Chapter 19 – The Flowers Did Not Wither, But the Heart Had Died

Xia Hei studied the painting in his hand carefully. The woman in the painting had long silky black hair and luscious red lips that were slightly curved upward, forming an ambiguous smile. She was wearing a flaming red dress that contrasted greatly with her porcelain fair skin. Hiding beneath those thick eye lashes were a pair of unyielding eyes. Her inky black pupils exuded an indescribable lofty aura, yet one could feel her wilful personality through her obscure expression. Her portrait was painted meticulously. It could be seen that the painter had put in a lot of thoughts and feelings into it.

If Xia Hei was to describe this woman, then he would say that she was not as per the rumours he heard. He would not compare her to a goddess that had descended to the mortal world nor equate her to the daughter of the sun. However, she could still be considered as a rare beauty, especially her intoxicating gaze that he found extremely bewitching.

For a woman who held such importance in Jing Yun Sheng's heart, if he had to take a guess, then she could only be the legendary beauty, Yang Yi. However, there were not many people who had seen the real appearance of the beauty, as she was the precious gem of the great Yang clan.

Moreover, after she became the consort of the Scarlet Emperor, it was practically impossible to catch a glimpse of her. In the past, even with the influence of the Red Lantern Manor, the task of getting her portrait was as difficult as plucking the moon from the sky. Even so, such precious portrait actually came falling into his lap without him needing to lift a finger. What an irony.

Now that Xia Hei finally get a glimpse of this famous beauty, his heart could not help but wondered, was it really worthy to give up everything just for a beauty?

After the brief meeting with Jing Yun Sheng yesterday, Xia Hei was even more assertive that this transcendent young man was not at all a superficial fellow who would lust over a ravishing beauty. He was too shrewd, far-sighted, and ruthless. Power and wealth did not intrigue him, yet rumours told that for the sake of a woman, he was willing to bear the crime of mutiny.

A cold smile emerged on Xia Hei's lips as his black pupils flickered with an unfathomable fascination. Perhaps, what was on the line was something more than just a stunning beauty?

"They are here."

A low voice interrupted Xia Hei's deep thought. Slightly raising his head, Xia Hei glanced at the approaching man in his late forties. He was his loyal servant, Lao Qi.

Xia Hei hummed lightly in acknowledgement, before rolling up the painting carefully.

"What about the painter?"

"I have sent Lao Si to go fetch the painter this morning. He should be here soon."

Xia Hei nodded as he stood up and straightened his robe.

"You know the urgency of this matter. As soon as the painter is here, start making copies of the portrait immediately. I want the search to begin as soon as possible."

Lao Qi nodded in acknowledgement, before leading his master out of the study room toward the Moon Pavilion. Jing Yun Sheng had mentioned that he would send someone here for the auction today. Since it was a special guest, Xia Hei had taken the initiative to greet them personally.

No matter what, Xia Hei had yet to completely grasp Jing Yun Sheng's intention, thus anything related to this man must be handled with caution. After all, this man was once deeply affiliated with the devil before.

A veiled lady stood up and gracefully bowed her head to greet Xia Hei as soon as he approached.

"Lian Xi is here on behalf of my master." Her voice was beguiling, yet pale in comparison to her master.

Xia Hei nodded lightly in acknowledgement. Without further ado, he led the young lady and her entourage to the hall where the main event would be held.

The hall was three floors high, and in the middle, there was a huge platform. There were private rooms facing the stage at each floor. Each room was decorated with exquisite sheer curtains, draperies bead and silk screen. There were attendants assigned to each of the rooms to serve the guests. The hall was splendidly furnished and extremely grandeur with high ceiling. The most unique design of the hall was that each private room had a clear view of the stage. Currently, it was bustling with activities, as a group of seductive dancers were performing on the stage.

Xia Hei had already prepared a private room for Jing Yun Sheng's party in advance, thus he led them to the second floor. As they climbed up the staircase, they crossed path with another person wearing a distinguished white mask.

Every auction held at the Red Lantern Manor went by the theme of masquerade. After all, most of the guests were high-profiled and influential, and it would be very troublesome for them to be caught attending a black-market auction. This method was to keep his guests' identity anonymous, though Xia Hei was still able to identify them via the unique emblems hanging by their waist. Each emblem had its own distinguished design and was crafted solely by the Red Lantern Manor; thus, it can be said that everything was firmly under his grasp.

