Is the war of love ever easy, or does the world make it harder---
tangling it with faith, truth, lies, and a drop of betrayal sharper than any blade?
The night wind carried the faint scent of blood-red roses, like a promise half-kept.
A single lantern swayed before a grave, its light trembling as if it remembered…something soaked in blood, something etched into the vows of lanterns.
The man in red, named Língxiāo, not older than thirty, knelt quietly. His long brown hair flew behind him as the wind embraced him silently.
The silk of his sleeves, though bright, had faded at the edges.
"You're late again," he whispered, tracing the carved name that time had nearly erased.
"But it's alright… I'll wait a little longer, as always."
The flame flickered against his pale fingers.
To anyone else, he was a wandering exorcist, mourning a legend.
But he knew the truth---
he was the reason that legend never slept.
Beneath the soil lay his sin, his beloved, and his curse.
"Sometimes I wonder…if I should have made that decision or not…" His brown eyes glimmered with unshed tears as he clenched his fist against the wet soil.
"But… I'm happy as long as you are no longer a walking dead. You're you, and I am me…yet the 'you' is still a hauntingly beautiful memory buried in red robes for me…an unforgettable ripple in my chest," he whispered with a bittersweet smile.
A smile that screamed unconditional love…
And a tear that would never dry, soaked in cruelty.
Flashback---Ten Years Ago
The town of Yún Xi was dark and lifeless---not because of rain, nor winter, but because the wind carried the scent of blood and memory, tasting like forgotten sorrow.
Men dared not wear red robes, nor light a lantern at night. It was forbidden.
Most avoided it, fearful of bad death, fearful for their families.
But one young man ignored the warnings. He wore a red robe and lit a lantern in the abandoned temple with a smirk.
"Today I'll prove everyone wrong…they are scared of nothing," he muttered.
The temple was silent and forgotten. Darkness pressed into its corners, the lantern barely holding it at bay.
Suddenly, the wind shifted. Dust settled, heavy with the metallic scent of iron. Something wet touched his cheek. He brought his fingers to it.
Blood.
When he blinked, it was only water.
He swallowed hard and gripped the lantern tightly.
Then came the feeling---someone was behind him. Or around him.
A cold shiver ran down his spine. A faint red glow flickered behind him.
A man's figure…hair long, unbound, flowing deliberately in the air.
He blinked, and the figure vanished, leaving only silence.
"Probably a misunderstanding…" he whispered nervously, a chuckle betraying his fear. "guǐ…never exist."
He stepped deeper into the temple.
A faint murmuring filled the hall, fast and unclear, like a black magic incantation. The words seemed to say:
I can't have him! But I want him! Why can't I have him?! What was my sin?!
Then, faintly, a guqin played. But how? The temple was empty.
Even more deadly than the sound was the silence that followed, sharp as a knife cutting through fabric.
"Is…anybody here? Show yourself!" he called, eyes scanning the shadows.
Silence.
Then a voice:
"What if you've heard it right…but understood it wrong?"
The young man froze. The voice was too close, too real. He turned---
and saw nothing at first.
Then, he saw him.
The one hunting the air itself.
A man in red, black blood dripping from his chest.
Old and terrible.
A walking corpse, eyes as dark as night. His head tilted slightly, hair concealing half his face.
"Are you going to marry me…or stab me in the heart?"
The young man forgot to breathe. His throat tightened. His heartbeat seemed to leave his body, stolen by the spirit's single glare.
Outside, a scream tore through the night, shaking the town : NO!! LET ME GO!!
An old woman covered her grandchildren's ears, eyes fixed on the empty sky.
"Another blood rain…" she whispered.
A heavy bell tolled, announcing tragedy.
"Alas! We are saddened to report that Chóng Yǐn Kumsun, son of Chóng Féng, has perished at the hands of the red-robed guǐ! May he rest in peace!" the announcement echoed.
Half the remaining townsfolk gathered outside the temple.
Chóng Yǐn, who had mocked the citizens' beliefs, now lay pale, bloody, and broken.
His head rested on a white cloth, chest hollow where his heart once beat.
The flesh was dried as a riverbed; bones were visible like mummies in Egypt.
