One Life, One Incarnation, Beautiful Bones

22

His expression was composed, but his voice still carried hints of awkwardness

These issues were, after all, simply conflicts in the family and indeed did not require him to provide the resolution.

As a result, he had quickly departed, and even his pace had been somewhat brisk. He wanted only to find Shi Yi and see, when she saw this gift, what sort of reaction she would have. But now that he was looking at her, he realized her response was not important.

With her back facing the window, the tranquil, content, and traditional aura she carried seemed very much like those women of legends, the ones where a single glance at their beauty would bring about the ruin of a city.

"Why don't you go over to the window and see?" He strolled over toward her.

Shi Yi stared blankly at him for a brief moment. Her eyes flickered over to glance at the half-open window, but her feet would not move. A deep-seated terror struck her, and even her fingers started to tremble and her breathing grew ragged. She did not have a fear of heights, and ten zhang was merely a height of ten storeys anyway. Why, then, was she so afraid? She gently inhaled a deep breath, worried that he might notice her abnormal behavior.

He, however, had already stepped over toward the window, opened it up fully, and engaged the hook that would keep it propped open.

In this way, her view opened up even wider.

A breeze blew in, and on the shelves nearest the window, some books rustled as their pages were turned.

Leaning against the window, he turned back toward her and invited, "Come. Look over here."

Shi Yi did not dare move. Her entire body was aching, the sort of pain that seeped out from the cracks of one's bones, and she clenched her fists tightly.

He was looking out the window and had not noticed her unusualness. "Standing here, you have a complete view of this entire old manor as well as the sunset."

His voice was light, and in the refreshingly cool evening breeze, it seemed so familiar.

Shi Yi suppressed the fear she was feeling in the depths of her heart. Slowly, step by step, she walked over and offered her hand out to him. He gently took it in his own and led her over to the window. In that instant her hand touched the window frame, she saw nothing before her eyes except the red of blood. His voice should have been so close, yet it sounded indstinct, as if she was hearing it through a curtain of mist.

"Are you unwell?" Zhousheng Chen's one arm was beside Shi Yi, its hand against the window sill supporting himself. Lowering his head, he saw her complexion had grown a little pale. "Shi Yi?"

He called her name. His breath was beside her ear, and there was the warmth of his body.

All the things of reality that stimulated her sense of touch gradually pulled her back from her nightmare until the sights before her became clear again.

The sheen of blood dissolved away.

Only the afterglow of the setting sun remained.

The unbroken stretch of white walls and black tile rooftops as well as dense layers of vibrant green seemed to be stretched out by the sunset's remaining glow. It was indeed an ancient manor where the eyes were unable to see its bounds. Those walls that seemed to be fire separation walls[3] at the edge of the manor's boundaries were hidden in the twilight.

Extremely beautiful.

She thought to herself, he wanted her to see the beautiful scenery.

There was a slight layer of perspiration on her forehead, and here, in the remnants of the sunlight that was about to disappear, he finally could clearly see it. "You have suddenly perspired so much. You really are not feeling well?" She shook her head, but before she had a chance to speak, Zhou Wenxing had already come back up the stairs.