The night was as cool as water. Red gauze curtains swayed gently in the breeze, with alluring low moans leaking from behind their veil.
As the light-red gauze drapes drifted, a corner of a white robe fell onto the icy ground. A long, jade-like hand lightly caressed a handsome face.
Silk-smooth sleeves slipped down, revealing a section of an arm as pale as a crescent moon. On his wrist, a dot of red cosmetics, a cinnabar mark, was bright red like blood, blooming like a solitary winter plum blossom on his snow-white skin.
“Mmh…” An ambiguous breath brushed against the handsome man’s neck. Enchanting eyes narrowed slightly, their outer corners uptilted at the ends with indescribable temptation as he raised his gaze.
Red lips lightly pressed against the side of the man’s neck, and cheeks slowly shifted upward to press tightly against the man’s own. Pure white arms wrapped around his neck, and between delicate brows lay a captivating desire.
Strands of passion formed a giant net, wrapping the two of them tightly together.
The man’s distinct, strong palm slid slowly along his waist. Lowering to a smooth, delicate thigh, he could not help but apply a bit more force as he rubbed it.
This drew a soft whimper from the person in his arms. “Gentler…”
Saying so, he pressed himself a bit further into his hands. “Good brother, kiss me. Quick.”
The enchanting voice murmured softly, causing the man’s hand to involuntarily reach deeper into the disheveled front of his robe…
“Gasp!” Chu Liuxiang snapped his eyes open, a moment of confusion lingering in his gaze. He regained his senses only when he caught sight of the campfire before him.
It was just a dream. Chu Liuxiang pinched the bridge of his nose. How could he have such a dream? Could it be because he had abstained for too long?
Gorgeous, enchanting eyes filled with seductive charm, glinting like shimmering water; a raspy, enticing, sickly-sweet breath; and that vivid, blood-red cinnabar mark on that snow-white arm.
Chu Liuxiang took a deep breath, wanting to push the figure from his dream aside, yet his mind remained entirely filled with that person of exquisite beauty.
Clatter!
Chu Liuxiang turned his head toward the direction of the noise. A blur of white flickered in the darkness. Picking up a burning piece of firewood, he got up and walked over. It turned out to be a painted scroll wedged inside the broken walls.
He pulled the scroll from the gap, walked back to sit in front of the fire, and carefully unrolled it.
The paper of the scroll was yellowed and covered in dust; even its roller spindles were somewhat damaged.
Chu Liuxiang blew away the loose dust on the paper and reached out to gently wipe away the stubborn grime.
As the dust was swept aside, the contents of the painting gradually became clear.
It was a portrait. Though the paper was yellowed, the grace and elegance of the person within had not diminished in the slightest.
The person in the painting wore plain, simple clothes, sitting upright in a bamboo forest playing a zither. Ink-black hair fell like a waterfall, gathered at the back with only a single jade hairpin, while the rest spilled across his back.
Delicate features were finely outlined with brush and ink, especially those affectionate eyes, looking over with raised gazes and slightly upturned outer corners. A faint smile rested on his lips, yet for no apparent reason, it gave one a sense of deep, brooding melancholy.
Looking at it made one’s heart itch, as if something were lightly scratching at one’s chest.
Chu Liuxiang stared in a daze; this was undoubtedly the most beautiful person he had ever seen. But what shocked him most was that the person in this painting was clearly the very same person who had just appeared in his dream!
Could it be that he had encountered something supernatural? Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that after staying overnight in a deserted temple, he would dream of such an erotic scene?
He carefully removed the painted paper from the scroll, looking closely at the person inside, muttering to himself, “Could you be some kind of spirit living within a painting?”
Yet the person in the painting remained sitting upright, playing the zither with a smile in his eyes.
Looking at the figure on the paper, Chu Liuxiang inadvertently recalled the scenes from his dream once again, feeling ripples rise in his heart.
However, he quickly snapped back to reality and gave a self-deprecating laugh. He was truly letting his imagination run wild; how could there be ghosts or spirits in this world?
Early the next morning, Chu Liuxiang extinguished the embers in the campfire, untied the horse hitched to a tree, and mounted smoothly. Just as he was about to raise his whip to ride off, he remembered the dream from last night.
He took one last look at the dilapidated temple, lashed his horse into a fast gallop, and man and horse quickly vanished into the wilderness.
That night, Chu Liuxiang woke up gasping for air from his dream once again; he had dreamed that exact same dream.
