love at first sight... // zhuiling

Chapter 31

A few hours earlier (Sizhui's POV)

"Oomph!" Sizhui yelled, as he was thrown against a wall.

"Sizhui, why did you have to act like a hero?" Li Yao asked, from outside a cell. 

Sizhui remained silent, while a drop of blood dripped from his lip. Following the massacre of the Lan Clan, Li Yao's men brought Sizhui into a prison cell, where he had been locked for days, receiving minimal food and water. For the past few days, Sizhui had also been tortured by Li Yao's men. 

"Anyways, we have the Stygian Tiger Amulet. We're basically invincible." Li Yao said, smiling at the roof. 

"Why do you want to keep me here?" Sizhui asked, his voice raspy.

"That..." Li Yao said, "is none of your concern."

"TELL ME!" Sizhui yelled, punching the metal bars that divided to too apart. Normally, with his spiritual powers, he would have instantly been able to break it. However, with his golden core destroyed and no spiritual energy, he barely made a dent in the metal.

"That's a wrong action." Li Yao smiled evilly.

Immediately, Li Yao's guards started to punch and beat up Sizhui. After the beatdown, Sizhui was covered in bruises. Li Yao suddenly entered the cell, and stood by Sizhui.

"Since you don't want to be kept here, I'll let you go." Li Yao ordered, whispering by Sizhui's ear. "Just remember this: *Lotus Pier, **Unclean Realm, and ***Koi Palace will all burn because of your decision. You don't want your little friend Jin Ling to suffer, huh?"

Sizhui suddenly went silent. Meanwhile, Li Yao continued to torment him.

"Sizhui, you have chosen this route to die, but now you have to pay the price." Li Yao whispered, as he left the cell. "All of the cultivation world will hate you for life. Even centuries later, we will burn your temples, burn your statues, and torment all your believers."

Suddenly, two guards with swords entered the room. Knowing that his time was ending, Sizhui slowly knelt to the ground, and closed his eyes. A single tear fell from eye.

I'm sorry, Jin Ling.

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"Hey" a voice called. "Wake up!"

Who? Where am I? Aren't I supposed to be dead?  Sizhui thought.

Sizhui looked to see a tall man looking over him. He wore bright crimson red robes. His hair was messy, with some of it braided and some of it tied up. His right eye was covered by a black eye patch. Sizhui then looked around him. He seemed to be laying on nothing. At first Sizhui thought he was going blind, but he soon realized that he truly was standing on nothing. They seemed to be in the depths of the dark void.

"Who are you?" Sizhui asked. "Why am I here?"

The man suddenly started talking:

You know, Sizhui, thousands of people die every day. But, only some get to resurrect as a ghost. Usually, it is the most hateful and resentful. However, you are different. You come from a place of love. You lost everyone and everything on that fateful day. I feel you. 850 years ago, I also lost the love of my life. I was helpless, seeing him struggle every single day for months. Don't you want to resurrect? Don't you want to meet that person again?

"Jin Ling..." Sizhui mouthed.

The man continued. "Sizhui, I'm willing to give you a second chance. Remember these words. You are now the descendant to the title of Crimson Rain Sought Flower."

Crimson Rain Sought Flower?  Sizhui thought. He was Hua Cheng?

*Lotus Pier = Yunmeng Jiang Clan's residence

**Unclean Realm = Qinghe Nie Clan's residence

***Koi Palace = Lanling Jin Clan's residence