บท 183: What choice did I have

Liu Sumeng caught up to them quickly.

They were making their way up the mountain and Liu Sumeng recognized the cliff sides and slopes. He'd gone this way earlier with Yuan Xuelan, searching for the Crimson Bloom. The feeling of dread was ripe, and he had a feeling that that was precisely where it was they were headed.

The snow that coated the ground was thin. It hadn't been too cold for reasons unknown. 

They arrived at the basin. Spots of ash brown poked through the sheer layer of white. The cherry blossom stood center in solidarity. There were no blooming flowers on its branches, no vivid red petals, or vibrant glow. If fact, it looked like nothing more than a desolate, pathetic dead piece of wood that stood along the jagged mountainside road.