Ying Li, feeling bored, leaned on the railing, gazing at the lotus pond. The blooming white lotuses looked like the snow lotuses of the Tianshan, lacking the icy charm of the snow lotus but possessing a unique earthly grace. The snow lotus was like a cold, aloof woman, while the white lotus seemed like an ethereal beauty from the mortal realm. Comparing the two, she preferred the white lotus, partly because there was a lotus pond by her father’s sleeping palace, though not as large, about a third the size of this one. She vividly remembered her father often gazing at the blooming lotuses in a trance. To her, the white lotus was just like her father, an ethereal and exquisite beauty.
Suddenly, several colorful koi caught her eye, pulling her from her reverie. Watching the koi play joyfully in the water, Ying Li tugged at Xiao Tu’s sleeve, “Fairy Sister, there are fish here, such beautiful fish!” She pointed excitedly at the lotus pond.
“Yes, they are beautiful, and the lotuses are lovely too.” The enchanting beauty was intoxicating, and it reminded one of the “Lotus Pool of Yaochi”; this place seemed like a miniature version, with the large water lilies replaced by these white lotuses.
“Tu’er, these are wild fruits I picked; try them, they’re quite tasty,” she said, offering a plate of oddly shaped wild fruits with a doting look in her watery eyes. As she took a strawberry, thinking about how she had picked it herself, a bright smile spread across her lips. She reached for the fruit plate, about to take a bite of the green fruit, when a green figure flashed by, leaving a scent of bamboo leaves. The fruit vanished from her lips.
“Hmm, not bad, quite tasty,” a charming voice remarked, and the atmosphere in the pavilion shifted from relaxed to tense.
The figure in dark green was still as captivating as ever, with jet-black hair framing a delicate face, wearing a loosely draped green robe, the belt untied, exposing part of her fragrant shoulder. Her almond eyes were spring-like, and her red tongue licked the last drop of juice from her lips as the green fruit had already settled in his stomach. He was unaware of how alluring he looked at that moment.
