Out Of Your Mind

Zhe Huo's heart was in turmoil. Luo Qinghan, on the other hand, acted for all the world as though nothing had happened, and handed her cloak to her. "Let's have breakfast."

Soon, Zhe Huo was sitting at a table, absent-mindedly chewing on a meat bun. Her mind kept returning to the kiss that had been stolen from her. A child had given her a quick peck—why was she so hung up over it?

She scratched her head, confounded.

"Zhe Huo, are you thinking about that kiss I gave you?" The dulcet notes of Qinghan's voice reached her.

"Of course not!" she blustered in a panicked reply.

"Ah." The boy blinked, and watched her in silence.

Inexplicably, his gaze was causing her heart to flutter. What was this? She was the one who got kissed, so why should she be worried about him finding out what sort of untoward things she was imagining…

Blinking furiously, she tried to avoid Qinghan's eyes. Snatching up another bun, she left to collect her weapons and gear, while saying over her shoulder, "Let's head out to the Valley of Blossoms."

Qinghan nodded. "I was asking around outside, earlier. Just as I thought, those people who have died were all farmers, growing spider flowers."

Taken aback by this, Zhe Huo paused to think a moment. "Are you suggesting we use this detail to our advantage?"

"We could use spider flowers to lure the wasp demon over."

Zhe Huo's eyebrows rose. It was a solid plan.

One entered the Valley of Blossoms via a winding path through one thousand, three hundred and six types of flowers. Few outsiders ever managed to make it all the way—a preliminary test for any demon hunters attempting this quest.

Zhe Huo and Luo Qinghan arrived at where the path began, and found a great crowd of demon hunters milling about. For the most part, they seemed to have been frustrated by this trial so far.

It was a mind-boggling labyrinth, like a tracery of the movements of the stars, everything criss-crossing and overlapping one another. There were countless traps scattered throughout the area, and it was virtually impossible to navigate without a guide to show the way.

As such, many people arrived brimming with excitement and confidence, but typically left in despair and defeat.

Zhe Huo had never developed any mastery over astrology herself. She watched as several impressive-looking demon hunters arrived from the opposite direction, and a sly sparkle danced in her eyes. She led the boy away to lean against a natural stone face nearby. "Qinghan, let's wait for those guys to go on ahead, first."

Qinghan made a sound in acknowledgment, then flopped down in her arms to take a nap.

Thinking that the boy was just tired, she paid no further mind to this, nor did she object. She devoted her full concentration to observing how those elite demon hunters would make their way through the maze of flowers.

Each one of them seemed to just be doing their own thing. Zhe Huo watched as they moved thoughtfully from one clump of flowers to the next, occasionally blundering into a trap, but always managing to sidestep the danger in time.

Zhe Huo tracked their every step with unblinking eyes, making note of where the traps were, as well as the path they were gradually working out. After perhaps an hour spent doing this, she finally saw a handful of them step through a shimmering violet barrier, and then disappear. They'd made it into the Valley of Blossoms.

She gently patted the child who was asleep at her breast. "Qinghan, wake up. It's time to go."

Qinghan moaned reluctantly as he got up and rubbed his eyes. He looked out over the verdant labyrinth. "Are we going now?"