He pulled the piece of painted paper from under his pillow, unrolling it to gaze at the figure inside.
The features were delicate yet oozed seductiveness. Every part of him, even his voice, carried a soul-snatching temptation. It was nothing like the clean, pure appearance of the person in the painting.
“Are you human or ghost? Or perhaps an immortal from a painting?”
Chu Liuxiang murmured to himself, his eyes filled with confused bewilderment.
“Why have you broken into my dreams? What are you trying to do?”
Was it truly just a coincidental dream? Even Chu Liuxiang was no longer certain.
The sunlight was pleasant. Beneath a massive willow tree wide enough for several people to span, two handsome men leaned lazily against the trunk, holding small jugs of wine and taking occasional sips.
Not far away was a shallow, sparkling stream. A light breeze blew, causing emerald-green leaves to swirl and drop onto the water, rippling outward in layers of waves.
“Something on your mind?” Seeing the worried expression on Chu Liuxiang’s face, Lu Xiaofeng could not help teasing, “What on earth could stump the famous Commander Chu?”
Chu Liuxiang shook his head helplessly and laughed softly. “Chu Liuxiang is not omnipotent.”
He set down the wine jug in his hand, looking at the shimmering shallow stream, and fell silent.
Lu Xiaofeng’s interest was piqued; he had never seen Chu Liuxiang like this before. “Tell me about it.”
After a long silence, Chu Liuxiang spoke softly, “I think I might be possessed.”
“Pfft!” The wine in Lu Xiaofeng’s mouth sprayed out instantly. He stared at him with a complex look. “Since when did you, Chu Liuxiang, start believing in this stuff?”
“All these days, every single night, I have the exact same dream.” Chu Liuxiang’s voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.
“What dream?”
“An erotic dream.” Chu Liuxiang did not his self-doubt hide. Originally, he thought that first dream was merely an accident, but who could have known he would dream it again and again afterwards?
The frequent, repeated dream left him with no choice but to believe that he had truly gotten mixed up with something supernatural.
Chu Liuxiang pulled the painted paper from his chest and unrolled it. The yellowed paper had no damage at all, showing how carefully and attentively he had cared for it.
Curious, Lu Xiaofeng leaned over, and his mind was captivated at first glance by the person in the portrait. “To think there is someone with such beauty in this world.”
Hearing Lu Xiaofeng’s words, Chu Liuxiang suddenly snapped back to his senses and immediately tucked the painted paper back into his coat, as if his personal possession had been coveted and offended.
Perhaps he should not have told Lu Xiaofeng about this.
Chu Liuxiang stood up. “I have things to attend to. I will drink with you next time.”
Watching Chu Liuxiang’s departing back, Lu Xiaofeng shouted, “You have not explained it clearly yet!”
Chu Liuxiang did not turn around, merely raising a hand and waving lightly with his back turned to Lu Xiaofeng. “I will come find you once I figure it out.”
Jiangnan after the rain always bore an extra touch of melancholy and romance.
Chu Liuxiang walked along the bluestone path, listening to the dripping sound of rain falling from the eaves onto the stone every now and then.
By now, the rain had stopped. A pale-yellow crescent moon suddenly appeared in the night sky, looking strangely chilly beneath the cover of thin mist.
A gust of wind blew past, carrying a cool, crisp fragrance. Unfortunately, Chu Liuxiang could not smell this refreshing cold aroma.
However, he could see it, so he stopped in his tracks. A person wearing thin white clothes and holding an oiled-paper umbrella was slowly walking over from the dark corner of the street.
The red lanterns hanging under the eaves shone onto the plain white surface of the umbrella, casting a hazy red glow. The umbrella tilted slightly as Chu Liuxiang stood in place, watching quietly.
The paper umbrella was raised slightly, revealing the delicate jawline of the person underneath.
Yet Chu Liuxiang noticed that the white sleeve had slipped down, revealing a section of snow-white arm with a vivid red cinnabar mark upon it.
The person from the dream! Almost instantly, the figure from his dream barged into his mind.
He subconsciously gave chase. “Lady, please wait!”
The person holding the umbrella up ahead stopped walking, turned around, and looked at him. “Sir, is there something wrong with your eyes?”
The voice was cool and crisp, like mountain spring water hitting jade.
Hearing what was clearly a man’s voice, Chu Liuxiang froze for a moment. “My apologies. I was impolite.”