Xia Hei felt a piercing gaze directed toward him, hence spontaneously looked up. A pair of fiery eyes greeted him. Their gazes interlocked briefly, and Xia Hei instantly felt overwhelmed by the intense gaze hiding behind the white mask. For some reason, it felt remarkably familiar. Be it intentionally or unintentionally, the fleeting emotion lasted barely two seconds, yet it had completely roused his attention. Xia Hei immediately stopped in his pace and turned his head back to take a proper look at the young man who just brushed past him. However, that mysterious silhouette quickly disappeared without a trace into the crowds.

"Boss?" Lao Qi asked hesitatingly upon seeing Xia Hei's sudden pause.

"Check who is the guest with the white swallow emblem." Xia Hei curtly instructed in a low voice, so that only Lao Qi could hear his words. Lao Qi quickly complied and hurried off.

"Is there anything wrong?" Lian Xi asked, as her bright eyes carefully inspected Xia Hei's solemn expression.

Xia Hei did not give his thoughts away as he calmly smile in reply.

"Nothing important. We should hurry. The auction will begin in a minute."

***

After going around the hall, Meng Yu finally found a less crowded spot on the ground floor with a clear view of the stage. Disguising herself as one of the guests, her eyes followed a pair of man and woman as they entered one of the private rooms on the second floor. She sneered with ridicule as her eyes brimmed with coldness.

When she was heading down the stair just now, she had caught on a faint yet familiar scent. It was a very distinctive aroma of white lotus that can only be produced by a certain clan and used solely by their clan head. Other people might not notice it easily, but she was extremely familiar with this scent. With just a whiff, she would know. For the body of the woman to exude this scent, then she must be a close attendant of that person.

As for the other man who escorted them, he was dressed luxuriously and had an undeniably authoritative disposition. He was, without a doubt, the notorious owner of the Red Lantern Manor, Xia Hei.

Very soon the auction commenced, and Meng Yu dully watched as numerous treasures was being bided off. Her eyes narrowed in displease when she realized some of her precious antiques were part of the auction goods. It seemed like Xia Hei had managed to smuggle out a lot of the Mo Imperial Palace treasures, before the rest was confiscated by the Yin Army.

This also indicated that the thing she was looking for had a high possibility of being hidden in the Red Lantern Manor. It was indeed more favourable to her if this item was with Xia Hei instead of the Yin Army. After all, she was in no position to go against the Yin Army.

Thinking about this, her cold eyes lightly swept across the private room on the second floor. Clenching her fist tightly, Meng Yu concluded in her heart. If that thing was really hidden in this manor, then she must retrieve it at all cost.

After a few rounds, the main attraction finally appeared. Meng Yu's eyes glinted brightly as she watched a painting being unveiled on the stage slowly. There were gasps of excitement everywhere. It seemed like many came solely for this particularly famous art piece.

Seeing the original piece in front of her, Meng Yu's heart ached slightly. Ripples of emotion began to form from the bottom of her heart. To other people, it was an exquisite art piece. But what was it to her?

Beneath the hard-cold mask, those thick eyelashes trembled lightly, and the inky black pupils showed signs of wavering. Standing rooted to the ground like a wooden doll, she was completely overwhelmed with a deep sense of melancholy.

After all, this painting brought out a lot of memories from the past.

Bittersweet memories. Memories she cherished yet wished to forget.

Why?

Because purple azalea was Yang Yi's favourite flower. This painting was meant for her.

A purple azalea garden that withstood time and never wither represented her deep affections toward Yang Yi. Indeed, the beautiful painting had lived up to its purpose. It was undeniably dazzling despite the passing of time!

But the feeling she had toward Yang Yi was no longer as pure as the eternally blooming flower.

Her love had withered. Her heart had died.

The image of Yang Yi's sorrowful eyes looking back at her when she had held her long sword against the slender neck flashed across her mind. The question she had asked that day, and the answer Yang Yi gave in return was still vivid in her mind.

Meng Yu bitterly laughed in her heart. Who owed who in this lifetime – was there really an answer for it?