Date

Today is Huan's day off. Normally within the sect and clan, servants are given 2 days off. Even personal servants like her and Fen get these days off.

Today's free day is special as she will be going out on a date with her crush. Thanks to the advice given to her by Mors, she was able to easily secure a date and their relationship is steadily improving. Talking about Mors, she'd heard that he and Zhihui were going on a date tomorrow.

As Huan walks on the sidewalk, she arrives in front of a small flower shop painted green on the outside with a sign hanging above its single wooden door. The sign reads "Ru Recreational Flowers".

Huan couldn't ignore how unique the name was, maybe because of how it caught people's attention. But today the store is closed.

Huan places her hand on the door handle as she slowly pushes the door, and it opens with a small cracking sound.

In the room sitting in a chair is a pretty woman with short green hair and light hazel-colored eyes. The woman is wearing short shorts and a simple tunic shirt as opposed to Huan's outfit, long pants, and a simple shirt. As their eyes meet, a soft blush decorates Huan's face.

"Good afternoon Ru, you look as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you for the compliment, you too are very beautiful"

Huan blushes even more as remembers Mors advice on not being too shy around her. She clears her throat and shakes her head to compose her bearing. She walks toward Ru and grabs her hand, the smell of flowers and pollen still lingering on Ru's body.

Ru smiles a bit as she looks at Huan's eyes, it being the greatest reward Huan could receive.

"So, mind telling me where we are going today?"

"Sure thing, I reserved a table for us in this small restaurant for us to eat later on in the day. But for now, how about we walk around the central park?"

"That sounds lovely, there are some beautiful flowers in that park"

"Not as beautiful as your flowers"

"Haha, you praise me too much"

Huan and Ru smile and giggle as they walk out of the store and onto the pathway. The capital city of Jian is a large and wealthy city. Because the sect campus is built here, trade naturally concentrates in this city. Large amounts of wealth enter and leave the city every second.

Because of this, the city has large areas for commerce and leisure. One of the main areas dedicated to this in the city is the Central Park. A paradisiacal haven for nature in this jungle of stone and brick. The flowers and trees that grow in the green park are extremely eye-catching, and Ru knows most of the flowers and trees that grow in the park.

Ru had always felt that she had a special calling with nature and its inherent beauties. She came from a small merchant family, moving from place to place as her family tried to make as much money as possible to survive the harsh winters. Most of the time they would sleep in the wilds, so it had become second nature to learn about the flora around her.

Ru's store generally serves both cultivators and mortals, and the way she grows her flowers made them live for longer and have brighter natural colors. Things like that are bound to attract a lot of customers and with her as the sole worker, her profits are extremely high.

Soon the couple enters the park, and they walk down its gray color brick paths, with long green grass on either side, with bright patches of color coming from the flowers. Large trees provide other couples or families ample shade from the beaming sun.

Within the plains region, it is normal to see couples of the same sex or people with different gender identities. When your world is full of supernatural entities and otherworldly beings, the sexual orientation and gender identity of people are of very little concern.

The couple stops as Ru looks at a soft green-colored flower. As Ru carefully caresses the flower she mutters something to Huan.

"This is a Green Lotus Blossom"

She plucks the flower from the ground as she turns around and places it above Huan's left ear, and a soft smile and blush bloom on her face.

"It is rumored that this flower can ward evil away from you. So don't take it off, got it?"

Huan nods her head, her face as red as a tomato as she grasps Ru's hand even tighter. No matter how much effort Huan puts in to play it cool, she still turned into clay in Ru's hands and Ru knew this very well. She could not deny that she enjoyed Huan's cute expressions and actions.

The couple goes on with the rest of their date, their relationship being refined by the minute as they buy gifts for each other. Soon the sun begins to set as the sky transforms into a vibrant union of violet and peach. It was the end of the day and of their date, but that did not mean they had to go their separate ways. The couple reaches Ru's flower shop, which holds her apartment on the second floor.

Ru invites Huan into her apartment. The couple slowly disappears from prying eyes.

From a rooftop, covered in shadows. A human man can be seen biting his fingers with enough strength to break the skin apart and make the iron taste of blood enter his mouth. He doesn't know why he is following this couple, but he hates how happy they look. His urges compel him to desire nothing more than to jump in and kill them both.

"Noo… nooo… I've got to hold…hold…Oh bloody Mother, why must you give me your thoughts of battle."

The man mutters to himself as he slowly disappears into the enveloping shadows of the rapidly darkening night.

A mere 6 days remain before the first killing begins.