WINTER FLOWER

Xue Cao met Su Mo again under an old tree when she was deep in the mountains.

His white robe was dyed red with blood, his hair in disarray and his head hung low. Nonchalantly, Xue Cao moved towards him and gave him two kicks, which caused Su Mo's body to fall, revealing his ghastly white face. He seemed like he was dead.

"So this happens to you too." Xue Cao ridiculed.

With a turn of her head, she resumed her search in the mountains for medicinal herbs. Only in the evening when was returning home, did she noticed that Su Mo was still sitting under the tree. The blood on his face had long coagulated into patches, and he was now surrounded by all sorts of flies. When has Su Mo, a person of high standing, ever been in such a pitiful position?

Xue Cao stood beside him and thought for a while, but noticed that hidden under his messy hair, there was still a hint of smile, making it seem as though he died in good spirits.

And the thought of Su Mo dying comfortably made Xue Cao nauseous.

With the same respect given to that of a rotting corpse, she grabbed his collar and as roughly as she could, dragged Su Mo home.

All she could think about was how unfitting it was for such a person to die comfortably.

He deserved... a harsher death.

Su Mo woke up to the delightful chirps of birds and the aroma of food.

Never once did he actually believe that he would have the chance to meet Xue Cao again in this life. Was he dreaming, or was this an illusion Hell was feeding him? Then again, why would Hell have sunlight and such comfortable blankets?

He was probably dreaming.

In a good mood, Xue Cao hummed a tune as she enjoyed her food. The afternoon sun shone softly on her, making her seem especially soothing and calm. Su Mo couldn't help but gawk at such a sight.

It felt good to be able to experience such a dream.

Xue Cao however probably felt the brunt of his stare, stopped eating, turned around and was met with his eyes. Both were startled, but Xue Cao quickly broke out of her daze, continued eating and sneered.

"You're quite lucky.'

Su Mo was dumbfounded for quite a while after hearing Xue Cao's voice. Mocking himself, he unconsciously clenched his fists under the blankets as he quietly chuckled.

"So it's not a dream."

Xue Cao took an empty bowl and filled it with rice and a few pieces of vegetables. She then pushed the chopsticks vertically into the bowl like that of an upright tombstone1 and gave it to Su Mo.

"Feed yourself if you're awake."

She placed the bowl beside his bed and was getting ready to leave when Su Mo called her name.

"Xue Cao."

The way Su Mo called her used to plague her, forcing her to wake up in the dead of the night. In the nightmares, Su Mo had used the same calming, hypnotic tone to call her, "Xue Cao, I have wronged you in this life, my apologies", and the pain she felt from it was piercingly cold. That is, till now.

Sarcastically, Xue Cao spoke. "It seems that Gentleman2 still remembers my lowly name, what an honour."

Su Mo grinned but his long eyelashes covered his sight. "The only thing I must not and dare not forget in this life is you."

"Oh." Xue Cao turned around, crossed her arms and glared at Su Mo who was sitting while she stood over him.