Red Snow

Chapter 6

Bai Qian promised herself that she would never see Ye Hua again. She, like all demons, was terrible at keeping promises.

Bai Qian couldn't help herself. The thought of him was always on her mind. Was he eating well? Was he sleeping well? How was he dealing with his family? Had he started drawing again? Should she and should she not sneak into Zhao Chu's room and kill him in his sleep?

Therefore, Bai Qian kept finding herself gazing at him from afar. Ye Hua never saw her, of course. As a fox, she blended seamlessly in the snow. As a woman, she walked amongst the crowd as he went on his daily routine as usual as if nothing had happened. That almost assured Bai Qian that eventually, Ye Hua would be fine.

Almost.

There's always a hint of sadness every time she sees him. In the morning, he would buy himself some breakfast in the market. And then he will work in construction, building a new bridge for the town. He would return home in the evening, have dinner and crash on his bed until the next day. Bai Qian never saw him pick up a brush once.

Bai Qian gulped down her cup of rice wine in one shot. The intoxicating liquid burned her throat, sending her mind into a daze.

"So you like him," Zi Lan summarised.

Bai Qian slammed down her cup, "I do not!"

Her meeting with Zi Lan was a pure coincidence. She was stalking on Ye Hua the other day, but somehow she had appeared in the radar of a passing celestial. They were extremely sensitive to anyone that might interfere with the mortals' fates. Especially those of reincarnated immortals.

Bai Qian was surprised to see Zi Lan who hadn't aged a day and was pointing a sword at her throat. He had figured out she was a demon since day one. And the clueless mortal was a disguise to spy on her and Yan Zhi.

To him, two demons working and staying together was way too suspicious.

"Well, did you find any nefarious plot?" Bai Qian countered as she blocked his strike.

"No," he admitted, "You two are definitely up to something,"

Bai Qian rolled her eyes and jabbed at him, "Please, Yan Zhi wouldn't hurt a fly,"

He parried, "But you would. That night, you killed that man,"

She sneered, "He had it coming,"

Zi Lan summoned a sneaky spell and sent her flying, she crashed against a tree trunk and dropped down to the ground. Her sword was sent flying to who knows where.

Zi Lan pressed his sword against her throat, "Tell me, why are you lingering around High Immortal Ye Hua's side,"

At the mention of his name, emotions poured out of Bai Qian. She didn't know why, but all those months of pent up feelings of guilt, pressure and anxiety exploded inside of her. It blew up as a torrent of tears, Bai Qian sobbed uglily. Even Zi Lan didn't know how to react to her outburst. He lowered down his sword, "What happened?"

That's how they ended up drinking wine in the tea house with Bai Qian confessing everything she had done since her aunt's demise.

"You know what your problem was?" Zi Lan said.

Bai Qian rolled her eyes, she gestured for Zi Lan to continue, people seemed to like pointing out her flaws these days.

"You never ask if he needed any help," he explained, "You just do whatever you think it's best for him,"

Bai Qian wanted to protest, but Zi Lan interrupted her, "And now you're gone when he needed you the most,"

Bai Qian took another shot of wine, "What's the point anyway. You caught me, I assumed that you're going to send me to the Demon Sealing Pagoda,"