The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Mirror Moon Lake, Mirror Night Snow Pavilion.

There is a spring deep in the bath, which keeps the water warm even on winter nights.

The pool water gushes forth from the depths of the earth, carrying the refreshing moisture of the rocks and vegetation that has been steeped in the soil for years, and it diffuses into a warm mist that lingers throughout the room.

The snow-white gauze curtains hanging from the four corners were fluttered by the breeze, like the surging of a sea of ​​clouds, or the feathers that fell when a crane folded its wings.

Tangxi Xue is soaking in the warm spring water, closing her eyes to rest.

Her dark hair spread out like seaweed, floating on the water's surface, reflecting the moonlight and shimmering with a deep blue luster.

She tilted her head slightly, revealing a section of her slender, jade-like neck, and water droplets slid down her chin.

It sinks into the hollow of the collarbone, and then, following the undulating curve, disappears inch by inch into the depths of the mist.

The chill of dusk had long since receded outside the bath.

He stood with his back to the hanging gauze curtains, his black robes blending into the shadows of the corridor, his posture upright like a pine tree, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

He could only hear the faint sound of water behind him, extremely soft and slow.

Like moonlight flowing across the ice.

He lowered his eyes and suppressed his breathing to a very light and shallow level.

He thought about it and decided to move even further away. Being so close made him start to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Outside the window, the full moon hangs high in the sky.

The moonlight remained unchanged, covering the city walls and also this small, secluded, warm pool.

Frost drips from the eaves, all is silent.

Only when the wind blows through the plum branches, a shoulder full of cool fragrance falls in a soft rustling.

then.

"Whoosh—"

A sudden splash echoed through the water.

Water splashed everywhere, shattering the moon's reflection in the pond.

Tang Xixue suddenly opened her eyes.

Through the misty water vapor, she saw a pair of hazy, peach-blossom eyes.

Those eyes had lost their usual playful charm, now filled only with a burning, chaotic light, as if they were drowning in a bottomless dream, unable to break free or wake up.

When the flowers are in full bloom.

His androgynous face was flushed with an unnatural redness, like a crabapple tree overripe by the spring breeze, already seven-tenths drunk before it even bloomed.

What surprised her most was his long hair.

Her once jet-black hair has now turned into layers of soft, powdery pink.

It's not a pale cherry blossom pink, but the vibrant, romantic color of peach blossoms.

The color gradually blends from root to tip, as if someone has captured the full bloom of a peach orchard in April into this cascade of black hair.

He exuded a rich fragrance of peach blossoms.

The fragrance was not the faint, easily dissipated scent of ordinary flowers, but rather so intense it was almost bewitching, penetrating the lungs in every wisp, as if trying to steal one's soul.

Tang Xixue's heart sank; she clearly sensed that something was wrong with Hua Rongshi's condition.

On a night with a full moon.

The love potion has taken effect.

The Crown Prince of the Dreamy Flower City's hair color fades and turns into peach pink every time the moon is full.

At that time, the fragrance emanating from him was enough to arouse one's emotions.

That fragrance is part of the Gu poison.

That's a walking, uncontrollable... poison of hedonism.

"Flower Butterfly".

Her voice was slightly hoarse as she pulled at the snow-white gauze curtain hanging by the pool and quickly draped it over her shoulders.

The soaked gauze clung to her skin, making her exquisite curves even more breathtaking:

"You certainly have a refined taste—to steal your beauty and fragrance into my bathhouse?"

His voice was deliberately calm, but the last syllable of his words involuntarily trembled slightly.

The fragrance of the peach blossoms was so strong that she began to feel weak in her limbs.

Hua Rong did not answer.

He just stared straight at her, like a drowning man seeing the last piece of driftwood.

"...my wife."

When he spoke, his voice was so hoarse it sounded like it had been soaked in strong liquor for three nights.

When those two words slipped from his lips, they were as light as a dream, yet as heavy as a desperate gamble of a lifetime.

Tangxi Xue raised an eyebrow.

Did she hear that right?

It's not "Tangxi Snow" or "Princess Mirror".

It's "my wife".

Looking into his burning, almost unfocused eyes, she suddenly realized that this man could no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy.

Every time his condition flares up during a full moon, he would come alone to this uninhabited old house hot spring to use the power of the hot spring to suppress the agonizing poison.

There was no one around, so he didn't have to worry about the fragrance of the peach blossoms bothering others.

But he didn't know that the former unclaimed haunted house was now her Mirror Night Snow Lodge.

Little did he know that she would be here tonight.

Hua Rongshi could no longer hear anything.

He only saw her.

I saw her wearing a soaked white veil, her dark hair cascading down her smooth shoulders like a waterfall.

Water droplets slid down the back of my arm, dripping into the misty pool surface, creating ripples.

He could only feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

is her.

The person he likes.

He found himself moving closer to her without even realizing it.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Like moths drawn to a candle flame, like fallen petals drifting into flowing water.

Then, he pulled her into his arms.

In that instant, the fragrance of peach blossoms, like a tidal wave bursting its banks, flooded her senses.

Tang Xixue felt her limbs go limp all over, as if all her strength had been drained away.

She fell into his burning chest, the rapid and chaotic beating of his heart ringing in her ears, each beat like a drumbeat crashing into her fading consciousness.

Hua Rongshi buried his head in her neck, his burning lips pressed against her cool skin, breathing softly.

"Little Snowflake..." he murmured, his voice hoarse as if it had been ground by sand and gravel, "My wife... is so cute..."

He held her tightly, as if afraid that if he let go, she would disappear from his embrace.

Strangely, he embraced her, touching her bare shoulders and neck, her wet hair, and her cold fingertips.

But there was no pain.

There were no peach blossom-shaped red marks on his body.

He has been allergic to anyone he touches since childhood; it's the curse of the Peach Blossom Love Poison.

Whenever he touches someone's skin, countless burning marks will appear on his body.

That's not a sign of being moved by love.

That was the excruciating pain of a branding iron being burned into flesh.

He once thought he would never be able to hug anyone in his life.

But now, he's holding her.

They clung tightly and forcefully, like a drowning person clinging to the only piece of driftwood.

But there was no pain.

The Peach Blossom Love Potion only harbors no hostility towards the one it loves.

He truly, completely, had eyes for her.

"Xue'er... I like her so much..."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, calling her name over and over again.

There was no frivolity or deliberate flirtation in that voice.

Only a deep, restless longing remains.

Tang Xixue leaned against him, breathing softly, her fingertips gently clutching his soaked clothes.

The poison of the peach blossom fragrance had already seeped into her blood.

She felt as if her whole body was burning hot, and every breath she took was incredibly hot.

She bit her lower lip, barely managing to maintain the last shred of clarity.

"Ah... Ah Liang..."

His voice was hoarse, with an uncontrollable tremor.

She called out Mu Liang's name, like a drowning person throwing out their only anchor.

The next instant, a dark figure swept in like a gust of wind.

Mu Liang did not hesitate at all.

He stepped into the misty bath and immediately saw Tang Xixue, who was tightly held in Hua Rongshi's arms.

Her face was flushed, and her eyes were misty.

The soaked white gauze was draped haphazardly over her shoulders, revealing large expanses of her fair skin.

And the madman was bending down on her neck, showering her with one delicate, burning kiss after another.

Mu Liang's pupils suddenly contracted.

His fierce aura was like a blade tempered with ice, instantly slicing through the pool of enchanting beauty.

He stepped forward and forcefully shoved Hua Rongshi away with a palm strike, taking Tang Xixue back.