Under the Bamboo Parasol

With Feng Yun gone, Madam Lin felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she let out a sigh of relief.

She had to admit that she could not hide her thoughts and emotions in front of Feng Yun, who was like a worm living in her stomach.

She placed her hand over her chest, just above where her heart was to silently calm herself down. There was a tinge of pain in her chest as if it had been stabbed by a sword, and driven in so close to where her heart was still beating rapidly.

There was nothing at this point to calm her down.

She silently lit a stick of incense and placed it on the table and watched as the embers silently eat away at the stick, as it grew shorter and shorter. There was a slight medicinal scent that filled up the entire room, giving it a more comfortable feeling, befitting that of a prayer room.

Madam Lin picked up a report once more and turned her focused her attention to wholeheartedly reading it, but soon, there was a heavy feeling that was weighing down in her mind.

It was a feeling of clouds that had been in the sky for a long time, as more time passed, there would more and more accumulating up to the point when it became a heavy burden in her mind.

~

There was a rocky pathway that led up to a steep cliff, this place had never truly been maintained due to the dangers that stood at there were at the very end of this cliff.

If one were to fall, then it would be a straight drop to the bottom, it was said that once a person fell through the cliffs, they would never see the light of day again.

This particular day was full of dark clouds lurking in place of the usually clear skies, threating thunder and heavy downpours, it seemed today was destined to be a sad day.

"Did you do it?" A man's voice calmly asked. Although it was not a loud voice, it had a very noble aura to it, making one feel the need to kneel before the man's domineering presence.

"So what if I did?" A woman's voice laughs mockingly. Her face was emotionless, and her eyes, dead.

The two were standing off at the edge of a cliff, the man was dressed in red festive robes and wielding a long sword, that was giving off an immense murderous aura, the woman was also wearing red, but in a darker shade, but there was nothing festive about them as they just fluttered as the winds blew by.

One continued pressing on, while the other was unyielding. Both unwilling to back down. Each filled with pride.

"I will ask again, did you do it?" The man repeated his words once more, though this time, he was not as calm as before. This was a sign that he was beginning to get angry.

"Yes! I did it, so what!" The woman yelled in his face. She had only said it out of spite and anger. They had been through so much together, yet he did not even place a sliver of his trust in her.

Getting a definite answer that came from her mouth the man finally lost it, he drew his sword and stabbed her in the chest before quickly pulling it out.

The woman's expression froze for a second, then her face showed an expression of shock as if she believed that never in a million years that her life would be ended by her beloved.

Soon the shocked expression turned into that of a bitter smile, right. It was never hers' to begin with. From start to end, it had only been her one-sided affection. He never admitted to loving her, so why did she continue loving someone who would never love her back.

It was she who was so foolish for falling in love with the wrong person.

She couldn't help but feel regret as a surge of blood rushed toward her mouth.

The blood coming from the wound and her mouth leaked onto her dark red dress. For a while, it seemed that there was not a single trace of blood, as the crimson dye had melded together well with the dark red color, but soon, the garment was fully saturated in blood, a few drops trickled onto the sanded dirt, staying in droplet form.

The droplets were a reminder to never fall in love and end up in such a cursed relationship.

"Even if I become a ghost, I will haunt you!" Even facing her impending death, the woman still smiled as the blood endlessly poured from her mouth. She turned around, and allowed her body to plummet off the cliff, and into the endless abyss.

Soon after, the clouds in the sky began to pour, as if they were in mourning.

The heavy downpours continued consecutively for three days.