The paper umbrella was raised a bit higher, finally exposing the person’s face completely before Chu Liuxiang.
A head of black hair fell like a waterfall; half of it was gathered behind his head with only a single green jade hairpin, while the rest spilled loosely across his back.
His features were delicate. A pair of affectionate eyes raised slowly to look over, the gaze beneath long eyelashes seeming to carry an indescribable melancholy and resentment.
Chu Liuxiang’s breath hitched instantly. Seeing him in person was far more shocking to the soul than the painting. He was not someone who had never seen the world, yet looking at the person before him at this moment, his heart and mind were stunned.
“I am Chu Liuxiang. May I ask how to address you, Young Master?”
“Mu Qing.” After speaking, Su Yu turned around to leave.
Chu Liuxiang hurriedly caught up. “Young Master Mu Qing.”
Su Yu abruptly stopped, looking at Chu Liuxiang with a very complex gaze. “Do not follow me.”
With that, he tapped his toes lightly and flew far away into the air.
Under the hazy moonlight, he was like a streak of blue smoke, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Chu Liuxiang frowned slightly, his eyes full of doubt and curiosity. Seeing the person gone, he hurriedly pulled the painted paper from his chest. Seeing that the portrait on it was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief for reasons he could not explain.
It seemed the person had not run out from inside the painting.
“Hmm?” Just as Chu Liuxiang was about to leave, he felt as though he had stepped on something. Looking down, he saw a string of small silver bells left behind on the ground.
He bent down to pick up the bells and shook them twice. The bells immediately gave off a crisp, pleasant chime.
“Mu Qing…” Chu Liuxiang looked in the direction Su Yu had left, deep in thought.
Disheveled clothes were thrown onto the ground, while two people were wrapped in an intimate, passionate embrace upon the bed.
Chu Liuxiang caressed the smooth, delicate skin of the person beneath him, kissing him while asking, “What is your name?”
“Mu Qing… My name is Mu Qing.” The eyes of the person beneath him narrowed slightly, his slightly swollen red lips breathing out sweet, enticing moans.
“Mu Qing? A good name.”
Chu Liuxiang snapped awake abruptly. Lifting the blanket, he looked at the mess beneath him and let out a sigh. Ever since he started having these dreams regularly, he could no longer bring himself to care for ordinary, vulgar beauties outside.
He had been abstaining all these days, and counting up to now, it had already been over a month.
In a ruined temple in the suburbs, Su Yu covered his bright red face in bashfulness, his clear eyes glistening like shimmering water.
This was his first time doing something like this, and the sensation, one he had never experienced before, made him feel dizzy.
“Chu Liuxiang…” Su Yu could not help curving his lips into a smile. Will you come?
[System, how much energy do we have now?]
System: [Currently, Chu Liuxiang’s favorability toward you is at 60. A good amount of energy has already been converted, which can provide the host with two assistant cards.]
[That is enough.] Su Yu nodded and clicked open the system panel. The panel was simple, featuring only a character card slot and the target’s favorability level.
Right now, there were already two cards in the character card slots, but the images were grayed out and not yet lit up.
There was only one target for conquest at the moment: Chu Liuxiang. Behind his name were ten connected pink hearts, though only six were lit up now, with “60%” written at the very end.
Su Yu reached out wanting to activate a character card, but pulled his hand back the moment he touched it. There was no rush for now; he would use them as needed when the time came.
After all, the assistant character cards provided by the system could be customized according to his needs, but they could only be used three times. The death of a card character counted as one use.
Therefore, before new cards appeared, the usage of these two cards had to be approached with caution.
Su Yu was not a person from this world. After he died, his soul had been captured by the system.
The system promised him that as long as he helped it gather enough energy, it would help resurrect him.
Su Yu still had a great vengeance unavenged; upon hearing that he could be resurrected, he agreed without hesitation. Thus, he was brought by the system to this world, a world formed by the merger of multiple martial arts universes.
Chu Liuxiang was his first target. However, because the system lacked energy after arriving in this world, it was not enough to give him a real body, so he could only pursue his target in the form of a ghost.
He and Chu Liuxiang were strangers; for now, entering Chu Liuxiang’s dreams was the only way, so that when they met again in reality, it would not seem so abrupt.
As for Chu Liuxiang’s suspicion, only with suspicion could there be a follow-up.
If there was not even suspicion, how could they get to know each other, and how could this play continue?
Now, he was simply waiting for Chu Liuxiang to track him down.