“Plop!” I fell into the deep water, unable to touch the bottom. I struggled aimlessly for a while until I felt my back collide with a rock, and my head surfaced above the water. My feet finally touched the rough, rocky bed beneath, and I stood up, coughing and wiping the water off my face. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t help but freeze.
A man, with white cloth wrapped around his waist and his upper body bare, sat cross-legged on a rock at the center of a cave beneath the waterfall. His black hair was like ink, and his skin was as white as snow. His lips were as red as the blooming flowers around the hot springs. His hands were clasped in a flower-picking gesture in front of his chest, and his eyes were closed. He remained completely still, resembling a statue of a deity. A faint glow surrounded him, creating an almost magical barrier that shielded him from the cascading waterfall.
I stared at him, stunned for a moment, before I snapped back to reality — this must be the Saint Lord of the Tusheng Sect, the legendary figure who was said to be almost like a deity.
The urge to paint surged within me like the waterfall, and I loosened my grip on the sketch pouch I had tightly clutched. It was then that I realized the framed canvas I had was nowhere to be found, and the pigment powder had long been soaked by the water, staining both the pouch and my clothes in a myriad of colors. It was clear that it could no longer be used.
Oh no…
I panicked, completely at a loss. I glanced around, and the towering rocks around the pond made it hard for me to find a way to get out. I realized the way to shore must be inside the cave where the Saint Lord was sitting.
I looked at the figure in the cave, wiped my face with my hand, and then realized that my mask had long been washed away by the water.
I was so ugly that if I went over to let the divine-like Saint Lord see me, I might scare him. But I had no choice but to go through there. After thinking for a moment, I untied my hair tie, let my wet hair fall over my face, and slowly crawled along the rocks, slipping through the gap in the waterfall and into the cave.
Seeing that the Saint Lord remained motionless, seemingly unaware of anyone entering, I held my breath and cautiously peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, I spotted a stone staircase not far away, leading up to the upper level.
Rolling up my wet pants, I tiptoed carefully around him, heading toward the stone staircase, fully expecting to leave unnoticed. However, the Saint Lord suddenly shuddered and leaned forward, a stream of blood spilling from his mouth. I froze, startled, as he covered his mouth and turned his head toward me.
His pair of blue eyes gleamed with a cold, piercing light, their gaze like ice arrows aimed directly at me.
My heart skipped a beat, frozen in place, and my blood seemed to freeze as well—
The Saint Lord looked at me with eyes as if he had seen someone he despised to the core.
I stared blankly at him, feeling an odd chill despite being in the warmth of the cave.
He stared at me for a long while before speaking, “Who are you, and why have you trespassed into my forbidden cultivation ground?”
It was the same cold voice from last night, but now it sounded a bit hoarse, as if he was suppressing pain.
I woke from my stupor and immediately knelt down, instinctively lowering my head to avoid his cold gaze. “I am the newly recruited painter from the palace, the one you spoke with last, last night. Your, your sash, it’s still with me. I’ll return it to you another day.”
As soon as the word “sash” left my mouth, it sounded rather ambiguous, and I couldn’t help but feel my ears burn with embarrassment.
“No need,” he replied coldly. “I don’t want things that are dirty.”
Dir-dirty?
A pang of pain shot through my heart. Perhaps I was overthinking, but it felt as though his words were implying that I was tainted.
I lowered my gaze and glanced at my clothes. They were covered in colors, water dripping and splashing around, leaving a trail on the ground. The colorful water had even seeped onto the white cloth wrapped around his waist.
I did look rather messy, but paint couldn’t really be considered dirty, could it?
Or was he hinting at my lowly status? I bit my lip and said, “Saint Lord, please forgive me. I… was accompanying His Majesty to sketch in the garden above, and my art supplies accidentally fell into the water. I went in to retrieve them but was swept downstream. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I sincerely apologize. As for my dirty appearance, I will leave now and go to His Majesty to offer my apologies.”
I had just risen in a hurry when a cold voice shouted, “Kneel! Who gave you permission to leave?”
I froze, not daring to move. Could it be that he meant to punish me?
