Chapter 24:A Beauty May Lie Even In The Blood

Six Years passed in the blink of an eye.

A new end was coming. The Black-flower leaves were already starting to turn black from the blue and pink colors.

In the cave, where Yang Zhai and the others lived.

"Hey, did you ever kill anyone?" Yang Zhai asked Cho Byeol.

Yang Zhai was sitting on the ground in front of the floor table. Beside him was sitting Cho Byeol, who had turned even more beautiful. Her black hair extended to her knees, they were not tied and were let loose. She wore a blue robe with flower patterns. Her body was still as slim and graceful as ever. Her eyes for some reason contained a blue color as well, which was barely visible, they were mostly black. She looked more mature than she was six years ago. Her demeanor carried a trace of immortality in it.

"And where does this come from all of a sudden?" Cho Byeol didn't know why he would ask this all of a sudden.

Bae Ah, who was sitting on the opposite side of the two also chimed in, 

"Why do you ask this, Yang Zhai?"

"Well, I asked this question because of what happened yesterday. I really don't believe a person like you would ever kill anyone" Yang Zhai expounded the reason for his question.

"What happened yesterday?" Bae Ah was confused as to what happened yesterday.

"It's like this, …" Yang Zhai started to explain about what happened yesterday.

…..

The day before today, 

"Yang Zhai, why are the two of us going deeper into the forest?" Cho Byeol said while studying the environment.

She could see that the path they were going was entirely different from the paths they took in the previous years. They always needed to collect food, needed materials for cultivation, find Kas, enjoy the wonders of nature, etc. So, it could be said that their life was going pretty well in the previous years.

"Just wait, it's a surprise."

"If it's a surprise, why are we not taking Bae Ah with us? Why are we going alone?" Cho Byeol was confused.

"So, you don't want to come alone with me, ah?" 

"No, it's not like this. I was just saying, if it's a surprise or another interesting day, we should probably take Bae Ah with us."

"So, you still remember that day, huh?"

"How can I forget this?"

"Well, leave her be. Anyway, lovers should spend more time alone together than taking someone else with them, right?"

"You are right," After saying this, Cho Byeol went forward and grabbed Yang Zhai's right hand, and looked toward him with a smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Yang Zhai looked and saw Cho Byeol smiling at him, so he asked.

"No reason," She was still smiling whilst looking at his face.

"Whatever, let's go," Yang Zhai shook his head and continued to walk forward. They still held each other's hands and kept on walking. 

After a while, they reached a waterfall. The cliff from which the water was falling was so big that its end could not be seen with the naked eye. The sound it made was beautiful to hear with the birds chirping. The pond where the water collected below the waterfall was not that big, but only a few dozen meters or so. The water of the pond was so fresh and clean that even the fishes could be seen swimming under the water. Even their colors were clearly visible. The trees near the pond were pink cherry trees. There were small lush green bushes below the trees. And the butterflies with different colors, especially blue, were flying above the pond and near the trees and bushes.

When Cho Byeol saw this, she felt a sense of peace.

"So beautiful, why didn't you bring me here before today?!" She felt as if all the worries of the world could be forgotten here.

"Because I didn't want to ruin the view of today. If I had, you would not be as impressed as you are going to be today. Because today something is going to happen here that only happens after 11 years, and today is the day."

"Just wait and see. For now, let's just sit down and watch" after saying this, Yang Zhai went and sat near the pond with his feet under the water.

Cho Byeol knew that if Yang Zhai said it then she was definitely going to see something amazing, so she went forward and sat near Yang Zhai, and also placed her legs in the water and started to move them. She put her head on Yang Zhai's right shoulder and said, 

"What is going to happen? I am curious"

"Don't be too impatient, just wait."

"Ok, but your flowers are already going to mature and will become black soon enough, what will you do after that?" Cho Byeol was worried about this ever since she saw the flowers slowly becoming black. There was a sense of worry on her face.

"Before I answer that, tell me, what are you going to prioritize after this?" 

