heard this saying.
He slowly recalled as he spun the teacup in his hand.
Slay the dragon in winter, and a bountiful harvest in spring.
Not only in the city of Gusu, but even people in the Gusu courier station were spreading it.
"Tell me, where did such treasonous words come from?"
Wei Heng's gaze fell on Han Shuo's face, "Has His Majesty been informed of this matter?"
Han Shuo nodded, "His Majesty is already aware, and the Jinyiwei are making arrests."
-
Right now, Su Zhenzhen still couldn't leave.
There was identity and household registration information in ancient times too, and it was very easy for an escaped palace servant like her to be caught.
Su Zhenzhen sat in front of the dressing table, pressing her lips together and sighing.
It had only been two days, and she looked much more haggard.
Su Zhenzhen stood up and walked to the small kitchen.
Let's boil a bowl of brown sugar, ginger, and egg for herself first, who knows, maybe she'll die tomorrow.
Su Zhenzhen lit the fire to boil water, took out two eggs, and then grabbed a piece of brown sugar.
She added the brown sugar to the water, and after the brown sugar had melted in the boiling water, she added the sliced ginger, then turned down the heat and added the eggs.
The small stove boiled and burned, and the brown sugar and eggs began to take shape.
Su Zhenzhen saw Sushan scratching at a bamboo basket.
She walked over and found a piece of fresh beef inside.
Su Zhenzhen took out the beef, cut it into slices, then found a clean tile and pan-fried a few slices of steak on the small stove.
Sushan couldn't wait any longer and kept scratching at her pant leg.
Su Zhenzhen placed the cut up and cooled beef on a saucer and brought it to Sushan.
The little cat immediately started eating with its head down.
Su Zhenzhen sprinkled a little salt on the steak and then took a light bite.
The beef was tender and fresh, with a faint milky flavor.
Because only a little salt was added for seasoning, the original taste of the beef stood out.
After eating and drinking her fill, Su Zhenzhen sat in the courtyard basking in the sun.
Sushan was also full, and it squatted at Su Zhenzhen's feet washing its face with its paws.
The weather was getting cold, and the sparse fur on the little cat started to puff up, looking like a little white ball moving around from afar.
The autumn sunlight fell on her body, and Su Zhenzhen closed her eyes, hearing the voices of the Jinyiwei outside, along with the shouts of some palace maids and eunuchs, all cut off by the strike of an embroidered spring blade.
Su Zhenzhen didn't dare to open the door. She smelled the scent of blood coming from outside, thinking it was a good thing she had eaten first and digested it all.
-
Overnight, over a thousand followers were slain in Gusu.
The streets of Gusu were filled with the sound of Jinyiwei horse hooves and the unsheathing of embroidered spring blades.
Wherever they went, people died.
Every household kept their doors shut tight, the bolder ones opening a crack in the window to peek out, while the timid ones didn't even dare to open the window.
Shen Yanci received the news, changed into casual clothes, and came to the residence of the Gusu prefect.
On the way, he actually ran into the Jinyiwei on patrol.
Shen Yanci sat in the carriage and raised his hand to lift the curtain.
The leading Jinyiwei saw Shen Yanci in his official robes, cupped his hands in a salute, then bowed and stepped back to let him pass.
"What exactly is going on to cause such a commotion?" Shen Yanci asked in a mild tone.
The Jinyiwei lowered his head, "This subordinate does not know the details."
Meaning it wasn't convenient to say.
Shen Yanci didn't press the issue, and he raised his hand to drop the carriage curtain.
The sunlight was cut off, and the carriage plunged into darkness. The mild expression on Shen Yanci's face also quickly vanished.
The situation was too tense right now, and Wei Jingyuan didn't dare risk entering the Gusu courier station, and had Shen Yanci withdraw from there as well.
This tyrant wasn't as crazy or as weak as they had imagined.
Could it be that he had been pretending to be crazy all along?
Shen Yanci followed the Gusu prefect into the secret room.
The secret room was in the backyard of the Gusu prefect's residence.
There was a whole stretch of rockery there, massive in scale and grandly piled up. From afar, one could see the layers of yellow stone rockery surrounded by flowing water.
The secret room was hidden inside, with a secret passage that led directly outside the city.
The secret room was windowless, with a very dim oil lamp inside, making it almost impossible to see faces clearly.
Wei Jingyuan stood in the sealed dark room with a solemn expression, looking at Shen Yanci with gloomy eyes, "Who exactly leaked the secret? Even the little children in the streets and alleys are singing it, making our secret signal known to everyone."
"I will look into it." Shen Yanci sat there, his head lowered, his expression equally unpleasant.
Wei Jingyuan tapped his walking stick, the sound echoing in the dark room, "It's too late, we can't wait until the winter solstice. Send word down to launch the uprising immediately, and you will come with me right now."
"Where to?" Shen Yanci instinctively looked up, "I still have someone I want to..."
Wei Jingyuan's thin, dry hand tightly gripped Shen Yanci's wrist, "It's too late."
-
Su Zhenzhen looked at the coptis root in the bamboo basket.
This was what she had left over from digging a few days ago, and hadn't processed yet.
Taking advantage of the early hour, Su Zhenzhen processed the coptis root.
After washing the fresh coptis root, she sliced it thinly, mashed it into a paste, and squeezed out the juice.
Pouring the squeezed coptis root juice into a white porcelain bottle, Su Zhenzhen wrote down the instructions for using the juice: take one to two spoonfuls of coptis root juice and hold it on the painful tooth, count to thirty or sixty in your heart, three times a day.
After writing, Su Zhenzhen pressed the white porcelain bottle onto the piece of paper.
She took a look at the room, picked up Sushan, stuffed him into her bundle, and waited quietly.