I heard him cough a few times, and several drops of fresh blood fell into the small puddle of colorful water in front of me. I lifted my eyes to glance at him and saw him wiping the blood from the corner of his lips, but his blue eyes were still fixed on me. I lowered my gaze and asked, “Saint Lord, are you unwell? If so, please wait a moment, this humble one will go and call someone for you.”
He sneered, “Wait? Once again, you’re telling me to — wait?”
“Saint Lord?” I was taken aback, not understanding his meaning, and couldn’t help but look at him.
That stunning face was covered with coldness, and his bloodstained lips slowly curled into a smile. “Good, very good. saint lord… saint lord.” He spoke each word with weight, the last two words gritted through his teeth, as though his jaw was cracking, with blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, dripping down onto his jade-like chest.
“Saint Lord, what’s wrong with you? Wait! I’ll go get help right now!” Panic struck my heart as I stood up and took two steps forward, but suddenly, an icy hand gripped my ankle tightly, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. Before I could react, I felt my chin being forcefully grasped and turned, while the wet hair that had been covering my face was roughly pulled away.
I shuddered and quickly covered my face with my hands, peeking through my fingers at the Saint Lord, uncertain why he was treating me this way.
He leaned over me, his blue eyes gazing down at me: “Hand, remove it. Why cover your face? Do you feel ashamed to face me?”
“Saint Lord…” I shook my head, confused and terrified, my whole body tensing up.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter much; I’m not a woman, and a disfigured face doesn’t concern me much. I usually don’t care about it, and I wear the mask simply to avoid frightening others. But for some reason, when faced with this divine being before me, I feel a sense of shame, not just from the fear of dirtying his eyes, but for some reason I can’t quite articulate, something that feels deeper and more unsettling.
The fingers gripping my wrist suddenly tightened, forcibly pulling my hand away and pressing it to my sides.
I opened my eyes and looked up into the blue depths of his gaze. His pupils constricted, and in the reflection of his eyes, my face was clearly visible, a long scar, like a centipede, twisted from the corner of my left eye to my forehead, resembling a crack.
“You…”
He was stunned, and one of his hands let go of my wrist and touched the corner of my eye.
Subconsciously, I pushed him away, jumped up the stone steps in a few steps, waded through the hot spring area like a frightened wild beast, and ran into the woods. I didn’t know how far I ran before I suddenly bumped into someone.
Sitting down on the ground, I looked up with a sharp breath, and after blinking, I saw that it was the king.
The king looked down at me, as if he was absent-minded for a moment. After a moment of silence, he actually laughed: “I have been looking for you everywhere. Why are you here? Why are you crying?”
I’m crying?
It should be the water, right? I wiped my face, knelt up, took down the painting bag, and handed it to him.
“Your Majesty, please forgive this humble one. Thia humble one just fell into the water and ruined your paint.”
“Why are you running so fast? Are you scared by the small animals or birds in the forest?”
My heart was still beating wildly. I shook my head and looked back in the direction of the hot spring. I didn’t understand why the Saint Lord had to force himself to look at my face. Maybe it was because I had offended him? Maybe he vomited blood just now because I interrupted his practice. He did that to remember my appearance?
If so, I am afraid I will be in great trouble.
“What are you looking at? This king is asking you a question.”
My chin was flicked, and I was startled. I looked up and saw the king tilting his head to examine me. I didn’t dare to lie, so I explained, “I… this humble one just fell down the waterfall and met the Saint Lord. He was cultivating at the time, and I disturbed him, so he vomited blood. I rushed out and wanted to call for help to save him.”
—If the Saint Lord personally complains to the king, I’m afraid I’ll be in a worse situation.
“Vomiting blood? Could he be possessed?” He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the hot spring, muttering to himself, but there was no anger or worry on his face. Instead, he seemed to be smiling, as if he found it quite amusing.
I was shocked by my own thoughts.
How could he be amusing? The Saint Lord was his ninth elder brother, and he was also someone related to the fate of the country. He was the king of Guge, so how could he gloat over the misfortune of others? It must be my illusion.
Thinking of this, I lowered my head and wrung out my wet clothes, but I felt a gaze falling on my face. I raised my eyes again and found that the king was staring at me again. Maybe it was my illusion, but I felt that the gaze was a little hot, revealing a kind of indescribable interest.
T/N: I scheduled the date wrong yesterday, so there are two chapters today.