Longing For Him ✔

The town was bustling with people that very afternoon. Whispers and murmurs arose as usual because of yet another new rumor that piqued the interests of the villagers. In every corner, those same words were repeated over and over from mouths to their ears. They would sometimes contort its contents as they please to fill the void of their wild thoughts.

But one thing was for sure: "A flower bloomed in the ruins of the Corpse Mountain. It was obviously impossible for a single live plant to grow there but it miraculously survived. It was believed to be an undying creature, born from the amount of resentment, which could grant the desires that's hidden deep within your heart. Depending on how you use it, it would be able to kill or heal. But nobody has ever gone close enough to even touch it, so taking it would be impossible. If your desire to obtain it isn't deemed strong enough, you would be violently kicked out of the mountain, forbidden to enter ever again. And if you do, your physical body along with your soul will be torn to pieces and will never have the chance to reincarnate."

A man in white caught their attention, cutting off their conversations. He looked noble and alluringly gentle, yet distant and cold. He looked like a masterpiece that was only to be observed from the distance. Nobody felt worthy enough to approach him; he was just like the flower.

His face was fairer than any maiden's. His features were so distinct that they forced their image into the minds of people, now impossible to take out. It was an unlikely task to try and not spare him a single look. He had a pair of upturned and masculine light-colored eyes. His brows were thick and strong, his heart-shaped lips had a seductive tint of red. His features were so sharp that it seemed like they could cut down a whole mountain in half with a single slice.

He walked in a calm and graceful manner with his spotless boots while his untainted robes swayed gently along the rhythm of the wind. He carried a guqin carefully wrapped in white silk on his back. He held onto the flute wrapped in the same precious silk as of his life depended on it.

The murmurs of the people were replaced by whispers of complements of both adoration and jealousy. Some men and women would squeal with their flushed faces when he'd come and pass right by, whether they were young or aged. He came to halt when a kite fell from the sky and landed in front of him. The quick footsteps if children followed right after and rushed towards him. Seeing the somewhat scary but gentle-looking brother, they contemplated on whether they would take it back or not. They felt too frightened to go near him, thinking that they might get scolded or worse-for disturbing the man.

They instinctively closed their eyes when they saw him reach his hand out, afraid that he might cast some kind of weird spell to punish them. To their surprise, he picked up their kite, and dusted off the particles on it. As he does so, the ends of his robes touched the ground, causing some dirt to cling onto the robes that used to be so spotless. He glanced at them indifferently and handed them their kite back. He had a deep monotone voice that could make maidens (probably some men too) faint as he said, "Here."

The children felt ashamed for thinking such thoughts about the kind cultivator and found his cold expression oddly tender. They bowed down so hard that one of them almost stumbled on her feet. Luckily, she was caught by the angelic man and immediately rushed away from his hold in embarrassment. She bowed down one more time, "Thank you so much, immortal brother! A-Ming is sorry for having to trouble and misunderstand immortal brother! When your time of need comes, A-Ming will try her best to help immortal brother! Then . . . we'll be off. See you around, immortal brother!"

They ran away in excitement and started playfully pushing each other; Lang WangJi stared at their backs until they were soon outlined into a shadow and then gradually shrinking away into tiny black dots in the distance. Whispers about the flower's legends filled the parade once more. A lingering thought of the fascination of what miraculous things he could do if he'd obtain that flower. But those thoughts were brushed away as fast as they came by a gentle squeeze in his hand.