The night was like water…
The houses around heart of takahashi clan is silent…
The Takahashi Clan was located in a suburban area south of Tokyo, adjacent to a mountain forest, almost bordering the countryside.
However, perhaps due to the immense size of the Takahashi, the entire Takahashi Great Clans resembled a sprawling complex of buildings that extended from Tokyo to the outskirts.
The aura of a prestigious family was unmistakable.
And in the very heart of the Takahashi clan.
This was the Takahashi Clan head house, and also the residence of the most esteemed Takahashi clan Young Lady—Takahashi Chihiro.
The courtyard was not large, but its scenery was elegant, and the architectural style leaned towards ancient aesthetics.
Within the courtyard, the sound of flowing water, accompanied by the striking of a bamboo fountain, abruptly ceased…
Moonlight flowed like water into the courtyard, leaving a pristine white moon reflected on the calm surface of the pond.
This small place was where Takahashi Chihiro resided, but… it wasn't that she couldn't afford a larger courtyard.
In fact, the Takahashi Clan Head had once proposed building a pavilion for Takahashi Chihiro, but it was rejected by Takahashi Chihiro, who disliked ostentation.
For Takahashi Chihiro, she only preferred to live in a small courtyard, just enough for one person, much like when she lived alone on Xishi Mountain.
Actually, only a few people in the Takahashi knew that here, Takahashi Chihiro's status far surpassed everyone else's.
Even the Takahashi Clan Head was not as important as Takahashi Chihiro.
Although it was publicly stated that Takahashi Chihiro was the Takahashi Family Head's daughter, whether that was actually true, no one knew.
And in the Takahashi, all members of the main family knew only one thing.
That was…
The Family Head's words could be ignored… but Takahashi Chihiro's words… even if it was just a trivial matter, had to be treated with extreme seriousness.
At this moment, in this small courtyard…
Takahashi Chihiro, dressed in a pristine white yukata, sat quietly by the window, gazing at the moon outside, her black hair gently swaying.
She looked at the moon outside the window.
She extended her fair, delicate fingers.
Under the moonlight, her tender white skin glowed like jade.
Even her fingers exhibited a beauty far surpassing others.
Takahashi Chihiro's dark eyes gazed at her own palm.
"This body, after all, still lacks something…"
A gentle voice spoke.
Her willow-like brows curved, and her beautiful face held a hint of inexplicable sadness…
She was like the most perfect Yamato Nadeshiko…
Every movement made it impossible to look away.
Then, under the moonlight, under her gaze.
As if absorbing the energy of the moonlight, the skin on the back of the hand she extended suddenly cracked open…
It wasn't a tearing of flesh and blood…
It was more like tender sprouts breaking through soil…
Immediately, beautiful flowers bloomed on the back of her hand…
Beautiful, enchanting…
This incredibly unusual scene slowly unfolded under her calm gaze.
And she looked as if she was accustomed to it.
"changshi flower, changshi flower blooms… Flowers bloom eternally, eternally undefeated…
With flesh and blood as soil, with soul as nourishment, it can guard the Nether Springs…"
She spoke softly.
Then…
Clang…
The sound of something dropping suddenly rang out, accompanied by a terrified cry.
Takahashi Chihiro's gaze turned.
Ah… It turned out to be her current "Mother," that vain woman who possessed only beauty and no insight.
Perhaps she had realized her position in this household… and so she had specially come to curry favor with her…
But… reality seemed to have taken an unexpected turn…
At this moment… that woman, who was usually so noble and arrogant, was looking at the bizarre flowers blooming on Takahashi Chihiro's hand with great alarm, her body retreating uncontrollably, almost stumbling to the ground.
"Mother…"
She casually plucked the fresh flowers from the back of her hand, drawing a little blood…
These flowers seemed to have grown from her fresh blood.
Takahashi Chihiro walked towards the woman.
But the latter recoiled as if she had seen some monster, her body instinctively retreating a few more steps, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at her.
Noticing her gaze, Takahashi Chihiro sighed inwardly, and her movement to help her up stopped.
"Mother… Are you alright?"
"Ah? I… I…"
Mrs. Takahashi seemed to be terrified, but she was indeed a woman who had managed to enter the Takahashi through her means; after a moment of temporary panic.
She noticed the slight hint of loneliness in Takahashi Chihiro's eyes, and her heart sank.
This was bad… Although she knew that this Young Lady of the Takahashi was a taboo figure in the family, her inexperience had still made her reveal her fear… This would definitely lower Takahashi Chihiro's good impression of her.
Recalling some secrets related to the Takahashi, Mrs. Takahashi couldn't help but take a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the fear of the 'monster' within her.
She managed to force out a relatively gentle smile and spoke to Takahashi Chihiro.
"I'm fine, it's just…"
"It's alright, Mother, this is something that happens to me, and I've long grown accustomed to it.
I'm truly sorry for scaring you…"
Takahashi Chihiro, upon hearing this, showed a gentle smile on her face.
She glanced at the spilled soup on the ground; by its smell, it must have been made by one of the maids.
Mother is as fake as ever…
"I understand.
It's getting late, Mother, if you have nothing else, you should go back and rest…"
"Ah… Yes… Yes…"
A flustered voice hastily departed.
…
In the quiet small room, candlelight flickered, and the girl knelt on the floor with a hint of loneliness, her dark eyes emitting a crimson glow.
Crack, crack, crack…
Her face was expressionless, and with a series of crackling sounds, her skin suddenly cracked open, like layers of tree bark… bursting apart, revealing the dark and rough flesh beneath…
She reached out and touched the changes on her face, her expression somewhat forlorn.
"A lifeless body, unable to bear emotions, nor to convey them…"
She reached out her hand, looking at the grotesque woodification on it...
She couldn't feel love, but she could see through a person's true heart and soul...
Ugliness and desire, all clearly visible...
Yet she had to pretend to be innocent, as if she knew nothing, and become the Miss Takahashi everyone expected...
Only then could she gain others' love...
However...
This love, however, could not be conveyed to where it needed to go at all...
Not to mention fulfilling a certain promise...
Her true appearance, in the eyes of others, was nothing more than a terrifying, ugly monster.
"I'm so tired..."
"If only there was someone who could make my heart flutter..."
"Even just talking... would be fine..."
"If... if I could meet someone who wasn't afraid of my true self..."
She couldn't help but murmur to herself.
But she also knew that these were ultimately just fantasies; if she wanted love to be conveyed to her heart, or to hear words that would make her heart flutter...
She had to go to that place herself...
That forbidden zone, which for any ordinary person... was equivalent to a one-way trip.