Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Nan Zhi clenched her fists tightly, her tears blurring her sight. She clutched her pained heart, feeling like she was about to suffocate.

  She hated and blamed him before. However, all of that disappeared into thin air when she saw him leaving.

  Nan Zhi looked for him along the river stream for three days, but could not find him.

  She erected a stone tombstone for him at the flower field at the mountain behind the house.

  She knelt in front of the tombstone, her slender fingers caressing Gu Sheng’s name. She murmured in a shaky voice, “Brother Gu Sheng, I don’t hate you anymore, please come back……”


  However, she knew that her Brother Gu Sheng would never come back again……

  In a village that still followed their ancient traditions, they were preparing for their annual ceremony for the worship of the River God.

  By the river bank, several buff men wore masks with sharp teeth and were dancing the worship dance with weird postures. Loud gongs and cymbals were hit.

  A crisp bell rang, and a young lady wearing a red gown and a face veil walked towards the buff men. She was graceful as she held onto a yellow mounting paper in her left hand and a wooden sword. She was eloquent as she chanted the words. Her voice was crisp and pleasant. She then used the wooden sword to pierce through the yellow mounting paper and lit it on top of the candle. She walked rhythmically, as the bells tied to her ankle rung with every step she took.

  The villagers were standing on both sides of the river bank, watching the scene before them sincerely.

  The cymbals, horns and bells rang as the girl started singing the sacrificial song.

  The Jade Emperor sits on the sky.

  All the gods have returned to duty.

  The River God guarded us well.

  We ask for the blessings from the River God.

  To bless the village with calm wind, and plentiful rain……

  The girl looked lively and graceful in her red gown. Her untouched black hair was untied, covering her shoulders. She looked a little like a goddess that had came down to Earth as she stood by the river bank.

  She had a pretty face, with exquisite facial features. She was so pretty that people were always in awe when they looked at her.

  After she finished singing the song, all the villagers surrounded her knelt down to bow for the River God.

  Suddenly, someone shouted amongst the crowd, “The River God has appeared! The River God has appeared!”


  The crowd immediately turned towards the river, only to see a tall and thin figure wearing a white shirt and white pants appearing in their sight.

  Someone reacted very quickly, “How is he the River God? He’s clearly a dead person!”


  “That’s bad luck! He must have angered the River God!”


  “Let’s keep him in the cage and fill it with stones to sink the cage to the bottom of the river!”


  Hearing the discussion around her, Ling Er caressed her hair before she put down the wooden sword. She pushed apart the crowd around the river, walking to the edge by the river and taking a glance at the water.

  Her innocent and bright eyes constricted a little, “Pull him up, quickly! He’s not dead yet.”


  “Miss Ling Er, he has angered the River God. We cannot save him.”


  “Yes, yes, yes. We cannot save him.”


  Ling Er smiled as she glanced at the villagers that did not agree to save the person. Her smile was completely pure and innocent. It was so perfect that people could not help but be mesmerized by her smile.

  “He’s not from the village. If the River God was angry, why would he involve an outsider? It’s obvious that the River God did not want him to die since he appeared during our worship ceremony. The River God probably wanted us to save him quickly, if not, we’ll definitely anger him.”


  Miss Ling Er was the disciple of a well-known sect. Not only was she well versed in medicine, she knew how to chase away the evil-spirits. Ever since she came to their village, their village had been experiencing nice wind directions and adequate rain that allowed them to have a bountiful harvest.

  They did not dare go against Miss Ling Er’s words, hurriedly pulling the man in the water up.

  One of the villagers could not help but scoff when they saw how the man looked like. “I thought it was a young man, I didn’t think he would be so old.”


  No one was willing to do CPR for him.

  Ling Er furrowed her pretty eyebrows, her voice spirited and pleasant, “Let me do it!”


  A few minutes later, the man spat out a mouthful of water. His tightly shut eyes moved a little.

  “Can two of you come and help me carry him to my house? From his looks, he probably got poisoned with a lethal poison.”
……

  Ling Er stayed in a hut deep in the mountains. After the villagers brought the man who was unconscious again to her hut, they left.

  Ling Er took the pulse of the man, her pretty expression slowly darkening.

  She was not able to undo this poison, so she could only ask her teacher for help.

  Ling Er walked to the door, whistling once before a mink jumped on her shoulders swiftly. Ling Er caressed its head, “Please call my teacher over quickly. It’s very urgent as it concerns a life.”


  An hour later, an old man with a full white beard walked over slowly.

  “Teacher, Teacher, please look at this person quickly!”


  The old man walked to the bed. He took a look at the aged appearance the man on the bed had, and took his pulse. His expression changed immediately. “He actually got poisoned with that type of poison.”


  “Teacher, is there a way to save him?”


  The old man caressed his white beard, his expression slightly dark. “If I’m not wrong, my junior was the one who created this poison. I have a way to save him. However, if you follow my method of ridding him of the poison, he will become very cold-blooded and heartless in the future. He won’t be able to fall in love with anyone in the future.”


  Ling Er glanced at the man on the bed. She tugged and shook the old man’s arm, pouting, “Teacher, then save him quick! So what if he will be cold-blooded and heartless, it’s still better than dying!”


  Ling Er would have never expected that after ridding the poison in him and regaining his original appearance, that she would fall in love at first sight for the man. He would also let her taste the bitter consequences of her own actions……

  Nan Zhi left the small village with a heavy heart.

  Before she left, she tidied and cleaned Gu Sheng’s house. Too many things had happened recently, and she was at a lost as a result.

  However, she was not one who would blame others on everything. She would be able to stand back up after a while.

  Nan Zhi arrived at a small town nearest to the village. The town was currently being developed by the government as a tourist spot.

  Nan Zhi planned to spend a night at a hotel before she returned to Ning City the next day.

  “Zhizhi?”


  Nan Zhi had just reached the entrance of a family hotel when she heard someone call her. She turned back.

  She froze.

  It was actually Yan Hua.

  Yan Hua was wearing a black leather jacket and a long organza dress. She was also wearing a beret that had a layer of black organza around the hat. It was retro, elegant and also slightly sexy.

  Yan Hua looked completely different now. Compared to when Nan Zhi had first known her, it was like she was another person.

  Yan Hua initially thought that she had seen wrong. But after Nan Zhi turned around, and she had taken a clear look of Nan Zhi, she was surprised and happy. She cupped her mouth with her hands, unable to control the surging emotions within her for a long while.

  It really was Nan Zhi!

  Yan Hua walked in front of Nan Zhi, her eyes filled with tears. The two of them stretched their arms out, hugging each other tightly.

  “Zhizhi, is it really you?”


  Nan Zhi broke into laughter at Yan Hua’s words, “The one and only.”


  Yan Hua pulled Nan Zhi into her room.

  Yan Hua had been feeling rather depressed recently, so she came out to take a breather. She never thought that she would meet Nan Zhi!

  It was amazing news!