Ballad of Yunxi in the Nine Netherworlds

Gently turning the pages of time, sipping the world’s wine, a few crimson blossoms, a soul adrift in tender affection. Though splendor fades, fragrance lingers; the hardships of time stain the brow. Through lifetimes of fate, wandering alone; a wild goose’s shadow slants across the still waters of the Yellow Springs. Cast off all splendor, cleanse the mortal world; a lingering dream, a single red thread. Love stirs the soul, entangled through lifetimes, until at last the strands join. The rosy glow fades, the setting sun is drunk with light. The dream bound to the red spider lily comes true today. Leng Yunxi stared intently at the ‘self’ lying on the ground and suddenly noticed something eerie. The blood flowing from ‘her’ spread in claw-shaped streaks, enclosing her tightly. Its shape and appearance were just like a flower she often saw in her nightmares. She had looked it up: it was called the flower of the other shore, and its red variety was also known as the red spider lily. It was said to guide the dead along the road to the underworld, serving as a flower that welcomes souls in the nether realm. That was only a legend, but now that she had been reborn, this strange sight seemed all the more uncanny... “...With my dharma body, divine power... a blood sacrifice... reborn in the Nine Hells...” When Leng Yunxi heard Changsun Ni’s voice in her nightmare, her heart and mind trembled violently. It was as if a great secret, buried deep in her soul, were about to break through...