The smell of blood.
Thick and cloying, with a sweet metallic tang, it was like an invisible hand clamped tightly around Su Li's throat.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
Instead of the familiar, cold surgical lights of the anatomy lab, she saw a dim red glow, flickering all around her. Dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles burned quietly at the corner of the table. Their wax had pooled into winding little red hills, casting an intimate yet eerie light over the bridal chamber.
And she was kneeling on the cold, hard floor.
The elaborate, heavy phoenix crown and bridal robes felt like armor soaked through with water, every inch weighing her down until she could barely breathe. The hem of her scarlet wedding dress was already soaked with patches of dark red blood, leaving it cold and stiff.
Her gaze slowly shifted downward.
A man's corpse lay right in front of her, face up, eyes wide open, his face frozen in utter shock and pain. A finely crafted dagger was buried to the hilt in his chest. Blood had poured from the wound, staining his luxurious wedding robes and her bridal dress alike.
"Ahhh!"