"Th-That…spirit…no…THAT CRUEL…FUCKING CURSED GHOST…killed my son! What did he do wrong?!" Chóng Féng cried, clutching the corpse, face red with grief and rage.
"Féng Kumsun! Control yourself! You cannot touch a corpse killed by the spirit---
its next victim may be you!" others called, holding him back.
"We need not only an experienced exorcist…someone whose kindness feels safe but stabs deep…an unbreakable soul…who will not flee," one man said, eyes wide with desperate determination.
The father froze, staring at the young man as if he had spoken something forbidden.
He grabbed him by the collar. "It might be the tenth…or hundredth time we've hoped for this!" His tone was more threat than reminder.
"So many exorcists have died hopelessly…each attempt only makes the spirit crueler! I have five more sons! Will they be sacrificed too? Should we just live like this?"
Others listened in silence, knowing nobody had been able to seal the red-robed spirit.
Who would dare now? Who had the courage, the kindness, the unbreakable soul?
"Língxiāo Kumsun…" someone breathed.
Everyone froze, staring at the young man, skeptical if he was offering false hope.
"What did you say?" Chóng Féng asked, stepping closer, eyes unreadable.
"Yes. You heard me right," the man replied. "There is someone like that…a man with a smile that hides everything beneath it…an unbreakable soul with nobody to love, hate, or care for. He travels from city to city, saving humans who have loved ones…for him, the whole world is home---
father, mother, brother, sister, aunt…everything.."
Before Chóng Féng could speak, someone said, "Then he may be our last hope! Invite Língxiāo Kumsun to our city! We may greet him with everything we have!"
Others echoed the hope, chanting:
"Língxiāo's kindness may kill the curse and bring back the lanterns to dark Yún Xi!"
Chóng Féng tightened his jaw, sighing. "Do as you wish. Boys, bring my son's corpse back to the clan."
A man suggested leaving the body for investigation, "so it's fresh proof of everything."
Chóng Féng glanced at him, red-eyed but dry of tears. They agreed. There was no other choice.
Far away from Yún Xī, in a quiet town called Yuè Shì…
The air here was peaceful — unlike the chaos that haunted Yún Xī.
Yet inside one humble household, a small family waited in terror, clinging to their last hope.
"Língxiāo kumsun… please save my daughter. She's gone mad--- possessed… I'll pay you anything, just bring her back."
The father bowed deeply, forehead nearly touching his hands.
. His wife stood beside him, trembling, their young son clutching her legs with wide terrified eyes.
Língxiāo smiled.
Too gentle.
Too soft.
A smile that felt kind… yet strangely unsettling.
He caught the father's hands and lifted him upright.
"No need to bow. She will be fine, very soon. As long as I'm here, nothing will go wrong."
The man nodded, relieved yet still unsure.
Língxiāo then focused on the boy. His smile brightened as he knelt down, hand reaching to pat his head.
"You're worried for your shījiě, aren't you , little lanturn?Don't be. Just trust me-- I'll protect her."
The child stared… then suddenly burst into terrified sobs.
Because coiled around Língxiāo's shoulder was a curse--- its crimson eyes staring straight at him, twisted lips curled into a chilling laugh only the boy could see.
The boy hid behind his mother, shaking.
" m..mo behind.. behind him…"
The father paled. He saw nothing there..
"Oh, that?" Língxiāo chuckled lightly. "He's my friend. He doesn't hurt…anyone."
His smile remained.
But then---
In one swift motion, he seized the curse by the neck, squeezing until it gasped and writhed.
Expression unchanged--- still smiling--- as if violence was his second nature.
He flung the curse into the room where the daughter was confined.
"Don't scare people for fun," he hissed, voice dipping into something darker.
"Check on the girl."
The curse scrambled inside and vanished into shadow.
Língxiāo stood, brushing dust from his robe. He moved to enter the room-- but before closing the door, he peeked back with the same pleasant expression. The curse crawled once again over his shoulder.
"Trust me," he repeated softly. "I'll make everything right.."
The door shut...
The parents exchanged uneasy glances.
Was he truly their savior…
or a danger wearing a smile?
Before doubt could settle--- a scream exploded from inside the room.
A voice no longer human shrieked:
"NO! I DON'T BELIEVE IN YOUR KINDNESS!"