Red Dust

Fangwang City.

Fangwang City is the most prosperous city in the world today, bustling with people. The old and the young are all happy and contented.

And he, dressed in a snow-white coat, looked out of place.

"Mother, look at that brother, he is so handsome." The child's voice was tender, and his chubby little hand pointed at Xiao Yuan.

The woman held the little hand with her slender hand, smiling gently and virtuously, with her hair combed in a bun, "A Lian, don't point at your brother, it's impolite."

Xiao Yuan looked in the direction of the voice. The woman nodded to him in apology. He asked, "Madam, could you tell me where the snow-capped mountain in the city is?"

"Snow Mountain? That's at the northernmost part of the city."

"Thank you, ma'am."

After Xiao Yuan left, Ah Lian tugged at her mother's sleeve and said in a low voice, "Mother, this brother looks like an immortal."

He walked through the entire Fangwang City and headed towards its northernmost end. In the distance, he could see the top of the snow-capped mountain.

Winter is coming and the snow seems to be getting heavier.

That night, he reached a house at the foot of the mountain. A gust of wind and snow blew across his face, stinging like a knife. A young man lay at the doorway, his eyes closed, probably asleep.

With every step he took, a footprint was left behind him, compacting the snow. Hearing the footsteps, the young man opened his sleepy eyes. He called out, "Hey, are you going up the mountain?" The young man ran over and, without a word, dragged Xiao Yuan into the house.

In just a short while, the young man's hair was dyed white by the snow.

Young man: "You want to go up the mountain?"

Xiao Yuan: "Yeah."

Young man: "You can go up tomorrow, when the snow is lighter."

Xiao Yuan refused him, saying, "I need Xuelian urgently and can't wait until tomorrow."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, the young man said, "Forget it, whatever you want. I tell you, there are plenty of snow lotuses on the mountaintop, but if you take them, you will pay a price."

As for what the cost is, no one knows.

The wind and snow will be much smaller on the top of the mountain. There is a warm pool and a mermaid.

Xiao Yuan climbed the snow-capped mountain against the wind. This place was sparsely populated, so there was no mountain path. He could only climb up with his head held high.

He specialized in ice cultivation, and the cold environment was beneficial to his practice, so he had practiced in the snow in the past. Over time, he became less afraid of the cold. But this snow was different from other snow; it was even colder than other snow.

The mountains are always here, and the wind and snow are always here.

But to him, he was just a grain of sand in the snow.

His injuries had not healed, and his legs could not support his body. He climbed up in a miserable state, using both hands and feet.

Until your fingers are stiff and your legs are weak.

Until he could no longer move.

The wind and snow gradually subsided, and the scenery on the top of the snow-capped mountain was extremely beautiful, as if the world was within reach. But he only cared about that small warm pool.

Snow lotus grows beside the warm pond and is watered by it. When it blooms, several petals appear, and sepals envelop the entire flower, giving it an aqua blue hue.

The warm pool was filled with mist, melting the snow. It took a long time for his stiff body to regain consciousness. He climbed up and approached the pool. He could indeed see a faint figure inside, but only the upper body.

The figure vanished, emerging from the water near him. It was a woman, her upper body clad in a gauze dress, her ears pointed beyond the norm. Her pupils were emerald green, clear as water, and her features were strikingly beautiful.

It's probably a mermaid.

"You are here to look for snow lotus, right?" The merman transformed into human legs, climbed up the steps beside the warm pool, and stood in front of him.

"Exactly. I heard that in order to obtain the snow lotus, something must be exchanged. I wonder what it is?"

The mermaid poked his brow with her sharp fingertips and said, "It depends on my mood."

She distanced herself from Xiao Yuan and turned her back. "As for you, I don't ask for much. Why don't you let me see your memory and take something from you? Will you agree?"

It's just a memory, what's the use of seeing it?

"casual."

"That's great." The mermaid placed her fingertips on his forehead, and a white light shone.

She wanted to see Xiao Yuan's memories, so she brought him in as well, allowing Xiao Yuan to see his own memories from the perspective of heaven.

"You can watch it if you want, but why bring me along?"

"Interesting."

Xiao Yuan had no interest in looking at his own memories, but in this space, he was alone no matter where he was.

He was forced to look at himself.

He has been in Lingcang Peak since he was fourteen years old, so there is always such a young man in his memory.

Looking at it this way, it still looks so stupid.

The mermaid has been living here all the time. He has no tribesmen and is quite happy to see the fate of others.

Xiao Yuan asked her, "Do you really want to read all my memories?"

The mermaid stared straight ahead, pointing with a slight smile on her face, "Isn't it possible? Look, it's very interesting."

Xiao Yuan thought to himself: I know my own memories very clearly, what's the point?

He pinched his brows and turned his eyes, thinking back to five years ago, his third year at Lingcang Peak. He remembered it clearly; he rarely fell ill, but that year, he had fallen seriously ill. After recovering, he remembered nothing of what had happened during his illness.

He saw him lying on the couch, wearing only a thin snow-white nightgown, which was soaked with sweat and stuck tightly to his body.

He saw Elder Shu Huang taking his pulse and prescribing medicine for him.

He saw Yin Heng, wiped the cold sweat off his face again and again, and boiled the medicine prescribed by Elder Shu Huang for him.

The medicine is bright red and looks very bitter.

Yin Heng brought him medicine, and he was unconscious on the couch, sleeping soundly. Yin Heng lifted half of his body and sat on the side of the couch, letting him lean against his chest. He scooped up a spoonful of medicine with a medicine spoon, and with his other hand, holding the bowl, he put the medicine spoon to his lips and fed him the medicine.

