The Pale-Blood Heart Sutra

The Blood-Diluting Heart Sutra says: “Love is a thing that wounds. The harm done by one you love is greater than that done by an enemy. To master this art, you must kill the person you cherish most and drink the blood from their heart. Only by severing your ties to love can you achieve perfection. Otherwise, within a year of mastering it, the backlash of its power will claim your life. This is the curse of the Blood-Diluting Divine Art. Remember this well, and do not forget.”

Whether or not I am your beloved, as someone who loves you, I am willing to give you the last salvation with the blood from my heart.

A phoenix dies at the embroidered gate,

The Qingming rain leaves snow-scent in its wake.

The pear blossom’s icy soul is cold and free,

Twin threads bind hatred, spirits linger secretly.

A ghost lamp drifts across the River of No Return,

Bi Gan’s many hearts erase the scars you yearn.

Pale blood, faint tears: how can love endure?

A bitter, absurd song as crows darken the moor.

I stand until dusk, but my footsteps cannot reach the place where she walks on rippling waves. Snowy fragrance gathers in the trees. Too languid to summon the rain of Yangtai. One river binds us, yet we cannot speak, though our feelings run deep. What is this love? Like a plea directed at me. Alone, by the riverbank.

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