The next moment, chaotic sounds of swords and intermittent shouts came from outside.
"Slay the dragon in winter, and a bountiful harvest in spring!"
Su Zhenzhen saw a flag embroidered with periwinkle flowers raised on a nearby pavilion.
Although the wall of the small courtyard was high, the flag was higher.
But the next moment, the flag was directly chopped down by the Jinyiwei, and the follower who went to plant the flag was also hacked to death.
The follower's body fell from the high pavilion, and Su Zhenzhen instinctively lowered her head, holding Sushan tightly.
She took one last look at this small courtyard, her gaze sweeping past the dozen or so sachets hanging under the eaves, and took another look at the little dog gauze lantern.
Su Zhenzhen pushed open the courtyard door and stepped into a pool of bloody water.
She steadied herself and looked up.
The small courtyard she lived in was already considered remote, but she could still see quite a few corpses lying there haphazardly.
Some of the corpses had scarves embroidered with periwinkle flowers tied around their necks.
Most of the followers didn't know each other, and wearing the periwinkle flower scarves was to avoid accidentally hurting their own people.
Su Zhenzhen casually pulled off two periwinkle flower scarves from the corpses and hid them on her person.
-
Su Zhenzhen didn't head into the city, but went to the mountain behind the Gusu courier station.
Holding Sushan, she stood far away on the mountain, looking down and seeing that the entire city of Gusu was in a state of chaos.
The city was very chaotic, so the empty mountain was actually safer.
Su Zhenzhen changed into the men's clothing she had previously bought at the Gusu market and blackened her face, making it easier to escape.
She walked along the mountain path, but didn't go deep into the mountains. Ancient times were different from modern times, and it was very easy to encounter wild beasts in the forest.
It was currently autumn, a time when fruits were abundant, and many wild fruits could be picked in the mountains.
Su Zhenzhen relied on wild fruits and mountain spring water to fill her stomach every day. Occasionally, she would set up some small traps to catch a few pheasants and wild birds, eating half herself and giving the other half to Sushan.
It was not until she left the borders of Gusu that Su Zhenzhen realized the truth: it was not just Gusu. The believers across the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Great Zhou had all risen in rebellion.
Su Zhenzhen became even more certain that her departure was the right choice.
This was a thorough showdown, a massive purge initiated by Lu Hexu against the forces of Shen Yanci, the crown prince of the former dynasty.
It was not just these believers.
Even low-level undercover agents like herself would have no chance of survival.
Her game of playing house with Lu Hexu really had to end.
This was a massive, grand-scale uprising, not the petty skirmish she had imagined.
Nor was it as simple as she had thought, where merely leaking the news in advance could avert war and prevent casualties.
However, because she had spread the rumors beforehand, the provinces near Gusu that received the news were able to deploy their defenses early, minimizing the death toll.
On the contrary, in remote areas where information was slow to travel, many places were occupied by the believers.
Because they lacked unified training and planning, these believers engaged in burning, killing, and looting after conquering the cities, causing many innocent commoners to suffer.
-
An autumn rain fell swiftly and heavily.
The bloodstains inside the Gusu post house had already been completely scrubbed away.
The blood-stained autumn chrysanthemums were thoroughly washed by the rain, leaving behind nothing but pristine cleanliness.
Lu Hexu walked into the courtyard holding an umbrella. On the table in the main room sat a packet of pear syrup candy.
Beside it was a small white porcelain bottle, pinning down a piece of paper.
Lu Hexu read the note, unwrapped the pear syrup candy, ate a piece, and then pushed open the door to the room.
The woman was still wrapped in blankets, sleeping on the bed.
The sweet and sticky taste of the pear syrup candy spread in his mouth, and Lu Hexu was in a good mood.
He sat on the edge of the bed. I have some matters to attend to recently, so I cannot come to see you often. Once I have handled everything, we can be together every day. It is very chaotic outside, so do not run around. Pausing for a moment, Lu Hexu thought of the woman's timid nature. The Gusu post house has been cleaned up. It is very safe.
The mastermind hidden deepest behind the scenes had finally played his last card.
Once he killed all of these people, everything would be fine.
Lu Hexu rolled the pear syrup candy around with his tongue. He raised his hand and gently pressed down on the bundle of bedding.
The next moment, the young man's expression slightly changed.
Lu Hexu raised his hand and threw back the covers.
It was completely empty inside; only three pillows had been stuffed beneath the quilt.
With a sharp crack.
The pear syrup candy in Lu Hexu's mouth was crushed by his teeth.
The autumn wind swept through the courtyard, leaving it utterly desolate; not even the meow of a cat could be heard.
Lu Hexu turned around and opened the wardrobe. Only some palace maid uniforms were left inside.
He then walked over to the dressing table and pulled open the small drawer underneath.
The jewelry inside, including that token, were all gone.
She ran away.
Ha, she ran away.
The young man stood there, then raised his hand and punched straight through the dressing table in front of him.
Wood splinters flew through the air, grazing the young man's face. A sharp splinter unexpectedly sliced a thin but deep cut across his right cheek. Crimson drops of blood immediately seeped from the wound, slowly dripping down his lean jawline and falling onto the shattered dressing table before him, blooming into a small dark red stain.
Lu Hexu leaned on the dressing table with one hand, allowing the slender wound to seep blood. The blood drop grew larger, meandering along the texture of his skin, mixing with a thin layer of sweat at his temple, and leaving a glaring red trail on his pale cheek.
Lu Hexu slowly lifted his eyes to look into the carved mirror before him.
The mirror reflected his face. The young man's eyes were bloodshot, and the gloom in his gaze was practically overflowing.
I am not quite used to my new computer and software yet, I will revise this a bit later.