"I haven't thought about this yet, what do you say I should do?" 

"You know that already. It's just that you don't want to accept that." Yang Zhai placed his right hand on her right shoulder and continued, 

"Even though you know about the traitor, you don't want to return and are happy here. You also know that your father is strong and will be alright by himself, that traitor can't do anything to him. So, just listen to your heart."

"I know that we can't stay here forever and need to become stronger if we want to live together forever. Therefore, I was thinking that after the Black Flower leaves mature, we should go on a journey to become stronger together, we can also take Bae Ah with us."

"After you become strong enough, you can return and get rid of that traitor as well as meet your father. But right now, you're too weak. Even though you have already reached the Rank 4 third stage, you're nothing to an immortal. And I am certain that you know all of this, so why the hesitation?" Yang Zhai gave his remarks.

"Yeah, you're right. I am just overthinking it. I should probably go on a journey with you to become stronger and restore my aperture to its original position." Cho Byeol was happy to hear that from Yang Zhai, not just because they could stay together, but also because she now knew what Yang Zhai wanted and that he also wanted to be with her.

A little while later,

The sky started to get dark all of a sudden. Cho Byeol was alarmed and looked towards the sky and saw nothing. She hurriedly stood up and asked Yang Zhai, 

"What do you think is happening here?"

"The surprise I was telling you about is here," Yang Zhai also stood up.

"The surprise?" She didn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Every eleven years, a special kind of bird appears in this place. They come in a group of 15. They make a place look more beautiful than before. Because they are fond of beauty, they go to different beautiful places and appear at this place after 11 years. They will release different colors and the sky above this place will be dyed with all kinds of hues. A view that is difficult to explain in words."

"Oh," Cho Byeol now understood what the surprise was. So, she looked toward the sky with anticipation.

She saw that the birds—the size of one meter long—started to appear in the sky one by one and a total of fifteen birds appeared in her sight. These birds had long tails—even longer than their bodies, at least two and a half meters long—that were dyed in different colors. Every bird had two tails. Their faces looked like eagles, but every bird had a feather crown on its head like that of a phoenix. Their feathers were made of rainbow colors. Forget about everything else, just they themselves were beautiful enough to make any beautiful place look more beautiful, as they were mind-boggling themselves. It was as if they had come out of a painting. No, even a painting could not contain such a miracle. Cho Byeol was completely stunned by this panorama. 

What she saw next was even more breathtakingly marvelous. As she continued to look, different sorts of colors started to appear in the sky, just like an Aurora. Everything became even more graceful. The waterfall began to give off blue and green dim lights. The bushes were dyed with blue-violet color. And the pink cherry trees remained the same. The sky was dyed with all kinds of Auroras. The bird's tales were leaving the crimson color behind in their trail. They started to circle above the place where Yang Zhai and Cho Byeol were. The trails these birds left behind while circling were combined, becoming Aurora Hue circles. When the birds separated from the circle and spread, the Aurora Hue circle spread like a blast in all directions, making the colors spread from a single point—from the center— toward the outside in all directions like a wave. 

There were two people standing together looking at the sky. Their figures were darkened and only the light colors could be seen on them, one male and one female.  The female's black long hair that extended to her knees was fluttering slowly with the wind. Her eyes, which gave off a faint blue color within the totally black eyes, made her look even more beautiful. Not just that, but the lights that were being reflected in her eyes from the colors in the air made her eyes appear even more exquisite. She was wearing a blue Qiyao-Ruqun. The sleeves of her clothes were fluttering in the wind gently. She looked like a fairy that had descended from the heavens. She was Cho Byeol.

Cho Byeol was in a daze at the scene unfolding in front of her. This was something that could not be explained in words. 

When suddenly, some drops of blood were splashed on her face. Not just her, but even the pink cherry tree close to her was also stained with blood color. Making the scene become even more beautiful. But to Yang Zhai and Cho Byeol, how could they care about this? This was the reality, now even the more beautiful view than before was not attractive to them anymore.

**********