The Crimson Flame and the Frost
Chapter 4
The slender figure in dark warrior's clothing wasted no time.
She slipped down from the back of her horse as lightly as an eagle descending from the heavens. Taking advantage of the trembling melody of the pipa, she quietly made her way through the shadows cast by tree branches and the buildings of the estate.
At last, she reached a hidden corner close enough to the pavilion over the water to see the woman's face clearly.
The newcomer's sharp, beautiful eyes widened slightly.
She secretly studied Lanyi's flawless features and skin as pale as snow, genuine admiration flickering through her gaze.
'How beautiful...'
The mysterious Zhenyuan thought to herself.
Then she lifted her chin slightly and tossed her flame-red hair with unmistakable pride.
'Well... I suppose she's about as beautiful as I am.'
'Who exactly is this guest of Father's? What is she doing here? And why is she sitting alone, playing such a lonely melody?'
Her admiration was soon overtaken by the competitive instinct of a young woman overflowing with confidence.
She leaned against the trunk of a willow tree and listened carefully.
Then came a particularly complicated transition in the melody.
Lanyi, carried away by the emotions stirring within her, let one fingertip slip—
Missing the note by no more than the slightest half-step.
"You missed it, my lady!"
A clear yet powerful voice suddenly rang out.
At the same moment, the flame-haired figure stepped swiftly from behind the tree, folding her arms as she regarded Lanyi with a mischievous and thoroughly self-satisfied look.
"Ahh!"
Lanyi jolted so violently that the pipa nearly slipped from her hands.
She hurriedly clutched the instrument against her chest and stumbled backward in shock.
Her previously composed face turned pale at the sight of an unfamiliar woman dressed like a warrior standing so close before her.
"W-Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
Lanyi stammered, her heart pounding wildly with alarm.
Her gaze darted around frantically in search of A-Ling and A-Lan.
"You play rather well, my lady."
The mysterious red-haired woman applauded loudly—clap, clap—as she approached Lanyi with a bearing that was somehow both elegant and insufferably arrogant.
"The melody is refined enough."
"But as for me, Mother has drilled music into me since I was old enough to remember."
"That piece you're playing? I could already perform it fluently when I was five."
"And even if I played it in my sleep now, I wouldn't miss a single note."
With that, she moved as though she intended to sit beside Lanyi on the marble seat, behaving as naturally as though the entire pavilion belonged to her.
"Come, come. I'll teach you—"
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
Lanyi cried out in alarm.
She hurried backward until her back pressed against one of the pavilion pillars, her eyes filled with wariness and fear.
Her panic caused the Yin Qi within her body to begin swirling.
A biting chill spread from her fingertips.
'No... my power...!?'
'I can't let what happened to Third Young Master happen again!'
Lanyi quickly closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, desperately trying to suppress the power and cool the surging Qi within her.
The red-haired woman paused for a moment.
She narrowed her eyes, studying Lanyi's behavior with curiosity before one eyebrow lifted in amusement.
"This reaction... this aura..."
"You're a Rouling, aren't you?"
A faint smirk curled across her lips.
She folded her arms and began circling Lanyi like a wildcat inspecting unfamiliar prey.
"Let me guess."
"You're probably one of those Rouling who couldn't control their own power, caused such a disaster back home that everything fell apart, and ended up being shipped off to hide away here in the Cursed Lands."
She gave Lanyi a look of exaggerated pity.
"How unfortunate..."
The red-haired Zhenyuan spoke with a teasing smile, entirely confident in her own brilliant deduction.
"It has been quite a while since I've seen one so unstable that she had to be sent away into seclusion."
"But don't worry!"
"You know, when there's a powerful Rouling like you, naturally there ought to be a Zhen—"
Her mocking words struck directly at Lanyi's deepest wound.
Being sent away.
Missing home.
Being unable to return no matter how desperately she wished to.
All the sorrow she had endured over the past month snapped into anger.
Lanyi's eyes flew open.
She glared at the woman before her, fury blazing in her gaze.
"What would you know?!"
"You have no right to judge me like that!"
The red-haired Zhenyuan was not shaken in the slightest by Lanyi's shout.
Instead, she burst into laughter.
The look in her eyes became even more entertained than before.
She lifted one hand and waved it lightly as though telling Lanyi to calm herself—
Yet the words that followed were more like oil poured directly onto a fire.
"Oh my. Has the little Rouling lady gotten angry?"
She stepped a little closer, smiling teasingly like someone utterly convinced she held every winning card, completely unconcerned by whatever danger Lanyi might pose.
"Didn't you come here to regulate your Qi?"
"With your emotions bubbling over like boiling water, how is your power ever supposed to settle down?"
"Be careful, or your Qi will rebound and you'll end up coughing blood."
Lanyi pressed her lips together so tightly that they nearly bled.
She desperately tried to compose herself the way the three Madams had taught her throughout the past month.
But that endlessly chattering voice beside her was so irritating that it shattered her concentration again and again.
"You... Get out of my sight this instant!"
"Oh, come now. Listen first, listen first. Let me tell you something useful."
The red-haired Zhenyuan teased her while flicking open the folding fan in her hand.
The gesture was so deliberately irritating that merely watching her was enough to make someone want to smack her.
"Honestly, you don't even need to struggle so hard trying to calm yourself."
"For a Rouling like you, all you need is to find a good Zhenyuan to help properly 'subdue' that power."
"Because, you see, there are plenty of pathetic Zhenyuan who can't even control their own inner fire and need the cool Qi of a Rouling to keep themselves in check."
"And likewise, some weak little Rouling need an impressive Zhenyuan to keep them under control."
She continued speaking as she stepped closer to Lanyi.
But at that very moment—
The red-haired Zhenyuan suddenly felt a strange tremor run through her chest.
Her heart began pounding rapidly for no apparent reason.
The closer she came to Lanyi's aura...
The stronger her desire to get even closer became.
'What is this...? What is going on...?'
'Why does she smell so good...?'
Driven by the sudden surge of instinct, the red-haired woman reached out, intending to snatch the pipa from Lanyi's arms.
But Lanyi's still-unsettled Yin Qi reacted to that pressure immediately.
It flashed outward as though a predator had suddenly spotted delicious prey.
The current surged directly toward the woman's fingertips, violently seeking to seize and tear the spiritual power from her body—
"Wei Baji! Stop this instant!"