At that time, Xiao Yuan was sleeping too deeply, his lips tightly closed, and not a drop of the medicine touched him, so all of it dripped down and wasted. The bright red liquid slid down his lips, and Yin Heng wiped it clean with a handkerchief, then fed him the medicine again.

I don't know how many times I fed him, but half of the medicine in the bowl was gone, but he didn't drink a drop.

He heard Yin Heng calling his name softly.

Ahan.

Ahan.

All the tenderness and affection are hidden in the call of "Akan".

He called him many times, but he ignored him. Yin Heng put down the bowl, supported his shoulders, and moved to sit next to him.

The man placed his fingertips on his pale lips, picked up the medicine again, and hesitated for a long time.

Xiao Yuan watched as he held the bowl and poured the medicine into his mouth. Their lips pressed together, the man pinched his chin, pried open his teeth, and poured the liquid medicine into his mouth. The remaining liquid flowed down the corners of his mouth. His lips parted, and he raised his hand to wipe the medicine from the corners of his lips. He held the medicine in his mouth again, kissed his lips, and made him drink the remaining half of the bowl.

His pale lips were stained red by the liquid medicine, and were wet. At that time, his eyes were dark, and his emotions could not be seen clearly.

What was his state of mind at the time that led to him being drugged like that?

When he fed him the medicine the next day, Xiao Yuan had recovered a little and was able to take it.

A few days later, Xiao Yuan woke up and it took him a long time to fully recover.

He prepared medicine for him, fed him medicine, and stayed by his side all night, never leaving his side.

He doesn't know any of this.

Yin Heng, have you been attracted to her since then?

It turns out you had already given all this for me five years ago. You were so stupid, but I was even more stupid, so stupid that I didn't know anything, and only now I understand.

With every drop of your gentle rain, the buds in my heart have already broken through the ground. Nourished by your overflowing love, they have taken root in my heart.

Every spring and March, every time the flowers bloom, I meet him in this world. The fallen petals are eclipsed, leaving only this touch of red dust.

The moisture spread from his eyelashes, gathered into beads, and dripped down without falling to the ground. The mermaid took away one of his tears.

She picked a snow lotus and handed it to Xiao Yuan, melting the snow on the mountaintop for him, and the snow water gathered together and flowed into the warm pool.

He took the snow lotus and immediately flew back to Lingcang Peak. When he returned with the snow lotus, the falling thorns had already penetrated to Yin Heng's neck, and half of his body was covered with thorn tattoos.

Elder Shu Huang handed the prescription to Xiao Yuan. He took the snow lotus as medicine, watched the fire to boil the medicine, and brought the boiled medicine over.

Just like what Yin Heng did for him that night five years ago.

Yin Heng's sleep was not deep, but the pain from the falling thorns kept him awake. The medicine went smoothly. After drinking the medicine, Yin Heng's face looked much better. Xiao Yuan smoothed his frown and let him lean against her to relax.

He held him, his body, which was larger than his, looking particularly painful at this moment, a pain that penetrated into his soul. Two hot hearts pressed together, their heartbeats resonating.

He thought that if Yin Heng woke up, he would want to explain everything. His feelings were too vague, and they had always deceived Yin Heng and himself.

The love that has lasted for so long is a heartbeat that can no longer be concealed.

Push away the fog and glimpse the sky.

He obviously likes him and is willing to be with him. He wants to give everything for him, wants to see him live freely, and wants him to be safe and sound.

He clearly remembered the hot tears on the night of his coming of age.

In reality, he not only saw that night five years ago, but also saw the woman clumsily remove a lock of her hair before he came of age. He pondered it for a long time before finally thinking of turning it into a bracelet. And then there was the kiss he stole two years ago in Xiejia Village.

Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes to glance at the black hair on his wrist. It had been like this since Yin Heng was poisoned, and it was still the same now. He stroked the strands of hair with his fingertips and suddenly smiled.

He was very fortunate that there was someone who always loved him and gave him a lot without asking for anything in return.

Fortunately, he still has a chance.

Xiao Yuan seemed to have caught a cold these past two days after returning from the snowy mountains, and he was coughing non-stop. He refused to let anyone bother him, and except for visiting Yin Heng in his room, he would sit alone on the Fengyu Terrace.

It was winter, and the pear tree stood bare. Xiao Yuan sat under the tree wearing a cloak, and stayed there for an hour.

Yin Heng woke up and got off the couch. He'd slept for two more days after the poison had been removed, and now he was almost fully recovered. Still in his pajamas, he casually grabbed a cloak and threw it on. He opened the door and went out to look for Xiao Yuan, but he couldn't find him. After asking a disciple, he learned that Xiao Yuan had been spending the past two days at Fengyu Terrace.

Yin Heng wondered why he had to stay there all the time since it was winter and the trees hadn't bloomed.

Yin Heng ran to Fengyutai to catch someone, and saw Xiao Yuan sitting there alone from a distance, looking at a bare pear tree.

"Ahan."

Xiao Yuan suddenly turned around and said, "You're awake? Why are you not staying in your room? Why are you coming out?"

Yin Heng didn't tie his hair up, and the hair on his head was messy with a few strands sticking up. "I was just about to ask you, what are you looking at sitting here alone?" He took a closer look and found that Xiao Yuan was wearing a crown today, with his hair tied up high, just like him when he wore a crown.

He stood beside Xiao Yuan and caught a few strands of hair. "Why...are you wearing a crown?"

"Isn't this what you prepared for me before?"

Yin Heng felt embarrassed. This was indeed what he had prepared for Xiao Yuan before, but he had never worn it.

He sat down beside him, his snow-white cloak dragging on the ground, covering the corners of Xiao Yuan's sky-blue robe.